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March 2013

Volume 76, No. 4

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 Improve your herd’s breeding efficiencies........................8 UHF tags back in the limelight..................................... 10 Calfhood vaccinations are going younger.................. 16 Setting the bar high....................................................... 20 My donkey pasture......................................................... 24 $484-per-head return on grass-fed beef......................... 30 Alberta vet takes 21st century technology to the farm................................................................ 38 Penile problems in bulls.................................................. 42 Banking on limousins. .................................................... 46 Some thoughts on bvd and our future. ....................... 48 Searching for community pastures. .............................. 50 Verified beef production................................................ 53 Departments

20

COMMENT............................................... 4 NEWSMAKERS......................................... 6 VET ADVICE.......................................... 26 HOLISTIC RANCHING.............................. 28 RESEARCH............................................ 34 NUTRITION............................................ 36 STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP...................... 37 PRIME CUTS......................................... 52 CCA REPORTS...................................... 54 NEWS ROUNDUP................................... 56 PURELY PUREBRED............................... 64 THE MARKETS...................................... 67 MARKET TALK....................................... 69 LETTERS................................................ 70 SALES & EVENTS.................................. 70

Advertising Sales: Deborah Wilson RR 1, Elnora, AB T0M 1K0 (403) 325-1695 Fax (204) 944-5562 Email: deb.wilson@fbcpublishing.com Head Office: 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 (204) 944-5765 Fax (204) 944-5562 Advertising Services Co-ordinator: Arlene Bomback (204) 944-5765 Fax (204) 944-5562 Email: ads@fbcpublishing.com Publisher: Bob Willcox Email: bob.willcox@fbcpublishing.com Associate Publisher/Editorial Director: John Morriss Email: john.morriss@fbcpublishing.com Production Director: Shawna Gibson Email: shawna@fbcpublishing.com Director of Sales and Circulation: Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com Circulation Manager: Heather Anderson Email: heather@fbcpublishing.com Contents of C attlemen are copyrighted and may be reproduced only when written permission is obtained from the editor and proper credit is given to Cattlemen.

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The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Canadian Cattlemen and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists, C anadian C attlemen and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as C anadian C attlemen and Farm Business Communications assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

Cattlemen / march 2013 3

c o m m e n t

by Gren Winslow

The food safety jig is up

CFIA under the gun

F

ood safety has been in the headlines a lot since our last issue went off to you.

In early February Ag Minister Gerry Ritz appointed an independent panel of three experts to review the file on the XL Foods recall. Specifically he, and the government, would like to know what contributed to the E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak at XL Foods.

He’s asked them to examine the plant’s food safety control plans and the oversight provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), as well as the flow of information between the two and foreign regulators (primarily the USDA).

Once they’ve familiarized themselves with the facts of the case he’s asked the panel to determine if XL or CFIA could reasonably have been expected to detect the contamination before it left the plant and review the effectiveness of CFIA “in light of the additional resources provided to it since 2006 by the Government of Canada.” That’s a political way of saying the government did its part, now find out if CFIA did its part. Chilling words if you are a bureaucrat working within Canada’s food safety system.

The industry is right to cheer the minister’s move. If there is a better way to track down and prevent these E. coli infections we need to find it and put it into practice as quickly as possible. It would also be a good idea to find a way for CFIA to exercise its recall authority without having to put a plant out of business every time a cluster of illness shows up.

It couldn’t come at a better time. CFIA recently briefed the industry on an enhanced E. coli 0157:H7 control project that it has been developing. Very little is known about it at this time but there was some talk that it could be introduced in late February after our publishing date. According to the North American Meat Association newsletter Lean Trimmings, some of the proposed changes are the result of lessons learned during the XL Foods recall. So any new evidence uncovered by the independent panel could easily be incorporated into these proposed changes in operating procedure.

CFIA is also taking steps to harmonize its meat cut manual with the American manual for meat cuts. This is another welcome move that could speed up the time needed to re-establish trade across the border after a disruption.

At the same time Health Canada is doing an assessment of the safety of mechanically tender-

4 Cattlemen / march 2013

ized beef because of five cases of illness linked to mechanically tenderized steaks. Because the steaks started out at XL Foods that dragged cuts into the XL recall and sent the total bill soaring ever higher.

The Canadian Cattlemen Association has organized some research into measures to reduce the number of bacteria on the surface of the meat and the best ways to clean tenderizing equipment that will become part of this investigation. The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency is funding the work.

Another study is looking at the best way to communicate cooking temperature recommendations to consumers. This could be the most vital factor in the whole crusade to rid us of 0157:H7 eruptions since a cooking temperature of 71 C kills the organism. That should be an easy sell with hamburger — just cook it until there is no pink and you are safe. Unfortunately it takes only a few slip-ups to start another outbreak, so there is need for a better way to get the message across.

With steaks, however, this 71 C temperature creates a whole other set of problems. A lot of people enjoy their steak on the rare side so telling them to cook the pink out of it is like telling them to buy chicken. Unfortunately that is exactly what Health Canada is telling consumers to do with mechanically tenderized steaks until they have the research to prove otherwise. The CCA is working on another study to show steaks can be safe at a lower temperature, to keep them in the pink.

Those five cases also sparked some public health concerns in the U.S. as well and USDA is being asked to slap a warning label on mechanically tenderized meat stating it carries a higher risk of pathogen contamination.

That has encouraged Ross Industries, a manufacturer of tenderizing equipment, to do some research into combining antimicrobial sprays on meat before it reaches the blades of the tenderizer.

In a report by Meat&Poultry.com the company says it tested 14 different sprays on inoculated lean beef discs and sub primals. The company claims it has an effective intervention product. No doubt this work will make its way up to Canada as well.

As this issue goes to press CFIA is putting the Cardinal Meat Specialists burger plant in Ontario through a second recall for contaminated hamburgers after clearing the plant in December.

We need some answers. Hope the panel can help. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

MOre HerefOrd Means MOre dOcility.

Docility

is a win-win for the inDustry

improveD economic aDvantages anD improveD animal welfare

there is a substantial anD growing boDy of scientific knowleDge on the effects of temperament on beef cattle.

At the 2012 World Hereford Conference, Dr. Rober Weaber of Kansas State University cited recent Canadian studies by Nkrumah, et al, in which animals with the worst temperament scores were correlated with lower feed intake, poor residual feed intake, lower feed conversion rates and higher death rates.

AnimAls with the best dispositions consistently performed more efficiently thAn those of poor disposition.

In a German study cited, Herefords had the best temperament scores numerically and statistically, among five bos taurus breeds.

Weaber cited research showing that docility improves growth, feed efficiency, meat quality, animal health and welfare and reproductive efficiency; not to mention handler safety.

Plan to attend a Hereford Consignment or Production Sale in your area.

For full event listings see The Canadian Hereford Digest or visit www.hereford.ca

Canadian Hereford Association • 5160 Skyline Way NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6V1 1-888-836-7242 • www.hereford.ca Photo of Borman calves courtesy of Martha Ostendorf Mintz.

NEWSMAKERS Trevor Atchison of Pipestone was elected president of the Manitoba Beef Producers at the association’s annual meeting last month replacing Ray Armbruster of Rossburn. The remaining Trevor Atchison members of the executive are vice-president, Heinz Reimer of Steinbach, secretary Ramona Blyth of MacGregor and treasurer Theresa Zuk of Arborg.

Congratulations to Brenda Schoepp for being appointed to the board of Farm Credit Canada by federal Ag Minister Gerry Ritz last month. Aside from being a regular columnist to this Brenda Schoepp magazine Brenda is a partner in a cow-calf and rescue horse operation at Rimby, publisher of BEEFLINK, a weekly newsletter, an industry consultant and popular speaker. She was awarded the 2012 Nuffield Canada Farming Scholarship, served as a mentor for the Cattlemen Young Leaders program and in 2006 was named

by ALBERTA VENTURE magazine as one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People.

Another regular columnist of ours, Steve Kay, the editor and publisher of the CATTLE BUYERS WEEKLY meat industry newsletter, was presented with the American Meat Institute’s highest accolade, Steve Kay the Industry Advancement Award at the AMI annual meeting last month in Atlanta.

John, Pauline and Austin Featherstone of Stone Island Ranch on Manitoulin Island, Ont., are the 2013 winners of the province’s Environmental Stewardship Award. The Featherstones custom graze 150 head of cattle each year on 22 paddocks subdivided with portable poly wire fences. They fenced the three water sources on the property to protect wetlands and riparian areas and pump water by solar power through 7,000 feet of pipe to a portable tank that is moved with the cattle.

6 CATTLEMEN / MARCH 2013

Allen Patkau of Hanley, Sask., received the Saskatchewan Beef and Forage Symposium Committee extension award at the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference.

Patkau served on the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, the Prairie Conservation Action Plan, the Western Beef Allen Patkau Development Centre research advisory committee and was involved in the formation of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association.

Eric Bowman of Gallery-on-theFarm near Enniskillen is the winner of the 2013 Ontario Pasture Award presented by the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association, MAPLESEED and the Ontario Forage Council. Eric and his wife intensively graze 55 pairs with 75 acres of pasture on a 250-acre farm, marketing calves as certified organic freezer beef. He installed a water system to supply each paddock on the farm. More recently, he started growing winter rye and pasturing standing corn to extend his pasture, which has been “overwhelmingly successful.”

Delegates to the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) made a couple of changes to their board of directors at their annual meeting in Toronto last month by electing Cory Van Groningen of Haldimand County as their southern director and Arden Schneckenburger of Dundas County as director at large.

OCA vice-president Bob Gordanier was re-elected as the cow-calf director and Tom Wilson was re-elected as feedlot director after serving as southern director for the past three years. Dan Darling remains president for 2013.

Jeff Hyatt is the new research co-ordinator of the Canadian Simmental Association. He was raised on a cow-calf operation in Rainy River, Ont., and worked for the local cattlemen’s association after receiving a bachelor of science in agriculture from the University of Guelph in 2008.

From there he moved to Alberta to work with Cargill Animal Nutrition and Elanco Animal Health before taking up his previous position as breed development co-ordinator with the Canadian Hereford Association.

The Saskatchewan Livestock Association (SLA) recently presented honour scrolls to Lynn and Sherri Grant of Val Marie, Robert and Sharon Ballantyne of Livelong, Ron and Marilyn Mountenay of Belle Plaine, and the late William Duncan of Abbey in recognition of their service to the livestock industry and their communities.

In our previous listing of beef industry notables who received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal we overlooked two beef producers from the Rainy River District of Ontario. Kim Jo Bliss, a wellknown beef producer and ag advocate and Linda Armstrong, a beef producer involved with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture for many years before she and her husband retired, were two other worthy recipients of this singular honour.

The Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association presented a life achievement award to Bill and Eileen Lamont of Maidstone in late January. The Lamonts were co-developers of the

Eileen and Bill Lamont

Speckle Park breed of cattle combining their Black Angus stock with some unique speckled animals from the herd of Mary Lindsay from Greenstreet.

Speckle Park was officially recognized as a breed in 2006. Eileen died last January and Bill passed away February 1 this year in Salmon Arm, B.C. Correction: In this section of our second January 2013 issue we mistakenly reported that former VIDO director Dr. Lorne Babiuk, flax breeder Gordon Rowland, biodiesel pioneer, Zenneth Faye and horticulture specialist Sara Williams were inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame. In fact, they will be inducted at a special ceremony in Saskatoon August 3-4.

C www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Les Johnston knows his beef a lot better now - thanks to BIXS.

So, What’s Your Beef?

Here’s just a few reasons why Johnston reckons BIXS is the best thing to come along in years to help his ranch business.

“I need accurate carcass data on my cattle so I can effectively market them to buyers. BIXS delivers the information I need to take my marketing program to the next level, especially for branded beef programs…

I figure I pay for those RFID tags so why not pocket some payback from that by registering them onto BIXS and getting good information in return like detailed carcass and grade data. And as an added bonus I age verify them through BIXS, which helps us tap into cull cow premiums...

In just a short time on BIXS I’m confident that now I can guarantee to a buyer that 60 percent of my animals will grade AAA with high yields. Before BIXS I lacked confidence in that kind of claim, I didn’t have the data to back it up…

How can I improve something I’m not measuring? BIXS is my measuring tool. Some folks may be leery of the information BIXS provides on their cattle, but they mislead themselves in my opinion. To me it’s all about mapping my cowherd genetics and the specifics on the beef I produce so I can take control and manage my business and future and provide my consumers with a positive eating experience….”

- Les Johnston, Nisku Land & Cattle Co., Filmore, Sask.

The power of individual animal and carcass data is just a click away.

For more information and to register onto BIXS visit the website at www.bixs.cattle.ca For quick registration go to www.bixs.cattle.ca/go To advertise on the BIXS website and database portal e-mail us at: bixs@cattle.ca

Funding for this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Agricultural Flexibility Fund, as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

breeding

IMPROVE YOUR HERD’S BREEDING EFFICIENCIES

F

rom a cost-per-calf-born perspective there are many ways progressive producers have at their disposal to improve breeding efficiencies. Sharing bulls with likeminded producers and/or utilizing synchronization programs with artificial insemination are two ways to accomplish this. Our dairy producers are increasingly using sexed semen, which may become more available in the beef industry down the road. Dairymen now have way more heifers available as replacements and this allows them to consider breeding their older cows (which generally have poorer conception rates) to beef bulls, which should dramatically increase the sales value of those calves. Many purebred beef producers have semen for sale, which dairymen could access. They AI (artificially inseminate) anyway and this creates a co-operative spirit between our dairy and beef sectors which may have been lacking in the past.

This should improve beef marketed if a large number of dairy cows were bred to beef bulls. It certainly could have a huge benefit in the Jersey breed where most Jersey bull calves essentially have no market value.

We can both gain by each other’s strengths. I have always said dairymen breed all year round so their artificial insemination skills are second to none plus dairy cows have a tendency on average to strain more making breeding that much more difficult. There is not a purebred beef breeder out there who would not have semen to sell to dairymen. Dairy semen especially on younger sires is fairly inexpensive so I am sure they have been scared off by the high price of beef semen in ads.

This is true but many purebred beef producers have semen in storage on bulls they are no longer promoting or utilizing the genetics of which for non-registerable animals would be great for crossbreeding with dairy cows. Dairy cattle have very little issues calving so these crossbreds would be very growthy and salable calves. To think sexed semen is what is creating the possibility of this crossbreeding. In the past dairymen needed to keep all the replacements they could but with sexed semen there is now an abundance of good replacement heifers available for dairymen.

