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January 2013 $3.00
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HAYEAST: A HELPING HAND DAVID WAGMAN, LEADER, SASK.
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Hill 70 Quantock RancH
“Barn Burnin’t Bull Sale” igh Date marked?
Do you have the R
Sat., Feb. 2, 2013 See Page 5 for more information.
January 2013
Volume 76, No. 1
Established 1938 ISSN 1196-8923 Cattlemen Editorial: Editor: Gren Winslow 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 (204) 944-5753 Fax (204) 944-5416 Email: gren@fbcpublishing.com Field Editor: Debbie Furber Box 1168, Tisdale, SK S0E 1T0 (306) 873-4360 Fax (306) 873-4360 Email: debbie.furber@fbcpublishing.com
FEATURES Generation gaps or gains..................................................8 Crop cocktails and food webs. ...................................... 10 Creating the perfect cocktail mix................................ 14
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Cashenomics.................................................................... 16
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HayEast: a helping hand. ............................................... 18
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Valuing pasture yields.................................................... 24
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Formalize farm partnerships and retire richer............ 28
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Afac unveils five more
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emergency livestock units in alberta. ..........................
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Verified beef production................................................ 35 2012 index........................................................................ 48 Departments
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COMMENT............................................... 4 NEWSMAKERS......................................... 6 VET ADVICE.......................................... 22 HOLISTIC RANCHING.............................. 26 NUTRITION............................................ 32 RESEARCH............................................ 33 CCA REPORTS...................................... 34 PRIME CUTS......................................... 36 STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP...................... 37 NEWS ROUNDUP................................... 38 PURELY PUREBRED............................... 42 THE MARKETS...................................... 45 MARKET TALK....................................... 47 SALES & EVENTS.................................. 50
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Cattlemen / january 2013 3
C O M M E N T
by Gren Winslow
Jahnke is gone
And he will be missed
J
ahnke is gone? That was my first reaction to the news the Neil Jahnke had died at his ranch near Gouldtown, Sask. on November 26. The natural time lag of monthly publications forces me to be the last to publicly recognize Neil’s singular contributions to Canada’s cattle industry. He was a unique individual. I still remember the first time I met him. It wasn’t long after I took over the editor’s chair of CANADIAN CATTLEMEN. We were doing a marketing story based on a study that categorized meat eaters from the vegan types to meat lovers, and I had an artist who worked with us at the time do up some line drawings of each category. The meat lover unfortunately came out a little stout. I remember thinking that at the time but the printer was waiting so I let the drawings go to press. Not long after, when I attended a meeting of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, I was barely in the door when Neil shot across the room to let me know what he thought of that “fat meat lover.” That was quintessential Jahnke. He had strong opinions and was never shy about expressing them, although they were often delivered with a bit of a chuckle that always took the harshness out of any exchange I ever had with him. I remember thanking him for his opinion that day, and I meant it. First, he didn’t just ignore me, which as a relative stranger in that room, I appreciated. More importantly he taught me that people do read the magazine and were ready to challenge what was in it. That was relatively unusual in my experience with other publications, and it made me feel good about my decision to accept the editorship. I can’t say Neil and I became friends after that, but I had the good fortune to see him many times over the years around the country. We didn’t always agree but I learned to listen carefully to his views and appreciate his unstinting devotion to the industry. He was always ready to discuss or defend this industry, be it in a barn or hotel room with a scotch and a cigarette in either hand, or at a microphone in front of a bunch of MPs. He would go anywhere, often at his own expense.
4 CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013
His long list of titles and accomplishments speaks to his leadership qualities. Closest to his heart, I suspect, he served as president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, but was also vice-chairman of the International Livestock Congress, a member of the Agri-Food Marketing Council, chairman of the Saskatchewan Cattle Marketing Deductions Act, a founding member and chairman of the Canada Beef Export Federation, chairman of the Beef Information Centre, president of the Saskatchewan Livestock Association, vice-president of the Canadian Western Agribition, and president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. Each of these titles carries with it many hours and often years of commitment to each organization, time taken away from his own business and family life which were very important to him. In recognition, Neil was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, an honorary life membership with the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists, the Honour Scroll from the Saskatchewan Livestock Association and inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame. In addition the Record Stockman named him Canadian Livestock Industry Leader of the Year in 2006 and the SSGA made him their Cattleman of the Year in 1993. His term at the head of the CCA was especially taxing as it opened in 2002 with the passing of mandatory country-of-origin labelling and heated up in 2003 with the discovery of BSE in Canada, undeniably the greatest disruption to ever hit the beef industry. Through it, all Neil had to be the representative face of cattle producers across the country while becoming deeply involved in the campaign to start reopening markets around the world to our beef. If history shapes the legacies of public figures, Neil Jahnke certainly gained the respect and appreciation of every beef producer in Canada during the two years he served at the head of the CCA. There has been talk recently that the leadership of this industry is lacking in some way. For my money, as long is it keeps putting forward people like Neil Jahnke, it’s in pretty good hands. www.canadiancattlemen.ca
Hill 70 Quantock RancH
“Barn Burnin’ Bull Sale” Sat., Feb. 2, 2013
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# of Cows o Sight Unseen Purchase Plan o DVD of Sale Bulls o Red Angus o Black Angus o Charolais o Horned Hereford o Red Angus X Gelbvieh o Reg. Red Angus Females o Commercial Females (Bred & Open) o Black Angus X Simmental Hybrids o Red Angus X Simmental Hybrids Mail to: Hill 70 Quantock Ranch Box 756, Lloydminster, AB S9V 1C1 info@hill70quantock.com www.hill70quantock.com
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55 Horned & Polled Herefords (Two’s) 110 Red Angus (70 Two’s - 40 Yearlings) 80 Black Angus (60 Two’s - 20 Yearlings) 75 Charolais (35 Two’s - 40 Yearlings) 50 Red & Black Angus X Simmentals
Customer AppreCiAtion night
NEWSMAKERS
Doug Sawyer
Doug Sawyer of Pine Lake was reelected chair of the Alberta Beef Producers for 2013 at the group’s annual meeting in Calgary last month. Greg Bowie of Ponoka is vice chair and John Buckley of Calgary is finance chair.
Producers across the country were shocked by the sudden passing of Neil Jahnke in late November. He was a past president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association. We were also saddened to hear of the passing of livestock handling geru Bud Williams of Independence Kansas from pancreatic cancer in late November. He had a strong connection to Canada from the 11 years he and his wife Eunice set up their headquartered at Vee Tee Feeders Ltd. near Lloydminister, Alta. The Saskatchewan Farm Animal Council is looking for support to continue his work. For details see page 38. The awarding of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal to 38 Canadians for their service to the beef industry was announced last month. The list represents every sector of the industry from producers who served on provincial and national associations and the people who worked for them to researchers, packers, breeders and marketers. They are: Morrie Thomas and Rudy Johnson from B.C.; Anne Dunford, Arno Doerksen, Ben Thorlakson, Bob Prestage, Brian Nilsson, Chris Mills, Cor Van Raay, Darcy Davis, Dave Plett, David Andrews, Dennis Laycraft, Eugene Janzen, PhD, Garnet Altwasser, Hugh Lynch-Staunton, John Stewart-Smith, Julie Stitt, Len Vogelaar, Steve Morgan-Jones, Mabel Hamilton and Tim McAllister, Ph.D, from Alberta; Brad Wildeman, Gary L. Jones, John McKinnon, PhD and Neil Jahnke (posthumously) from Saskatchewan; Marlin Beever from Manitoba; Carolyn McDonell, Charlie Gracey, Jock Buchanan-Smith, Margaret Jean Hutton, Stan Eby and W. Ronald Usborne from Ontario; Henry Knight and Robert Acton from New Bruns6 CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013
wick; Charlie MacKenzie from Nova Scotia and Darlene Sanford from P.E.I. The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association presented its first CFGA Leadership award to researcher Duane McCartney in Toronto last month Duane McCartney for his work in developing the first pasture to plate forage research system in Canada dedicated to extending the grazing period for Canadian beef herds and the development of the www.foragebeef.ca website. All four of the federal and Manitoba ministers of agriculture and the environment had a hand in announcing Dr. Allan Preston’s appointment as the TB co-ordinator charged with sorting through the jurisdic- Dr. Allan Preston tional mess that lies at the heart of a decades-long TB infection in the Riding Mountain Eradication Area. Preston seems well equipped for the task. He’s a producer, a veterinarian and recently retired assistant deputy minister of agriculture in Manitoba. He’s been given a year to try and find a workable solution to all parties that have a interest in eradicating this infection once and for all. The Canadian Animal Health Coalition (CAHC) named Dr. Daniel Hurnik of Charlottetown, P.E.I. as this year’s recipient of the Carl Block Award. Dr. Hurnik has made many significant contributions to the Canadian swine industry and to veterinary medicine around the world. The award is named in honour of the late Carl Block. Carl was the first chair of the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency, a director of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, the inaugural chair of CAHC, and a former president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association. Clayton Robins, a cow-calf, backgrounder and custom grazer from Rivers, Man., was one of three 2013 recipients presented with a Nuffield scholarship last month. Clayton is also
executive director of the 4-H Manitoba Council and spent 22 years with the beef and forage program at Brandon Research Centre researching extensive production systems for beef cattle. He plans to devote his Nuffield scholarship to looking for ways to optimize the intake of plant water-soluble carbohydrates in beef cattle. He chose this topic based on his past efforts exploring the potential of forage-feeding and forage-finishing production systems in yearling cattle. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz recently appointed Dale Johnston of Ponoka, Alta., as the chair of Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) board of directors. He first joined the board in 2011. Johnston is a former reeve of the Country of Ponoka where he still owns and operates a mixed farming operation. He was a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2006. FCC currently maintains a loan portfolio of more than $24 billion with Canada’s farmers. Alberta Beef Producers presented its 2013 Environmental Stewardship Award (ESA) to Gerry and Grant Taillieu of Tomahawk Cattle Ranch. Gerry, his wife Cheryl with their son Grant and daughter Amy took over the management of the ranch in 2001. Since then they’ve used bale grazing and holistic management practices to revitalize the previously overgrazed pastures and extend the grazing period as close to year round as weather will allow. They’ve also reduced the average size of the cows in the herd to take some of the pressure off the land. New dugouts have been developed but only some of them have been fenced. Portable watering units are used to maximize grazing and work is being done to improve natural water sources. Most of the creeks on the ranch have now been fenced. C
l-r: Ryan Pfister, Hali and Grant Taillieu, Amy Taillieu, Cher yl and Gerr y Taillieu. www.canadiancattlemen.ca
Manager Strategist Marketer Bookkeeper Problem-Solver Role Model
Farmer Lance Stockbrugger – FCC Customer
We understand your business 1-800-387-3232 www.fcc.ca/advancing
management
GENERATION GAPS OR GAINS
L
earning the ropes of recruiting, training, managing, motivating and retaining employees is a new arena for many producers and throughout all of agriculture as farms and businesses continue to grow in size in the face of a tight labour supply. Agriculture isn’t alone in this respect, says Brenda Robinson of the Robcan Group, an Edmonton-based company that specializes in communications consulting and training for the workplace. “Research tells us that we are headed into an increasingly competitive market for recruitment and retention. For every two employees eligible to retire, there is less than one replacement worker,” she says. The unique and interesting aspect of today’s workforce is that it encompasses a mix of generations. Some view this as an additional challenge, while others, including Robinson, see it as a great opportunity that may very well be part of the solution to the labour crunch. “Diversity among your employees and family members who are part of the farm operation builds strength,” she explains. “Each generation brings a new way of thinking and new approaches to problem solving, technology and getting the work done.” This only becomes problematic if you are not open and responsive to change. When skillfully managed, with consideration given to each generation’s expectations, employers now have the opportunity to draw on the strengths of the new generations to work smarter, not harder. For decades, those now grouped as matures (born before 1946) and baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964) were replaced with more matures and baby boomers. There were only two generations for employers to understand and the employers were from the same age groups as the employees. Today’s workforce includes matures and boomers working alongside generation X (born 1965 to 1977), generation Y (born 1978 to 1992), and those just entering the workforce, generation Why (born 1993 to 2002). These categories have been defined by researchers based on significant social influences during certain periods that have shaped the way in which
8 Cattlemen / january 2013
Employees from different generations respond to different motivations. people interact with the world around them. However, they aren’t carved in stone. Crossover between the generations is evident because of more recent work and life experiences as well as cultural differences within Canada and among foreign workers. Across the generations, opportunities for advancement and increases in pay are effective motivators. Work quality and effort improves when people feel respected, included and recognized for their contributions. Key differences are noticeable in the generations’ response to change, attitude toward loyalty and seniority, interpretation of respect, and approach to work-life balance.
Matures live to work It’s important to keep matures engaged in the workplace, not only because they are willing and able to work into later years, but because many hold the history of the business and industry in their heads and hearts, Robinson says. While they can be wonderful mentors and motivated by working with
people of all generations, they need to feel respected and recognized for their wisdom gained from years of experience. They are keen on seniority and status, value clear policies, rules and job descriptions and expect the same from others. Matures tend to be uncomfortable in workplaces where technology replaces talking to one another, changes are implemented for no apparent reason, one crisis leads to another, and jobs require long hours, tight deadlines or extensive travel.
Baby boomers work to live The boomers have been the largest segment of the population with the most influence for years and they expect to be the greatest influence in any setting, Robinson notes. Indeed, they are often surprised when there are influences other than their own! They, too, tend to believe that the harder one works, the greater the rewards and they have always placed a lot of importance on promotions, raises, awards and achievements. Boomers like to be recognized and www.canadiancattlemen.ca
rewarded for their unique strengths, work ethic, extra effort and long hours. They still value opportunities to learn as well as to mentor others. The biggest turnoff is when they perceive an unfair division of workloads or responsibilities and that others aren’t doing their fair share. Though the general mindset is that one should work hard and then play hard, the workplace does have some social value.
Generation X works and lives in balance This generation was influenced by the significant social changes of the ’60s and ’70s. Faster, easier, cheaper became the mantra. The second defining sign of their time is the sheer number of baby boomers in the workplace. Consequently, generation X is concerned with gaining influence, moving up the ladder quickly, and making more money, Robinson explains. They tend to resent barriers created by the boomers and are dulled by slow career progress and a focus on tradition. This generation will give 100 per cent when their education and personal activities are recognized and when career opportunities are clearly defined and available. Competitive pay, work conditions and specialized benefits are big motivators. They value working in teams that include people with diverse talents and in challenging, stimulating environments, however, they do need clear explanations of the reasons why because their focus in on the results, not the process. Generation X insists on two-way communication and continuous feedback on an individual basis. The “4x1” formula works best — if you give four pieces of positive feedback, people will be okay with a criticism. They look forward to changes on a regular basis and are comfortable with researching and implementing new technology and the latest tools and equipment. This generation and the subsequent generations more so, are masters at multitasking. As Robinson explains, they grew up in colourful surroundings with audio, visual and interactive stimulation of all kinds. It follows that they have developed the capacity to concentrate on several tasks at a time. They don’t mean any disrespect when they text a co-worker for information, take www.canadiancattlemen.ca
notes on a laptop, or research the web while participating in a conversation.
Generation Y works and lives in the same frame Generation Y shares a lot of common ground with generation X and generation Why, but the defining characteristic of generation Y employees is their mobility in the workforce. Robinson says they expect to move in and out of the workplace regularly. In fact, moving out is as important as moving up. Seniority and loyalty to an employer isn’t their nature. They will change jobs as often as possible to gain broad work experiences and expect to be appreciated for their knowledge and diverse experience.
“Each generation brings a new way of thinking and new approaches to problem solving, technology and getting the work done.” To understand this mindset and other motivators, Robinson takes a look back on their childhood years. They were encouraged to be creative individuals, express their opinions, try as many activities as they wanted — they travelled, competed and represented their schools and their communities. They grew up in the era of “fair play” and “equal time” believing in teamwork and gaining a sense of accomplishment from their contributions to the team. They were praised for everything every step of the way. As adults, they expect the same from the workplace. Lots of positive feedback and teamwork are among the best motivators. Work has to be fun every day, she adds. They understand the importance of efficiency, effectiveness and economy, but they want it balanced with enthusiasm, enjoyment and positive energy. They won’t stay around long if there is a lot of stress and conflict. They have opinions and ideas and expect others to be interested, though they don’t necessarily expect agreement. What they really want is discus-
sion to gain a better understanding of the task and be involved in how to get it done. Their direct communication style and approach to work can be taken out of context by older generations who sometimes feel their ideas lack consideration and their work ethic is short on the ability to be self-directed or to stay focussed. Some simply call it “attitude.” Generation Y likes and expects change, technology for communication and task management, job flexibility, job sharing, collaborative work, continuing education, travel opportunities and to be acknowledged for community and volunteer work. They are very family orientated, believing that work and family and social life should complement each other. They search for family-friendly, flexible workplaces that support their values and look for ways to include family and social activities in the workplace. They expect flex time to attend family events, end the workday on time and take their holidays in full — and may even ask for more.
Generation Why wonders how to make work and living fit together Get used to answering a lot of questions because Robinson says this generation doesn’t just ask “why”; they ask “why not?”, “why me?”, and even “why now?”. They don’t “work for” people, but think of it more as “working with” people and wholeheartedly believe that decisions should be made through interaction and teamwork. Their focus is on working together today, much more than on long-term expectations. They like workplaces where fun is encouraged and participation is expected. Their turnoffs are unapproachable bosses, too much emphasis on stifling traditions, and ever-serious atmospheres. Policies are seen as guidelines, not rigid rules. Change is a big motivator. They are more comfortable with technology than any other generation and appreciate workplaces that stay updated with technology and tools for working effectively and efficiently. For more information about managing workplace and family relationships in agriculture, or to book a consultation or workshop, visit www.robcan. C ca, or call 780-467-4112. — Debbie Furber Cattlemen / january 2013 9
forage
CROP COCKTAILS AND FOOD WEBS
C
rop cocktails are non-traditional mixes of annuals — usually warm- and cool-season species with different types of root systems and plant structures — grown for grazing, cover crops and to improve soil health. It’s easy to see that cows really go for the cocktails, but how do the soil-building organisms beneath the surface respond? Fred Wernicke, a beef and grain producer from the Blumenort area in southwestern Saskatchewan, started growing crop cocktails eight years ago to extend his grazing season. He says growing diverse mixtures to improve soil health makes a lot of sense to him. A crop cocktail to cows and soil organisms is like a good three-course meal to a healthy person. If a person eats just one food day in and day out, his health will eventually fail. Producers often observe improvements in soil texture, organic matter, fertility, water retention and yields of subsequent crops on land that has grown a crop cocktail treatment. Wernicke says there’s a lot to learn. It also take some patience. Only time will tell how well it works on his place because the location of his crop cocktail pastures change each year to fit in with his grazing plan so they are easy to access from a permanent pasture. He recently attended a microscope workshop at the Soil Food Web Lab of Vulcan, Alta. to learn more about soil microbiology and co-operated on an ADOPT demonstration trial with the Saskatchewan Forage Council (SFC) to learn more about how crop cocktails impact the health of his soil. Soil samples were taken in 2011 and 2012 to record changes in the nutrient and microbiology profile from one year to the next. Soil microbiology is a relatively old science that has regained some popularity among farmers in recent years as better tools have become available to measure soil health. A soil food web analysis is one of those, says Nancy Lee, Soil Food Web Lab technician. The lab uses various stains that react with cell walls or enzymes produced by soil microorganisms so they can be counted under a microscope. The organisms of interest in a basic analysis that costs $120 per sample are bacteria and fungi. A total analysis includes nematodes and protozoa (flagellates, amoebae, ciliates) for $260. All of these organisms work in sync to form a bridge of sorts between soil nutrients and plant roots that supports and protects the roots from disease and stress. Nematodes feed mainly on fungi while protozoa feed mainly on bacteria, Lee explains. They consume far more than required for their own functioning and exude extra-cellular enzymes that solubilize organic forms of nitrogen (nitrate and ammonia), phosphorus and sulphur, turning them into the inorganic forms plants can use. All of these microorganisms need to be in balance and active for soil to function at peak capacity. Grassland soils tend to be skewed in favour of bacteria because the available food tends to be higher in sugar content. Woodland soils support the growth of fungi.