The crossbred offspring are often sought after for recipients in an embryo program because of their great milking ability. One must remember these half-bloods can still come with the dairy metabolic diseases such as milk fever, ketosis and mastitis so may need to be managed a bit differently or they can be put in the feedlot where more muscling and growth should return profit to the owner.

The varied calving seasons between producers or on the same large operations have allowed exceptional bulls to have two or more breeding seasons. It is still the most profitable to have a confined breeding season. Numerous articles have been written on this but a 63-day, three cycle breeding program is probably ideal and most top producers run just over two cycles with their breeding heifers. Culled open heifers still return top dollar as feedlot animals and you are selecting for fertility when just breeding heifers for about two cycles. By breeding heifers one cycle early you allow them more time after their first calf to get ready for rebreeding and can watch 8 Cattlemen / March 2013

them a little closer at calving season. There is no doubt mothering, milking and calving issues can be slightly higher with heifers so better to give them a bit more attention.

If a large operation has a spring and fall calving program no additional bulls are needed. As long as bulls have one to two months between breeding seasons to gain back some lost weight and heal any nagging injuries especially penile ulcers and contusions.

You will find two breeding seasons may be more beneficial to the longevity of bulls as often bulls in the off season are put in small pens and they get overfat, develop long hooves and essentially get out of shape. This extra fat in the scrotum can hinder their fertility and bulls with nothing to do fight more.

Two producers with different breeding seasons but several things in common such as management skills, herd health programs and breed preferences could share breeding bulls. This should allow them to buy better-quality bulls as purchase price is split between them. Both herds should be on the same type of health program as far as parasite control, preventive shots, and biosecurity measures. It must be clear as to who is doing what and who keeps the bull in the off-season.

Often with high-value bulls semen is collected even if just for on-farm use. It acts as an insurance program and if both owners do breed at one time one maintains walking rights and the other AIs thus really utilizing a valuable productive bull.

With so many very effective options available for synchronization programs these days this also gets lots of cows bred quickly, reduces the length of the calving season and maximizes genetic gain while essentially cutting down breeding cost. With today’s good handling systems it is not much effort to run cows through when needed. Obviously this is much easier with heifers where calves are not involved but synchronization problems do greatly reduce the bull power necessary to get the cows bred plus you can utilize the services of skilled AI technicians who can breed a large number of cows in a short period of time.

Your goal by any method should be to confine the breeding season and use the best genetics you can afford (by AI or purchasing high-quality purebred bulls) and with the above methods there will be some cost savings along the way. If you are interested in synchronization programs ask your veterinarian about the method they have had the most success with or if sharing bulls make sure all aspects of the partnership including health parameters are looked after. If sharing bulls I recommend semen testing before each breeding season. If problems developed during the previous breeding season you want to find that out. Select your herd bulls wisely whether through natural breeding or AI With bulls being half the genetics in your herd it behooves you to spend time making the best possible breeding choices for your operation. Here’s to a very fertile breeding season.

C — Roy Lewis, DVM www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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identification

UHF tags back in the limelight They offer greater reading range and a memory

T

he use of ultra-high-frequency (UHF) technology for animal identification as an alternative or compliment to lowfrequency (LF) technology is a fairly recent development around the world.

In Canada, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Polytechnic’s UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) project funded by the Alberta Meat and Livestock Agency (ALMA) now has 650 UHF tags in the field for testing (Canadian Cattlemen, October, 2011), and AniTrace, a subsidiary of Hana Micron of Korea, has started working with ranchers and feedlots to field test its UHF system.

Plans call for putting approximately 100,000 AniTrace UHF tags into circulation here this year, says Chuck Cosgrove, an Albertan who worked on the Alberta auction market traceability study and is now based in Utah as director of sales and marketing with AniTrace.

He made the trip back home to give government and industry representatives a preview of the company’s UHF technology at an event organized by Alberta Agriculture and the Southern Alberta Livestock Exchange at the Highwood Auction Market near High River.

A dangle-style UHF RFID tag, hand-

Official feedback

There are several steps involved in approving new tagging technologies that affect the Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS) and traceability.

Currently, Canada and several other countries use the ISO 11784/11785 LF radio frequency RFID standard for animal identification.

Applications for new equipment that fall outside the current standard must fit in with the proposed national testing framework on identification devices, which calls for a cost-benefit analysis before any new technology is accepted into the national system.

“Any technology that is not backwards compatible will make the installed base of technology (readers, tags and scanners) redundant,” explains Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) animal identification expert and technical advisory 10 Cattlemen / March 2013

Chuck Cosgrove held and stationary readers, and a webbased server that can communicate with any type of management software program comprise the AniTrace system.

The system was proven in Brazil, where the government invited Hana Micron to bid on supplying an animal identification system to meet the country’s traceability needs following a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak there. The company realized committee member, Paul Laronde. He is also an industry representative for Canada on ISO (International Organization for Standardization) working Group 3 on electronic animal identification.

“Producers, industr y and governments have significant investments in the current technology, therefore, the costbenefit analysis is critical to understand before accepting or rejecting any new technology.”

As an industry-led organization that administers the national animal identification program and manages the CLTS database, Laronde says CCIA would likely be directed by industry to stay in step with Canada’s trading partners.

The process starts with CCIA’s technical committee, which has recently opened a research and development file on UHF systems. The committee reports its findings to the CCIA board, which in

LF tags wouldn’t be adequate to meet the requirements and it would need to develop a new technology and it had to be inexpensive, Cosgrove explains.

AniTrace has been in widespread use for traceability throughout Brazil since 2009 and Korea since 2011, again on the heels of an FMD outbreak.

In 2010, USDA approved the AniContinued on page 12

turn, recommends new technologies to the CFIA for final approval.

Considering the industry’s current focus on tag retention, Laronde sees the large, flat and rigid dangle-type tag required to accommodate the UHF antenna as a major shortcoming because those characteristics have a negative impact on ear tag retention.

Phil Rowland, a High River rancher and chair of Alberta’s Livestock Identification Services (LIS) sees potential in the UHF technology. “This (AniTrace) system is close to what we’re looking for, but it still needs some tweaking to get more distance to target an animal,” he says. “It seems affordable enough and, if approved, industry will buy in if it has value, that is if it’s useful and workable for the industry. The benefit for LIS is that UHF technology will go hand in hand with e-manifest technology as both develop.” www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Take 60 years of experience as Pfizer Animal Health. Support it with a highly diversified R&D program, and you get one new name, and the most forward-thinking animal health company in the industry. Dedicated to providing veterinarians and producers with the medicines, vaccines, and services you need. Today, we’re Zoetis.

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7”

Continued from page 10

Trace UHF tag for use in the U.S. It is one of two UHF tags currently available in the U.S. where tagging cattle moving interstate became mandatory on March 11.

The UHF super-thin flat antenna in the AniTrace tag is moulded into the dangle part of the tag, as opposed to being sandwiched between two layers of thermoplastic polyurethane. The stud is the common style that can be applied with an Allflex applicator.

The tags can be read up to 12 feet with the hand-held reader and 21 feet with a stationary reader. The company is currently designing a larger tag and a new antenna in the reader to add another five feet to its range.

By radio frequency industry standards, the read rate of LF tags is classified as low because they have to be read one at a time. UHF technology can read multiple numbers simultaneously, giving it a moderate speed rating.

Trucking companies use the same

technology to track vehicles moving at highway speeds, so it is more than sufficient to read tagged animals as they move through an alley. The readers have a built-in safeguard to prevent double counting the same number.

The tags can be read up to 12 feet with the hand-held reader and 21 feet with a stationary reader UHF tags have a built-in memory making it possible to write information directly to the tag using a smartcard built into the hand-held reader. Data can be retrieved directly from the tag in the same way, or from the AniTrace server when the reader is operating where Wi-Fi or cellphone service is available.

A portion of the memory is secure,

meaning only people with proper authorization can write information to the tag and it can’t be erased. This part of the memory could be used to store owner and premise identification numbers so that a permanent record of ownership and the animal’s whereabouts would be with it at all times.

The non-secure part of the memory is erasable and useful for entering information such as treatment protocol codes and withdrawal dates that can be viewed by anyone in the production chain using an AniTrace reader.

It’s not always necessary to write information to the tag because all of the data associated with each tag number is stored on the AniTrace server and can be retrieved or sent using the AniTrace hand-held reader or connecting it to a computer, Cosgrove explains.

He gives the example of downloading information on a group of animals from the server to the hand-held reader before leaving for a pasture in a remote area so Continued on page 14

WE’VE TURNED ANGUS UPSIDE DOWN

& CREATED A POWERHOUSE OF GRASSLAND GENETICS

• Line Bred and forage tested for 65 years, our cattle are bred to do more with less.

12 Cattlemen / March 2013

• 100% forage developed 2 year old red and black angus bulls for sale by private treaty

FIND OUT MORE Call Christoph & Erika Weder 780-765-2855

Visit www.spiritviewranch.com or

www.pinebanknorthamerica.com www.canadiancattlemen.ca

ADD SAFE-GUARD ADD POUNDS

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Safe-Guard TM (fenbendazole ) is a different class of dewormer than pour-ons and injectables. It works fast to stop internal parasites and the hidden damage they cause. These parasites suppress feed intake, reduce average daily gain, hurt nutrient absorption and immune function, reducing the health and performance of your cattle.1,2 Use Safe-Guard as part of your parasite control program for more pounds of high quality beef in the feedlot.3,4 Visit www.AddSafe-Guard.com for more information or contact your veterinarian.

1 Endoparasite control, L.R. Ballweber, Veterinary Clinics Food Animal, 2006, 22:451-461. 2Economic analysis of pharmaceutical technologies in modern beef production, J.D. Lawrence and M.A. Ibarburu, Iowa State University, 2007. 3Pasture deworming and (or) subsequent feedlot deworming with fenbendazole. Effects of grazing performance, feedlot performance and carcass traits of yearling steers, R. Smith, et al., The Bovine Practitioner, 2000, 34:104-114. 4A fenbendazole oral drench in addition to an ivermectin pour-on reduces parasite burden and improves feedlot and carcass performance of finishing heifers compared with endectocides alone, C.D. Reinhardt, J.P. Hutcheson and W.T. Nichols, Journal of Animal Science, 2006, 84:2243-2250.

Safe-Guard is a trademark of Intervet International B.V. Used under license. Merck Animal Health (known as MSD Animal Health outside the US and Canada), operating in Canada as Intervet Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. MERCK and MSD are trademarks of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. Copyright Š 2012 Intervet International B.V., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All rights reserved.

TM

SafeGuard ad Canadian Cattlemen.indd 1

13-01-25 10:43

Continued from page 12

that day’s treatments can be recorded in the reader and uploaded to the server when you’re back home.

The hand-held reader has 8MB of flash memory and 16MB of RAM memory. It looks much like a bank card processor with the keys below an LCD display and the receiving antenna located in a flat head protruding from the top to read UHF tags and a port to attach LF handheld readers. In addition to being set up to handle smartcards and wireless for real-time updates and synchronization with the AniTrace server, it has a slot for magnetic swipe cards to authorize transactions, a built-in printer for receipts, and GPS integration with Google Earth.

As with LF technology, the receiving antenna (reader) has to be in direct line with the tag’s antenna.

UHF signals will transmit through a single wall, but because they are short, they won’t bend around cor-

14 Cattlemen / march 2013

ners or leap hills and tall buildings — that’s why broadcasting and communication industries use repeaters to relay UHF signals.

UHF signals won’t transmit through flesh, therefore, the stationary antennas need to be positioned overhead, typically four at slightly differing angles across a 16-foot alley. The only time a number could be missed is if an animal ducks its head under another animal as it passes under all of the receiving antennas.

Arrangements have been made to test the AniTrace system in a couple of U.S. auction markets with data uploads from the tags through the AniTrace server to the markets’ existing management software programs when the cattle are dropped off. The company is also developing an auto-sort gate system that works off the scale weight to sort cattle with the RFID and pen numbers recorded by the system.

According to Cosgrove, tag losses in Brazil have been estimated at 0.07 per cent over the past two years. By

far, the biggest reason for loss is the tag ripping through the ear. However, extremely cold weather conditions in Canada could present challenges, though the tags have been lab certified for working environments as low as -22 C. “We are definitely interested in hearing from Canadian producers who are willing to use the system, judge it and provide useful feedback,” Cosgrove says. The company will supply a limited number of tags and readers to co-operating producers.

AniTrace tags currently retail in the U.S. for $2.50 with significant volume discounts. The hand-held readers cost approximately $1,300, while stationary readers in various styles are priced at $150. The tags and readers are commercially available from AniTrace while arrangements are being made for distribution in Canada.

For more information, call Cosgrove at 1-801-885-6334, or visit www.

C anitrace.net.

— Debbie Furber

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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health

Calfhood vaccinations are going younger

16 Cattlemen / march 2013

photo credit Jeannette Greaves

T

here has been lots of trial work over the years regarding the ideal time for vaccination of our calves. Immunologists would debate this but as situations on farms changed and herds got larger trends changed. Herd owners no longer boostered vaccines at four to six weeks apart as was often recommended.

Summer pneumonias cropped up on young calves and these are often caused by the respiratory viruses such as BRSV (bovine respiratory syncytial virus) or the shipping fever bacteria such as pasteurella or mannheimia. Because it was always recommended the booster needed to be four to six weeks apart producers left the initial vaccination to before weaning and then boostered it at weaning. Older calves in the spring were given blackleg of course, as we knew for sure colostral immunity would wear off but the other vaccines were left. Summer pneumonias increased in incidence and to try and avoid these summer pneumonias when calves were hard to spot and check, vaccination was initiated much earlier. Even though the second booster shot was months apart producers noticed morbidity and mortality seemed lower. Immunologists then found the booster response from the second vaccination even though months later was very good. Over time it was found that protection was good with many months in-between booster shots. This was great as vaccinations could be more co-ordinated with other management procedures and in most cases did not require a separate pass through the chute. Whether it was weaning, implanting or deworming the second shot of vaccine can be given at the same time.

Over the years it was also felt there may be a maximum number of diseases or antigens calves could be vaccinated for at any one time. The analogy is the normal young animal or human for that matter is exposed to almost countless antigens on a daily basis and develops protection or an immune response. It is very hard to overchallenge the immune system. With cows we need to watch if we use lots of vaccines against gram-negative organisms such as Leptospirosis, or the pink eye organism because of the production of leukotoxins and either sick animals or abortions could result. I would suggest with calves the only ones really used are the bacterial pneumonias pasteurella and mannheimia and the excessive leutotoxin production usually comes from stacking other gram negatives at the same time. It is also exacerbated with the killed vaccines as there is a huge antigenic load in these killed vaccines. My point is you don’t really have to worry about this too much with calf vaccines.

There was always the worry about vaccinating calves too young because of the blocking from colostral immunity. The

calf ingests colostrum in the first few hours of life and the immunoglobulins in the colostrum contain antibodies against the diseases the cow has been vaccinated for or naturally exposed to. This blocks the humoral immune response of the calf. What we’ve discovered fairly recently is that when calves are vaccinated at a very young age they are still protected many months out. This protection is from cell mediated immunity so the bottom line is very young calves can be vaccinated for viral and bacterial diseases that affect them.

This also ties into when it is best from a management perspective to combine this job with other procedures. Many producers are calving later so calves are either born on grass or go to grass at a very young age. In many cases the opportunity to administer protective vaccines is at a very young age, otherwise the next opportunity is later in the fall when they come off grass.

Calves that are not vaccinated at a young age will be susceptible to calfhood diseases including the blackleg organisms for several months. If the only time calves can be vaccinated is at a very young age it is far better to do it then rather than leaving it until fall.

Some companies are now testing their vaccines on younger and younger cattle. The labels of many vaccines say this product is not approved for use in calves less than three months of age. That is because at the time these products were approved that was the youngest age of the calves given the vaccine, hence the recommendation. I know for a fact companies have tested their vaccines on calves as young as three days of age with good result. In the foreseeable future it might make sense to vaccinate calves as young as one day of age while we give them their shots at birth and apply their ear tags. That would save considerable time for the producer Continued on page 18 www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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and allow the calves the ability to acquire protection against certain neonatal diseases for the rest of their lives.

The only caution is when you are using modified live vaccines on very young calves you need to use the lowdose bottles and group the calves together in multiples of 10. Some vaccines are made in individual doses and that helps. Also companies are using more and more intranasal technology, which is very easy to administer to inquisitive young calves and less stressful, as there is not the pain of a needle.

Think outside the box when it comes to vaccinating very young calves as their immune systems can handle it. One company is about to release an intranasal product to be used in calves one week of age or older. This is the first time I can remember where indications for this young an age are actually on the label — a great indication of things to come.

Take advantage of the times you handle them to assess whether vaccinations are warranted and check with your herd veterinarian as to which vaccinations he/she recommends for young calves in your area. You will always find the naysayers who have never vaccinated but all they need is a blackleg outbreak to make them believers. Vaccination is still the simplest and most effective form of biosecurity you can do for your cattle. Happy vaccinating.

C — Roy Lewis, DVM

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SETTING THE BAR HIGH 2012 Agribition was a show to remember at Bar-E-L Angus

F

ar from the pomp and ceremony of the show ring, Dave and Lynne Longshore grab their touques and head down the lane to start another work day at Bar-E-L Angus southeast of Stettler, Alta. Partway through the daily routine they swing the mix wagon past two small pastures to drop some feed over the fence to a couple of sharp Angus bulls looking that much more striking in contrast to the whiteness of the day.

It’s a scene similar to that played out on thousands of family ranches every morning except that the two bulls happen to be the 2012 Canadian Western Agribition senior and grand champion Angus bull, Southland Thriller 83X, and the junior and reserve grand champion Angus bull, HF Smokin’ Aces 105Y. Seldom, if ever, has an exhibitor captured both of these titles in one breed at this major event.

Dave says they had high hopes for Thriller, a 2010 bull coowned with Southland Black Angus and The Thriller Group, that he had shown to the junior and grand championship placings last year, but for a bull to win back-to-back grand champion titles is very rare, especially in the Angus breed.

Even though Thriller is maturing, he continues to express freedom of movement coupled with exceptional thickness, masculinity, and character one would look for in a herdsire, he explains.

Like Thriller, Smokin’ Aces, co-owned with Hamilton Farms of Cochrane, Alta., is structurally sound and attractive. His carcass traits, coupling high marbling with powerful rib-eye measurement and lean meat yield, prove that he is exceptional, Dave says. One of the most important attributes of any sire is the superiority of his mother and Smokin’ Aces’ dam, HF Erica 26T, is one of Hamilton Farms’ greatest cows.

Both bulls are two of Bar-E-L’s newest sires and Bar-E-L Naomi 107Z, a 2012 heifer calf sired by Thriller, was named the intermediate division calf champion of the Angus show.

The Longshores consider Naomi to be one of their top heifer calves and because Thriller was exhibited, they wanted to show what he could really do as a breeding bull. She sold in the Power and Perfection sale to Breed Creek Angus for $10,000.

“Agribition is important from a marketing angle because of the opportunity to expose your stock and name to so many people that you otherwise wouldn’t make contact with,” Dave says. “You never really know how many people you reach — people often call up a year or two later looking for a bull because they remember you from Agribition.”

For the same reasons, they’ve made the trip south several 20 Cattlemen / March 2013

Dave Longshore with Thriller 83X. times to the National Western Stock Show in Denver, sometimes exhibiting cattle, but also to see what’s available in new genetics.

The family has also shown at major Alberta shows including Farmfair in Edmonton and the Camrose Bull Congress, as well as the World Angus Forum hosted in Calgary in 2009. That fall Bar-E-L received the Alberta Angus Association’s breeder-of-the-year award and the following year was recognized as the Canadian Red Angus purebred breeder of the year.

The seedstock business and showing cattle are family traditions for both Dave and Lynne. Bar-E-L is the Longshore family brand passed down through the generations on the farm homesteaded by his great-grandfather in 1905. His dad, Sandy saved up hard-earned pennies from his weasel trapline during the Depression to buy his first cow for $12 when he was a kid. The herd gradually evolved from Shorthorn cattle to Horned Herefords to polled Herefords.

Bar-E-L Angus came into being in 1995 when Dave and Lynne bought their first Red Angus cattle and the Black Angus cattle soon followed. The Longshores started showing Red Angus cattle in 1997 and their bull, Red YY Red Knight Continued on page 21 www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Continued from page 20

640F, became the national champion that year winning both Farmfair and Agribition. Today their operation includes 225 purebreds.

Lynne (nee Cutler) also grew up raising purebred Horned Hereford cattle. Their children, Dallas, Tanis and Jenna, have been involved with the day-to-day operations through the years and still help out when possible now that they have moved on with their own careers and education.

Clearly, raising quality cattle is the Longshores’ true passion. “We strive to raise the bar on quality and improve our bull pen each year,” says Dave.

Their measure of success is satisfied buyers and repeat customers. Half of their business comes from local producers within a 125-mile radius who regularly return to buy bulls. Another quarter go to buyers a bit farther afield up to a 250-mile radius, and the remainder go to other provinces and occasionally other countries.

“It’s a two-way flow,” Dave explains. “We breed the type of bulls our customers want and our customers know the type of animals we raise.”

What their customers want has remained relatively consistent through the years — thick and muscular bulls that offer calving ease, performance and longevity.

Bar-E-L participates in the Canadian Angus Association’s (CAA) whole-herd reporting program. Birth weights, weaning weights and 365-day weights are submitted to generate the cow herd’s production, progeny performance ratings and expected progeny differences (EPDs) so that they have detailed and accurate information on their cattle to present to buyers.

“Whether they need a calving-ease bull or a bigger performance bull, we always emphasize the maternal aspect of the cow herd,” Lynne comments. “Udder quality and milk flow, and good mothering ability really simplifies the process at calving time when, like most everyone, you are short of help. These qualities remain very important to a rancher’s success.”

These are the qualities they take into account when selecting sires for their own breeding program, whether it be retaining bulls, buying bulls or with artificial insemination.

A lot of thought and strategy goes into planning a breeding program and they are constantly looking for bulls that will compliment their herd — they just never know where “the next one” will be.

EPDs, performance data and carcass data are all part of the equation, however, they are firm believers that a bull must first pass their visual assessment test.

Attention to detail every day A year in the life of a purebred breeder follows a fairly rigid schedule to do a top-notch job year round. The Longshores work together in every aspect of breeding, calving, developing and marketing the cattle, with growing the feed also falling into their job descriptions. Nowadays, they often joke that there is always four of them — Dave has Lynne, and Lynne and Dave.

They have heeded what the land has taught his family through the generations and decided years ago that their

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Continued from page 21

land base was more suited to ranching than growing grain. Today, the only Topics include: crops they grow are for silage, hay and • Human Resources pasture.

• Economics and Finance • Pasture Calculations The winter feeding season starts • Grazing Management with weaning the calves in late Sep• Pasture Rejuvenation tember on to some type of cover crop • Weed Control where they graze for about 30 days • Cell Designs/Water Systems • Swath Grazing/Bale Grazing before going on feed the first week of November. This is when they make the Location: Westlock, AB first cut of heifers and bull calves to go When: Nov. 5th, 6th & 7th, 2013 into their development program. The Or ask us about setting up a school in your area. market heifers and steers have been Can you Graze 365 days a year? We provide a 3-day course backgrounded on the farm and sold that will take you right into the design and planning of a privately in recent years. year-round grazing system. The course tuition is $800/Farm Unit, which allows two members from your farm business to The rations include chopped hay, attend. This course is well worth the investment. rolled grain, silage and mineral delivAlso be sure to attend: ered through a tumble-style mix wagon *Profitable Pastures* to the many pens and pastures where When: April 16th and 17th, 2013 the cattle are wintered.

The new year rings in the final To register please contact: stages of preparation for their annual Steve Kenyon sale featuring Red Angus and Black Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd. Angus bulls and females, with clipping, (780) 307-2275 photographing and taking video footwww.greenerpasturesranching.com age1of each animal.

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The videos have been an important addition to their marketing strategy for the past four years, first, for promoting the sale on their website and Facebook page and second, to show on sale day. This has eliminated the need to move the cattle through the ring, which is easier on the cattle, saves on labour requirements, and the buyers approve because they’ve already looked over the cattle before the start of the sale. The auctioneer conducts the sale as usual with the videos of each animal running across the screen.

All of the physical work and attention to detail throughout the year culminates with the annual BarE-L production sale, which the Longshores manage with assistance from the auctioneer and sale staff. It’s held at the ranch the second Thursday of March, which puts it on March 14 this year.

For more information, contact the Longshores at 403-579-2394 or visit www.bar-e-l.com.

C — Debbie Furber

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GRAZING

MY DONKEY PASTURE

T

his past summer I was in charge of my first grazing cell. The herd contained one horse, four donkeys, and two baby donkeys. I did most of the work myself, which included fencing, moving the animals and moving the water. Once in a while when I wasn’t there to do it, my dad helped. I was also required to make a pasture plan and fill out a grazing chart. The pasture that I grazed was five acres of our yard and I used temporary fences to make 16 paddocks that we rotated around. When I made the pasture plan I calculated the animals are on each paddock for an average of four days each. We started out with faster moves and shorter rest periods. Later they got longer. We were aiming for a 60-day rest period. [Graze period = rest period/(#of paddocks-1)] I should first give a brief summary of the four grazing concepts you will need to be a successful rancher. These are the graze period, the rest period, stock density and animal impact.

The graze period is the time period where they are on a paddock. It is important to have a short graze period because if you let the animals get to the second bite, the root system can

This is really a training ground for a young grazier. be damaged. Secondly, the rest period is the number of days in between graze periods. The rest period allows the pasture to refill the root reserves to keep the plants strong and healthy.

Next, animal impact is when the animal’s hooves disturb the soil. When they do this, it helps new seedlings to grow and recycles nutrients into the soil. Lastly, stock density is how many animals are on a paddock at one time. The higher the stock density, the more evenly you will spread out the manure.

It also stops the cows from being picky, and they eat everything. I also wanted to make sure I left lots of residue because I know that will make the pastures better next year. I also look for dung beetles. If you ever come to our pasture walk in the summer, it is my job to show you the dung beetles.

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REVALOR® and ZILMAX® are registered trademarks of Intervet International B.V. Used under license. RALGRO® is a registered trademark of Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation. Used under license. * All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner(s).

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 © 2013 Intervet International B.V., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All rights reserved.

Revalor G Canadian Cattlemen ad.indd 1

is $116/acre times five acres which comes to a total of $580. My costs include labour and rent (water systems and perimeter fencing with rent). It took me an average of 15 minutes each time I had to move the animals; 15 minutes x 35 moves at $10/hr. makes my total labour costs at $87.50. My rent was $25/acre which made my total costs equal $212.50. The gross margin equals $367.50. In a true economic analysis, we would still take our overheads off the margin. A gross margin of $74.50/acre should be a profitable operation.

This experience was fun and very profitable. It was better than some of Dad’s pastures! I hope to do this again next year. It took some work but not like Dad’s kind of work. I had a very good perimeter fence, and the water was easy. My small water trough could be dumped and moved by hand.

The farthest paddock needed three garden hoses to reach. I also did not need any other equipment as this pasture was right here at home. I also learned that you have to keep good records. It was very tough to figure out a couple of the moves that I missed writing down the dates. I’ll be sure to keep better track of my moves next year. I made enough money to buy a new Iphone and still had some left over to put into my savings. Thanks for reading my article.

C — Letitia Kenyon

Letitia Kenyon I had to do more than just fencing, before I could get paid. Dad made me fill out and calculate a grazing chart.

The chart counts Animal Days per Acre (ADA) and gives you a yield off of your pasture. I started on June 6 and continued for 173 days (until November 26). It took me 35 moves! My average paddock supplied 155 ADAs and the best was 450. My worst was the bush at 58 ADAs. From this I can calculate the dollars per acre ($/acre). My average was $116/acre, the best paddock was $337/acre, and my worst paddock was $43/acre. I used a grazing rate of $0.75/day.

I now need to calculate my gross margin. Gross margin is the gross product minus all my costs. My gross product

Letitia is learning to be the junior grazing manager at Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd. in Busby, Alta. She is 12 years old.

When it comes to making the most of time on pasture, Revalor®-G leads the field Particularly well-suited to help increase weight gain of cattle on pasture

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1. Johns, J.T., K.D. Bullock, D. Nash and T. Slaughter. 2000. The effect of Revalor-G, Synovex-S, or Ralgro on gain of grazing steers. UK Beef Research Report Report.

13-01-25 11:15

VET ADVICE

Norovirus: a potential concern for the livestock industry

T

he global onslaught of emerging diseases never ceases. The role animals play in the emergence of new diseases and the transmission of those diseases to humans is under constant scrutiny.

BSE, SARS and influenza are examples of pathogens that jumped the species barriers over the last decade. While their encroachment on human health was less than spectacular, the economic impact these diseases had on the health-care system, social disruption, and the food industry was incalculable.

In his book CONTAGION, author Mark Harrison, a professor of medical history at Oxford University, charts how business and government handled, or mishandled, just about every significant outbreak of cross-border disease from the Black Death of the 1300s to more recent real and imagined threats to human and animal life. Vigilance and risk assessment are key ingredients to being prepared. Long before anyone knew there was such a thing as a germ, countries suspected that disease, especially plague, travelled along trade routes. Norovirus fits the definition of a perfect pathogen in this regard in that many outbreaks are associated with human travel, especially confined travel by ship and airplane.