10 Cattlemen / January 2013
Among other things Wernicke’s mix contained buckwheat (above) and tillage radish (below).
Perfectly balanced soil would have an active fungi-to-active bacteria ratio of 1:1, but Lee says each type of crop seems to have a range that improves yields. For cereals, a ratio anywhere from 0.5 to 2.0 is ideal. That said, the ratio is still more climatedependent than crop-dependent. A food web analysis will indicate whether fungal food or bacterial food is required. Common fungal food options include humic acid, soybean meal, oat meal, and barley meal. Simply returning or adding high-carbon material such as straw to the land will improve the fungal food supply. Bacterial foods are simple carbohydrates and sugars, preferably with a bit of protein. Some farmers make a solution of water and molasses or white sugar to spray on the land. Both active and inactive bacteria and fungi are included in the total counts. The inactive microorganisms are those that have recently died or are in a resting phase, which is how they survive the winter, Lee says. Once the soil temperaContinued on page 12 www.canadiancattlemen.ca
M.C. Quantock Bull Sale 425 “Canada’s Bulls”
Complete Catalogue, photos and video on our Website:
www.mcquantock.com
Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 12 noon MST Exhibition Grounds, Lloydminster, AB/SK
BULLS
* Red Angus Bulls
We sell and deliver for free, hundreds of bulls all across canada. Here's what our customers say...
* Black Angus Bulls
"Hey Mac, just letting you know that I totally loved the substitute bull you bought for me. Thanks for picking him out for me and catching the issues with the other bull. It is nice to know I can trust that any bull that comes from you is ready to work. Even being a small producer, you treated me like I was important to you. Thanks" — S. Goldie SK.
* Super Baldie Bulls * Black Super Baldie Bulls * Dehorned Hereford Bulls * H-2 Bulls
All cattle in heated facility! * Super Guppie Bulls Free Beef Lunch 11 a.m. * Charolais Bulls
"The sight unseen purchase program you offer, coupled with rock solid reputations unquestioned convenience and a large battery of quality affordable sale bulls has again made bull buying from your ranch a pleasure.. Thank again." — J. Comrie MB. "Our ranch has been using M.C. Quantock Livestock bulls for over 10 years. We presently have over 50 Red Angus, Super Baldies and Black Super Baldies in our pen. We have had great success calving from April 5 to May 20. Our Black Baldie calves sold September 16 at Dawson Creek averaging 400 lbs. at $2 per lb. We could have sold more if we had them. Thanks Mac and family, your great line of bulls makes a difference in our herd." — N. Cambell and Sons, AB. "Pleased with the RA bulls, good shape when they arrived and at the end of a dry summer in MB. remained in good condition" — K. & G. Archibald MB. "The bulls always do good and any problems I've had were solved immediately. Bull loaned free of charge. Keep up the great service. Thanks." — J. Sykes MB. "Excellent service the only place we buy our bulls. Small birth weight calves excellent growth. Our calves are weaning steadily heavier in the last 5 years, replacement heifers, better genetics." — D. & G. Lyons AB. "Calves from the Red Angus cows we bought in your cow sale weighed 40 pounds more and brought $90 more per head adjusted for age." — G. Froese ON. "The Bulls, the sale, the service is second to none. Buying from M.C. Quantock for the past three years has been a hugh stepping stone for the ranch. It is always a pleasure to deal with you." — J.V. Ranch, MB.
... 9,700 Bulls... 44 Sales... Let the good times "Roar"... There is still time. Call Mac today... 1-800-561-BULL (2855) email: mcquantock@hotmail.com
Continued from page 10
Grazing non-traditional annual forage mixes project
ture is consistently above 5 to 10 C, you’ll see a flush of active bacteria and fungi because of the plentiful food supply provided by microorganisms that didn’t survive. The opposite happens in the fall as food sources dwindle. A dry fall that slowly cools and freezes the soil favours survival because it gives the microorganisms time to gear down to a resting phase. During a wet fall, microorganisms can remain active and if freeze up hits quickly, they freeze with the soil and die. Lee says the main thing to remember is that the number of soil microorganisms fluctuate from season to season and year to year depending on the amount of food, moisture and temperature available. Warm, moist soil is ideal. In cold, wet soil and hot, dry soil the organisms are unable to function as farmers want them to — turning over residue and solubilizing nutrients. They will be okay when it’s hot, as long as they have moisture so they are able to balance their activity, however, a lot of the enzymes they produce are heat sensitive. This is why it’s so important to wait until the soil warms before you take soil samples in the first year. Note soil and weather conditions so you can gather subsequent samples under the same conditions every year. One-inch diameter cores from the top three inches of soil across the field should be mixed to get a representative sample. Some farmers test once or twice a year when they are trying to identify trends or issues. A good start is to sample once every rotation (third or fourth year) to evaluate whether your rotation is building soil health, Lee suggests. The lab also offers basic and total water-soluble chemistry analyses to measure nutrients including calcium, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, nitrogen as nitrate, sulphur and others. A basic chemical analysis costs $50, or you can get a basic biology and chemical analysis for $160. Lee says the lab fields a lot of questions from farmers looking to interpret test results. She also offers microscope courses at the lab or classes sponsored by community groups for those interested in doing their own analyses, and learning more about soil biology. Visit www.soilfoodweb.ca or call 403-485-6981 for complete details.
Wernicke’s demonstration site was comprised of 40 acres sown to a nontraditional annual forage mix and a field of wheat as the traditional annual forage to get a comparison of their production, economics and effect on soil biology. Two of the 40 acres was sown to a mix designed by Kevin Elmy of Friendly Acres Seed Farm near Saltcoats, Sask. It included golden german millet, purple-top turnip, forage rape, pasja (a turnip-radish hybrid), sunflower and hairy vetch. The rest was sown to Wernicke's own mix that included pea, lentil, sunflower, tame buckwheat, purple-top turnip, radish, corn, millet and hairy vetch. Wernicke’s top tip for crop cockatils is to decide what you want to seed welll ahead of time. Some seed can be hard to find when seeding time comes around. The wheat was sown on May 20, but the mix on July 5, which was later than intended, mainly because of seed availability and wet conditions. Both sites were treated with glyphosate before seeding, and the wheat was sprayed with an in-crop herbicide. SFC project co-ordinator Leanne Thompson noted an interesting change in the protozoa counts between July 4, 2011, and July 4, 2012. The flagellate count dropped from 5,062 to 467 on the wheat land, compared to an increase from 3,113 to 6,471 on the forage mix. The numbers of amoebae, ciliates and nematodes increased year over year on both fields. Without any commercial fertilizer, plant-available nitrogen on the forage acres increased from less than 25 pounds per acre in 2011, to 100 to150 pounds per acre in 2012. However, the mix acres did receive the benefit of manure and urine left behind by the 40 pairs that grazed the field for 12 days in September. Plant-available nitrogen on the wheat acres, which did receive commercial fertilizer, increased by a similar proportion, but the land didn’t receive the grazing benefit because Wernicke chose to let it grow to maturity for combining. Forage samples taken August 30, showed the dry-matter (DM) yield of the demonstration mix to be 1,298 pounds per acre and Wernicke’s mix yielded 3,511 pounds per acre. The two
12 Cattlemen / January 2013
mixes were grazed as one and produced 0.6 animal units per month per acre. Feed tests results on a DM basis showed that Wernicke’s mix was 14 per cent protein, 67 per cent acid detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and 67 per cent total digestible nutrients (TDN). The ADF and NDF of the Elmy's mix were lower, at 31 per cent and 51 per cent respectively, to provide comparable TDN with a protein content of 10 per cent. Thompson reports similar trends in soil microbiology were found at a second ADPOT project site with cooperator Daren Young near Bredenbury in east-central Saskatchewan. Elmy’s custom mix included crown millet, purple-top turnip, forage rape, pasja, sunflower, hairy vetch, radish, soybean, sorghum sudan and golden german millet. Baler oats was the traditional forage for comparison. Counts for all organisms on both plots increased year over year as did the level of plant-available nitrogen. Neither crop was fertilized, but once again, the cereal control wasn’t grazed because the sheep wouldn’t stay in the tall oat crop, presumably due to anxiety related to not being able to detect predators, however, they happily grazed the forage mix for 19 days starting in late August. The yields in DM pounds per acre were 2,267 for the mix and 5,601 for the oat crop. The seed cost for the mix was $31 per acre, which was twice as much as the traditional forages. Total peracre input costs including fertilizer and herbicides worked out to $64 for the wheat, $36 for the mix and $34 for the oat crop. The report concludes that even though non-traditional mixture yields may not be competitive with those of traditional cereal forage crops for producers looking for high-yielding options, non-traditional forage mixes seem to fit the bill if you want actively growing, green forages for grazing late in the season when most common forages have gone dormant. More than two years of monitoring is also necessary to properly identify soil health trends as well as production and economic benefits, or drawbacks as the case may be, of growing non-traditional annual mixes for grazing. The project report is available at www.saskforage.ca or by calling 306969-2666. C — Debbie Furber www.canadiancattlemen.ca
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FORAGES
CREATING THE PERFECT COCKTAIL MIX … plan ahead and know your goals
A
s the popularity of crop cocktails continues to grow, so too does the variety of species available to include in these diverse mixtures. The first step in deciding on the species you want to include is to know your goal, says Kevin Elmy of Friendly Acres Seed Farm, near Saltcoats, Sask. Many producers grow mixes for grazing, but others are more interested in soil building, nitrogen building or diversity to break insect and disease cycles. Location, including soil type and time of seeding, is the first thing he takes into consideration when working with producers to create crop cocktails suited to their goals. The mix should be predominantly cool-season (longseason) annuals for seeding, around June 1, when soil moisture conditions are generally decent and the nights are still cool. If seeding is delayed into the middle of the month or later, consider switching to predominantly warm-season (short-maturing) species. “My rule of thumb is to rely on lots of species grown locally that provide diversity in rooting depth and active growth stages,” Elmy explains. He puts tillage radish into most mixtures because of its deep root structure. Pasja, a hybrid brassica cross between radish and turnip, eliminates the potential choking hazard associated with turnip. 14 CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013
Tame buckwheat, pea, lentil, soybean (tofu or natto varieties), and sunflower are other reliable choices. Sunflower may not be as palatable to cattle as other choices, but the crop tolerates drought and the standing stalks are great for trapping snow. Hairy vetch is valued as a legume in mixes, however, it does pose a concern in cropping systems because of its persistence, which can be an advantage in grazing scenarios. Crimson clover, a new annual clover, is an alternative legume without persistence issues.
Select species that fit in with your rotation and weed control. In-crop weed control options are limited to nil for cocktails In the grassy category, millets, annual ryegrass, sorghum sudan, triticale, conventional corn, winter wheat, fall rye, winter triticale and oat (which Elmy prefers over barley) are viable options in Western Canada. Most species are readily available, but like anything, better planning means better execution, he says.
Shortages of some species, such as tillage radish, could occur by April or May due to rapid uptake in the use of cover crops in the U.S. because of their benefits, continuing drought and legislation. You’ll also need to select species that fit in with your rotation and weed control. In-crop weed control options are limited to nil for crop cocktails that include grassy and broadleaf species. If the crop following the cocktail is an oilseed, Elmy suggests staying away from oilseeds in the mix to avoid volunteers the following year. Likewise, if the subsequent crop will be a cereal, you might want to move away from grassy species. Weed control in annual forage mixes is another concern, he adds. Weeds have to be controlled before seeding or crop emergence. A diverse stand with five to seven species that provides a good canopy will outcompete weeds that emerge later on. Tillage radish is great for weed control because the tops grow up to a foot high and occupy areas of the canopy that other plants don’t reach, discouraging weed growth. Even though weeds add to the diversity of a stand, you don’t want a flush of them in your next crop, so they need to be controlled by grazing or swathing before seed set. The carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N) www.canadiancattlemen.ca
of the mix is another consideration if your goal is to leave a lot of residue behind to build up the organic matter and nitrogen. A mix that leaves a residue high in carbon and low in nitrogen will decompose and release nitrogen at a slower rate than one with a tight C:N ratio. Remember, nitrogen is always used up in the initial decomposition, so a residue with a tight C:N ratio that decomposes quickly can tie up soil nitrogen to start with and may compete with a crop’s requirements. Elmy says fertility pretty much takes care of itself if you have lots of microbial activity in the soil and a balanced mix that creates diversity above and below ground. The optimum seed density depends on your goals, soil type and growing conditions. He recommends a wheat or barley seeding rate as a guideline. Generally, 20 to 25 seeds per square foot is adequate to meet most people’s goals. Most mixes flow through a seed drill easily because the bulk densities of the species are similar. The exception is sunflower seeds, which can sift to
the top, but there are ways of handling that. Many producers direct seed their mix into standing stubble, while others prefer to till first and then broadcast the seed. Relay cropping works well to get two crops in a growing season. Winter triticale is sown in the fall then around May 1 a mixture of annuals is broadcast across the stand. The triticale is taken for greenfeed or silage leaving a fresh annual forage crop for later grazing. Grazing pressure depends on your goal, as well. A mix sown around June 1 should be ready to graze within a month to six weeks. If the goal is to get two or three grazings during the season, try to leave a third behind to promote vigorous regrowth. If the main purpose of the mix is to provide ground cover to protect the soil, you’ll want to leave some behind, but the amount isn’t as critical. On the other hand, if your goal is to use up excess soil moisture in preparation for the next crop, then graze it right down. In 2011, Elmy wasn’t able
to get onto a field until July, and sowed it to a mix of annual forages. In 2012, another wet year, the canola yield from that field was almost 40 bushels per acre with a seed-placed blend of 7-3030 nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. He feels this was partly because the roots weren’t struggling in waterlogged soil and partly because of improved microbial activity. “Another rotation that works great is to go with two years of an annual forage mix, then flip it into corn,” he says. “This really gets the soil microbes firing and reduces the need for commercial fertilizer.” Whether you call them crop cocktails, cover crops, or non-traditional forage mixes, Elmy sees time and time again on his own farm and customers’ farms that this practice helps reduce risk by reducing input costs for commercial fertilizer, insecticides, and fungicides. For more information, contact Kevin Elmy, Friendly Acres Seed Farm, 306-744-2332. C — Debbie Furber
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CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013 15
ECONOMICS
CASHENOMICS
T
his is an interesting time in the cattle business and it seems we are poised to have a great run over the next few years. It is certainly a more invigorating place to be than where we were about 10 years ago as we missed an entire “up” in the cattle cycle. This has led to a lot of economic-type predictions and even at our place the math looks pretty rosy, albeit maybe riskier than it would have seemed a couple of cycles ago. Economics is the science of supply and demand and should be a good chunk of the basis for responsible Year
Cash costs Operating
Non-cash cost Depreciation
business decision-making. Objectively assessing the economics of a situation helps to determine if it is a good investment or not. This is where we run into words like “opportunity cost” and assessing the available options. That is step one in decision-making, and it is where we tend to get excited about things leading to sometimes rash decisions. As I said before, we are at an exciting point in our industry. Once an opportunity is identified and we decide to pursue it, we move somewhat out of the realm of economics and into finance and cash flow. A key statement that stuck with me from Income
Return
Free cash
1
500
100
750
150
250
2
500
100
750
150
250
3
500
100
750
150
250
4
500
100
750
150
250
5
500
100
750
150
250
Year
Cash costs
Non-cash cost
a life-changing business course I took a few years ago is the statement “cash is king.” Having spent some key portions of my life without a lot of cash makes that statement easy to appreciate. One of the interesting things I learned in that same course is the definition of bankruptcy. Bankruptcy does not mean you do not have any assets or net worth, it means you run out of cash to pay the bills. Does that sound like a real-life farm/ranch to you? This is where economics meets reality. What may be a good economic opportunity may not be a financially feasible one. Let’s put this in perspective with an example. Bred heifers currently present a positive economic opportunity. Let’s use $1,500 as a price point (for easy math). We can expect based on predictions of an upcoming shortage of cattle, that those heifers will be profitable. We have done the economics, looked at the opportunity cost and decided to buy them, so this will be the end of the economics discussion. If we have the cash to buy them
Income
Return
Capital Payment
Free cash
100
750
105
300
-95
36
100
750
214
300
-86
27
100
750
223
300
-77
500
18
100
750
232
300
-68
500
9
100
750
241
300
-59
Operating
Interest
Depreciation
1
500
45
2
500
3
500
4 5
16 CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013
www.canadiancattlemen.ca
and they depreciate on average over five years, the cost per year becomes ($1,500 – salvage value)/5. Let’s say salvage is $1,000 (again for easy math). The depreciation is $100 per year, but it’s not a cash cost. The cost to raise a calf becomes this value, plus operating expenses. Let’s use $500 for an operating cost to feed/breed that female each year. Again this is for an easy figuring, rather than a statement on costs of production, which is a topic for hundreds of articles. The total average cost of a calf is thus $600. If you sell the calf for $750 you are making a $150 return, or 10 per cent on your $1,500 investment, and you are generating $250 of free cash flow (remember depreciation is not a cash cost). This looks a lot better than 0.25 per cent interest in a savings account (top table). When we don’t have a bunch of free cash sitting around we need to sharpen our pencils. As previously stated, the economics still look good. We buy the same heifers for $1,500 and finance them over five years at a low three per cent interest rate. Our costs are now $100 for depreciation, and $500 for operations, with an additional interest cost of $45 ($1,500 x 0.03). The math now shows a $105 return on our $1,500 investment, or seven per cent. Still better than that savings account, but it was actually our lender’s investment and for some reason those guys want their principle back. If we return that $1,500 over five years we have to come up with $300 in cash to pay down principle. This will drop our interest costs each year, but is still a demand on cash. Our $750 calf still generates a positive economic return, but a negative cash flow of $95 the first year, and then gets better each year following. At no point do we have the free cash floating around as the guy who bought the heifer with cash. At the end of the five years we would, on average, recover our salvage value and be in a very positive economic situation, but it quickly becomes apparent how we could run out of cash in the meantime, and how we need a plan (bottom table). For most of us this involves subsidizing cash to pay for replacements with already existing cows, but everyone is different. This is a simple example, but it is a good exercise to go through for your own operation. This is actually one of the key reasons why knowing your www.canadiancattlemen.ca
costs is key. Of course you will have different costs, market price points, interest rates, terms and amounts of cash to invest in this cycle. This example does serve to show the opportunities with reducing costs and improving production/marketing. For example, raising calf price to $800 and dropping operating costs to $450 would have a huge impact on economics and cash flow (adding $100 in cash per year).
I firmly believe the opportunity is out there for the taking right now, but I also believe it is key to be aware of the cash flow and financing implications for your own operation. C — Sean McGrath Sean is a producer and consulting geneticist from Vermilion, Alta. He can be reached through his website at www.roundrockranching.com.
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forage
HAYEAST: A HELPING HAND The HayEast campaign is a neighbourly response to crippling drought
O
rganizers and producers continue to be touched by the expressions of gratitude from hay recipients as HayEast 2012 picks up steam going into the new year. A string of recent events have given the initiative a real boost since last summer when David and Karri Wagman, who farm near Leader, Sask., and their daughter, Lacy Strutt, started trying to drum up support from politicians to send hay east after seeing and hearing first-hand about the impact of the drought during a trip to Ontario. The Wagmans were the fortunate recipients of hay from the East during the HayWest 2002 campaign and with an ample hay supply on hand they wanted to “pay it forward.” Lacy hit on a way to see it through when she heard Ike Epp with the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) on the radio talking about a hay drive being organized. The MDS Saskatchewan unit was collecting donations of hay
18 Cattlemen / January 2013
and money while its Ontario unit was organizing a system to receive and distribute the hay. MDS and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) officially launched the HayEast 2012 program in midSeptember with the assistance of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) and the Wild Rose Agricultural Producers (WRAP). The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, Quebec Farmers Association, National Farmers Union and Alberta 4-H Foundation are among the organizations that have become involved one way or another. MDS moved the first 30 bales from Saskatchewan to two farmers near Cobden, Ont., on October 9, but the program struggled as organizers tried to figure out how to get wheels under the donated hay at a reasonable cost. OFA general manager Neil Currie says they explored shipping by rail since that worked well in 2002, but rail freight rates have increased quite a
bit since then. Besides, boxcars are the only rolling stock available to transport bales today and they aren’t well suited to round bales. APAS communications manager Aj Thakker says HayEast didn’t really get moving until Bert Bloemendal of Bert’s Repair and Towing in Mount Bridges, Ont., was looking for a backhaul from the west. He picked up hay donated by Joel Miller, the mayor of Avonlea, Sask., and dropped it off at two farms in Haldimand Country on October 21. Bert has since become a dedicated advocate for the program, rallying the trucking industry to the cause. His daughter and office manager, Aimee Bloemendal, along with Titanium Logistics of Woodridge, Ont., have voluntarily taken on the role of co-ordinating transport logistics for any truckers with appropriate trailers looking for backhauls on a cost-recovery basis. Agrium kicked off the campaign Continued on page 20
www.canadiancattlemen.ca
Continued from page 18
to encourage corporate and business sponsorships with a $20,000 donation in late October and the federal and Ontario governments announced that they would match donations through February 2013. Charitable donation receipts are issued through the Alberta 4-H Foundation. “We started the first week of November and it has picked up every week since,” says Aimee. “It’s really a worthwhile program when we get notes from farmers about how the need for hay is affecting them and how appreciative they are about getting the hay.” Thakker says it’s quite overwhelming to see how many people, west and east, are working together to make HayEast a success. “Thirty bales on a truck may seem like a small thing, but it makes a big difference in a farmer’s life. We even have donaters who have been so moved by contact from the receivers that they want to donate more hay,” he says. He finds
this generosity even more notable given today’s strong market for hay. WRAP says the response is also picking up in Alberta, pretty much on par with Saskatchewan. Currie says a combination of weather events led to the dire hay shortage in Ontario. Hay fields and pastures that sprung to life with the summer-like weather in March were zapped hard by April frosts, severely affecting the first cut. Hopes for a second cut withered as dry conditions prevailed. By mid summer producers were already dipping into their hay reserves. On the plus side, late summer rains helped revive pastures and supply a bit of late-season grazing in some areas. HayEast has requests from more than 200 farms. To put it into perspective, Currie says they need about 70,000 round bales to fill the void compared to 50,000 during the HayWest 2002 campaign. Organizers are hoping to source 50,000 bales from the West and the rest from eastern regions. There’s a ways to go. The HayEast
booth at Agribition in November yielded 15 loads of hay along with options to purchase hay at reduced prices. By early December, approximately 5,000 round bales had been donated, almost all of which were in transit or had been delivered. Loads are now being matched to recipients up front to facilitate transportation. HayEast will continue for as long as the need exists. Before it is over Currie hopes to get through the list of requests at least once. One load of hay won’t be enough to get most herds through the winter, but it will buy some time to come up with other options. With hay going for 10 to 20 cents a pound, versus the usual three to five cents, some producers have already made the tough decision to sell down or sell off their herds. All the money donated is used to buy hay or pay for shipping. To find out more or make a donation, visit www.hayeast2012.ca, or call 1-855429(HAY)-2012. Donations are also being accepted at all Scotiabank branches across Canada.
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From our farm Farming in an area near the Great Sandhills of Saskatchewan, David and Karri Wagman consider themselves fortunate to have had three bountiful hay yields in recent years. Though their fourth-generation farm is on heavier land suited for cropping, the ever-present threat of drought convinced them to convert their land to forages and concentrate on their beef operation and farm-based butcher shop. With ample moisture this past spring, the last of their own fields were sown to forages although they still crop one quarter on shares. They clearly remember the dry years of the early 2000s and receiving a load of 36 square bales from HayWest 2002. Since then, they have made a practice of stockpiling at least three years of bales and, or silage and have purchased bales to prop up their reserves in years when their own hay crop is on the low side. They are just as likely to remember the day Dave Horst of Grandridge Carriers arrived at the farm to pick up 29 round bales on a back haul to Ontario after delivering farm equipment in the area. The recipient of their half load, Lori McRae Leach of Almonte, Ont., was quick to call the Wagmans and thank them for their generosity when the hay arrived on October 31. Most of the Wagmans’ tame forage is alfalfa with crested wheatgrass and, or bromegrass with some milkvetch mixed in recently to add some hardiness over time and stretch the fall grazing program. They also have some native pasture and rely on the community pasture for summer grazing. The Wagmans run a commercial herd of 150 purebred Angus cows, along with a few Highlands for customers who have a definite preference for Highland beef. While they do butcher a few of their own animals, custom cutting of wild game and domestic stock keeps them more than busy. He has made it a standing policy to have the customer lend a hand to ensure that the meat yield, cuts and packaging are as expected. They have also made a name for themselves processing sausages and raise hogs for that purpose. Sheep, llamas, and laying hens round out the barnyard menagerie. The Wagmans are set up with indoor facilities to calve starting mid February and have stuck with winter www.canadiancattlemen.ca
calving because they have developed a local market for commercial bulls that have to be ready for sale as yearlings. The market calves are now sold by private treaty to feedlots.
To yours Owning her own farm has been one of Lori McRae Leach’s goals since her 4-H days spent showing cattle at fairs with her parents. She realized that dream in 2006 with the purchase of 104 acres of pasture and hayland near Almonte, Ont. She has steadily built the cow herd up to 40 head, starting with Hereford cows purchased from her parents and using Simmental bulls. Now, she and her husband, Warren Leach, have purchased some Simmental cows and are branching out into the seedstock market with the purchase of a futurity fullblood Simmental heifer this year that took her back to the show ring. This was the year they thought they would finally have enough hay with an extra 50 acres rented from a friend, but their first cut of hay yielded about
two-thirds the usual tonnage and by the time July rolled around they were out of pasture and had to start dipping into it. August rainfall brought some relief and they were able to graze the herd through September, then it was back to feeding in October. The 14 big round bales, weighing about 1,550 pounds apiece, that they received from the Wagmans saw them through the entire month of November and into early December. The remaining 15 bales went to another farm in need. Each bale counts in determining whether they will be able to keep or sell cows, she says, because hay is really their only option for feeding the herd. Since they calve year-round and farmgate some of their beef, the majority of the calves had been sold before the worst of the drought hit and they were able to market most of their half-dozen cull cows as the summer progressed. A benefit dance and cake sale in Almonte raised approximately $15,000 for HayEast. C — Debbie Furber
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CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013 21
VET ADVICE
Taking the bite out of pasture bloat
L
egumes play a huge role in maintenance of dairy and beef herds. Managing the potential risk bloat presents has been a critical component of legume use. With its return to production in 2012 the product Alfasure provides an effective and economical option for utilizing forage crops like alfalfa to grow — perhaps finish — cattle on pasture. Winter provides the opportunity to plan the transition to more effective grazing habits. Tame and seeded pasture cover over 15 million acres of Western Canada and represent nearly $4 billion in direct and indirect economic value. Alfalfa, the most productive and versatile forage legume grown in Canada has the highest yield potential and feeding value of all perennial forage legumes. Until recently, grazing alfalfa came with a significant bloat risk that could reach losses of 10 per cent on lush pasture. Full Canadian approval of Alfasure and its availability through veterinary clinics without prescription presents a significant opportunity for cattle producers to recapture the benefits of grazing alfalfa. Alfasure changes the paradigm of safely managing cattle on pasture and taking advantage of gains that can exceed 1,000 pounds per acre. Typically, yearlings grazing quality grass gain approximately 1.5 pounds per head per day, while cattle grazing alfalfa (with Alfasure) gain 2.5 pounds per head per day. Grazing pure alfalfa stands has the potential to more than double net farm income generated from mixed grass-legume pasture. Establishing legumes is now a realistic, long-term goal of pasture improvement. It’s been said producers lose more money from fear of bloat than from bloat itself because it often keeps them from exploring the versatility of alfalfa for hay, silage and grazing. The environmental impact of incorporating legumes in grazing systems should not be discounted. Nitrogen fixation becomes an important process when legumes are part of the plant community. The deep root system of alfalfa prevents erosion and cattle grazing alfalfa produce less methane, an important contributor to greenhouse gases. Alfalfa is best grazed on a rotational basis. Doing so requires fields to be subdivided. Simple, low-cost electric fencing can be used. Rotational grazing management in many ways complements the use of bloat prevention products like Alfasure and the necessary dedicated water delivery systems. Improved observation associated with rotational grazing systems contributes to better cattlepasture management, overall.
Bloat Ruminants are unique in that they possess a huge fermentation vat containing a myriad of bacteria, fungi and protozoa capable of turning grass and legumes into digestible nutrients that become meat and milk. Gas is a byproduct of fermentation and must be expelled through eructation, or death-threatening bloat ensues. Field observations have led to varied and conflicting theories about the cause of bloat. Bloat occurs when
22 CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013
eructation (burping) is impaired. Because large volumes of gas are produced in the rumen, bloat develops very quickly. In legume bloat, foamy rumen content traps the gas, and mounting pressure interferes with breathing and circulation. Soluble proteins in rumen fluid produced by legume forages were traditionally thought to be the cause of the stable, slime-like foam that leads to bloat. Small, rapidly digested particles and the microbial activity they generate are contributing factors. Alfalfa is rapidly digested and creates bacterial blooms responsible for large quantities of both gas and slime. Episodes of bloat often occur unexpectedly, sometimes after cattle have been on a pasture for varying periods of time (days to weeks). Episodes of bloat after a problem-free period are disconcerting. Veterinarians can help establish a correct diagnosis. Animals found dead on pasture may be incorrectly diagnosed with bloat because the rumen invariably swells after death, regardless of why they died. Post-mortem signs of bloat are quite characteristic.
Anti-foaming agents The anti-foaming agent Alfasure very efficiently breaks down the stable foam that causes pasture bloat. A number of bloat-prevention feed additives and supplements have been tested over the last decade, but no approved product is presently as effective as Alfasure. The anti-foaming agent in Alfasure is poloxalene, a non-toxic, environmentally friendly surfactant that is highly effective in disrupting foam, releasing entrapped gas that can then be eructated normally. It is easily administered through water in a palatable, safe and environmentally friendly manner. Alfasure is supplied in 20-litre pails and comes with zero withdrawal. The dose for cattle under 1,000 pounds is six ml per head per day and 10 ml per head per day to cattle over 1,000 pounds. Treatment costs run from $.15 to $.25/head/day. The dosage may need to be increased under high-risk bloat conditions. Required adjustments should be discussed with a veterinarian. A single source of drinking water continually medicated with Alfasure ensures adequate daily intake of poloxalene. Alfasure can be incorporated either manually in a water tank, or provided through automatic medicators. Mixing instructions and water intake tables by weight of cattle are readily available in product literature and from veterinarians. In emergencies, poloxalene can also be used to treat frothy bloat in cattle using 30 ml of Alfasure mixed with 200 ml of water delivered by stomach tube or drench, or diluted 1:1 with water and injected directly into the rumen through a 14-gauge needle. 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
HEALTHY PEOPLE, HEALTHY LAND AND HEALTHY PROFITS!
WESTERN CANADIAN HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE February 12 & 13, 2013
George P. Buleziuk Centre and the Russell Inn | Russell, Manitoba
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS • Susie Oberdahlhoff - Kids, Crops, Cows and Sows - Life Happens • Troy Stozek and Jo-Lene Gardiner The Harvest Moon Society • Gary Martens - The Movement of Holistic Management to Young People • Pierrette Desrosiers - LIFE BALANCE
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grazing
Valuing Pasture Yields
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orage is the largest crop we have in North America, yet most people do not know how to value it. It is a difficult value to try to calculate because most of the forage in not bought and sold. Most is consumed right on the farm. When a pasture is grazed, whether you own the cows or not, you should calculate the yield to determine your profitability. Grazing is its own profit centre and needs to be treated like one. A margin needs to be calculated on each pasture to determine its profitability. But we need a yield measurement. That’s why we have Animal Days per Acre or ADAs. The last of the animals left Greener Pastures a couple of weeks ago. We had a good year with lots of rainfall, but how do we know that we had a good year? Did we make any money? It is that time of the year for me to finish up my pasture records and calculate out each of my grazing charts. A grazing chart is a complicated look24 Cattlemen / January 2013
ing spreadsheet that is really easy to use once you understand how to fill it in. It allows you to figure out what each paddock produced in animal days per acre (ADA) and then translate that into the universal language of dollars per acre. ADA is a measurement of how much forage is consumed from each pasture. The animal value needs to be adjusted depending on what class and size of livestock are grazing. The calculation allows us to compensate for this. We record the ADA value of the herd and amount of time the herd spends on each paddock throughout the entire grazing season. We can then add up each area and determine our overall yield in ADA and in $/acre. We can then take these numbers and use them in our gross margin calculations to determine our profitability for each pasture. We take our gross revenue (the big number) and subtract our costs (the little number) to determine our margin. If of course the big
number is bigger than the little number, you have a positive gross margin. If it is not, what are you doing? I have seen this first-hand, on more than one occasion, that a farm rents a piece of pasture that turns out to be a negative margin. Most of the time, they do not even realize it. Let’s run through a sample gross margin. The gross product is the amount of the grass grown in one season and we value it as if you are a custom grazer. Use the market value of custom grazing in your area. Let’s say we rent a pasture and grazed for 120 days with 80 yearlings at a rate of $0.75/head/day. Our gross product is $7,200 or about $45 per acre on a 160acre pasture. There is our big number. The costs include any and all costs related to the grazing profit centre. These could include but are not limited to rent (or opportunity rent if you own it), water system costs, fencing costs, spring setup labour and grazing labour. Don’t forget your labour www.canadiancattlemen.ca
and equipment costs! If we add up our water, fencing and labour we might get a number like $25 per acre for the entire summer. This cost tends to be higher per acre on small pastures. I have seen farms where this cost is way higher than this! Let’s forget about the water system and fencing costs and simply look at labour for this example. We need to ask ourselves a few questions first. How far away is the pasture? How many trips do we take down to check it? How much labour is required to get the pasture ready in the spring and to monitor it all summer? Let’s say the pasture is a half hour away. We will go down once a week to check it. (It is obvious we have never read any of my articles before because we are not using intensive cell-grazing practices here, are we?) It will take us approximately 1.5 hours every time we check the pasture, once a week for 120 days. That means we will take approximately 17 trips to the pasture or 25.5 hours of labour. We should also add in a day of labour to check fence in the spring and a day to round up and ship
out in the fall. Add 16 hours, which
Grazing is its own profit centre and needs to be treated like one. A margin needs to be calculated on each pasture makes it 41.5 hours of labour but at what rate? What do you charge for your labour and a piece of equipment? Any good help in my area needs $20 per hour. Plus we need to use some type of equipment to travel in. A minimum hourly rate on a quad or a pickup would be at least $30 per hour, if you ask me. That would make our hourly rate at $50 per hour. So 41.5 X $50 = $2,075 which works out to approximately $13 per acre. For this example, let’s use rent at $30 per acre because that is what the neighbour would pay for it. Market value is whatever that
type of land would rent for in your area. This means our direct costs are $43 per acre. (Our little number) Your margin is the difference at $2 per acre. Is that worthwhile for you? Not for me. I want a gross margin ratio of at least 50 per cent. That means the gross margin needs to be 50 per cent of the gross product (GM/GP=0.5 or greater). This means that I have a margin large enough to contribute towards covering my business overhead costs. I need to make a profit. I guess that is why I practice rotational grazing and take care of my pastures. I have some land producing over $200 per acre with a gross margin ratio over 70 per cent. A healthy pasture is a profitable pasture. I guess it is your choice as the manager. Use your numbers and see how you fair. This is just one example. C — Steve Kenyon Steve Kenyon runs Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd. in Busby, Alta., www.greenerpasturesranching.com, 780-307-6500, email skenyon@greenerpasturesranching.com.