Noroviruses now top the list of foodborne causes of gastroenteritis in humans. They are associated with 30-50 per cent of all foodborne outbreaks. Vomiting and diarrhea are the primary signs and these infections are commonly, and mistakenly, called stomach flu. While most cases last a few days, some can be severe and in rare cases fatal. Hospitalization and mortality associated with norovirus infections occur most frequently among the elderly, young children, and immunocompromised patients. January is peak norovirus season.

Noroviruses are highly infectious. As few as 10 viral particles may be sufficient to infect an individual; people stricken with disease shed billions. Transmission happens through person-to-person contact, fomites, water and food. Noroviruses infect hosts of all ages and can cause very large outbreaks in closed settings. When outbreaks occur, victims often number in the millions; 23 million cases in the U.S. last year. It’s estimated that noroviruses kill 200,000 children under the age of five every year in developing countries.

Until recently, it was thought animals did not carry human noroviruses. It has now been shown that it is indeed possible for animals to carry human strains of norovirus. The first bovine enteric noroviruses were described in Great Britain. At least three genetic clusters of porcine noroviruses have been discovered. Murine (rodent) noroviruses are used as models to study human strains. Furthermore, antibodies against animal noroviruses were detected in humans as well as antibodies against human noroviruses in swine. Experimental infection of germ-free calves and pigs with human noroviruses

26 CATTLEMEN / MARCH 2013

demonstrated that virus replication and seroconversion could occur.

Recent research has shown that dogs can carry human norovirus and transmit infection to people within the pet’s home environment. Human strains of norovirus were also detected in dogs exposed to people with symptoms and showed mild symptoms themselves.

It is not yet clear how nasty new strains of this bug will be, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced, an Aussie newcomer (GII.4 Sydney) first spotted in March 2012, has triggered acute gastroenteritis outbreaks in the United Kingdom and other countries. During the last four months of 2012, GII.4 Sydney accounted for 53 per cent of 266 norovirus outbreaks in the U.S. Roughly half of the Sydney outbreaks resulted from direct person-to-person transmission; another 20 per cent were foodborne.

Water has also been incriminated. In general, GII.4 strains are associated with higher rates of hospitalization and death. Questions about the potential role of animals and animal products are starting to surface.

Transmission from animals to humans and vice versa would have far-reaching consequences for epidemiology and food safety. The CDC stated that GII.4 Sydney appears to have replaced a previously dominant norovirus strain. The upshot of this is that these highly contagious organisms change and adapt. Since the norovirus genus comprises viruses that infect humans, pigs, cattle, and mice, the possibility for zoonotic transmission of infection exists. In general, zoonotic transfer could occur either indirectly through the food chain or directly through animal contact. Transfer of animal virus to humans has the potential of being more serious if animal and human strains produce recombinant mutants with altered virulence properties. There is a growing concern of the possibility of recombinant swine/human or bovine/ human forms and zoonotic transmission through meat, dairy, or farm products from infected pigs and cattle.

Mechanisms of immunity to norovirus are unclear. It appears immunity is strain specific and lasts only a few months. Given their genetic variability, norovirus infections are likely to reoccur during a lifetime.

According to Harrison, quarantine had become an instrument of statecraft by 1700 and was an excuse for protectionism, sometimes a reason to go to war. The imposition of sanitary measures was often considered an act of aggression. In time, the Europeans had everyone agree on international rules for this sort of thing.

Let’s hope we have things right this time.

Dr. Ron Clarke prepares this column on behalf of the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners. Suggestions for future articles can be sent to CANADIAN CATTLEMEN (gren@fbcpublishing.com) or WCABP (info@wcabp.com).

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HOLISTIC RANCHING

Planned grazing

G

razing season will soon be animal numbers. But it is detrimental to both individual here. This year will presplants and the soil. Overgrazing occurs when cows stay ent another golden opporin a pasture too long at one time. Overgrazing can also tunity to improve our soil occur when the cows are moved but return before the and increase our grass production by plants have fully recovered from the previous graze. proper grazing. Will this be the year To eliminate overgrazing I suggest using a graze that you improve your grazing manperiod of three to five days. The shorter the graze period agement? I encourage you to conthe better the results will be. The recovery period must sider the benefits of planned grazing. be long enough to allow plants to fully recover before Understanding the benefits and the being grazed a second time. In most cases a recovery “how to” could pay you huge dividends. period of 60 to 90 days will be required. This must be Benefits of planned grazing: monitored. It will seldom or never be less than 60 days 1. Increase the fertility of your land; and could easily be more than 90 days. The best indica2. A more effective water cycle; tor of full recovery is that the plant is ready to flower.

3. Increased production from a set land base.

If you follow the above ideas you will need to move Planned grazing helps increase the fertility of our your cows at least every five days and have a recovery land by working with nature. We focus on the four period ranging from 60 to 90 days. ecosystem building blocks (energy flow, water cycle, The next logical question might be: How many pasmineral cycle and succession). The ecosystem buildtures will I require? This question cannot be answered ing blocks are all closely related. As you improve one without some more input on your part. You need to you tend to improve them all. What does healthy land decide what graze period you will use and what recovlook like? What are we trying ery period you desire. With this to achieve? information the number of pasThe best indicator of soil tures required is easily deterhealth is that there is no bare Have you ever considered mined. The formula is: recovery ground. Every square inch of period divided by the graze soil is covered by a living plant how much more profitable period + 1 = the number of or by dead decaying plant mate- it is to improve the land pastures. So if you want a fiverial (litter). day graze period and a 75-day We want a high-energy flow you have as opposed to recovery period you will require which requires a high plant den(75 / 5) + 1 = 16 pastures. If sity, wide-leafed plants and a increasing your land base? another producer decides on a high level of plant diversity. An three-day graze period and a effective water cycle requires soil that is high in organic 75-day recovery he would require (75 / 3) +1 = 26 pasmatter and has a high porosity. An effective mineral tures. Both of these examples are correct for different cycle requires a high number of soil micro-organisms circumstances. There is no way to determine the numto facilitate rapid decay and recycling of the minerals. ber of pastures required to prevent overgrazing without The last requirement is to have a high diversity of plant knowing your individual plans. species. We want as many species as possible. In the end One of the challenges we face today is the everwe want lots of growth (it looks like a jungle) a high increasing value of land. For those selling out this is a level of plant diversity, plus a very effective water and real opportunity. For those who want to continue in mineral cycle. agriculture or have their sons or daughters continue this That’s what we want. How do we move in this trend presents a real challenge. Have you ever considdirection? Planned grazing is a powerful tool to help ered how much more profitable it is to improve the land us achieve our goal. Planned grazing basically mimics you have as opposed to increasing your land base? the grazing patterns that a large bison herd might have Planned grazing is a proven process. It delivers posifollowed many years ago. The soils in Western Canada tive results. It is beneficial to both individual plants were developed following these principles. We know and the soil. Many producers are enjoying healthier that cows grazed properly are beneficial to the plants land and increased production by utilizing planned and the soil. grazing. I encourage you to learn more about it. I Planned grazing eliminates overgrazing. It does believe you will like the results. Make it a great grazthis in two ways. The first is by having a short graze ing season. Happy trails. period, the number of days in a pasture at one time.

— Don Campbell The second is by having a recovery period, the number of days between grazings that allows full recovery of Don Campbell ranches with his family at Meadow Lake, the plants.

Sask., and teaches Holistic Management courses. He can be Overgrazing is a function of time. It is not related to reached at 306-236-6088 or doncampbell@sasktel.net.

28 CATTLEMEN / MARCH 2013

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CanadianCattlemanFullpg.indd 1

2/6/13 2:48 PM

management

$484-per-head return on grass-fed beef It sells for more than organic beef, says this U.S. producer

T

odd Churchill doesn’t believe in overfinishing cattle in pursuit of niche markets, when he feels grass-fed beef can deliver what consumers want, whether it’s a AAA grade quality steak or good-quality hamburger.

Churchill is the founder of Thousand Hills Cattle Company (THCC) in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, whose core philosophy is to deliver an incredible eating experience using the existing distribution system, which means its grass-fed beef is going head on in grocery stores with cheaper, commercial beef, premium AAA grade beef and sometimes even organic beef.

What prompts customers to try the product, says Churchill is the fact that grass-fed beef first answers their intellectual argument, whatever that may be. “Grass-fed beef is intellectually satisfying to the consumer, whether the criteria is environmental, animal welfare, human health, soil health, carbon neutral or whatever.” When one of the stores he sells to replaced its organic beef with grass-fed, 30 per cent of the regular organic customers immediately purchased it instead.

Once that initial value proposition is delivered and people try the product, it’s the eating experience itself that then creates customer loyalty, adds Churchill. He has done his own blind taste tests with consumers and has found around 70 per cent of them consistently prefer the taste of hamburger from grass-fed beef over commercial grain-fed beef.

The intellectual and emotional value of grass-fed beef is more important to his customers than price, argues Churchill.

Consumers are paying triple the usual price for ground beef and over half more for steaks, which are available fresh and prepackaged in the store. Demand for the product is doubling every year, which is why Churchill is looking for goodquality grass-fed cattle wherever he can get them. “Demand continues to grow quickly for the high-quality eating experience associated with 100 per cent grass-fed beef from THCC, and this requires more cattle raised according to our protocol,” says Churchill.

At the recent Manitoba Ranchers Forum in Brandon, Man., he was offering Canadian producers $2.45/lb. based on hot carcass weight, delivered as far as the border.

Churchill hopes to source around 40 fat cattle a week from Canada and will pay all transportation costs from the U.S. border to the processing facility in Cannon Falls, Minnesota.

Producers would be responsible for managing the customs process and paying duties to clear the border.

THCC does have a stringent protocol that producers must follow if they want to supply the company. To summarize, the company requires no antibiotics of any kind to be administered, no added growth hormones and no grain fed — ever. In addition, all the cattle must be pre-approved

by Churchill or one of a handful of THCC cattle-sourcing 30 Cattlemen / march 2013

Todd Churchill people. One of these will be Jim Lintott, current president of the Manitoba Forage Council and a grass-fed beef producer himself. The full protocol is available online at www.thousandhillscattleco.com under the “For Producers” tab.

According to the USDA, grass-fed beef sales in the U.S. are worth over $3 billion. Although that probably represents less than five per cent of total meat sales in the U.S., Churchill says that grocery retailers are increasingly wanting a grass-fed beef product line to stay relevant to their most valuable demographic of customers; affluent, educated, loyal and less price sensitive. “Retailers tell us the key products to remain relevant to this most valued customer base are organic, gluten free and grass-fed beef,” says Churchill.

Production tips Churchill raises his own grass-fed cattle and shared some of his production tips with Manitoba producers in Brandon. He breaks production down into three stages.

The first, he says, is from birth to 10 months old, when he is less focused on the weight of the animal than its natural development, without artificial growth or health tools. He tries to eliminate stress and not interfere with the natural www.canadiancattlemen.ca

social structure of the animals, so doesn’t ear tag right after birth and doesn’t wean until the calf is at least 10 months old. “Calves can’t ruminate fully until they are 10 months old; everything else we do is developed around that reality,” says Churchill.

To enhance immune function he uses apple cider vinegar and cafeteria minerals so the animals can pick and choose what they need and want. He uses an organic product called Aqua-Nox from Agri-Dynamics, which is put into their drinking water at the rate of about four ounces per 100 gallons if he sees any animals getting sick, which he says is cheaper and more effective than high-end antibiotics.

The second stage is from 10 months to around 900 to 1,000 pounds, which is the period of cheapest gain. He

grazes them on wheat, rye, triticale and again offers cafeteria minerals, especially with high stock density and low selection management, to manage their protein and energy balance. He never feeds more than 15 per cent crude protein and supplements energy with high-sugar/high-digestibility grasses or molasses.

Churchill’s average net profit per head is $484. He believes that this model of production provides a new vision for the whole beef industry. “Chickens and pigs are both more efficient at converting grain to meat,” says Churchill. “Cattle can’t compete with that and I think that cattle are inevitably going to return to their role of converting low-value forages to meat that provides a better eating experience than pork or chicken.” C — Angela Lovell

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RESEARCH

New sainfoin for safer alfalfa grazing

S

oil is like a bank account. If the Yields were highest in Lethbridge, intermediate in nutrient withdrawals are always Saskatoon, and lowest in Swift Current due to moisture larger and more frequent than conditions. But all four combinations of sainfoin and the deposits, the land bank will alfalfa always yielded as well as AC Grazeland alone. eventually go broke.

Including sainfoin in the legume mix did not reduce Plants use nutrients from the soil yields compared to Grazeland alfalfa on its own. (and carbon dioxide from the air) to Persistence was better in the new sainfoins. Results grow roots, stems and leaves. Some varied a bit among sites; the amount of forage coming plant nutrients get returned to the soil from sainfoin (versus alfalfa) across the three years of through decomposition, manure and the trial increased in some locations, decreased in others, urine, but a lot of them don’t. Cows use the nutrients to and sometimes stayed the same. In Lethbridge (where produce milk and rebreed, and calves turn the nutrients growing conditions were best) the new sainfoins dropped into weaning weight. Over time, a lot of soil nutrients from 50 per cent of the forage in 2009 to roughly 25 per leave the pasture and go through the auction ring at fall cent in 2011, while Nova dropped to seven per cent. All feeder sales. If nutrients aren’t returned to the pasture of the sainfoins did better at the other locations, but the through fertilizer, pasture productivity will eventually new sainfoins consistently persisted better than Nova. drop, and more forage acres are needed to raise the same When seeded with alfalfa, the new sainfoins should be number of cattle. able to provide bloat protection for more growing seaAlfalfa and other legumes help restore soil nitrogen, sons than current varieties. increase forage yields and extend pasture carrying capacRegrowth was reported for three cuts taken at the ity. The risk of bloat when grazing pure alfalfa stands Saskatoon site in 2011. In the Nova+Grazeland plots, can be reduced through the selection of reduced bloat a quarter of the forage came from sainfoin at the first varieties (e.g. AC Grazeland), careful grazing managecut, but only about 10 per cent of the forage was from ment and the use of Bloat-Guard, the Rumensin CRC sainfoin at the second and third cuts. This means that bolus, or the recently reintroduced the alfalfa grew back faster than the Alfasure. Many producers prefer to sainfoin. The three new sainfoins seed alfalfa-grass mixtures instead. all had better regrowth than Nova, Sainfoin is a legume This reduces the risk of bloat, but providing at least 20 per cent and the alfalfa usually disappears from sometimes half of the total forage that does not cause the stand over time and takes the harvested at the second and third fertility benefit with it. cuts. This is important because at bloat.