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Cattlemen / January 2013 25
HOLISTIC RANCHING
The value of a drought plan
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ike any other major challenge drought is best planned for ahead of time. Rational decisions are easier to make before a challenge arrives as opposed to making decisions in the heat of the moment. Since drought is fairly common and can occur at any time it is wise to have a plan and to be prepared. Part of the reason that drought can be so serious is that it impacts all aspects of an operation. Less growth is the first and most obvious one. This in turn leads to financial pressure. The reduced growth and the financial pressure can have a huge impact on the people. I can remember my mother talking about her family being forced out of southern Saskatchewan in the ’30s and relocated to Meadow Lake where I still live. Her comment was, “drought dries the people out.” Drought is also an excellent example of holistic thinking where we often say that “everything affects everything.” I think there is a high probability that we will experience drought conditions in Western Canada in the near future. How widespread or how severe it may be is not predictable. Ontario, Quebec and parts of Manitoba experienced drought in 2012. It is almost certain that some people will experience drought again in 2013. Have you thought about this possibility? Are you prepared for a drought? Would it be beneficial to have a drought plan for your farm or ranch? Are there steps that can be taken to lessen the impact of drought? There is no question that drought creates a good deal of worry and concern. How we deal with that to a degree depends on what we mean by these terms. I define worry as feeling anxious, nervous and restless over something I cannot control. Concern is being aware that negative things can happen and taking whatever positive action is needed to improve the outcome. Using these definitions I would suggest worrying is an absolute waste of time. You can be sure it won’t improve your situation or increase your rainfall one iota. Being concerned and taking positive actions, on the other hand, can have huge benefits. The best time to prepare for a drought is when conditions are good. The rainfall we receive is set but the benefit we receive from a given amount of rain is variable. If there is no rain there is nothing we can do. If we have even a small amount (which is usually the case) our management can magnify the benefits greatly. So often when we talk about drought it isn’t really a lack of rain but a poor water cycle that is causing the problem. When we improve the water cycle on our land we increase the benefit of any rain that we receive. An effective water cycle makes us less dependent on total rainfall and less dependent on timely rains. The first and most important requirement to having
26 CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013
a healthy water cycle is coverage of the bare ground. There are two ways to do this. One is to winter feed on the land. The residual (not waste) that remains will help cover the surface so it only seems logical to feed on the land every year. Remember, cattle can be used as a tool to improve the land. They can’t do this if they aren’t on the land. The other way to cover the bare ground is to grow more grass than you need. The surplus grass can be trampled down to cover the soil. This is something that is only possible in years of good growth. When you have good growing conditions don’t feel you need to harvest it all. Good years are your only opportunity to improve your land. Points to consider when dealing with drought: 1. Take care of yourself and your family. There is no doubt that drought can have a devastating effect on people. We need to be aware of this and have a plan. It is vital to maintain your physical, social, mental and spiritual health. 2. Maintain a positive attitude. Every drought that has ever occurred has ended with rain. This will be true for all future droughts as well. Every morning you can be sure that you are one day closer to a rain. 3. Associate with positive like-minded people. 4. Use a conservative stocking rate. This will vary depending on your area and your individual farm. Set your stocking rate for an average or a poor year. 5. Consider moving to a cow, long-yearling operation. Yearlings and dry cows are easily sold at any time. This flexibility will free up grass for your cows when conditions are difficult. 6. In times of drought combine your herds. The fewer herds you have the easier it will be to increase your recovery. 7. In times of drought increase your recovery. In dry years plants grow slowly and require more time to achieve full recovery. 8. Decide if you want to use supplemental feed. If you choose to go that route, do it early to help increase the recovery rate on your pastures. 9. Destock partially or totally. Selling some animals early may allow you to maintain the remainder of the herd. 10. Set a firm date for implementing the steps in your plan. Drought is a possibility for all of us. Having a plan will help us lessen the negative impact. Remember life isn’t happening to you. You can create the future you desire. Life’s challenges are not meant to break us but to make us. I hope you have adequate rain in 2013. I encourage you to use the good years to prepare for future challenging years. Happy trails. — Don Campbell Don Campbell ranches with his family at Meadow Lake, Sask., and teaches Holistic Management courses. He can be reached at 306-236-6088 or doncampbell@sasktel.net.
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management
Formalize Farm Partnerships and Retire Richer
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lot of farm partnerships aren’t formalized and are simply a way to take advantage of opportunities such as income splitting between spouses. Although these arrangements are recognized generally as legitimate for tax purposes, when it comes to succession, retirement or estate transfers a formal partnership agreement gives more flexibility and some important tax saving options. “Parents have the option to transfer their equity in a family farm partnership to the next generation tax free to the parents, says Merle Good, provincial tax specialist for Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, who recently shared some tips and advice to cattle producers about farm partnerships at the Manitoba Rancher’s Forum in Brandon. “If you don’t get along everyone knows exactly what their partnership position is and a formal buyout agreement can be figured out in advance. Formal partnerships allow families to sit down and say, what are the rules? If someone dies how are we going to keep going? If there’s a divorce how are we going to deal with that?” Partnerships need to have been in existence for at least two years in order to qualify for the $750,000 capital gains exemption and take advantage of the tax and succession planning strategies that Good discussed with producers in Brandon. “A partnership consists of assets and liabilities within the partnership. So if you have a true partnership it owns the cows, the buildings and the inventory and you own a piece of paper called the partnership interest,” says Good. “But that piece of paper is like a corporate share and you can convert a partnership and its assets into tax-free income because it is eligible for the capital gains exemption (CGE).” A lot of farm families never use
28 Cattlemen / January 2013
their CGE because they don’t dispose of their major assets until after their death. Partnerships give the partners involved the option to take advantage of their one-time CGE, which is $750,000 for each individual, whether they plan to retire and sell off the farm, or transition it to the next generation. In one example Good presented a scenario where a couple have a partnership and a son who wants to farm. In order to bring the son in they create a partnership freeze, which basically represents a point in time when it is determined who owns what. The parents’ equity (all the operational inventory, equipment and buildings which they own) is converted into Class B units that represent the dollar value of this equity. The son will be issued Class A units, which will amass their value from the future growth of the farm. Land may be owned by a partnership or will still be owned personally by the parents. This distinction is very important to understand as land cannot be registered in a partnership name but can still be owned by a partnership for income tax purposes. “Mom and Dad freeze their units and the son comes and works with them and they say you can have either part of the growth or all of the growth,” says Good. “If you give them all the growth it’s not a big issue because the land is still in your name. But what this does is allows the second generation to say as we grow the partnership value, or as we pay off the debt inside the partnership, that portion of the equity goes to us.” If at some point Mom and Dad decide to sell their partnership interest to the son they can also recoup the maximum investment that they have put in over their farming careers, because that partnership interest is eligible for the CGE and the son can pay them back gradually and they receive the money tax free.
Merle Good “If an older couple wants to retire and wants to get $30,000 a year for example out of the sale of the cows and equipment to their son, they would have to pay personal income tax on that money,” says Good. “Doing it through a partnership the son can pay $30,000 a year to gradually buy out Mom and Dad’s interest in the partnership and they get that money tax free, so it’s the best of both worlds. It works well for cow-calf guys because most of their value, other than the land, is in the cows and they would pay tax on them if they sold them personally.” A second example uses a partnership and a corporation to reduce the amount of tax payable. Mom and Dad want to retire and recoup their investment in the farm, leaving their kids to take over. A separate farm corporation is set up in which the farm family has shares and to which Mom and Dad sell their partnership interest, in other words the operational assets of the farm like inventory and equipment. The company then pays tax on the income earned in the partnership at corporate tax rates, the highest of which in Manitoba is 11 per cent. This compares with a top rate of personal income tax of 46 per cent on any income over $50,000, which would be applicable if the assets were personally owned and sold. In essence Mom and Dad now become the bankers for the company, which owes them the dollar value of the partnership interest sold to the company as a shareholder loan, for www.canadiancattlemen.ca
which they can claim their CGE. This value can be paid back to them by the company tax free either in one lump sum or gradually over time. Similarly if Mom and Dad had no kids wanting to take over the farm they could sell their partnership interest to their corporation and the proceeds could be paid back over time in the same way. “If they sell off $600,000 worth of cows and machinery they can sell their partnership interest to their company for $600,000 and the corporation pays 11 per cent tax on the taxable income when the assets are sold within the corporation. The company now owes them $600,000 in shareholder loans and they will pay no personal income tax on that amount as it is repaid to them. So they have exited the business at an 11 per cent tax rate instead of a 46 per cent tax rate,” says Good. Corporations can have agreements between the shareholders that decide what rules will apply to dispersal of assets and division of equity etc., but Good still recommends that land
www.canadiancattlemen.ca
remain outside of the corporation and be privately owned. “When we form corporations in farming I suggest that we roll over the operations, equipment, inventory, assets etc. but we leave out the sacred land,” says Good. “Sacred land is the land that has been in the family for 10, 20, 50 years; the land
On succession the one sacred rule is that Mom and Dad are dying with some land you want to keep and protect for the benefit of those who accumulated it or have been farming it.” Owning the land personally also gives more flexibility for both succession and estate planning, especially when there are non-farming kids involved. “When you form a business with the next generation, that has to be separate from your personal
wealth,” says Good. “If you want to leave some of your equity to a child who is not actively in the business that’s your choice but you don’t want it inside the business that the next generation is working hard at to pay their bills and pay for your retirement. The farming kids cannot afford to recapitalize their business to pay off nonfarming siblings.” But probably the biggest reason to maintain some land is security. “When I advise families on succession the one sacred rule that I tell the next generation is Mom and Dad are dying with some land,” says Good. “The second generation is never going to inherit all of the land in Mom and Dad’s lifetime because they need to have some security and family farmland can always be transferred tax free upon death to a family member. So don’t pine for every acre.” Land that is being purchased now however, probably needs to be bought by the company as it has the cash going forward. C — Angela Lovell
Cattlemen / January 2013 29
welfare
AFAC UNVEILS FIVE MORE EMERGENCY LIVESTOCK UNITS IN ALBERTA The province now has eight units available when a liner is involved in an accident
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lberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC) recently unveiled a fleet of five new livestock emergency response (ER) trailers in conjunction with a new training course for emergency personnel. Four of the units have been stationed with local fire departments at Medicine Hat, Claresholm, Westlock and Vermilion who have contracted with AFAC to staff and maintain them. The fifth will serve as a roving provincial rescue unit operated by the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). The ER units are cargo trailers equipped with what crews need when called out to traffic accidents, fires, floods or other disasters involving livestock. There are panels and gates that can be quickly chained together to construct alleyways and enclosures for everything from bison to poultry in a flat field or an uneven ditch at the side of the road. They also hold plywood sheeting for solid enclosures, plastic snow fence to create a visual barrier or block small animals from crawling through the panels, and tarps to provide shade or shelter for animals susceptible to heat or cold stress until the appropriate type of trailer arrives to remove them, explains Greg Bowie, a livestock consultant from Ponoka, who was contracted by AFAC to co-ordinate the design and contents of the trailers. The equipment list includes a generator, portable lights, shovels, various types of metal saws and shears and hand tools as well as a collection of halters, ropes and herding aids. The ASPCA roving unit contains more panels to hold large numbers of animals and less of the smaller emergency-type supplies than the ER units. Consultations with first responders and livestock associations helped identify the most practical items to include without duplicating what fire 30 Cattlemen / January 2013
departments normally have on hand, Bowie says. That and some competitive pricing through volume buying helped keep the cost down to $22,000 per unit. Other pieces can be added over time as needs are identified by the crews that man the trailers. This ER fleet began as an idea at the Alberta Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Strategy Steering Committee, a group of concerned livestock stakeholders that includes representatives from the Alberta Equestrian Federation, Alberta Beef Producers, Livestock Identification Services (LIS), RCMP, AFAC and Alberta Agriculture. Funding was provided by the federal/provincial Growing Forward program. Floyd Mullaney, a retired RCMP officer with 23 years of service and another 13 years with Alberta Agriculture’s inspection investigation branch, was contracted a year ago to co-ordinate the logistics and legalities of putting the ER fleet together and arrange training for the crews. As he explains it, when the RCMP arrive at the scene of a traffic accident their first priority is to care for the people involved and secure the area. When livestock are involved, the fire chief becomes the incident commander with the RCMP offering assistance as required, which is why it makes sense to station the ER units with the fire department. Regardless of their good intentions it’s often difficult for passersby or volunteers to gain access to the site. Industry contacts for each livestock species are listed in the standard operating procedures manual in case the ER crew has any questions about how to proceed in rounding up frightened or injured animals. AFAC chair Heini Hehli, who is a dairy producer from Rimbley, says the safety of first responders is the top priority when the livestock unit is called out and that will be emphasized in their training.
Heini Hehli Initially a 16-hour training course will be offered by the provincial Emergency Training Centre (ETC) at Lakeland College to four firefighters on each of the new ER units. After that the plan is to open it up to other qualified personnel, such as RCMP officers and LIS inspectors. The focus will be on learning how to recognize the state an animal is in and how to handle them in stressful situations, as well as making the crew familiar with what’s on the trailer and how it should be used at the scene. Mullaney says the college’s deans of agriculture, and fire and emergency services are consulting with AFAC and sector specialists to come up with a curriculum for the course that should start this spring. Once it is established he could foresee this emergency livestock-handling course being offered to other professional and volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel from across the province and the country The first ER unit in the province was designed and put into operation by Red Deer County Agricultural Services Board in 2010 (Canadian Cattlemen, June/July, pg 12) with funding from numerous local businesses and industry organizations. It earned AFAC’s 2010 Award of Distinction for Innovation and spawned the idea of putting www.canadiancattlemen.ca
Units contain ever ything firefighters need to contain and care for livestock in an emergency. additional units into place throughout the province. Ponoka County, also located along the busy QE2 highway and home to the large VJV auction market, established its own ER trailer and donated it to the Ponoka Fire Department in the fall of 2011. Firefighter Donna Noble says the department typically responds
to a collision involving livestock trailers every year and a half to two years. Even before they got their own unit the department offered training to its members by staging a mock cattle liner rollover back in 2009. The video of that training session is posted on AFAC’s website. The Hanna Rangeland Rural Crime
Watch Association has since raised the money to set up its own ER trailer that is being donated to their Special Areas Board at its annual fundraising supper on January 11. That will bring the total number of emergency livestock trailers operating in Alberta to eight in 2013. C — Debbie Furber
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Cattlemen / January 2013 31
N u t r i t i o n
by John McKinnon John.mckinnon@usask.ca
The challenge of feeding cattle during a feed shortage John McKinnon is a beef cattle nutritionist at the University of Saskatchewan
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ast month I was visiting the HayEast 2012 booth at the Canadian Western Agribition and was reminded about the plight of many eastern Canadian beef producers who are trying to manage their cows this winter in the face of a severe feed shortage. While it has been a decade since HayWest 2002, one cannot help but feel a sense of déjà vu. Feeding in drought situations is a challenge, one that taxes the ingenuity of producers to devise alternatives to traditional winter management programs. One fallback to conventional hay-based rations is the use of various forms of crop aftermath. For those in drought-affected areas of Eastern Canada, you likely have already considered grazing corn residue. Corn residue consists of leaves, husks, cobs and stalks and any kernels or cobs not harvested. The energy value depends in large part upon the relative proportions of the above residues. If one considers only the plant residue (i.e. leaves, husks, stalks and cobs), it is slightly better than cereal straw in both energy and protein. Residue grain kernels or unharvested cobs will greatly increase the feeding value of the crop aftermath and extend the number of grazing days. For cows in early to mid-gestation and not experiencing cold stress, corn residue can be an adequate energy source, however, protein may be limiting. Cows will also be selective in what they consume (i.e. grain kernels, leaves and husks ahead of stalks) so it may be necessary to restrict access with electric fencing to minimize sorting and wastage. Various extension sources indicate in normal years, one can expect 30 to 60 grazing days per acre with corn aftermath. Where drought has impacted crop growth, this number can be highly variable. Careful monitoring of cow body condition and when necessary, provision of supplemental feed is a must. If you were lucky enough to have gotten by the first part of winter by grazing corn aftermath, the next question you may face is “what do I do next?” Perhaps the best and last option available to you is to feed straw as the roughage source. Cereal straw is a time-tested alternative to traditional forage sources in drought situations. The key to successful feeding of straw is to understand its nutritional limitations and to feed balanced rations that meet the needs of your cows as pregnancy progresses. While there are some differences in nutritional value of different types of cereal straw (oat > barley > wheat), it is important to recognize that straw, regardless of type,
32 Cattlemen / January 2013
will be deficient in energy, protein, most minerals and vitamins, no matter the stage of pregnancy. As such, straw-based rations require supplementation with a source of energy and depending on what you are feeding as an energy source, there may also be a need for a protein supplement. One of the major issues with feeding straw relates to its highly lignified nature and poor rumen digestibility and passage rate. Cows with free-choice access to straw can become impacted, a situation where the rumen is basically plugged and non-functional. To prevent rumen impaction, it is necessary to provide an adequate source of available energy such as supplementing with a grain source and to limit the amount of straw consumed. A handy rule of thumb is to limit straw intake to 1.25 to 1.5 per cent of body weight on a dry matter basis. For a 1,300pound cow, this equates to 18 to 20 pounds of straw per day. To meet her requirements for pregnancy you will need to supplement this straw with either a good-quality hay or silage or turn to cereal grains and a protein supplement (i.e. canola or soybean meal; distillers grains or a commercial supplement). The challenge with relying on straw and grain as the basis of your feeding program is that you will have to feed relatively high levels of grain to meet the animal’s energy requirement for pregnancy and to withstand the effects of cold stress. For example, under average winter conditions a 1,300-pound cow in the last trimester of pregnancy consuming 18 pounds of straw per day would require about 12 pounds of barley grain to meet her energy requirements. Feeding this level of grain can be a challenge, as overconsumption can lead to issues with rumen acidosis and founder. As such, cows need to be adapted in two to three steps to this level of grain feeding. If feeding more than eight to 10 pounds of grain daily, it is a wise idea to go to twice-a-day grain feeding. Straw-based rations, particularly those supplemented with grain will also require adequate mineral supplementation, particularly calcium and with vitamins A, D, E, either in the supplement or via injection. In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to wish the Canadian cattle community a happy and prosperous new year and for those of us in areas of the country fortunate enough not to be affected by drought, please consider supporting HayEast 2012 (www.hayeast2012. com). Your support can make a difference to a lot of people. www.canadiancattlemen.ca
RESEARCH
Revisiting irradiation
R
ecent events have renewed can reach surface contamination. This project has several interest and discussion objectives. The first is to determine whether 32 different regarding the potential use strains of harmful E. coli and six strains of salmonella of irradiation to kill harmare susceptible to the e-beam. The second is to determine ful bacteria in meat. Irradiation may whether the e-beam can kill these bacteria when they are provide an additional insurance step inoculated onto beef. The beef is experimentally treated before meat leaves the plant. Carewith a known number of E. coli and salmonella. The ful skinning and evisceration, carcass beef is then treated with the e-beam, and the number of sprays, steam pasteurization, proper bacteria that survive are counted. equipment maintenance and cleanThis research is still underway, but preliminary results ing, personal hygiene and other steps will always remain are encouraging. Firstly, e-beam treatment was still able critically important. If these procedures are carried out to kill between 90 and 99 per cent of the salmonella that consistently and appropriately, they are very effective at were inoculated onto the beef. Last month’s column also producing safe meat. Until recently, the last major food indicated that salmonella appears to be relatively uncomsafety recall in a Canadian beef packing plant was in mon in beef. Even more promisingly, the e-beam killed the fall of 2007. Over the next five years, Canadian beef 99.99 per cent of the E. coli. This means that if there packing plants processed more than 15 million cattle were 10,000 E. coli present on the beef before e-beam without a major food safety recall. But when harmful irradiation, only one of them would be expected to surbacteria do slip through the system, the consequences can vive the treatment. be very serious. Irradiation has the potential to provide This project is still underway. The researchers are cura very effective backup safety net if food pathogens do rently examining whether treating beef with antibacterial manage to evade the first few lines of defence. acid sprays cause the bacteria to become more (or less) Irradiation damages the DNA of living cells. If this resistant to irradiation, and whether vacuum packaging damage is not repaired, gene and freezing affect the survival functions can be impaired and of bacteria on irradiated beef. kill the cell. These consequences They are also studying whether may not be too traumatic in The e-beam killed 99.99 per the e-beam treatment affects the large organisms, because their colour or smell of hamburgers cent of the E. coli, and 90 to bodies are made up of many made from irradiated beef trim. copies of many different types of 99 per cent of salmonella Final results on this project are cells. So when a person is sunexpected in mid-2013. These burned by ultraviolet radiation, results will be of value if Health the surface layer of exposed skin cells may be harmed, die Canada decides to reconsider the CCA’s original irradiaand peel off, and be replaced by a new layer of skin cells. tion petition. The consequences are much more severe in microscopic Irradiation can help make food safe, but it can’t organisms like bacteria. An entire bacterium is only one keep it safe. Safeguards to prevent recontamination of cell; if that cell dies, so does the bacterium. the beef further along the supply chain leading to the Irradiation is approved for onions, potatoes, wheat, consumer’s plate will still be needed. Irradiation won’t flour, whole wheat flour, and whole or ground spices and reduce the need for proper food handling, hygiene, dehydrated seasonings in Canada. Irradiation is approved storage and cooking. But if beef can irradiated costfor use in fresh meat in the U.S. but not in Canada. The effectively, it can help to ensure that beef is safe when it Canadian Cattlemen’s Association submitted a petition to leaves the processing plant. Health Canada to approve the use of irradiation in beef Visit www.beefresearch.ca for more information in 1998. That request was neither approved nor denied; about Beef Cattle Research Council activities funded it was simply neglected and allowed to lapse, perhaps through the national checkoff. because government feared how consumers would react. The Beef Research Cluster is funded by the Canadian There are a number of misconceptions about food Cattlemen’s Association and Agriculture and Agri-Food irradiation. Irradiating food does not make food radioacCanada to advance research and technology transfer tive. The radiation beam passes over the food, and once supporting the Canadian beef industry’s vision to be the beam has passed, the radiation has passed too. It’s recognized as a preferred supplier of healthy, high-quallike an electric fence; the fence stops being electrified as ity beef, cattle and genetics. soon as the fencer is unplugged. Irradiation doesn’t affect — Reynold Bergen nutritional quality either. National checkoff funds are supporting research Reynold Bergen is the science director for the Beef Cattle focused on electron-beam (e-beam) treatment of beef trim Research Council. A portion of the national checkoff is led by Dr. Rick Holley at the University of Manitoba. directed to the BCRC to fund research and development activities to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of E-beam treatment uses a low dose of irradiation that Canada’s beef industry. does not penetrate very deep into the meat surface, but
www.canadiancattlemen.ca
CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013 33
C C A
T Martin Unrau is president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
r e p o r t s
here has been plenty of activity in the cattle sector during the past few months enabling the industry to cap off a challenging year on a positive note. The relisting of Establishment 38 under the management of JBS USA has helped the industry move past the unfortunate XL Foods Inc. E. coli event which consumed the industry this fall. The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) gave the facility the green light to resume exports of beef to U.S. in early December. The plant can now work towards normalizing capacity which in turn will help to restore normalcy to Canada’s beef cattle industry. Another significant development was the World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrator assigning a firm deadline for the U.S. to ensure its countryof-origin labelling (COOL) requirements comply with its WTO obligations. The U.S. has until May 23, 2013 to comply with the Panel and Appellate Body reports adopted by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body this past July, confirming that U.S. COOL legislation discriminates against Canadian livestock in the U.S. market. Compliance with the WTO COOL ruling requires legislative action as regulatory changes cannot remedy the discrimination found. The Appellate Body was clear that the discrimination caused by COOL stems from the fact that different labels are required for meat from cattle and hogs exclusively born, raised, and slaughtered in the U.S. than for meat from cattle and hogs born or raised in another country. As these labelling requirements are statutory, a statutory (and not regulatory) change is required to mitigate their discriminatory effect. While a statutory fix is required, it is very narrow. COOL labels would remain mandatory and the statute unchanged except that meat from imported livestock that is processed in an FSISinspected facility would be labelled the same as meat from U.S. livestock processed in that facility. Additional information on livestock origin could be added on a voluntary basis. CCA representatives were in Washington, D.C. recently meeting with congressional leaders to advocate a timely resolution to this dispute and support legislative changes proposed by the majority of the U.S. industry that would end the discrimination caused by COOL. COOL has affected billions of dollars of commerce in cattle and beef products since it was implemented in 2008. The current impact of COOL on Canadian producers is estimated to be $639 million per year. Also in December, the Government of Canada introduced three new programs under Growing Forward 2 (GF2). These programs align with the CCA’s key priorities of research and innovation, competitiveness and market development and will come into effect on April 1, 2013, ensuring con-
34 Cattlemen / January 2013
by Martin Unrau
tinuous funding for critically important existing programs like the Beef Science Cluster. The CCA demonstrated its continued commitment to sustainable beef production by joining the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB). Like the GRSB, the CCA is focused on developing the necessary tools to ensure beef production is environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable. Working with and contributing Canadian research and expertise to the roundtable’s efforts towards improving global sustainable beef production is an excellent opportunity for the CCA. Sustainable beef production is crucial to the long-term competitiveness of Canada’s beef cattle industry, and is a key pillar of the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) research portfolio. Research funded by the BCRC has led to improvements in productivity and efficiency, which have clear implications for environmental sustainability. Improvements in forage and grassland productivity lead to several environmental benefits, including increased carbon sequestration, improved wildlife habitat, contributes to biodiversity, helps maintain watersheds, and reduces soil erosion. Clearly Canada has a lot to contribute to (and learn from) the GRSB. Current members of the Switzerland-based GRSB include the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Cargill, JBS, McDonald’s and the Roundtable for Sustainable beef Australia, and the World Wildlife Fund. The CCA looks forward to working with the roundtable. Canada joined the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in October and participated in the negotiating session in December. The CCA’s John Masswohl was in New Zealand to work with our Five Nations Beef Alliance partners to build support for our collective TPP platform. The platform is built on the unique opportunity TPP provides to address several trade barriers such as to achieve compliance with existing international standards and to create new standards within the TPP region that have not been achievable globally. Canadian beef is well positioned to gain new access to the important Japanese market regardless of whether or when Japan is eventually admitted to the TPP. Domestically, Japan continues to go through its process towards access for UTM beef and is making solid progress. The best estimate for implementation is the first quarter of 2013. If Japan moves to UTM (from under 21 months) and we are successful with a favourable economic partnership agreement, our prospects are good. The CCA strongly encourages a Japan-Canada Economic Partnership Agreement which eliminates Japan’s 38.5 per cent import duty for Canadian beef. A successful agreement with Japan could increase the value of Canada beef exports to over $275 million annually and more importantly will increase the value of every animal we produce. www.canadiancattlemen.ca
BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF
Teaching responsible use of antibiotics A VBP workshop can refresh your knowledge of the proper approach 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. Feedback from industry shows there are still times where producers could benefit from having and following clear, proper drug treatment protocols. And a refresher course in the reasons and importance of following those is often a good idea.
Know core principles Building Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is precisely why the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program was
developed by producers and the industry. The “Guidelines on the prudent use of Antimicrobial Drugs in Animals” document is simple, straightforward advice based on guidelines of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. Consumers and the general public are increasingly concerned about drug use and antimicrobial resistance. While the beef industry is only one player in this whole area of drug use, we must be prepared to do our part. The goal is simply to minimize the use of drugs to preserve effectiveness while maintaining animal care. Overuse of drugs can contribute to resistance in your herd which may have implications for herd health down the road. Our industry uses veterinarians as advisers for a reason. They are educated in 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 broad-spectrum drugs, and the need for drugs should be regularly assessed. Review your records and ask your veterinarian if any changes should be made. Keeping track of what you do is key to assessing success.
VBP workshop can help
Get a copy of the VBP pocket book from your provincial co-ordinator.
The VBP workshop can help. Many of the practices in the VBP manual are related to the prudent use of animal health products. The most important of these is adhering to label directions. Next most important is keeping records to prove it.
Consider becoming involved in the VBP program. The first step is participating in a workshop or taking the online version of this. That effort demonstrates your interest in responsible drug use. The collective participation is important for our beef industry dealing with policy and market access issues. VBP workshops are about two hours in length and are available across the country. Alternatively, the online version is free and easy to complete using dialup Internet access. For either option, contact the VBP representative in your area from the list below. Your operation and your industry will benefit.
Contact your provincial VBP representative Alberta — Eileen Leslie
1-866-242-7404 eileen@beefsafety.ab.ca
Saskatchewan — Jodie Horvath
1-888-675-6177 jhorvath@sasktel.net
Manitoba — Betty Green
204-372-6492 blgreen@xplornet.com
British Columbia – Annette Moore
1-866-398-2848 VBP@cattlemen.bc.ca
Ontario — Dan Ferguson
905-375-8551 dan@qualitystartshere.on.ca
Québec — Nathalie Côté
450-679-0530 poste 8460 ncote@upa.qc.ca
Atlantic provinces — Amanda Tweedy 902-368-2229 vbp@peicattleproducers.com
DEVELOPED BY PRODUCERS. DEVELOPED FOR CONSUMERS
One implant. That’s it. You’re done! Avoid the inconvenience and stress of re-implanting. Do it right. Do it once. For more information, talk to your veterinarian or call our technical service at 1-866-683-7838. ® Registered trademark of Intervet International B.V., used under license by Intervet Canada Corp. Merck Animal Health, operating in Canada as Intervet Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. MERCK is a trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. Copyright © 2011 Intervet International B.V., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All rights reserved.
P r i m e
c u t s
by Steve Kay
A battle over beta-agonists A North American view of the meat industry. Steve Kay is publisher and editor of Cattle Buyers Weekly
C
attle feeders in Canada and the U.S. Russia’s December 8 action came in apparin just a few years have heavily ent retaliation for the U.S. Congress including a embraced the use of one of the lathuman rights provision in a statute that estabest production technologies available lishes permanent normal trade relations with to them. I’m referring to the use of two feed Russia. But the U.S. and Russia were at odds supplements that go by the trade names of Zilover the use of ractopamine before this. A July max and Optaflexx. Both contain ractopamine. 2012 vote by the World Health Organization’s By various estimates, about 70 per cent of all Codex Alimentarius approved small amounts cattle on feed in Canada are treated with one or of ractopamine in meat over the objections the other while the number in the U.S. might be of Russia, the EU and others. After Russia as high as 90 per cent. Pork producers in both announced its new requirement, the U.S. said countries have also widely embraced their use. Russia’s action was contrary both to the Codex The supplements’ rapid uptake in cattle vote and Russia’s commitment to the World feeding is understandable because they add Trade Organization. It called on Russia to susconsiderable pounds to cattle at the end of their pend the new requirements and restore market feeding period. They have proved economiaccess for U.S. beef and pork. cally valuable as cattle feeders on both sides High-level talks began in Moscow a week of the border struggle to make money. Their after Russia’s announcement. No reports of use also fits with the beef these talks had emerged industry’s efforts to make when this column was beef production more written. Russia might posNeither the U.S. nor “sustainable,” i.e. to sibly have rescinded its produce more beef using new requirements by the Canada tests for or less water, land, feed and time you read this. But energy resources. if it has not, its requirecertifies that red meat Yet while the industry ments threaten to disrupt is free of ractopamine. touts the benefits of the a growing beef and pork use of the supplements, with Russia that is So all exports (to Russia) trade questions have arisen of increasing importance about their impact on to the U.S. meat indusimmediately stopped cattle health and on beef’s try. That trade (cuts and tenderness. The supplevariety meats) was worth ments’ manufacturers repeatedly say there is no $531 million in the first 10 months of 2012, effect on either count. But major U.S. packers well ahead of the trade’s $486-million value for are wary of their use. Tyson Foods’ COO Jim all of 2011. Lochner told me last May that the industry Russia is a less important market for Canahas to look at what its customers want, implydian beef, representing only two per cent of ing that the supplements’ use adversely affects exports in 2011 and even less last year. But the beef’s eating quality. In addition, there might be issue is more of market access based on globally a number of countries that will not accept beef accepted science. Russia has a long and checkproduced with beta-agonists, he told me. ered history of using food safety “concerns” to Lochner at the time was referring to the protect its meat industry and manipulate marEuropean Union, Taiwan and others. He could kets. It will be interesting to see how its latest not have known that Russia in early December action plays out. would suddenly announce that it would require all beef and pork products from the U.S. and Cattle Buyers Weekly covers the North American meat Canada to be free of ractopamine and be certiand livestock industry. For subscription information, fied as being so. Neither the U.S. nor Canada contact Steve Kay at P.O. Box 2533, Petaluma, Calif. 94953, or at 707-765-1725, or go to www. tests for or certifies that red meat is free of raccattlebuyersweekly.com. topamine. So all exports immediately stopped.
36 Cattlemen / January 2013
www.canadiancattlemen.ca
STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP
The foundation of our industry
I
t is amazing to me how life is a of secondary health problems in the feedyard is related series of circles and how what to a highly acidic diet and that has been proven. The was once old becomes new consumer acceptance of growth promotants is low and again. Much to the distress of the feedyard is foreign to those who wish to travel the my children and my grandchildren, I food mile. With a forage/grass-based system we counter know the words to the songs that are a lot of our secondary problems. A smaller animal still once again “in” and have used a fonhangs on a hook but there will be less weight and thus due pot, worn bell bottoms and tiea higher demand for calves. A higher forage-based diet dye shirts. I know who Elmo is, can is less acidic and may lead to a reduction in secondary recite the Lord’s prayer, seen three health problems providing other best practices are in use. versions of the game Trouble and can cook a meal from The reduction or non-use of growth promotants is curscratch. I am “cool” even after having lived through five rently not economically feasible but may be rewarded in decades of change. increased market access and a more tender product. As The cattle industry seems to be going through the consumers seem to understand the value of a cow standsame revolving door. After the industrialization of our ing in the pasture we also need to repaint the picture of industry from the way we breed to the way we feed catcattle in the feedyard. Studies have proven that lowertle, the talk is once again back to basics. Grass finishing density pens often experience fewer health issues and this has taken root and hormones are shunned by cow-calf would be an avenue to soothe consumer concerns. producers. Quiet, careful facilities are being built that Although the fashionable consumer would like grass were once considered rudimentary and city cousins think fed, that in itself is highly challenging but there are farmers are the in thing. The distance between the fork merits to forage/grass diets. Most certainly from the and the farm is being analyzed, scrutinized and criticized cow-calf perspective it is the ticket to cost reduction. The as consumers are longing for a longer cattle stay on the land the connection to their food. healthier they are, the more nutriThe wheels of industrial anients are spread and the lower the mal agriculture are seen to be roll- The fashionable consumer cost of production and we cannot ing along without consideration argue the advantages to ecosysof societal speed bumps — but would like grass fed, that in tem health. Just like the ’70s, life they too feel the brakes of change. itself is highly challenging, is about the “birds and the bees We likely will not go back to and the flowers and the trees.” little butcher shops (although it but there are merits to A balanced forage/grass stand is is all the rage in Montreal) but filled with good bugs that attract the value of foundational agricul- forage/grass diets birds and bees. It prevents erosion ture is taking a spin on the track. and has little need for intervenToday, more than ever, the dwindling cow herd is threattion. The soil can be built up over time with grazing techening the very fabric of fabrication and the only true niques and a high-fibre diet is the ruminants’ best friend. value-added agricultural crop we have — cattle. In addition to the preservation of moisture, a good forThis shorting of the market is creating problems and age/grass stand also supports wildlife and traps water for igniting questions about our future as an industry. The trees. Incorporating cereals for winter swath grazing supfear around losing processing capacity is almost at the ports year-round mustering and overall bovine health. crisis stage but we have to ask ourselves if this is the real To some, the thought of a forage/grass-based diet has issue or a consequence of previous action. The shift of the come full circle and the old is new again, while to othbeef dollar from the cow-calf producer and the feedlot to ers, it may be controversial. Regardless, to continue the the packer occurred when the cow-calf producer forgot discussion we need continuing research to enhance our that the primary role of the beef cow is to be fertile and understanding of complimentary forage/grass systems to utilize forage, trash and marginal lands. The cattle and their effect on ecosystem, human and bovine health. feeder was robbed when he gave up his right to carcass This is the foundation and the future of our industry information through the live bid and this escalated when and the only way to ensure we continue to keep beef on the packer figured out how to value add under one roof, the plate. and became very efficient at doing so. Today, the packer — Brenda Schoepp and the retailer share over two-thirds of the beef dollar. For both the cow-calf and the feedyard the increase Brenda Schoepp is a Nuffield Scholar who travels extensively in business expense has been in feed and related costs. exploring agriculture and meeting the people who feed, clothe Packing will continue to service the industry as long as and educate our world. A motivating speaker and mentor, we provide a carcass for every hook — and that brings us she works with young entrepreneurs across Canada and is to the forage/grass revolution. Consumers have already the founder of Women in Search of Excellence. She can be said that they prefer a smaller cut, which one could contacted through her website www.brendaschoepp.com. All argue may come from a smaller animal. The incidence rights reserved.
www.canadiancattlemen.ca
CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013 37
NEWS ROUNDUP ASSOCIATIONS ABP FACES FISCAL CLIFF The Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) is facing its own fiscal cliff on March 31, when the regulation that empowers ABP to collect a non-refundable $1 National levy to pay for beef marketing and research is scheduled to expire. The time-limited regulation was passed by the Alberta government in November, 2010 after the ABP and the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association signed a memorandum of understanding to support the change for a period of two years. If the regulation isn’t renewed by the deadline the $1 levy will become refundable along with the $2 provincial share of the Alberta checkoff. Based on past experience that could cut about 30 per cent from Alberta’s contribution to Canada Beef Inc. and the Beef Cattle Research Council, the two bodies producers support with the national checkoff. Alberta reworked the entire $3 checkoff to make it refundable on March 31, 2010. In June of that year 396 producers claimed about 37 per cent of the checkoff collected by the ABP by the first refund date. On November 30 of that year the province agreed to make the national $1 levy non refundable. In the past year 650 producers claimed refunds of $2.1 million or about 30 per cent of the provincial checkoff. A little over 100 producers claimed about 85 per cent of the total. Obviously a return to a refundable national levy would cut a fairly large chunk out of Alberta’s contribution to national programs. In 2012 Alberta contributed $1.88 million to the checkoff agency, about 31 per cent of the total collected from all cattle producers. That was down from 2011 in keeping with the falling number of marketings over the year, and should be down again next year as inventories continue to shrink. Discussions about renewing the regulation were continuing between the ABP, the province and the cattle feeders at press time. So it wasn’t too surprising when the ABP delegates at their annual meeting in Calgary last month passed a motion to continue pressing for the nonrefundable levy to continue beyond 38 CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013
2013. They will also ask the province once again to make the $2 provincial portion non-refundable as well. But that’s another fight altogether. Another concern is the impact a refundable levy in Alberta would have on the rest of the country. For one it could derail attempts to establish a levy on imported beef right when it appears it is about to become a reality. The regulatory authority to collect an import levy was granted when all provinces agreed to collect a mandatory national levy. Since then officials with the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency (Canada Beef Inc.) have been in negotiations with Canada Border Services to establish workable system of collecting the levy at the border. This winter officials with Canadian Beef Inc. believe that import levy could become a reality early in 2013. If Alberta drops the mandatory $1 levy the import levy would disappear with it.