However, it Sainfoin is a legume that does not least 15 per cent sainfoin needs to cause bloat. Sainfoin is said to be as doesn’t yield or regrow be present in the alfalfa stand to nutritious and palatable as alfalfa, avoid bloat. Compared to current as well as alfalfa more cold and drought tolerant, and varieties, the new sainfoins should can grow in alkaline soils. However, regrow faster and provide better sainfoin doesn’t yield quite as well as alfalfa, and it doesn’t bloat prevention when grown with alfalfa. regrow as quickly after grazing or cutting. This causes two One of these new sainfoins has been named “Mounproblems. First, the regrowth will contain more alfalfa tainView.” If the multiplication and distribution rights than sainfoin, which increases the bloat risk. Second, the are obtained from AAFC, seed could be available to sainfoin will be outcompeted and disappear from the growers in 2015. Mountainview could provide Canastand over time, leaving only alfalfa. dian beef producers with a valuable tool to improve pasDr. Surya Acharya at AAFC Lethbridge has been ture productivity, animal performance and soil fertility working to improve the yield, regrowth and persistence with a lot fewer bloat concerns. of sainfoin. This breeding work has been underway for Visit www.beefresearch.ca for more information many years. Three of the new sainfoin populations that about Beef Cattle Research Council activities. he has developed were compared in a recent research The Beef Research Cluster is funded by the Canadian project supported by producer checkoff funds through Cattlemen’s Association and Agriculture and Agri-Food the Beef Research Cluster.

Canada to advance research and technology transfer As part of this study, each of the three new sainfoins supporting the Canadian beef industry’s vision to be rec(as well as the registered sainfoin Nova) was seeded with ognized as a preferred supplier of healthy, high-quality AC Grazeland alfalfa. Plots were located at Lethbridge, beef, cattle and genetics.

Saskatoon, and Swift Current. Plots were established in — Reynold Bergen 2008 and studied over the next three years. The Lethbridge plots were irrigated, and the Saskatchewan sites Reynold Bergen is the science director for the Beef Cattle were rain fed. A fourth site was established near HumResearch Council. A portion of the national checkoff is boldt, Saskatchewan but limited results are available directed to the BCRC to fund research and development activities to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of because establishment and weed problems resulted in Canada’s beef industry. reseeding.

34 CATTLEMEN / MARCH 2013

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Deagle cattle co. ltD. Rick & Marilyn Deagle Consort, AB (403) 577-3078 deaglecattleco.com NuhaveN cattle co.

Gary, Kristine Smith, Kelly Fraser Pine Lake, AB (403) 227-2523 www.nuhavencattle.com aNchor c cattle co.

Matthew Campbell & family Olds, AB (403) 556-6113 www.anchorccattlecompany.com rapiD creek raNch Brian & Sharon Brown Wetaskawin, AB (780) 352-9934 rcrmaines795@gmail.com ShaNNoN MaiNeS Dennis & Loree Shannon Innisfail, AB (403) 227-2008 shannon.maines@gmail.com WilDberry hillS Reg & Jean Renton Thorsby, AB (780) 789-3770 reggie_r@xplornet.com abc cattle co.

Stuart McIntyre Whitewood, SK (306) 735-2301 stuart.mcintyre@sasktel.net byMaN MaiNeS Stuart Byman Wadena, SK (306) 338-2972 bymancattleco@sasktel.net DoNaro FarMS Ross & Mike Spratt Melfort, SK (306) 752-3808 or 752-6336 r.spratt@sasktel.net lightNiNg Strike cattle co. o.

Scott & Carolyn McCormack Grenfell, SK (306) 697-2945 www.mccormackfamilyranch.com Magpie MaiNeS John Hanbidge Saskatoon, SK (306) 374-0763 www.magpiemaines.webs.com Style MaiNeS Val & Jerry Brown Cutknife, SK (306) 398-2822 www.stylemaines.com JohNSoN’S black MaiNeS eS Patrick & Connie Johnson Killarney, MB (204) 523-8408 pjj@goinet.ca WilkiNriDge Stock FarM Sid Wilkinson Ridgeville, MB (204) 373-2631 wilkinridge@xplornet.ca MartiNell’S FullblooD MaiNeS Alan Martinell Newtonville, ON (613) 561-5346

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N u t r i t i o n

by John McKinnon John.mckinnon@usask.ca

Copper deficiency — it is not just a local issue!

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

A

s I write this, I have just arrived at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand where I am fortunate to be able to spend the next three months on sabbatical studying local beef and forage production practices. Hopefully I will be able share with you some of what I learn, particularly as it relates to increasing the use of forages in Canadian beef production practices.

I must admit that one of the first things I noticed after travelling halfway across the world is that we are not alone when it comes to nutritional issues, particularly with trace minerals.

Last month, I wrote about water quality and discussed the role that high-sulphate water can play in inducing copper deficiency in cattle. If we look at copper deficiency in a bit more detail, we find that there are two ways in which cattle can become copper deficient. The first is a lack of copper in the feed. This is known as a primary copper deficiency and can occur where the soil is deficient in copper. The second is an induced copper deficiency. If one looks at the literature there are also several ways this can occur. First, high levels of sulphur in the feed or water can directly bind trace minerals such as copper in the rumen and render them unavailable for absorption. Secondly, sulphur (in the feed or water) can combine with molybdenum (an essential mineral found in forages) to form thiaomolybdate complexes in the rumen of cattle and sheep. These complexes will also bind trace minerals such as copper and interfere with its absorption from the gut or, if these complexes themselves are absorbed into the bloodstream, they can interfere with the metabolism of trace minerals such as copper. In either case, what we end up with is an induced copper deficiency. A similar induced copper deficiency can result from a high iron intake.

While this may sound a bit academic, it is important to realize many beef operations in Canada suffer from both primary and induced trace mineral deficiencies. The issue is also a concern here in New Zealand for the sheep and beef sectors. In fact, nutritionists in both countries will look at dietary copper:molybdenum ratios to judge the susceptibility of cattle (and sheep) to molybdenum-induced copper deficiency. Ratios of 6:1 are ideal; 2:1 to 3:1 borderline; and less than 2:1 a serious health issue. As an aside, another interesting connection between the two countries around this issue is that much of the research that showed the negative effects

36 Cattlemen / March 2013

of sulphur and molybdenum on copper nutrition of cattle was carried out in the 1980s by Dr. Ravi Gooneratne of Lincoln University in Christchurch, N.Z. At the time, he was doing post-doctoral studies under Dr. David Christensen at the University of Saskatchewan.

As we have discussed in the past, trace mineral deficiencies can have a dramatic impact on the health and performance of cattle. For example, copper deficiency (from either a lack of copper in the feed or induced as discussed above) can result in a wide range of symptoms ranging from rough hair coats and depigmentation of hair follicles (particularly in black-coloured cattle) to poor immune function, depressed growth rates and suboptimal fertility in cows and heifers. Zinc deficiency also has a negative impact on immune function and can result in abnormal sperm production in bulls. All issues that over the long term, seriously impact herd performance and profitability.

It’s been my experience, however, that these deficiency states do not occur overnight; rather many herds are often borderline in terms of trace mineral status. In such situations, the cattle may just be meeting their trace mineral requirements from the feed or the mineral supplement (if present) and there may be no obvious clinical symptoms. However, the serious health and performance issues tend to show up when there is a change in management (cut out the mineral as it is too expensive) or the cattle become stressed due to drought or some other challenge. Now the balance is tipped and over time we start to see many of the symptoms discussed above.

It is precisely for this reason, that it is so important to maintain a year-round mineral feeding program, one that is designed specifically for your operation. In developing such a program, you need to work with your nutritionist to determine what issues are unique to your situation. This should include an analysis of the mineral content of your forage to determine if you are dealing with a primary deficiency in one or more trace minerals. It should include an examination of secondary factors such as the sulphate level of the water, the molybdenum content of the forage and other complicating factors such as iron content in the water and feed. Knowledge of these factors can help your nutritionist determine appropriate trace mineral concentrations in the mineral mix and help prevent both primary and induced trace mineral deficiency situations. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP

You are the story

L

ife is a collection of stories story of how they got there and how they stay in this that we weave, watch or parchallenging environment? What an inspiring read it ticipate in and an industry would be to discover when odds are beaten and how is a collection of individuals the players in the game were affected — as told by the and communities who make the story authors. What is it like to be this tough person in a very real and bring it to life. The threads small, professional pool? become the collective fabric that is How blessed we are to have men and women of honeither strong, sheer, flimsy, rough or our who carve out a living from cows, crops and creincredibly beautiful. ative innovation. The consumer asks us: Who are you When I look at all the characters and what is your story? What makes you get up in the that make the Canadian beef industry what it is today morning and work all day and want to do it all again?

— there is quite a collage of scenes, plots and subplots, The reader wants to know how farmers, ranchers and protagonists and antagonists, devils, demons and beaucattle feeders became so innovative, how they mastered tiful women. There is romance (often with the land) on their fears, who was in the story that built them up, the same page as Wall Street smarts and superhero techtook them down or simply walked by their side? nology combined with “all creatures great and small” In many cultures, the story is used to inform, educate humble advice. There is always hope for the future and and inspire the youth within the village. Unless the story the great fortunes it will bring. There is not, however, a is told, the day is considered incomplete. Our youth book for our client, our consumer or our youth. That learn through social media and the Internet and their space continues to gather dust or worse yet, be replaced interaction is at a very high level. It is important for with the multitude of stories, articles, columns, novels this industry to be in that space. A dozen meetings on and research books that dismiss beef as a sustainable, the woes of industry could likely be solved by asking acceptable form of protein. a kid. I remember going to a vineyard in B.C. because I know as a speaker that the message is understood I had heard of their innovative marketing. Each bottle when the information is preof wine had a beautiful handsented as a story. It brings what drawn, futuristic picture and can be a boring fact to life. And was blessed by an Indian elder. while the beef industry contin- It is a time when the value of Hollywood was buying this ues to churn out facts and figlocal Canadian wine as fast as ures, it may be failing to capture an inspiring story is beyond it could be produced. My questhe heart of our consumer in our capability to measure tion to the manager was this: a way that they can relate to.

Who thought of this ingenious When we choose to say it in a and the impact is greater marketing plan? As I asked, a way that everyone has a human young man with baggy pants dynamic then it often creates an than any ad campaign and spiked haircut sauntered emotional response. Perhaps the most recent example of across the yard and the manager pointed to him and the creation of emotion for farmers was in the Dodge said, “he did.” Isn’t that an amazing story!

Ram commercial by Paul Harvey entitled “God Made When a neighbouring cattleman died, I did not a Farmer.” It is not the most modern reflection of farmremember him for his cattle, grass or cash. Instead I ing or raising cattle today but it did garner tremendous treasured the handwritten note he sent which said, momentum. It did so because it was told in a poetic “Thank you Brenda for bringing our community story that created emotion. together,” the bottle of homemade wine delivered one Go ahead and spend a day on Google search. I Christmas and his beautiful poems. He was the story tried every trick to find a great beef story that a conbehind beef — and so are you. sumer could read, enjoy and feel empowered by. I did Would you like to share your story? You may go to not have any luck. When I expanded the search to www.agmorethanever.ca to publish online or send it to include the general term “agriculture” I found inspirmy email and mark it “confidential” if it is simply to be ing stories from Uganda and Ireland. Canada was not shared or “for publication” if you would like to see it on the storytelling map. in print.

We live in the experience economy. It’s a time when — Brenda Schoepp folks can and do have what they want, and that leaves them thirsting for more. It is a time when the value of Brenda Schoepp is a Nuffield Scholar who travels extensively an inspiring story is beyond our capability to measure exploring agriculture and meeting the people who feed, clothe and the impact is greater than any advertising camand educate our world. A motivating speaker and mentor paign. We are in a space when people wish to hear a she works with young entrepreneurs across Canada and is good story and are curious about ours. the founder of Women in Search of Excellence. She can be A feedlot operator has few spare hours for such contacted through her website www.brendaschoepp.com. All storytelling but would it not be fascinating to hear the rights reserved. Brenda Schoepp 2013

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

CATTLEMEN / MARCH 2013 37

breeding

Alberta Vet Takes 21st Century Technology to the Farm

T

he days of processing bovine and equine semen collections by hand are as long gone as the road ahead is for Dr. Rick Katchuik and the Alberta Veterinary Center’s new mobile reproduction unit (MRU).

This motorized camper, equipped with the latest technology for onfarm handling and freezing of owneruse semen and embryo collections, is now fully operational and licensed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to serve Alberta and Saskatchewan.

“We have put ourselves in a unique position to offer these services that have become hard to get,” Katchuik says. Not only is there more demand for semen collection and new demand for embryo transplant work now that the cattle business has turned around, but many people who offered these services in the past have now retired.

Katchuik established the Alberta Veterinary Center in 2003 after graduating from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine 22 years ago and now owns two clinics in Red Deer as well as one in Innisfail.

Three pieces of new equipment installed in the MRU eliminate the need to fill and label each straw by hand. His staff can process 4,000 to 5,000 straws a day compared to 400 to 500 and significantly improve the number of straws with acceptable levels of viable sperm.

The MPP UNO machine fills and seals one straw per second from hoppers that hold enough fluid to fill 2,200 straws of the 0.25cc size or 1,300 straws of the 0.5cc size. The chamber where the straws are filled and sealed by ultrasonic welding is completely enclosed for hygiene and safety.

The Easy Coder for labelling straws at the same rate of one per second uses non-abrasive thermo-transfer printing to eliminate the need for inks and solvents. Up to three lines with about 200 characters can be printed on each straw with accompanying bar codes, logos or symbols. A software program stores the donor database and printing information.

38 Cattlemen / March 2013

The mobile reproduction unit went into operation this spring.

The ICECUBE computer-controlled freezing unit consistently cools and freezes up to 900 straws at a time.

It can be programmed to reduce the temperature of the straws at controlled rates from as slowly as 0.01 C per minute to as quickly as 60 C per minute. The rate for each species can be adjusted based on batches previously frozen for individual animals.

All three pieces are manufactured in Germany by Abfull-und Labortechnik GmbH & Co. The equipment has been in use long enough — at least 10 years — to have a proven track record, Katchuik explains. It’s commonly used in Europe and in the large stud centres here, but to his knowledge, the MRU is the first of its kind with this equipment in Western Canada.

It took quite a bit of lead time to get the MRU up and running because the company manufactures this type of equipment piece by piece as orders are received. A representative then follows the equipment to provide training on its use.

It was ordered early in 2012, but didn’t arrive until October, which actually turned out for the better, Katchuik says, because it gave him and the staff time to perfect its use and evaluate samples for quality con-

Rick Katchuik trol analysis in readiness for this year’s rush season.

The equipment for freezing embryos isn’t as complex, however Katchuik did spend a week training with the doctor in Mississippi who developed the procedure some 40 years ago.

The MRU also had to be inspected and approved by CFIA for on-farm service and owner-use-only semen collection and processing. The permit Continued on page 40 www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Beef Innovations 2013 Join the excitement in Calgary!

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2/18/2013 10:33:13 AM

27th AnnuAl Edition

Continued from page 38

Date: Sat. April 13, 2013 Place: Eionmor Stock Farm at the Morison Farm Time: Viewing of the Cattle at 10:00a.m.

Dinner @ noon, Sale @ 1:00 p.m.

On offer 30+ yearling bulls, and 30+ yearling heifers purebred and commercial (red roan & blue roan) At the farm 26 miles west of Innisfail, watch for signs Consignors: Eionmor Stock Farm Downsview Shorthorns • Willow Butte Cattle Co. Shepalta Shorthorns • Donnelly Shorthorn Farm

www.shorthorn.ca or for more info, call Ken @ 403-728-3825 sale day: 403-877-3293 . 587-876-2544

40 Cattlemen / March 2013

number for regulatory purposes and the Alberta Veterinary Center’s name is printed on each straw.

According to Katchuik, the testing requirements for owner-use semen are far less rigorous than semen for domestic and export sales, which must be collected in CFIA-approved quarantine facilities where the animals can be housed for extensive health tests and blood work.

He says this gives his mobile clinic a slight edge in on-farm semen collection as clients must book well in advance to use these larger facilities in Alberta or Ontario because it’s cumbersome for them to handle non-quarantine animals.

Just the same, Katchuik is constructing a new CFIAapproved quarantine semen collection barn near Innisfail which he expects to open in May. This new facility will be dedicated to handling beef bulls but his farm near Sylvan Lake was also recently certified as a site to collect and freeze equine semen for sale in North America and the European Union.

The MRU is equipped to handle complete reproductive services for cattle and horses including semen collection and freezing, embryo flushing, freezing and transplants, complete bull-breeding soundness exams, and pregnancy checking.

For more information contact the Alberta Veterinary Center at 403-347-1711.

C — Debbie Furber

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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health

Penile problems in bulls Many can be caught and fixed at a yearling semen evaluation

W

hen examining young bulls for the first time we as veterinarians look for many conditions besides semen quality that may affect breeding ability. Many of these can be corrected but some result in bulls being eliminated from the gene pool.

Young bulls are more commonly detected with seminal vesiculitis and other infections involving secondary sex organs. Seminal vesiculitis is detected by rectal palpation and the veterinarian will decide then whether treatment, time, or culling is the best option based on the severity of the infection.

It results from a young bull being ridden excessively, or from old infections such as navel infection that seeds out in this area. Pus is then discharged in the semen reducing fertility.

Several common physical conditions can be noted when the penis is protruded. A persistent frenulum is one of these. It’s a ligamentous attachment between the sheath and penis that causes the penis to bend on full erection making it very difficult to enter the vagina during breeding. If it is not

corrected it can also be the cause of broken penises when the already bent penis is suddenly bent over on impact with the back of the cow.

These frenulums can be identified and incised just after the semen sample is collected. Sexual rest is necessary until it heals and even then it should be rechecked to be sure no scarring has occurred.

Occasionally two persistent frenulums are found on a bull. If they are not detected any attempt to breed this animal can result in ripping with lots of bleeding. Blood is very detrimental to semen quality and fertility suffers. The bleeding reoccurs with each erection so the bull cannot get the rest required to heal the rip during breeding season.

Persistent frenulums are highly heritable so purebred breeders should closely scrutinize breeding forms when purchasing their herd sires. Commercial breeders steer all their bulls so it would be inconsequential to them.

Warts are another common condition encountered on bull penises.

These can be surgically removed as long as they do not involve the

Restrictions do not allow the penis to extend.

42 Cattlemen / March 2013

vital structures on the tip of the penis. Veterinarians simply remove the wart, cauterize the bleeding if necessary suture where appropriate and recheck later for reoccurrences.

Warts are invariably very rough and can rip or tear tissue and cause bleeding during breeding. Again fertility is impaired. Very large warts near the tip of the penis can impair nerve supply making it impossible for bulls to hit the mark during copulation. I have not tried to make an attenuated wart vaccine for herds with a high incidence of this condition but I have been tempted to.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of correlation between body warts and penile warts. Most bulls I’ve encountered with penile warts have no evidence of warts on other part of their body. They have determined that the two types of warts are slight variations of the papova virus. Yes a virus causes warts. Two to three weeks is generally enough time to heal the penis after a wart is removed.

Continued on page 44

Severe penile warts. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

sixMile_CC_0206.indd 1

08/02/13 1:55 PM

Continued from page 42

Cuts and abrasions are easy to discover during a visual examination of the penis. Treatment may be necessary but in most cases rest solves these sores. With severe cuts some scarring may occur making full penile extension impossible and these bulls definite cull candidates.

All the above problems clearly identify the need for veterinarians to fully examine the extended penis of the bull during semen evaluation. Most problems found here can be treated provided adequate time is available before breeding season.

In young bulls before puberty the

The

prepuce is tightly adhered to the penis. It pulls away as the young bulls’ erections progress. With this comes some bleeding and any time there is blood fertility may be impaired. If we see this adherence during an evaluation it tells us the bull may be immature and has never been completely erect. We must ensure this can happen before we allow this young bull out into the breeding herd.

Hair rings that strangle the penis can occur when bulls are mounting each other and the hair from the back forms a tight ring around the penis.

Most are easily removed but they shouldn’t be ignored. In the worst case I’ve seen the tip of the penis cut off by a hair ring rendering a potentially good

bull useless as a breeder. Warts near the tip also make it easier for the hair to wrap around the penis.

It should be emphasized that many of these potential problems can be corrected by carefully paying attention during the first semen evaluation on young bulls. Almost all purebred breeders now have semen evaluations performed so any of these abnormalities can be detected ahead of time and corrected before they ruin a perfectly good bull. Murphy’s Law of semen evaluations stipulates these problems always happen to the most expensive, soughtafter bulls so take heed. Have your new yearling bulls semen evaluated.

C — Roy Lewis, DVM

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44 Cattlemen / March 2013

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seedstock

Banking on Limousins The breed is the sole business of the Yorga family

W

hen Jeff Yorga considers the many decisions beef producers make throughout the years, he believes that they all boil down to one thing — profit. The quest for profitability led J. Yorga Farms (JYF) to the Limousin breed two years after the French cattle were introduced to Canada in 1968 and the herd has now evolved from a mix of British genetics to a purebred Limousin operation.

Yorga, who owns and operates JYF near Flintoft, Sask., with his parents, Kelly and Norma, says their national association’s focus on data collection has enabled breeders to select cattle most adapted to the needs of the commercial industry while retaining the breed’s inherent characteristics of muscling, yield, feed efficiency and calving ease.

He cites docility as one trait Limousin breeders have been able to turn from a weakness to a strength using this approach. The North American Limousin Foundation made docility a top priority in 1991 and developed a chute scoring system to categorize temperament which was later included in the Beef Improvement Federation guidelines for uniform beef improvement programs.

Yorga says Dr. Bob Weaber’s presentation to the World Hereford Conference last summer focused on the research that ties docility to improvements in growth, feed efficiency, meat quality, immune response to vaccinations, general health, survivability and fertility. The heritability of temperament is as good or better than that for any other trait, with one-third to onehalf of the observed variation being under genetic control.

“If you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it,” Yorga says. “It’s the same with all traits. The future success of the industry lies in the collection and understanding of performance and efficiency data. The Limousin breed is well positioned because we have been tracking these traits for more than 40 years, with proven positive results.”

With the overarching need for profit in today’s industry Yorga believes those numbers show Limousin and Limou-

46 Cattlemen / march 2013

Jeff Yorga sin-British breed crosses can fill the bill for all sectors.

For cow-calf producers Yorga points to an estimated 10 per cent improvement in weaning weights on Limousin-cross calves without the corresponding increase in birth weight and frame score typically associated with growthier calves due to the injection of muscling ability, feed efficiency and hybrid vigour. This is what first hooked the Yorgas on the breed.

At the feedlot he points to the breed’s inherent feed efficiency and ability to gain muscle rather than fat, which translates to fewer days on feed without the use of growth enhancers.

A 2010 University of Minnesota study compared residual feed intake (RFI) of Limousin steers to that of predominantly Angus- and Simmental-influenced steers. The RFI for the Limousin steers averaged -0.822, indicating that they ate less than the expected requirement for maintenance and growth and, therefore, were more efficient than the Angus and Simmental types, with an average RFI of +0.870, indicating that they ate more than expected.

Packers make more money because Limousin cattle grade well for both yield and quality, Yorga says. The breed’s outstanding string of 32 championships during the 28 years that carcass competitions were run at Cana-

dian Western Agribition is testimony to the quality and yield of Limousin-sired calves. JYF won the competition several times with steer and heifer carcasses.

Matt Heleniak is the manager and cattle buyer for Norwich Packers in Norwich, Ont., a family-owned company that serves specialty markets, largely butcher shops in Toronto that cater to customers who want quality lean beef.

Heleniak’s preference is for Limousin and Belgian Blue cattle because they are high-yielding, lean animals that produce a consistently tender product.

About 85 to 90 per cent of the cattle brought in on a daily basis are Limousin and Limousin influence. He says they yield three to five per cent more than other breeds because they have less external fat and a higher muscleto-bone ratio.

Since Norwich Packers is well known across Ontario for its marbled steak program, he knows they also marble well if fed properly. Although he believes tenderness is due more to age, environmental conditions and aging than marbling.

Yield and feed conversions are what he urges breeders to concentrate on.

That’s why he says Limousins were introduced to Canada, to add natural muscling to British breeds that already have sufficient marbling. Those are the www.canadiancattlemen.ca

traits that will bring rewards for producers if, as he believes, the industry will one day start measuring actual yield and switch to five yield grade breaks to align with the U.S. system.

“Even with the system as it is today, it’s quite possible to get more return for a high-yielding Canada AA carcass than for a low-yielding Prime carcass,” he says, “yet everyone seems to be breeding marbling to marbling to marbling at the expense of efficiency. The efficient animal marbles and yields.”

Yorga is encouraged by the new technology the industry has put in place — traceability, camera grading, DNA profiling, and the Beef InfoXchange System, and believes they will help producers make profitable choices. Looking for more ideas he recently became a participant in the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program.

A good thing The Yorgas’ only business is the Limousin seedstock. The ranch’s slogan, “Where Limousin Keep Getting Better,” conveys their focus on produc-

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

tivity and data collection to manage economically important traits in the pursuit of efficient production. They rely on ultrasound, DNA testing and expected progeny differences (EPDs) to select breeding stock that meet or exceed the mark for their operation.

The data required for the Canadian Limousin Association’s (CLA) whole herd reporting system is presented to buyers as EPDs and indexes, along with individual animal performance data.

The bulls are sold as two-yearolds or long yearlings so they spend an additional summer on grass before they are expected to breed cows, which Yorga believes takes the guesswork out of buying bulls while increasing bull longevity.

JYF has made some significant changes to its operation within the past five years. The cows now calve in April and May out on the grassland hills of the ranch located deep in south-central Saskatchewan and are raised under commercial conditions.

The new calving system has increased the efficiency of their cow

herd by culling out females that don’t perform under these kinds of conditions. To keep her place a cow must bring in a live calf without assistance.

Spring calving is certainly easier on the Yorgas. Rather than night checks or penning new pairs they simply drive around the pastures and process new calves. This is another place where selecting for docility has paid off.

They’ve also added a fall calving season from September through October to maximize the efficiency of their bull battery and open up some grazing options for the cow herd.

To meet the needs of an expanding list of customers the family had added 60 cows over the past two years bringing the breeding herd to more than 300 females. Their goal is to reach 500 as quickly as possible by purchasing cows, retaining heifers and an embryo transplant program.

For more information visit www. jyorgafarms.com , or call 306-5315717. The CLA website is www.limouC sin.com.

— Debbie Furber

Cattlemen / MARCH 2013 47

health

Some thoughts on BVD and our future In a word‌ vaccinate

B

ovine Virus Diarrhea (BVD) is one of the most written-about disease syndromes in the veterinary literature. This article deals mainly with a couple of the more recent findings and stresses how vaccinations can greatly control the incidence of BVD if given in a timely manner. The issue is finding the shedders in the population to determine where they originate, and the cause of vaccine failures when they occur.

BVD really causes three different diseases. There is mucosal disease where a calf is infected in utero and later exposed to a strain close to the same BVD virus. This infection can lead to irreversible ulcers in the mouth, diarrhea and death. We see this disease mainly in feedlots, but in our area I can’t remember the last case of mucosal disease it was that many years ago. So vaccination is helping.

Secondly, BVD is involved in the respiratory disease complex. It is often diagnosed, along with the other common viral and bacterial agents involved in the shipping fever complex.

The third and most complex syndrome involves reproduction. Depending on when a dam is infected during gestation different outcomes occur. If she is infected in the first trimester embryonic death and mummified calves may be the result. Infection in the second trimester may yield birth

48 Cattlemen / march 2013

defects such as small eyes and a small cerebellum leading to brain abnormalities, and abortions.

Overlapping between the second and third trimesters is where we get PIs or persistently infected calves. There are the ones that at times can appear quite normal as they are shedding huge amounts of BVD virus. Just one of these calves can escalate the health problems for all the other calves in the pen.

With infection in the third trimester you may see the odd abortion but usually calves appear normal but carry antibodies to BVD. Now we call these calves congenitally infected CI. Congenitally infected calves have been shown to have a twofold increase in the likelihood that they will be sick up to one year of age.

The problems with BVD can be passed from the cow-calf operator to the backgrounder and on to the feedlot with these PI calves. The key here is to vaccinate prior to breeding in order to get maximal immunity over the entire pregnancy so vaccines are being developed and tested for long-lasting immunity. The congenital discovery is rather new as most people thought once the fetal calves’ immune system developed protection there were no essential side-effects. In the United States claims are now put on the vaccines if they pro-

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

20

BEEF illustrated

What can you expect by putting Charolais bulls to work in your pasture?

• Increased weight gains* • Improved carcass grades*

tect against this congenital infection.

Congenital infections • Add 20% heterosis boost from cross breeding* may explain why there may be more reproductive failure in those calves in later life or a vaccine failure later down the line. These are things that are not totally clear yet.