TRADE CANADA WON’T TEST FOR RACTOPAMINE Reuters reported last month that Canada has no plans to begin testing beef and pork of the growth promotant ractopamine to satisfy a new Russian import requirement for zero residues. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has provided meat processors with testing guidelines for ractopamine, a drug used to make meat leaner. However, a spokesman for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said the government is only making exporters aware of Russia’s requirements. The announcement in early December took the trade by surprise since the Codex Alimentarius that establishes veterinary standard for the World Health Organization had just approved minimal limits for the safe use of ractopamine in beef in pork in July, the same month Russia agreed to abide by WTO standards in order to gain a seat on the international trading organization. In a joint statement United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk and United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Russia’s actions in banning ractopamine, “appear to be inconsis-
tent with its obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization.” The U.S. have called on Russia to suspend these new measures and restore market access for U.S. and beef and pork. Russia committed as part of its WTO accession package, to ensure that it would adhere rigorously to WTO requirements and that it would use international standards unless it had a risk assessment to justify use of a more stringent standard. Canada has asked Russia to delay its requirement into February, Reuters reports. If Canadian exporters wish to export meat to Russia, they must have each shipment tested by an accredited laboratory. Ractopamine has been approved for use in Canada stince 2006. It is sold by Elanco as Optaflexx 100 premix for finishing beef cattle. China and Taiwan have also been banned imports of product containing ractopamine. Speaking to the Alberta Beef Producers last month, Canada Beef president Rob Meijer noted he was looking for another $12 million from Russia with expected easing of tariff and quota restrictions on Canadian product once Russia is accepted into the WTO. Russia is currently the second-largest importer of beef in the world and could become the largest, yet because Canada doesn’t have a dedicated quota we must compete with Brazil and others for the “other” countries quota. For more on this topic see Steve Kay’s Prime Cuts column on page 36.
WELFARE FACS LAUNCHES BUD WILLIAMS MEMORIAL FUND The Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan (FACS) has set up a Bud Williams Memorial Fund to honour the world-renowned expert on low stress handling of livestock Williams died at his home in Independence, Kansas on Nov. 25. FACS first introduced Bud to Saskatchewan in 1995 as part of its educational outreach activities. “Bud had a way with animals,” says FACS executive director Adele Buettner. “He studied animal behaviour in his everyday life. He never stopped www.canadiancattlemen.ca
learning and he never stopped teaching. He learned by solving problems other people couldn’t.” Together with his wife Eunice, Williams passed on his lessons in stockmanship to thousands of adherents through their Bud Williams Schools and supporting website, http://stockmanship.com/ . His daughter Tina and her husband Richard McConnell continue to hold classes and seminars based on Bud’s stockmanship expertise. FACS says the money raised will be used to fund more animal care and management seminars and clinics for livestock and poultry producers. Eunice Williams has endorsed the fundraising effort. “I know he would be pleased that a memorial fund is being established to support continued efforts by FACS to improve animal management,” she says. Donations can made to FACS, Bay 6A, 3602 Taylor Street E, Saskatoon, Sask., S7H 5H9. For more information call 306-249-3227 or visit www. facs.sk.ca/.
disease BVDV surveillance in Saskatchewan The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture is taking a detailed look at the level of detection and control of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in the province’s beef herd. From Dec. 1, 2012, to Nov. 30, 2013 the department will test skin biopsies from aborted, sick, deformed or dead calves to detect the presence of persistently infected animals, and follow up with a veterinary consultation to discuss and design customized BVDV control strategies for infected herds. BVDV costs the Canadian cattle industry millions of dollars each year and persistently infected animals, the primary reservoirs of the disease, have been found in more than 10 per cent of cow-calf herds tested in Western Canada. BVDV infected calves have significantly lower weaning weights and cause a range of health problems in a herd. The effect on fertility can range from nagging to catastrophic with the potential to devastate a herd in a single year. The project offers sampling supplies to participating veterinarians who agree to collect skin samples from cases seen in their practice and reimburses producers up to $500 for veterinarian fees. Veterinarians can collect skin samples from cases submitted by producers www.canadiancattlemen.ca
or from animals seen in their daily practice. Producers can collect the ear notch biopsies from suspects, but should first get some advice from their veterinarian on collecting and submitting samples. When a persistently infected animal shows up a veterinarian will conduct an on-farm consultation to discuss and design a BVDV control strategy specific to the operation.
packers XL Beef plant cleared by USDA XL Foods’ beleaguered beef packing plant at Brooks, Alta was approved Dec. 7 to resume shipping beef to the United States. In a statement the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said the re-listing is “demonstrative of (XL’s) renewed commitment and ability to meet its high food standards.” CFIA suspended the plant’s federal operating license in September in the wake of massive recalls of beef in both the U.S. and Canada. An estimated 1.1 million pounds of beef trim and 1.4 million pounds of primal and subprimal beef cuts exported to the U.S. were subject to recall after samples of beef from the plant tested positive for E. coli 0157 bacteria. The plant resumed operations in October following “corrective actions” under the management of JBS USA, the U.S. arm of the Brazilian meat packing giant, whose agreement with XL to manage the plant includes an as-yetunexercised option to buy the facility and certain other XL operations. CFIA continues to run “enhanced oversight activities” at Lakeside to “ensure the company’s long-term and preventive measures continue effective implementation.” “The resumption of full operations at Establishment 38, along with JBS’s recent appointment of Willie Van Solkema to head their Canadian operations, are positive signals for the industry,” Canadian Cattlemen’s Association president Martin Unrau said in a release. “This is very good news for Alberta, and Canadian beef producers, the employees of the plant, the owners and operators of XL Foods Inc., and for the community of Brooks,” provincial Agriculture Minister Verlyn Olson said in a separate release. “It has been a long and difficult process. However, we all will agree that ensuring safe food products remains the utmost importance.”
trade U.S. consumers cool on COOL Exporters of livestock and meat from Canada to the United States can expect to see significant reforms in the next six months to a persistent trade barrier. In early December a World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrator, Giorgio Sacerdoti, gave the U.S. government until May 23, 2013 to bring its mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) laws into compliance with its international trade obligations, as per the WTO Appellate Body’s ruling in June. Sacerdoti’s decision is not subject to appeal. The new deadline was imposed following Canada’s Sept. 13 request for binding arbitration, after the U.S. declared in August it would comply with the Appellate Body’s ruling, but would need a “reasonable period of time” to do so. Canada’s request called on Sacerdoti to determine a “reasonable period of time.” The U.S. had originally asked Continued on page 40
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News Roundup Continued from page 39
for 18 months from the adoption of the Appellate Body’s report to make the COOL law WTO compliant — which would have stretched out the current COOL law’s effectiveness until Jan. 23, 2014. In giving the U.S. government just 10 months from the adoption of the Appellate Body report, Sacerdoti wrote that the time frame “should allow the United States to implement the recommendations and rulings… regardless of whether it decides to do so by regulatory action alone or by legislative action followed by regulatory action.” Requirements laid out in the WTO’s Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), he wrote, do “not justify granting additional time in this case.” Prior to the decision, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association representatives in Washington, D.C. pressing congressional leaders for a “timely resolution” and support for legislative changes to “end the discrimination caused by COOL.” COOL was conceived in Washington’s 2002 Farm Bill and launched in September 2008. It orders U.S. retailers to notify their customers, by way of labelling, on the sources of foods such as beef, veal, pork, lamb, goat, fish, fruits, vegetables, peanuts, pecans and macadamia nuts. Between 2008 and 2009 exports to the U.S. of Canadian feeder cattle declined 49 per cent and exports of slaughter hogs declined 58 per cent. By forcing U.S. packers and processors to either segregate Canadian animals and meat at their own cost or curtail their imports from Canada, the Canadian government said COOL “led to the disintegration of the North American supply chain, created unpredictability in the market, and imposed additional costs on producers.” Canada and Mexico in late 2008 filed for hearings on COOL at the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), which in November 2011 ruled that mandatory COOL has violated parts of the TBT, breached Washington’s WTO obligations and “does not fulfill its legitimate objective” of consumer education. The Appellate Body in June upheld the DSB’s finding that COOL “has a detrimental impact on imported livestock” and that the U.S. law’s recordkeeping and verification requirements 40 Cattlemen / January 2013
“create an incentive for processors to use exclusively domestic livestock, and a disincentive against using like imported livestock.” The Appellate Body went further, however, and ruled COOL “lacks even-handedness” by imposing “a disproportionate burden on upstream producers and processors of livestock, as compared to the information conveyed to consumers through the mandatory labelling requirements for meat sold at the retail level.” COOL requires that a “large amount of information must be tracked and transmitted by upstream producers for purposes of providing consumers with information on origin,” the Appellate Body noted, but found that “only a small amount of this information is actually communicated to consumers in an understandable or accurate manner.” On top of that, the Appellate Body ruled, “a considerable proportion of meat sold in the United States is not subject to the COOL measure’s labelling requirements at all.” As U.S. officials prepare their response they may want to review a new study published in November by Kansas State University ag economists that suggests American consumers wouldn’t miss mandatory COOL. The key finding of the economists led by Kansas State’s Glynn Tonsor is that COOL had no measurable impact on U.S. demand for beef, pork, or chicken based on retail grocery scanner data. Typical U.S. residents remain unaware of it and don’t bother to look for meat origin information, according to a follow-up online survey. Twenty three per cent of respondents were aware of MCOOL, 12 per cent incorrectly believed it was not a law and nearly two-thirds didn’t know if it was a legal requirement. Similarly, the majority of people surveyed near a retail meat counter did not know that MCOOL was in place, and never look for origin information when shopping for fresh beef or pork. Consumers regularly indicate they prefer meat products carrying origin information. However, consumers reveal similar valuations of alternative origin labels. In both online and in-person surveys participants regularly select meat products carrying origin information over unlabelled alternatives consistent with previous research. However, in an online assessment, consumers said they value meat products labelled “Product of North America” the same
as meat labelled “Product of United States.” “Our conclusions hold across the species and products evaluated. In our in-person and online based assessments, we obtain the same conclusions whether evaluating beef steak, pork chop, or chicken breast products — there was no change in demand following implementation of MCOOL,” says the study. Given the costs of compliance and lack of evidence that it increases demand for meat productssuggests an aggregate economic loss for the U.S. meat and livestock supply chain from producers to consumers as a result of MCOOL, says the study. Since implementation costs were lower for the chicken industry, stakeholders in the beef and pork industries are comparatively worse off. The finding that consumers value beef labelled Product of United States the same as Product of North America is important for several reasons. Primarily, removing this requirement would eliminate the need to segregate U.S. and Canadian beef and greatly reduce the costs of this program on both sides of the border.
tax More tax deferrals issued by Ottawa In late November Ottawa added 34 more municipalities to the designated areas where livestock producers are eligible to defer income tax from the forced sale of breeding animals due to drought. The intent is to make it easier for producers to replenish their breeding herds in the following year when the income from the sales can be partially offset by the cost of the replacements. In the case of consecutive years of designation, producers may defer sales income to the first year in which the area is no longer designated. A breeding herd must be reduced by at least 15 per cent to be eligible. At that rate 30 per cent of the income from net sales can be deferred. When herds are reduced more than 30 per cent, 90 per cent of income from net sales can be deferred. Designations for the 2012 tax year now apply to areas of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. In Ontario the additions include the District of Rainy River, the territorial districts of Algoma and Manitoulin, and the counties of Frontenac, Hastwww.canadiancattlemen.ca
ings, Lennox and Addington, Northumberland and Prince Edward. In Quebec the regional county municipality (MRC) of Temiscamingue is added to the list. Alberta’s eligible list now includes Birch Hills, Clear Hills, Grande Prairie (No. 1), Mackenzie, Northern Lights and Saddle Hills counties, and the municipal districts of Fairview, Peace and Spirit River. In B.C., producers in the Peace River Regional District now qualify. In Manitoba De Salaberry, Franklin, Hanover, La Broquerie, Montcalm, Morris, Rhineland, Ritchot, Ste. Anne, Tache, Whitemouth, Piney, Reynolds and Stuartburn, plus Division No. 1 (Unorganized) in the province’s southeastern corner were added to the drought affected areas.
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Correction We need to correct a misleading statement in our VBP article on page 61 of the November, 2012 issue of C anadian C attlemen . The article states: “While some organic certification starts when a calf reaches finishing period, VBP goes right from day one of an animal’s life.” In fact, the organic principles and management standards approved by the Standards Council of Canada state: Animals used for meat shall have been under continuous organic management from the beginning of the last third of the gestation period of the dam. In other words, any organic program that begins at finishing, would not meet the national standards for certification. We apologize for any confusion this has caused our readers or organic beef producers in Canada. C
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The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) welcomed the Dec. 7 announcement of three new federal programs under Growing Forward 2 (GF2) which directly align with the CCA’s key priorities of research and innovation, competitiveness and market development. The three programs, AgriInnovation, AgriMarketing, and AgriCom11:09 AM Pagecome 1 petitiveness into effect on April 1 and will ensure the continuation of funding for existing programs like the Beef Science Cluster. “The Canadian beef cattle industry’s ability to compete domestically and
internationally is dependent on research to improve feed efficiency, improve feed, forage and grassland productivity, reduce animal health and welfare concerns, and ensure food safety.” says CCA president Martin Unrau. Unrau also commended the government for its efforts to improve on the delivery of these programs.
• SAVE 100’S OF TRIPS TO THE BARN! • STOP DISTURBING THEM WHILE THE CALVING • GET MORE SLEEP
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purely purebred Suggestions are always welcome. My phone number is 403-325-1695 Email: deb.wilson@ fbcpublishing.com
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testing for parentage validation. With this change there are new turnaround times for parentage results. Regular parentage has a new turnaround time of not more than four weeks and is priced at $45 per sample. Rush parentage verification requests are an additional $30 per sample (total cost of $75 per sample) with a new turnaround time of not more than 10 business days.
Minneapolis and Denver. The event gathered six American representatives and more than a dozen representatives from the Canadian industry. The Canadian representatives included delegates from a variety of producer groups as well as livestock marketers and leading cattle businessmen. The group discussed trade relations, reducing red tape at the border, countryof-origin labelling, new technologies, succession planning, harmonization of the North American meat market and cross-border animal health issues.
◆ Profiles of Cattlemen’s Young Leaders:
◆ The Nov. issue featured a picture submitted by Kim and Brian Geis. We identified some of the individuals but Dennis Ericson assures me he can name them all. So he is the man to go to if you are curious. I have had no calls on the new picture in December’s issue so I am going to put the picture in again (below) because I have trouble
believing that no one recognizes these three people.
◆ The Canadian Simmental Association is currently switching from microsatellite DNA testing to singlenucleotide polymorphism (SNP) DNA 42 Cattlemen / January 2013
◆ Congratulations to Hirsche Herefords and Angus Ltd., High River, Alberta, WSV Farm and Ranch LLC, Calhan, Colorado and Upstream Ranch, Nebraska for winning Supreme Champion Bull on Saturday, November 24, at Canadian Western Agribition, one of the most prestigious awards in the Canadian beef industry with a Horned Hereford two-year-old bull — UPS UPTOWN ET. UPTOWN was the Grand Champion Horned Hereford Bull at this year’s Agribition and the 2012 World Hereford Conference in July at Olds, Alta. ◆ The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) Wednesday, Nov. 21, hosted its annual roundtable meeting between Canadian and U.S. beef industry leaders. The roundtable, now in its seventh year, was held at Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, Saskatchewan. Producers from North Dakota, Colorado and Minnesota, Wisconsin, including the agricultural commissioner from Wisconsin, met with their Canadian counterparts through a program organized by the Canadian consulates in
— Jake Meyer — mentor: Arno Doerkson. Jake Meyer attended Montana State University; where he studied business management and entrepreneurship. He grew up on a large cow-calf and yearling operation with his grandfather in southern MonJake Meyer tana, which instilled the skills and values that he still carries today. After graduating he went into the oilfield full time working all over the United States to eventually become a rig manager at the age of 22. As a leader in the industry, Jake was offered the opportunity to help lead a new contract in Rio Gallegos, Argentina where he oversaw several new rigs that used the latest technology. In 2009, Jake shifted gears and he and his wife Tanya made the decision to go into ranching full time. They operate Meyer Cattle, Inc. A 150-head cow-calf operation which produces commercial forage for a number of different markets and offers custom feeding. This fall he was elected as a delegate of the Alberta Beef Producers. Cole Bailey — mentor: David Bailey. Cole Bailey was raised on a ranch in the Pritchard area around Kamloops, B.C. He grew up working cows on horseback in the bigrange country of the South Thompson Valley. Shortly after high school he settled Cole Bailey into the family-run commercial cow-calf operation. He recently purchased a share of the ranch from his grandmother who has been www.canadiancattlemen.ca
www.cyff.ca Ph: 888-416-2965
an invaluable source of knowledge helping him grow the ranch and manage its large grazing leases. In 2011 he was elected president of the Pinantan Pemberton Livestock Association. Looking forward, he is interested in current and future policy development and how it will impact producers in Western Canada and has a keen interest in grassland conservation and environmental sustainability.