BVD is quite adaptable and Dr. Rob Tremblay a veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim discovered that the virus can even bypass the cow’s immune system and get into the uterus when bred AI from persistently infected bulls. Bulls, either if they are PIs or acutely infected or they have a persistent testicular infection, can shed BVD virus in their semen.

The persistent testicular infection comes about by bull calves exposed to BVD before puberty. After puberty a barrier is created between the immune system and testicles so the bull never rids itself of the infection for its entire life. That is why lots of bulls were tested with an ear notch to make sure they *Charolais Connection March 2012, page 10. Results based on Angus cowherd. were not PI animals.

SomeTolarge in theCharolais U.S. evenand earwhat notch (skin test) learnfeedlots more about the all calves feedlot. though incidence of Breedentering can do the for you, callEven one of these the breeders.

PIs is only, say 0.1 per NISH centCHAROLAIS (one per 1,000) they feel it costs LETNIAK CHAROLAIS CHOMIAK CHAROLAIS them $20-$25 per animal toJenny have I Lawrence: (403) 575-0214 Burke & Nishthat PI in Johnthe W. &feedlot.

Cathie Ron: 575-4183 Cardston, AB. Chomiak & Family have seen others rate it at(403) $30-$40 per animal.

Consort, AB. 653-2956 Mundare, AB. In a&study done by Lonergan in 2003 if there(780) was632-7108 a PI in the White Red Factor C: 653-7544 Charolais Since 1966 jbnish@gmail.com C: (780) 945-1504 feedlot pen calves were 33 per cent more likely to be treated Quality Service Guaranteed and 20 per cent more likely if a PI was in the adjacent pen.

MAPLE LEAF CHAROLAIS REESE CATTLE CO These numbers whenBarry it comes treatment Tom &are Careysignificant Stewart 780-352-5902 & Simoneto Reese (780) 352-4817 Didsbury, costs,George lost Stewart gain and feed efficiency. It stresses theAB need to have Falun, AB. (403) 870-3960 the Breeding cows vaccinated before Full French Since 1966 breeding and the calves revacciBull Sale March 1, Lakedell nated upon entering the feedlot. Remember half of the PI ani-

Media created GM fears U.K. consumers generally don't know "We should not, however, be afraid of some of the country's farmers use genetmaking the case to the public about the poically modified animal feed, but once tential benefits of GM beyond the food madesurvive aware, they typically think example,life reducing the use of pesmals to slaughter so that spendchain, theirforwhole discharging products derived from such livestock ticides and inputs such as diesel," he added.

BVD virus. should be clearly labeled, research by the No GM crops are currently being Food Standards Agency shows. religiously grownincluding commercially the U.K., alIf everyone vaccinates thein purebred Two-thirds of survey respondents said though the government has allowed people who raise the valuable breeding bulls we can keep it was very or quite important that it is small-scale cultivation trials, while imBVD toonaa minimum andor start PI animals as they written label if food itself food in-to eliminate ported GM commodities are used mainly gredients are from a genetically modified for animal feed, need and to ato lesser are the real source of infection.

Bull calves be extent vac-in plant, or if food products are from animals some food products. cinated before puberty to eliminate the persistent infections. that have been fed them, the FSA said.

However, 66% of respondents to the Pretty much the standard protocol across iscrops to use a The U.K. hasn't introduced any FSA survey Canada thought GM are curscheme to indicate absence GM inbefore rentlybreeding. being grownBoth by farmers BVD vaccine inthe the cowofherd Typesin 1the food and the research was commissioned U.K., with only 6% believing such a and 2 are usually in 5-way viral vaccines but check. to ensure the public's views about labelstatement is false and 28% not sure.

The areandthen given BVD Indeed, with other suchining werecalves understood represented. the FSAvaccines said additional Consumers still need to be reassured formation may required to help reas blackleg, histophilus and pasteurellas atbethe traditional that GM food is a safe and beneficial inany misunderstandings and concern branding spring turnout andsaid againduce before or at weaning. novation, the country's farm minister amongst participants, particularly reFeedlots don’t know history of the they buy so earlier this month.

"GM needs tothe be congarding GM calves animal feed. sidered in its proper overall mightprotocol. be especiallyItsois if GM they will give BVD ascontext part with of theirThis entry reallaa balanced understanding of the risks and beling became more widespread, it added, easy to say vaccinate and most producers do but there areto benefits," Owen Paterson told the Oxford for example if foods were to be labeled Farming Conference. showWhether the use of GM animal feed... still those who are non-compliant. they are cattle

dealers rolling cattle or hobby farmers with no facilities or large producers who don’t process their cattle, probably 20 per cent or more of our cattle don’t get vaccinated for BVD. PFRA, stay tuned.

This is a flat-out guess.

I am always shocked to see the blackPFRA Community Pastureeven patronin representatives from age acrossmany Saskatchewan legtended outbreaks and how this day and calvesata meeting last month to discuss transition of the PFRA and proposed sale or don’t receive vaccine.

Non-compliance with 5-way leaseeven of these lands bythat the Province of Saskatchewan to individual patron groups.

Ottawa's management the PFRA pasture end in 2018, with transfer viral vaccines to theofcows would besystem evenwill higher. of the first ten pastures to the Province of Saskatchewan scheduled for 2013.

As I mentioned, the biggest cause of BVD being spread is Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture Lyle Stewart stated in August that the PFRA PI pastures animals andbewe eliminate thema preference if we justto vaccinate at would soldcan at market value with individual patron Stewart hastimes. since indicated some pastures are not suitable for purchase and thegroups. appropriate C that his department will also entertain proposals to lease.

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Cattlemen / march 2013 49

policy

SEARCHING FOR COMMUNITY PASTURES The future of community pastures in the West is still in doubt

S

ummer is coming and the community pasture patrons in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and their provincial governments are still looking for a way around the federal government’s surprising decision last spring to kick its 74-year-old community pasture program to the curb.

In Saskatchewan the agriculture minister appointed an advisory committee of beef producers and industry leaders to help lay the foundation for the transition to patron control.

All patrons were invited to participate in a July telephone conference and information about the process was sent to the patron advisory committee for each pasture.

Still dissatisfied on January 23, 243 Saskatchewan producers representing 56 federal pastures in the province met in Saskatoon to form their own Community Pasture Patron Association of Saskatchewan (CPPAS). Ian McCreary of Bladworth chairs its 14-person steering committee. “There is a growing level of frustration with the degree to which patrons have been directly consulted,” says McCreary.

The association intends to seek a direct line of communication with the minister, who reaffirmed at their founding meeting that the priority of the government is to find a solution with patrons.

“Patrons feel there are more options and more creative solutions out there than buying or renting pasture by pasture,” adds McCreary. “By offering some services, we (CPPAS) hope to be able to pull patrons into one group and provide some leadership.”

The Manitoba patrons went through that process last June, shortly after Ottawa dropped its bombshell. With some assistance from the Manitoba Beef Producers patrons formed their own Association of Manitoba Community Pastures (AMCP). Barry Lowes of McAuley chairs this group.

The federal program operates 21 pastures in Manitoba and 60 in Saskatchewan largely on provincial Crown land.

In Manitoba, municipalities own about 20 per cent of the land, servicing some 500 producers and 30,000 cows. In Saskatchewan, about 17 per cent of beef producers rely on these pastures to provide summer grazing for six per cent of the provincial cow herd. Alberta’s federal pastures on the Canadian Forces Base Suffield will close in 2014, after which the Department of National Defence will determine the future use of the land.

The provinces are unwilling to take over the pastures but have offered assistance to help the patrons to establish business entities to purchase or lease them starting in 2014 and wrapping up the divestiture of all the pastures by 2018.

Lowes says the AMCP has already submitted a business plan to the province to take over the Manitoba pastures in 2014 but in early February they were still waiting for a 50 Cattlemen / March 2013

Ian McCrear y response. Lowes says the AMCP priorities are to keep the land in pasture, keep it available for all patrons, and retain the current staff. It would be funded by the grazing fees paid to the AMCP by patrons and the grants in lieu of property taxes that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada paid to the municipalities. The municipalities were still to be heard from in February.

McCreary says there is overwhelming support in Saskatchewan for a grassroots association to negotiate with the province on behalf of all patrons. The consensus view from their first meeting is that they should lobby the province to postpone the transfer of the first 10 pastures by one more year to 2015; investigate the opportunity to be part of the existing provincial pasture program; research the options for forming larger grazing associations involving more than one patron group; develop a business model that could be used by all patron groups; co-operate with the Manitoba association; and work with the broader community including First Nations.

Given that Ottawa’s continued involvement is off the table, McCreary believes the vast majority of Saskatchewan pasture patrons want the province to retain ownership of the land and manage the program. Barring that, the preference seems to be to establish some form of commercial arrangement.

Outright purchase of the pastures appears to be the least favoured option based on his discussions with patrons from across the province. The cost of purchasing the pastures is one thing but the key concern for many patrons is time. Producers use community pastures to free up time to do other jobs during the summer and they don’t want to be directly involved in the business matters of running a community pasture.

That said, many also don’t want to lose access to the www.canadiancattlemen.ca

grass. Pasture patrons are a mix of mixed farmers with little to no grass at home but lots of crop residues for winter feed and large ranches that have built their herds by having assured access to community pastures for summer grazing.

As McCreary points out, the community pasture program also offers a great entry point for many young people looking to get started in a highly capitalized industry. McCreary is a third-generation community pasture patron on his family’s mixed farm.

Barry Lowes, a patron for 35 years, depends on his local community pasture to grass 600 pairs each summer.

More questions than answers At the top of the CPPAS’s to-do list is organizing an effective communication network to bring this diverse group of beef producers together.

Many patrons have allocations on pastures long distances from their farms and have never met the other patrons. This creates challenges beyond just getting patrons together for meetings. “It’s one thing for a producer to engage in a well-run federal program, but the concept of entering a business arrangement with strangers is another thing altogether,” says McCreary.

Then there’s the whole gallery of “what-ifs” regarding how the government intends to make decisions. What if patrons would rather commit to pastures closer to their own farms? What if some patrons of a pasture want to buy and others want to lease?

The provincial government says it must consider the interests of Saskatchewan taxpayers and intends to charge fair market value for the land, 90 per cent of which Agriculture and AgriFood Canada (AAFC) considers to be marginal land, not suitable for cultivation.

AAFC wants to collect on improvements (fences, corrals, water systems, dwellings) as well. In early February, some of the patron groups were getting their first look at the numbers, and McCreary says they were significantly higher than people had anticipated.

This is a contentious issue because many patrons feel they have already financed the improvements with the grazing fees they’ve paid to the federal government through the years.

One option that hasn’t been explored in Saskatchewan is to form larger associations, which could www.canadiancattlemen.ca

have an advantage over single-pasture associations in their ability to mitigate financial and environmental risks. The cost of maintaining the infrastructure and qualified staff would be spread across more patrons and larger associations may be better able to fill large allocations when those patrons retire, or find spots for cattle when local pastures are hit with drought or floods.

CPPAS has applied for registration as a not-for-profit corporation, with proposed voting membership fees of $100 per patron to fund its operations.

The first priority, which was supported by delegates at the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association AGM, will be to request a delay for the transfer of the first 10 pastures to give patrons more time to consider all options, including the approach Manitoba is taking.

AMCP’s goal is to be an umbrella group to take over management of all Manitoba community pastures at the same time. Lowes says the group is shooting for 2014 because the second group of five pastures will be involved

by that time, so it makes sense to include the remaining half of the pastures in the same stroke.

Their proposed business plan calls for phasing out the bull rental and breeding services that the federal program offered for a fee. Twenty-five per cent of the 200 bulls in the program in Manitoba would be culled each year to give patrons time to organize their own bull requirements, says Lowes. Many patrons did not use the bull service, opting instead to run their own bulls in their own breeding field within the community pasture, or co-operating with two or three others in supplying specific types of bulls for a joint breeding pasture.

The plan projects grazing fees of 60 cents per day per adult animal and $30 per season per calf. That’s up from the 2012 federal rates of 45 cents per cow per day and $25 per season per walk-in calf or $35 per season for calves born on pasture, although there are reports AFCC is anticipating an increase in grazing fees for 2013.

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P r i m e

c u t s

by Steve Kay

Demand trumps supply A North American view of the meat industry.

Steve Kay is publisher and editor of Cattle Buyers Weekly

T

he U.S. beef industry, through its expewould reduce consumers’ discretionary incomes. rience in the 1980s and 1990s, learned That’s partly the money they spend on food. that it ignores the demand side of As January morphed into February, media the market at its peril. It learned that stories began to appear that Americans were all wealth to the industry flows from consumgetting smaller paycheques even if they had ers and how much consumers spend on beef gotten their first wage increase in two or three and the volume they buy determines whether years. This set the alarm bells ringing in the demand improves or declines. The industry is head offices of every grocery chain and those now digesting another lesson. It doesn’t matter restaurant chains that specialize in beef. Wholehow tight fed-cattle supplies are or are going to sale beef prices held up well through January be. Beef demand trumps supply. but this meant retailers had few more “economConsumers don’t know or care about the ically priced” items to offer at a feature price. supply side of the market. Their focus is on Given there is a six-week lag between wholesale finding a beef item they can afford. This seems prices reaching the retail meat case, the lack of pretty obvious. But if one looks at the way the featuring really began to show up mid- to late U.S. live cattle cash and futures market acted February and will remain that way in March. the first two months of this year, one might Under these circumstances, packers strugbe excused for believing that many people for gled to sell beef even at lower prices and were a while believed tight forced in February to supplies would drive reduce production to the market. weekly levels seldom Consumers are cherry Another lesson is seen even when a pubthat patterns don’t holiday takes out a picking retail beef features lic repeat themselves from full day’s production. year to year. The live The reduced kills partly while sales of beef at cattle market last year reflected the closure put in a new weekly everyday prices are suffering. of Cargill’s Plainview, high of US$129.44 Texas, beef-processing Beef is giving way to pork per cwt the last week plant on February 1. of February. ExpectaBut other plants went and chicken. The grilling tions at the start of dark during the week, season can’t start this January were that as packers struggled the market would easto match production soon enough ily exceed this record with demand. All this price. The February spooked the futures futures contract January 3 closed at $133.85 market and cattle feeders, who gave up $2 per per cwt. The April contract closed at a lofty cwt in mid-February to ensure they got cattle $137.32, the highest close of all contracts. Such sold on a timely basis. expectations have now been shattered. The Feb. All the trends I noted in last month’s column contract closed at $125.90 February 14 and are in play. Consumers are “cherry picking” April closed at $129.77. Yet these prices were retail beef features while sales of beef at everystill at a hefty premium to cash prices that week day prices are suffering. Beef is giving way to of $123. pork and chicken, especially the latter. The signs The market’s relative collapse is due to the are that these trends will continue at least into fact that U.S. beef demand at both retail and April. The annual grilling season can’t start food service is weaker than expected. I began the soon enough. year much more skeptical than some as to how the market might perform. I was concerned that Cattle Buyers Weekly covers the North American meat higher-priced beef would prevent more consumand livestock industry. For subscription information, ers from buying beef at all. I was particularly contact Steve Kay at P.O. Box 2533, Petaluma, Calif. 94953, or at 707-765-1725, or go to www. concerned, as I noted in Cattle Buyers Weekly’s cattlebuyersweekly.com.