◆ The Canadian Hereford Association is pleased to intro-
duce Samara McBain to the Canadian Hereford Association in the capacity of communication coordinator replacing Erin Zatylny. Samara resides in Calgary and is a recent graduate from the University of Lethbridge where she received a bachelor of fine arts in new media and was on the Dean’s Honours List. She was a 4-H member, and her grandfather George McBain managed his own Hereford operation. Her parents, John and Samara McBain Caroline still farm near Cremona, Alta. Samara spent time in China teaching English in local high schools and first aid to villagers. She will be responsible for the layout and design of The Canadian Hereford Digest as well as the association’s ads, brochures, catalogues and general communications with the media and CHA members.
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The BMP program is designed to motivate young farmers to improve and identify their operations needs with confidence. Contact the CYFF office today for further details. Ph: 888-416-2965 or email: bmpsessions@cyff.ca
BMP topics include: • Vision for their Farm • Leadership Roles • Relationships, Alliances & Value Chains • Risk Management • Human Resources Management • Production, Innovation & Environmental Management • Financial & Asset Management • Marketing Management • Succession Planning
◆ The 40th Anniversary of Gelbvieh cattle in Canada was
celebrated at Canadian Western Agribition in Regina. The Man-Sask Gelbvieh Association hosted the Canadian Gelbvieh Association’s annual meeting, the National Gelbvieh Show, the Sweetheart Classic and the National Gelbvieh Sale. The sale was the highest among all the breeds at Agribition, averaging $7,993. The banquet celebration was highlighted with the unveiling of an original Gelbvieh print by renowned artist, Bernie Brown of Okotoks, Alta., and a 40th Anniversary gold and silver belt buckle made by Troy Fischer of Mayerthorpe, Alta. The 2012 inductee into the Canadian Gelbvieh Association’s Hall of Honour was Glynn Waterton of GSW Gelbvieh, Owen Sound, Ontario. The award was presented by association president Darrell Hickman.
YOUNG FARMERS: AGRICULTURE’S FUTURE.
Continued on page 44
Canadian Gelbvieh Association board of directors. Back row (l-r): Darcy Hrebeniuk, Ker t Ness, Blair Bentz, Vern Pancoast, Darrell Hickman (president). Front row (l-r): Wendy Belcher (secretar y/manager), Scott Sever tson (past president), Cordy Cox (vicepresident). www.canadiancattlemen.ca
Cattlemen / January 2013 43
Continued from page 43
◆ Canadian Angus Association CEO
Rob Smith and assistant registrar Ciara Buchanan attended Expo Boeuf in Victoriaville, Quebec this fall. At the expo, Smith and Buchanan awarded Mac Angus Farm with their 50-year CAA Heritage Award. Mac Angus is a seventh generation cattle, apple and maple syrup operation in southwestern, Quebec owned by David Sample and family. The name Mac Angus was an idea of Kenneth Sample, David’s grandfather, to combine MacIntosh apples with the Angus cattle. Up until 1960 the farm milked Ayrshire dairy
l-r: CAA CEO Rob Smith, assistant registrar Ciara Buchanan, David Sample and son Alex Sample of Mac Angus Farm. cattle. With the advice of Jim Houston from MacDonald College, Kenneth Sample ventured into the Angus business with 10 cows. The farm maintained the herd at 20
cows until 1986 when grandson David took over the cattle. David purchased more breeding stock and through A.I. built the herd to 85 mother cows by 2009. David with wife Kelly and their three children, Alexander, Miranda and Mark, have shown and kept the Mac Angus Farm in front of the livestock public for 25 years. In 2012 four other operations were also recognized as 50-year CAA Heritage Award winners including — Frank and Beth Plain of British Columbia, Silver Willow Stock Farm of Saskatchewan, Noiseaux Family of Quebec and Rolling Stock Farm of Saskatchewan. C
The Surpreme Champion bull at Agribition.
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44 Cattlemen / January 2013
what you like about the magazine, and what you don’t like. There’s also some space for you to tell us what you would like to see in future issues. ClIp And enClose your mAIlIng lABel. each month, we will draw one name from all the surveys sent in and send that person a Cattlemen cap. It could be you!
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2 1 Nutrition Comment Research Special features 5 4 3 2 1 Newsmakers Letters Calving Issue (Jan.) CCA Reports Custom Feedlot Guide (Sep.) Prime Cuts Stock Buyers’ Guide (Aug.) Straight From The Hip Animal Health Special (Sep.) Holistic Ranching Beef Watch (May & Nov.) What would you like to see? __________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ How much time do you and your family spend reading 1666 Dublin Avenue Canadian Cattlemen? Under 2 hours Over 2 hours Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1
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The markets
Market Summary debbie mcmillin Fed Cattle Lower market-ready supplies, strong domestic demand and feedlots being up to date with cattle marketings helped to strengthen the fed basis and lift fed cattle prices to new annual highs over the past few weeks of our reporting period. The last week of November prices jumped to $117.97/ cwt, up almost $5 in just four weeks. The week ending December 7 prices averaged $118.60/cwt, which was up from 115.46/cwt the same week in 2011. The cash-to-cash basis has narrowed in the past weeks and at press time was just 6.45/cwt under the U.S. market. Overall in 2012 fed-cattle averages have been fairly flat considering in most years there is on average a 26 per cent spread between the annual low to high. In 2012 it was just 11 per cent with the bulk of the trade in a tight range between $106 and $115.
Debâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Outlook Fed Cattle Through the remainder of 2012 lower supplies in Canada should hold the fed market steady. In general prices struggle at the start of the new year as consumers work through some leftover holiday spending before the market perks up toward spring. One factor weighing on the market may be a peak of market ready supplies south of the border as some drought-placed cattle were set to arrive by the end of 2012 or early 2013. However long-term support comes from current live cattle futures combined with smaller market-ready supplies in the spring and improving
www.canadiancattlemen.ca
Large exports of fed cattle throughout the fourth quarter, partially as a result of the shutdown at Brooks, pulled our total 2012 exports to 382,276 at last count, slightly ahead of 2011. As exports have grown, domestic fed slaughter continues to lag behind year-ago levels. Steer slaughter at 1,279,719 is down five per cent and heifer slaughter at 779,673 is down 10 per cent.
Feeder Cattle The softening in corn prices toward the end of the year kept feeder prices relatively steady through the fall run with 550-lb. steers trading mainly between $155 and $158 since the start of August, other than a dip to $153 for a few weeks in October. The first week of December saw the average on 550 steers back up to $157.50/cwt, virtually unchanged from last year. 2012 gave us a contra-seasonal pattern on some of the heavier feeder cattle. Prices through the first half of the year soared above year-ago levels only to pull back before the fall run when feed grain prices increased sharply in July. Throughout the fall run 850 lb. feeder steer prices dropped below yearago averages before starting to pick up again in December. The first week of December saw them average $131.88/ cwt, just 88 cents above last year, but seasonal demand to create a strong fed market as we move through 2013. As always, even with the bullish outlook for spring, keep a close eye on the Canadian dollar and consumer spending.
Feeder Cattle While barley prices through the fall have been 29 per cent higher than last year feeder prices have remained steady with a year ago which shows how the smaller supply of feeder cattle is weighing on the market. Heading into the new year premiums will be seen on top-quality feeder cattle as well as replacement female packages, with discounts on plainer types. Over the next few months auction market volumes will decline as feeder supplies tighten
up all the same. The 850 feeder basis remains wide at 16.50/cwt under the U.S. Premiums continue to be seen on replacement type packages of females for breeding.
Non-Fed Cattle Volumes jumped in the cow and bull markets over the past four weeks, however solid demand from Canadian and U.S. buyers held the price. D1,2 cow prices at the start of December averaged $67.08, almost identical to last year. Cow slaughter increased seasonally over this period but to date it remains 18 per cent behind last year at 371,412 head. Exports are up 27 per cent at 164,668 as U.S. buyers facing a shrinking North American herd continue to scratch for supplies to satisfy the demand for trim and grinding meat. Butcher bull slaughter has been extremely small over the past two month, increasing to just 52 head in the first week of December, as many of the bulls are heading south. Slaughter bull shipments to the U.S. jumped 31 per cent during these weeks pulling year to date exports to 43,688 head, 18 per cent ahead of last year.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Debbie McMillin
Debbie McMillin is a market analyst who ranches at Hanna, Alta.
More marketsâ&#x17E;¤ seasonally. This smaller supply will continue to be supportive of feeder markets as we move into 2013.
Non-Fed Cattle Despite the current economic concerns demand should remain very strong for ground beef. This coupled with a smaller supply of cull cattle will leave a firm floor on non-fed cattle prices as we move into 2013. The U.S. utility cow market continues to be at a significant premium to the Canadian D1,2 cow market which will keep U.S. buyers in the picture and further solidify a market floor. Seasonally D1,2 markets climb through the spring as a result of tight supplies at auction and firm demand for trim and grinding meat. Cattlemen / january 2013 45
Break-even Prices on A-Grade Steers 130
ALBERTA
170
110
90 80
Steer Calves (500-600 lb.)
180
120
100
Market Prices
190
160
western Market Summary
150 140
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
130
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
95
145
ONTARIO
135
D1,2 Cows
85
125
75
115
65
105
55
95 85 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2012
Canfax weighted average price on A-Grade steers
45
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Ontario 2011 Market Ontario prices based on a 50/50 east/west mix Summary O ntario
2012
2011
A lberta
Break-even price
2012
for steers on date sold
2013
2012
Kevin Grier2011
Market Summary (to December 8)
December 2012 prices* Alber ta Yearling steers (850 lb.)............... $130.65/cwt Barley................................................. 6.11/bu. Barley silage..................................... 76.38/ton Cost of gain (feed)........................... 81.70/cwt Cost of gain (all costs)................... 106.22/cwt Fed steers...................................... 116.65/cwt Break-even (April 2013)................. 121.89/cwt Ontario Yearling steers (850 lb.)............... $129.57/cwt Corn silage....................................... 58.16/ton Grain corn........................................... 7.02/bu. Cost of gain (feed)......................... 105.35/cwt Cost of gain (all costs)................... 130.64/cwt Fed steers...................................... 112.63/cwt Break-even (June 2013)................. 130.01/cwt *Mid-month to mid-month prices Breakevens East: end wt 1,450, 183 days West end wt 1,325 lb., 125 days
46 Cattlemen / january 2013
2012 Total Canadian federally inspected slaughter............. 2,490,484 Average steer carcass weight............................................ 879 lb. Total U.S. slaughter.................................................... 30,582,000
2011 2,740,455 855 lb. 31,762,000
Trade Summary EXPORTS 2012 Fed cattle to U.S. (to Dec. 1)......................................... 392,492 Feeder cattle and calves to U.S. (to Dec.1)................... 130,632 Dressed beef to U.S. (to Oct.)............................... 388.10 mil.lbs Total dressed beef (to Oct.).................................. 572.95 mil.lbs
2011 392,848 72,472 467.66 mil.lbs 624.13 mil.lbs
IMPORTS 2012 Slaughter cattle from U.S. (to Oct.) . ......................................... 0 *Dressed beef from U.S. (to Oct.)........................ 299.78 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Australia (to Oct.)..................... 23.18 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from New Zealand (to Oct.)................ 41.25 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Uruguay (to Oct.).................... 21.30 mil.lbs
2011 0 298.60 mil.lbs 16.25 mil.lbs 49.36 mil.lbs 10.34 mil.lbs
Canadian Grades (to December 8) % of A grades AAA AA A Prime Total EAST WEST
+59% 18.5 27.2 1.9 0.1 47.7 Total graded 599,862 1,855,304
Yield â&#x20AC;&#x201C;53% Total 13.5 54.5 3.2 40.4 0.0 2.0 0.6 1.1 17.3 Total A grade 98.0% Total ungraded % carcass basis 75,230 70.0% 88 83.8%
54-58% 22.5 10.0 0.1 0.4 33.0
Only federally inspected plants
www.canadiancattlemen.ca
market talk with Gerald Klassen
Statistics Canada lowers barley crop
B
arley fundamentals have changed significantly over the past month. Statistics Canada lowered their crop estimate on the final November survey and available supplies are now tighter then earlier projections. Secondly, we have seen an increase in export demand for feed barley given the smaller cereal crops in the Black Sea region and in Australia. While the barley market has been consolidating throughout the fall period, there is potential for higher prices later in the crop year. The 201213 barley carryout will drop to pipeline levels and feedlot managers could experience a sharp increase in the cost per pound gain. This may result in pressure on feeder cattle prices if the fed market does not offset the increase in barley values. Therefore, cow-calf producers along with feedlot operators need to be aware of the upcoming risk in the barley complex. Statistics Canada estimated the barley crop at 8.0 million mt, which is down from the September survey of 8.6 million mt and only marginally higher than the crop size of 7.9 million mt in 2011. Accounting for the car-
ryin, total beginning supplies will be 9.3 million mt, which is actually lower than total beginning stocks at the start of 2011-12. Crop year to date barley exports for the week ending December 2 were 651,000 mt, up from 421,000 mt last year. Grain companies are offering feed barley at US$305/mt fob the West Coast which equates to $230/mt or $5 per bushel in central Saskatchewan. Export-related offers in northern Alberta and central and northern Saskatchewan are actually higher than feedlot bids from southern Alberta. This is very important because later in the crop year, the domestic market needs to trade at a premium to export values. Barley offers from the Black Sea region have basically dried up. The Australian harvest is currently underway and the crop is estimated at 7.0 million mt, compared to 8.3 million mt last year. Australian barley exports will be down sharply at 3.8 million mt, compared to 5.3 million mt in 201112. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest barley importer, has covered about half of their import requirements of
Supply and disposition of Canadian barley (’000 tonnes) Acres seeded Acres harvested Yield (bu./ac.)
09/10
10-year average
StatsCan 10/11
StatsCan 11/12
Estimate 12/13
8,663 7,209 60.60
11,067 9,381 55
6,911 5,899 59.21
6,472 5,843 62.04
7,390 6,805 54.10
2,844 9,517 42 12,403
2,368 11,141 76 13,585
2,583 7,605 42 10,230
1,441 7,892 14 9,347
1,222 8,015 40 9,278
1,301 256 954 7,309 9,820 2,583
1,538 372 981 8,346 11,237 2,348
1,272 233 902 6,382 8,789 1,441
1,200 256 933 5,736 8,125 1,222
1,200 280 900 5,800 8,180 1,098
SUPPLY
Opening stocks Aug. 1 Production Imports TOTAL SUPPLY USE
Exports Seed Human food/industrial/1 Feed-waste-dockage TOTAL USE TOTAL CARRY-OVER
1/includes barley processed domestically and then exported as malt
www.canadiancattlemen.ca
7.2 million mt. There is significant demand from the Middle East and North Africa that needs to step forward before the end of the crop year. At this time, Canadian barley exports are expected to be very similar to last year but could be higher than expected given the year to date number. Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle on feed numbers are running 10 to 13 per cent below last year but seasonal demand tends to increase in late April and May. This is generally when on-feed numbers peak and then start to decline into the summer months. Most feedlots have partial coverage 45 days forward but beyond this many feedlots have to cover from February forward. Given the current fundamentals, I’m reconfirming my projection that barley prices could rally an additional $25 to $30/mt from now until the end of the crop year. Keep in mind that the market needs to ration demand; domestic feedlot bids need to trade at a premium to world values to slow down the export pace. Next spring, the barley market needs to encourage acreage. The financial returns per acre for barley need to come in line with canola because this will be the dominant crop. World coarse grain stocks will also be historically tight at the end of the 2012-13 crop year. U.S. corn prices are expected to stay near historical highs until new crop acreage is more certain. I am expecting record corn acres in 2013 but there is considerable time before new crop stocks come on the market. Next fall, I’m expecting corn prices to be under $4 per bushel but the focus now is the next seven months. Gerald Klassen analyzes markets in Winnipeg and also maintains an interest in the family feedlot in Southern Alberta. He can be reached at jkci@mymts.net or 204-2878268. Cattlemen / january 2013 47
2012 Cattlemen index Title Issue Page
— ANIMAL HEALTH — Inforce 3 — a brand new intranasal vaccine.....................................Mar............. 30 React fast to grass tetany.................................................................. May............. 32 It pays to control pain in your calves ................................................ Jun............. 36 BVD virus wears many disguises........................................................Sep............. 10 What does the future hold for veterinarians?....................................Sep............. 14 The evidence for vaccination at weaning and the feedlot.................Sep............. 18 Pellets can have ergot too..................................................................Sep............. 20 Managing WDGS to minimize E. coli..................................................Sep............. 24 Don’t ignore drug-resistant parasites.................................................Sep............. 28 Feedlot parasite treatments compared...............................................Sep............. 30 The power of fecal samples................................................................Sep............. 32 Preconditioning is good......................................................................Sep............. 35 New BRD antibiotic rolled out............................................................Sep............. 56 VIDO-Intervac being certified.............................................................Sep............. 56 He bomb-proofs his cattle.................................................................. Oct............. 12 Prudcent antimicrobial use guidelines............................................... Oct............. 24 How to deal with atypical interstitial pneumonia.............................Oct II............ 46 Herd health — your veterinarian and your goals..............................Nov............... 8 Mycoplasma beats up on bison..........................................................Nov............. 30 Alberta makes changes to its BSE surveillance program....................Dec............. 38
— ASSOCIATIONS — WSGA sets out its position................................................................. Jan.............. 34 WSGA aims to stop rustlers................................................................Apr............. 50 CCA happy with much of GF2............................................................ Oct............. 45 BIXS gaining traction..........................................................................Dec............. 22 Producers offer advice to CFIA advisory panel...................................Dec............. 35
— BREEDING — On the road to genome-enhanced EPDs in Canada........................... Jan................ 9 Human genotyping has applications for animal breeding................. Jan.............. 34 Satisfactory is as good as it gets........................................................ Feb............. 12 Moving genomic research from the lab to the ranch......................... Jun............. 10 Across breed EPD factors released..................................................... Jun............. 38
— CALVING — Dealing with prolapse.......................................................................Jan II............ 10 Calving in Peace Country...................................................................Jan II............ 12 Tips on preventing scours..................................................................Jan II............ 16 Treating scours..................................................................................Jan II............ 18 The top 10 list to an easier calving season.......................................Jan II............ 20 Get ahead of toxic gut infections quickly..........................................Jan II............ 22 What causes ulcers in calves?...........................................................Jan II............ 26 Portable windbreaks beat bush.........................................................Jan II............ 30 The Lazy Boy calving program...........................................................Jan II............ 30 Full breach births...............................................................................Jan II............ 34 Two calving seasons make sense on this farm..................................Jan II............ 36 Cold climate adds to birth weights...................................................Jan II............ 38 Fetal programing — why momma’s diet matters.............................Jan II............ 40 Don’t underestimate the benefits of necropsies and tissue samples.Jan II............ 42 Dealing wiht dehydrated calves........................................................Jan II............ 44 Calving tips and tales........................................................................Jan II............ 46 An unwelcome visitor during calving................................................. Feb............... 8
— ECONOMICS —
Keep a proactive cash flow................................................................ Feb............. 26 A numerical checkup..........................................................................Mar............... 4 Cattle price insurance can work in Western Canada..........................Aug............. 10 Our cow herd has been decimated.....................................................Aug............. 24
— ENVIRONMENT/WELFARE — The dark side of animal welfare......................................................... Jan.............. 12 Alberta’s carbon offset system revised............................................... Feb............. 38 Producers weigh in on animal welfare............................................... Oct............. 20 It happened again.............................................................................. Oct............. 41 Breaking the bond.............................................................................Oct II............ 34
— EQUIPMENT —
Some new ideas for moving hay........................................................ Jun............. 24 New Holland tailors machines to livestock producers........................ Jun............. 14 This super-size bale feeder reduces waste.........................................Oct II............ 16 Feeding advantage goes under the hoop..........................................Oct II............ 44 What do you do with manure from 3,000 sows?...............................Nov............. 40 EPA balks on ethanol waiver . ...........................................................Dec............. 35
— Feed/FEEDING —
Feeding by the genes..........................................................................Mar............. 22 48 Cattlemen / january 2013
Title Issue Page Crystalyx launches new BCS app........................................................Mar............. 52 Oats, triticale and corn compared for winter grazing........................ June............. 38 Be cautious with oddball feeds.......................................................... Oct............. 42 Get the best from byproducts............................................................Oct II............ 14 Today’s new breed of pellet...............................................................Oct II............ 22 More than tonnage to consider.........................................................Oct II............ 32 Corn revisited....................................................................................Oct II............ 38 Rest easy with Linus7........................................................................Oct II............ 48 Feed testing with NIR........................................................................Oct II............ 52 IRT scanners may someday sort for feed efficiency............................Nov............. 10 Wasted feed........................................................................................Nov............. 36
— FORAGE —
Seeding into sod.................................................................................Apr............. 10 Can you fly grass seed onto washed-out pastures?...........................Mar............. 54 Cover crops and cattle........................................................................Apr............. 20 Mr. Forage...........................................................................................Apr............. 28 Salt-tolerant alfalfas compared..........................................................Apr............. 38 How to extend those perennial pastures.......................................... May............. 16 Mix it up… if you want better green feed........................................ May............. 28 Alberta forage valued at $2.1- to $3.85-billion per year................... May............. 46 A forage network for Saskatchewan..................................................Aug............. 42
— GRAZING —
Bale grazing basics............................................................................. Jan.............. 18 So… What’s new in swath grazing?..................................................Apr............. 10 Mob grazing — a tool to improve pasture production......................Apr............. 14 Rotational grazing works for these purebreds...................................Apr............. 32 Never eat your dessert first............................................................... May............... 9 Plant posts not grass.......................................................................... Jun............. 26 How much gain is left?.......................................................................Sep............... 7 A taste of drought..............................................................................Nov............. 18 The swath grazing setup....................................................................Dec............. 18 Restore II herbicide registered for grasslands....................................Dec............. 37
— HOLISTIC RANCHING —
The value of goal setting.................................................................... Jan.............. 28 A good cow........................................................................................ Feb............. 27 A good cow (Part 2)............................................................................Mar............. 32 Our HM convention............................................................................Apr............. 36 Grazing 2012..................................................................................... May............. 36 Increasing profit................................................................................. Jun............. 30 Midsummer grazing ..........................................................................Aug . .......... 27 Leadership/management....................................................................Sep............. 40 A wake-up call.................................................................................... Oct............. 28 Looking ahead....................................................................................Nov............. 48 Achieving success...............................................................................Dec............. 28
— IDENTIFICATION —
RFID and auction market software don’t mix well............................. Jan.............. 33 One database for National ID............................................................ May............. 34 Rating the benefits of traceability......................................................Aug............. 44 Saskatchewan looking at industry-led brand inspection....................Sep............. 44 Cattle tracking database updated for disease traceback...................Nov............. 62
— MANAGEMENT —
Prepare for the unpredictable.............................................................Feb.............. 16 Why we cull bulls............................................................................... Feb............. 20 Does your business appreciate?.........................................................Mar............. 14 Taking care of customers and their cattle..........................................Mar............. 26 Getting better, not bigger… with cattle............................................ May............. 12 It is all in the handshake....................................................................Aug............. 30 Think paired when moving pairs........................................................ Jun............. 16 Try a little bison with the beef............................................................ Jun............. 18 Be prepared for drought.....................................................................Sep............. 57 Youth education is my main business................................................ Oct............. 10 Preg testing — just do it.................................................................... Oct............. 32 Digital Agrimaps made easy............................................................... Oct............. 43 New tasks for RFID tags....................................................................Oct II.............. 8 Westwood cleans out the cows..........................................................Nov............. 23 Drought-proofing cattle operations....................................................Dec............. 18
— Marketing —
Grading changes in the wind.............................................................Mar............... 8 Don’t take beef demand for granted..................................................Mar............. 10 Alberta auction replaces sales commission with a buyers’ fee..........Apr............. 40 Marketing punch for B.C. beef............................................................Apr............. 49 Understanding beef demand..............................................................Apr............. 57 Auction test favours stand-alone traceability software..................... May............. 46 www.canadiancattlemen.ca
2012 Cattlemen index
Title Issue Page
Bullk feed sales go online.................................................................. May............. 49 A look ahead at the cattle market..................................................... May............. 57 We could see $2.50 this fall...............................................................Aug............. 12 Marketing a Wagyu-eating experience...............................................Aug............. 16 Minimize shrink..................................................................................Aug............. 28 Feed grain complex changes..............................................................Aug............. 51 Adding value still pays.......................................................................Sep............. 38 Quebec cows head south...................................................................Sep............. 60 Feeder-cattle marketing strategies..................................................... Oct............. 51
— MEAT/PACKERS —
Sask. sheds Melfort meat-processing firm......................................... Jan.............. 33 Olymel out as potential partner for Colbex plant...............................Mar............. 55 Finding common ground with consumers.......................................... Jun............. 36 A tough start......................................................................................Aug............... 4 Grading shifts and what they mean................................................... Oct............. 16 Good news on natural trans fats........................................................ Oct............. 30 Seeking faster ways to detect pathogenic E. coli...............................Dec............. 37 JBS opens six new beef plants in Brazil..............................................Dec............. 39
— MISCELLANEOUS —
Ranching over 50............................................................................... Jan.............. 20 Safe thinking your way to safe farming............................................. Feb............. 10 Masterfeeds and Feed-Rite merge.....................................................Nov............. 64 Find a better cellphone deal...............................................................Nov............. 66
— NUTRITION —
Thin cows — fat cows! Why do we care?.......................................... Jan.............. 18 How much grain can I feed?.............................................................. Feb............. 30 Finishing cattle requires a unique skill set..........................................Mar............. 22 Supplements — a necessary evil.......................................................Apr............. 24 Spring — my favourite time of the year........................................... May............. 24 Silage additives — will the confusion ever stop?.............................. Jun............. 24 The cost of energy is rising and I’m not talking oil.............................Aug............. 22 Collective wisdom — if only we could bottle and sell it....................Sep............. 34 The evolution of winter feeding......................................................... Oct............. 26 Understanding feed energy values.....................................................Nov............. 44 Feeding replacement heifers..............................................................Dec............. 26
— POLICY —
Cattle feeders look to the future........................................................Mar............. 44 ALMA comes into focus......................................................................Apr............... 4 OCA meeting low key.........................................................................Apr............. 46 Send them your old cows.................................................................. May............. 50 New beef code a year away............................................................... Jun............. 37 Land use issues still top B.C. agenda..................................................Aug............. 42 Manitoba to take over five federal community pastures...................Sep............. 59 Fuel versus food.................................................................................Sep............... 4 CAPI report destined for the shelf...................................................... Oct............... 4 Ten Saskatchewan community pastures to be turned over................Nov............. 64
— PRIME CUTS —
Expand if you can............................................................................... Jan.............. 30 Plant plans ignore reality....................................................................Mar............. 50 The changing industry........................................................................Apr............. 42 Beware the social media................................................................... May............. 44 A terrible price.................................................................................... Jun............. 34 Rebuilding hopes evaporate...............................................................Aug............. 40 Drought forces up beef prices............................................................Sep............. 52 Protecting productivity gains.............................................................. Oct............. 40 Herd keeps shrinking..........................................................................Nov............. 52 JBS will strengthen industry...............................................................Dec............. 32
— PROFILES —
Hicks Charolais makes history............................................................ Jan.............. 14 Small and manageable . ....................................................................Mar............. 16 A conversation with Martin Unrau.....................................................Apr............. 16 Making the most of what you have................................................... Jun............. 22 Ken Hurlburt joins the LMAC hall of fame..........................................Aug............. 32 Gattey wins LMAC auctioneering championship...............................Aug............. 34 Starting from scratch..........................................................................Dec............. 14
— RESEARCH —
2011 review of Canada’s Beef Cattle Industry Science Cluster.......... Jan.............. 27 Residual feed intake........................................................................... Feb............. 32 Residual feed intake and heifer fertility..............................................Mar............. 36 Land bought for U of S beef facility....................................................Mar............. 52 Forage research in Canada.................................................................Apr............. 30 Controlling foxtail barley with other forages ....................................Apr............. 47 Taking the pulse of forage breeding in Canada................................ May............. 20 www.canadiancattlemen.ca
Title Issue Page Can composting destroy BSE prions?................................................ May............. 45 Environmental goods and services . .................................................. Jun............. 35 Getting a grip on genomics................................................................Aug............. 38 Technology transfer in the beef industry............................................Sep............. 50 More on genomics.............................................................................. Oct............. 36 On-farm E. coli 0157:H7 control?.......................................................Nov............. 50 Some good news on the antimicrobial resistance front.....................Dec............. 31
— Safety/biosecurity —
Lightning kills..................................................................................... Jun............... 8 National beef biosecurity standard published....................................Sep............. 61 Looking for a better way to dispose of anthrax?..............................Oct II............ 28 New scanner reveals poor cleanup of bacteria..................................Nov............. 67
— SEEDSTOCK —
Celebrating the new Hereford............................................................ Jan................ 7 Tips from show alley........................................................................... Feb............. 28 Canadian Angus offers enhanced EPD...............................................Nov............. 62
— STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP — A new look at bovine health.............................................................. Jan.............. 31 Investing in ourselves......................................................................... Feb............. 34 Linking food, farming and health.......................................................Mar............. 42 Single order........................................................................................Apr............. 45 The rapid pace of change.................................................................. May............. 41 Food fraud.......................................................................................... Jun............. 29 The Red Revolution............................................................................Aug............. 41 Wrapped in red tape...........................................................................Sep............. 48 What is on your plate?....................................................................... Oct............. 39 Slow down and wait for your soul.....................................................Nov . .......... 54 The evolution of food animal.............................................................Dec............. 34
— TRADE —
Christmas in Kazakhstan.................................................................... Jan.............. 16 Sold on Canada Beef.......................................................................... Jan................ 4 Softening up European opinions on Canadian beef........................... Jan.............. 32 More access for Canadian beef.........................................................Jan II.............. 6 Canadian beef and free trade agreements with Asia......................... Feb............. 22 South Korea opens to UTM beef........................................................ Feb............. 36 U.S. gets more time to appeal WTO’s COOL ruling............................. Feb............. 40 Turning export dependency into opportunities..................................Mar............. 38 China hiccup.......................................................................................Mar............. 56
— TRANSPORT —
Zoning works both ways....................................................................Mar............. 28
— Verified Beef production — Show the world we use drugs responsibly......................................... Jan.............. 29 The myth and mystery of drug withdrawal times..............................Jan II............ 37 Better communicator, better manager............................................... Feb............. 33 A winning ranch formula....................................................................Mar............. 51 B.C. Trinity Ranch targets the beef customer of the future.................Apr............. 43 How records anchor the industry...................................................... May............. 42 Using drugs responsibly is key to beef industry future....................... Jun............. 31 Young beef producers search for market value..................................Aug............. 35 Broken needles happen......................................................................Sep............. 53 Two Maritime leaders first to be VBP audited.................................... Oct............. 37 On-farm standards critical for handling medicated feed and water.Oct II............ 47 Standards drive this expanding national beef operation...................Nov............. 61 Using animal health products wisely.................................................Dec............. 33
— VET ADVICE —
Vitamin E/selenium requirements an open book............................... Jan.............. 22 Animals front and centre on emerging human diseases.................... Feb............. 31 Johne’s disease: Are we doing enough?.............................................Mar............. 24 Fresh meaning and new potential......................................................Apr ............ 26 Off the fence...................................................................................... May............. 26 Uncertainty rides the wind................................................................. Jun............. 28 Veterinarians must be stewards of animal welfare............................Aug............. 26 Changes beget change.......................................................................Sep............. 44 Is besnoitiosis in store for North America?......................................... Oct............. 34 Selling the value of simple things.......................................................Nov............. 46 Changing perspectives on prudent drug use......................................Dec............. 27
— WATER —
Winter water at greener pastures...................................................... Jan.............. 24 Do BMPs improve water quality?.......................................................Apr............. 46
— Wildlife — B.C. cattlemen squeezed out of wolf migration work........................ Jan.............. 32 Battling the diseases shared by livestock and wildlife.......................Dec............... 9 Cattlemen / january 2013 49
SALES AND EVENTS EVENTS January
3-22—107th National Western Stock Show, National Western Complex, Denver, Colorado 23-25—Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference, Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon, Sask. 29—Alberta Cattle Feeders AGM, Memorial Centre, Lacombe, Alta.
February
7-8—Manitoba Beef Producers AGM, Victoria Inn, Brandon, Man. 12-13—Western Canadian Holistic Management Conference, Russell Community Centre, Russell, Man. 13—Alltech’s North American Lecture Tour 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Canad Inns Club Regent, Winnipeg, Man. 14—Alltech’s North American Lecture Tour 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Sheraton Hotel, Red Deer, Alta. 15—Alltech’s North American Lecture Tour 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Lethbridge Lodge, Lethbridge, Alta. 20-21—Ontario Cattlemen’s Association AGM and Conference, Doubletree Inn by Hilton, Toronto, Ont. 20-22—10th Annual Alberta Beef Industry Conference, Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff, Alta.
— 100th Anniversary Lakeland College, Vermilion, Alta., 780-853-8628, www.lakelandc.ab.ca 9-11—Saskatchewan Stock Growers Annual General Meeting, Heritage Inn, Moose Jaw, Sask.
SALES January
26—MC Quantock Bull Sale, at the ranch, Lloydminster, Sask., www.mcquantock. com 26—Lazy S Ranch Bull Power Sale plus Females, at the ranch, Mayerthorpe, Alta., www.lazysranch.com
February
2—Hill 70 Quantock Ranch Bull Sale, at the ranch, Lloydminster, Sask., www.hill70quantock.com 4—Lazy RC Ranch Red and Black Angus Long Yearling Bull Sale, at the ranch, Beechy, Sask., www.lazyrcranch.com 9—Soderglen Ranch Bull Sale, at the ranch, Airdrie, Alta. 9—19th Annual MJT Cattle Co. Ltd. — Hereford and Angus Back to the Basics Bull Sale, at the ranch, Edgerton, Alta. 14—Chapman Cattle Company 7th Annual “100% Forage Developed” Bull Sale — Angus and Red Angus, Stettler Auction
March
6-7—Calgary Bull Show and Sale, Stampede Park, Calgary, Alta, www.calgarybullsale. com
STAMPEDE
By Jerry Palen
June
7-9—Lakeland College-Vermilion, 2013 Alumni Homecoming and Rose Ball
50 CATTLEMEN / JANUARY 2013
March
2—Davidson Gelbvieh and Lonesome Dove Ranch 24th Annual Bull Sale, at their bull yards, Ponteix, Sask. 6-7—Calgary Bull Show and Sale, Stampede Park, Calgary, Alta., www.calgarybullsale. com 15—V & V Farms Bull and Female Sale, Guest Consignor — Towerview Farms, at the farm, Redcliff, Alta.
April
3—Peak Dot Ranch Spring Bull and Female Sale, at the ranch, Wood Mountain, Sask., www.peakdotranch.com 4—Crowfoot Cattle Co. 21st Annual Red and Black Angus Bull Sale, at the ranch, Standard, Alta., www.crowfoot.com Event listings are a free service to industry. Sale listings are for our advertisers. Your contact is Deborah Wilson at 403-325-1695 or deb.wilson@fbcpublishing.com
AD INDEX Page Alberta Beef Industry 19 Allen Leigh Security & Communications Ltd. 41 Bar T5 Agra Services 41 Canada Beef 15 Canadian Angus Assoc. IFC Canadian Charolais Assoc. OBC Canada Gelbvieh Assoc. 41 Canadian Hereford Assoc. 41 Canadian Limousin Assoc. 41 Canadian Red Angus Promotion Society 41 Canadian Shorthorn Assoc. 41 Canadian Simmental Assoc. 41 Canadian Welsh Black Society 41 Canadian Young Farmers 43 Chapman Cattle Company 25 Davidson Gelbvieh 13 Direct Livestock Marketing 43 Farm Credit Corp. 7 Greener Pastures 39 Hill 70 Quantock Ranch 5 Lazy RC Ranch Ltd. 27 MC Quantock Livestock 11 Merck Animal Health 35 Norheim Ranching 41 Rafter 8 IBC Rawes Ranch 17 Ridley Block Ops/Crystalyx 21 Salers Assoc. of Canada 41 Tru-Test Inc. 29 Western Holistic Management 23
Mart, Stettler, Alta., www.chapmancattle. com 16—P & H Ranching Co. Ltd. and Circle G Simmentals and Angus Bull and Gelding Sale, Innisfail Auction, Innisfail, Alta. 19—Rawes Ranches 30th Annual Charolais Bull Sale — 120 2-year-old Bulls, at the ranch, Strome, Alta., www.rawesranches. com 23—Lewis Farms 28th Annual Bull Sale, at the farm, Spruce Grove, Alta. 26—Rainalta and Guests Simmental and Charolais Bull Sale, Bow Slope Shipping, Brooks, Alta. 27—Erixon Simmentals Bull and Female Sale, Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, Sask., www.erixonsimmentals.com 28—Holloway Farms Ltd. Annual Hereford Sale, Dryland Cattle Trading, Veteran, Alta., www.hollowayfarmsltd.com 28—Stewart Cattle Co. and Guests 5th Annual Black Angus Bull Sale, Neepawa Ag-Plex, Neepawa, Man.
STAMPEDE
By Jerry Palen
“And then he said, ‘Oh quit whining Flo, I know what I’m doing.’” L I V E S T O C K
C A R E
ALERT Help Line & Resource Team
To report livestock care concerns CALL
1-800-506-2273
afac.ab.ca
Supported by Alberta’s Livestock Industry
“Elmo just swears by this old pickup.” www.canadiancattlemen.ca
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