January 7 issue, that an increase in payroll taxes

52 Cattlemen / March 2013

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

New equipment drives beef on-farm progress Producer installations improve working conditions and performance Upgrades to equipment on farms and ranches across Canada are getting marks for significant on-the-ground management improvements in cattle operations.

That’s the result of producer feedback about new equipment installations made possible under the federal provincial Growing Forward program over the past several years.

“There are significant advancements in cattle-handling equipment these days but these are not always feasible farm additions economically for all producers,” says Terry Grajczyk, national manager for the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program.

“Support under this program has

allowed many producers to install equipment they may not have otherwise been able to afford. And the feedback through VBP channels provincially and nationally from that effort gives us a look at the benefits to producers of these improvements.”

Here are some of the things learned.

Food safety impact There are clear benefits in improved food safety. “VBP recommends producers administer injections in the neck, a low-value cut destined for hamburger, and that they focus on eliminating the risk of breaking needles,” says Grajczyk.

“New equipment helps with that.”

Better equipment has also improved harmony in the handling area. Anyone who has worked with cattle in a handling area knows it can be challenging to work together in those situations.

“A number of producers tell us that the new squeeze chutes have made it easier to work together or on your own more safely,” says Alberta VBP program manager, Eileen Leslie. “More than one has said it made enough of a difference to allow them to stay in the cattle business for more years.”

Scales provide control

Updated handling equipment helps producers treat animals properly and on time.

New scale installations give producers more control over their business.

Knowing animal weights makes dosage for animal health products more accurate so product is not wasted or enough is used to make treatments most effec-

tive, says Leslie. And knowing weights before selling means producers make more informed marketing decisions and understand the effect on incomes before they sell.

One of the biggest impacts has been from the installation of neck extenders in cattle chutes. These significantly reduce animal head and animal movement in the chute, giving producers more control over their treatment efforts. “Some people say neck extenders are the best improvement in chute design in many years,” she says, “although there are some differences of opinion on various models.”

Record systems evolve A cornerstone of the VBP effort is record-keeping, and new software that meets the basic needs of VBP has been installed on some operations. On a related note, some producers have purchased electronic thermometers that link with animal health software and assist in treatment determination. Software helps producers capitalize on RFID tags for herd management, shipping withdrawal checks, sorting and culling.

Future strength “A strong industry in the future depends on producers focused and able to react to opportunity,” says, Grajczyk.

“It’s clear that this new equipment has helped a number of producers to do that. That’s good for them, their industry and our beef consumer customers.”

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C C A

I

Martin Unrau is president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association

r e p o r t s

n recent weeks I have attended several annual meetings of our provincial member associations. Attending these meetings allows me to provide producers with updates and progress reports on the many files the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) is working on, on industry’s behalf. The CCA and its divisions cover a lot of ground through their work in core areas like animal care, environment, sustainability, trade, government relations, policy development, research and economics. Part of this information sharing has to do with demonstrating the value of the CCA as an organization and the benefits producers derive from their membership through their provincial association. The other piece is that producers, as busy as we all are, have a vested interest in understanding the work that their national organization does on their behalf. The CCA makes this information accessible to its members through newsletters, blogs and other means yet judging from some of the questions I get asked at annual and district meetings not all producers are utilizing these tools to the degree that they should be.

With cattle production and animal agriculture in general coming under increased public scrutiny, industry efforts have been focused on putting producers in the spotlight to assure consumers get the facts about beef production.

This strategy has been very effective and the industry could use more producers acting as informed advocates for beef production. In order to do that effectively, the onus is on producers to actively engage with their organizations, make the time to get up to speed on the issues and utilize the information CCA provides, particularly on animal care and the research that improves efficiencies in beef production and enhances sustainability.

The CCA’s newsletter, Action News, contains updates on virtually everything that goes on in the organization and is a must-read to stay current. The Beef Cattle Research Council’s website and blog has up-to-the-minute research information that producers can benefit from. Tweeting or blogging about the many positive aspects of cattle production is one way more producers can become involved and act as advocates for the industry. The more informed voices we have out there reinforcing the positives in our industry, the better.

In early February, I was in Ottawa for the latest round of negotiations toward a CanadaEuropean Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Although an agreement was not reached in Ottawa, both governments are still publicly stating their sentiments to complete an agreement as quickly as possible.

I am optimistic that a deal can soon be reached that will be meaningful for Canada’s

54 Cattlemen / March 2013

by Martin Unrau

beef producers. Access for Canadian beef to the EU continues to be one of the very difficult areas that is unlikely to be resolved until the very end of the negotiations. The CCA will continue working closely with the negotiators and Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Gerry Ritz and International Trade Minister Ed Fast to ensure that if a CETA is reached, it will be one that Canadian beef cattle producers can support. This means addressing the high EU tariffs on beef as well as technical issues that prevent Canadian meat-processing facilities from being approved to export to the EU. The CCA appreciates the strong position taken by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the ministers and the provinces to seek a meaningful deal for Canadian agriculture and particularly beef.

CCA representatives also participated at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Annual Convention in Tampa, Florida. The CCA met with representatives from several U.S. state cattle organizations as well as the NCBA leadership and the Mexican cattle producer organization. The CCA discussed the status of the county-of-origin labelling (COOL) dispute and what it would take for the U.S. to comply (the U.S. has until May 23 to comply). The CCA’s view is that a regulatory amendment is insufficient to achieve compliance and that such an initiative would simply be a further delaying tactic that could lead to retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports to Canada. An amendment to the COOL legislation is needed. NCBA reconfirmed its opposition to COOL in its current form and passed a policy that it would be a high priority for NCBA to achieve a resolution to the dispute in 2013.

The CCA’s work on CETA, COOL and other important files will continue in 2013, at a time when collapsing cow numbers are creating significant budget constraints for many provincial members. In Ontario and Manitoba, many producers are still struggling to feed their animals and maintain their herds in the aftermath of the drought of 2012 in Ontario and the severe flooding the previous year in Manitoba that destroyed pastures. The CCA will remain focused on AgriRecovery to assist producers through these difficult times.

It is important in times like these to not lose the vision of efforts already underway to improve industry competitiveness for the long term. The work the CCA does is geared towards meeting the needs of today and tomorrow but it’s very much more about having the vision to set direction towards longer-term goals that may be as many as five years away. With this vision comes responsibility, and the CCA’s responsibility is ensuring Canada’s beef cattle industry moves forward. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

NEWS ROUNDUP ASSOCIATIONS FLOODING, TB AND INSURANCE CONCERNS ARISE IN MANITOBA Manitoba Beef Producers’ (MBP) new February time slot for its annual meeting seemed to work as it attracted the largest crowd in recent years.

Between floods and fires a lot of ground was covered in more than 40 resolutions, says Trevor Atchison of Pipestone who succeeded Ray Armbruster of Rossburn as president of the association.

Three open files — flood compensation, bovine tuberculosis, and livestock price insurance — remain on MBP’s priority list for the upcoming year.

A fourth priority will be addressing financial challenges due to the significant decline in revenue from the refundable $2-per-head provincial checkoff that not only supports MBP activities, but contributes to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s national initiatives as well. This is due to the slide in cattle numbers and there is no telling how much smaller the herd is going to get, Atchison says. Producers also pay a mandatory non-refundable $1-per-head national checkoff that goes to Canada Beef Inc. for market development and research.

Lobbying the provincial government for adequate and ongoing compensation for losses of pasture, forage production and fences from the flood of 2011 was the topic of several resolutions.

MBP retiring directors were acknowledged during Manitoba Beef Producers’ AGM (l-r): Ray Armbruster, District 7; Kim Crandall, District 13; Mac McRae, District 9, and missing, Brad McDonald, District 3. New to the board this year are Larr y Gerelus of Shoal Lake in District 7, Ben Fox of Dauphin in District 13, and Cher yl McPherson of Sanford in District 3, while District 9 remains vacant.

Some producers who live close to the point where the Assiniboine River dikes were intentionally breached to save larger centres downstream have received compensation, while others who farm on the shores of Lake Manitoba are still waiting.

Atchison says this delay is troublesome since the premier publicly vowed that those who suffered because of the decision to operate the Portage Diversion beyond its normal limits would not be forgotten. He says the simple solution would be to base compensation on land and water elevations.

Water control works were built to help protect urban centres from flooding, and benefit irrigators, recreational users and Manitoba Hydro, but in

some cases this has led to artificial or prolonged flooding of agricultural properties. Illegal drainage in the upper basin of Lake Manitoba also contributed to increased inflows, Atchison says. MBP will continue to lobby for construction of a second outlet from Lake Manitoba to ensure a safe maximum water level for farms and ranches along the shoreline.

Members also support lobbying to have agricultural land removed from production under the Shoal Lakes buyout program returned to agriculture once the flood waters recede. Cattle production is an important use of land in this region.

Continued on page 58

Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association board of directors. Back row (l-r): Lloyd Thompson, Ken Demyen, Ryan Sommer feld, Paula Larson, Rick Toney, Doug Gillespie, Michael Spratt. Front row (l-r): Ryan Beierbach, Brad Welter, Jack Hextall, Howard Toews, Mark Elford (chair), Levi Hull, Larr y Grant, Ryan Thompson. Missing: Dave Stuart.

56 CATTLEMEN / MARCH 2013

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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News Roundup Continued from page 56

Other resolutions called for Crown land used for agriculture in the past to be reinstated for agricultural use, and making agricultural leases on Crown land transferable between generations or to other agricultural operations without opening it up to third-party interests.

MBP will also lobby to have fencelines covered by insurance programs. Wildfires that decimated parts of southern Manitoba over the past two summers caught many producers unaware of the insurance status of their fencelines.

Producers will continue to press the province to reinstitute a mustering payment to compensate producers who are required to gather cattle for TB testing in and around Riding Mountain National Park, and ask that it be raised to $15 per head. MBP currently pays a $1-per-head mustering fee to producers to offset some of their costs.

Atchison says livestock price insurance remains a top priority for Mani-

toba producers because it’s directly tied to competition for land with the grain sector, which has a good production insurance program.

Members also carried resolutions to look into setting up a payment assurance fund paid for by producers and dealers, and the removal of a requirement to enrol in AgriStability to be eligible to participate in the Manitoba Livestock Cash Advance program.

Many beef producers either don’t participate in AgriStability, or have withdrawn from the program.

Producers will also lobby the province to end the $1-per-head checkoff for the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council (MCEC). It has collected almost $6 million from producers since it was established in 2006 to support the construction of packing plants. Producers feel the remaining funds should be directed to a federal slaughter plant outside of Winnipeg. They also want some assurances that producers won’t be liable for any losses incurred by processing plants owned or operated

by MCEC. Other resolutions relate to controlling gophers and problem beavers, reducing the ever-increasing Canada goose population, establishing a pro-

y d d a D r u o Y s Who’ Bull Sale 10th Annual

Thursday April 4, 2013

Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, SK

vincial agriculture ombudsman, a system of arbitration for CFIA decisions, extending the over-length regulations for farm equipment to include hay and straw trailers, allowing for a licensing mechanism for drivers 14 years and older to operate tractors on public roads before obtaining a full licence, and lobbying against mandatory membership in general farm organizations.

Forage AFIN sets some directions A report released a year ago put the direct and indirect value of Alberta’s forage industry between $2.1 billion to $3.8 billion per year, yet until the formation of the Alberta Forage Industry Network (AFIN) in 2010, the industry didn’t have any group to champion forages on behalf of those involved in developing and managing this valuable resource.

Now that the group has a foothold, AFIN has placed a priority on communication to reach more people with the latest forage industry news and research, says Lyndon Mansell, a

Selling 50 Shorthorn bulls, yearlings and two year olds. The top cut from over 400 purebred Shorthorn cows. Thick, rugged BEEF BULLS that are bred to handle the harsh conditions of Western Canada.

Also on offer – a select group of donor, flush and embryo lots.

Saskvalley Stock Farm Carl Lehmann • 306-232-5212 cmlehmann@sasktel.net www.saskvalleyshorthorns.com

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Muridale Shorthorn

For more information or a catalogue contact:

Scot Muri • 306-553-2244 sjmuri@sasktel.net • www.muridale.com

Sale bull videos at www.youtube.com/whosyourdaddybull 58 Cattlemen / March 2013

Catalogue online at all three websites www.canadiancattlemen.ca

beef producer from Innisfree and newly elected chair of the organization.

AFIN’s website has been revamped and their e-newsletter, social media like Twitter and some professional YouTube videos have been added to its communications strategy.

FarmOn, a new-age social media foundation that promotes itself as a community of social learning, is helping AFIN expand its reach.

One of the issues AFIN is speaking out on more vigorously of late is the critical shortage of forage breeders in this country.

Without new varieties adapted to Canadian conditions, forages are at a disadvantage to other crops.

“The problem is that even though the economics of producing some of today’s varieties of legume forages that fix their Lyndon Mansell own nitrogen is very competitive with that of producing some of the other crops that require high rates of commercial nitrogen, income from forages rarely shows up on the balance sheets of farms and feedlots, unless they sell hay or seed,” says Mansell. The value of the forage is hidden in the pounds of meat or milk that is the end product.

It takes about four years to increase the seed supply of new varieties for sale, and during that time AFIN plans to work with Alberta’s forage associations to educate producers about these new varieties so they are aware of them when they hit the market.

The network is also preparing to host the Canadian

Black Angus Bulls Black Black Angus Angus Bulls Bulls

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Continued on page 60

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Cattlemen / March 2013 59

NEWS ROUNDUP Continued from page 59

Forage and Grassland Association’s (CFGA) 2013 annual meeting and convention set for Alberta in December. Mansell is a member of CFGA producer and user committee, while AFIN founding chairman Doug Wray of Irricanna now chairs the national association.

At its 2012 meeting the CFGA decided to partner with other farm organizations such as the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Dairy Farmers of Canada to develop an environmental strategy for forages and grasslands.

AFIN is a registered society funded partially through membership fees of $25 for individuals and $250 for businesses and organizations.

Mansell replaced Medicine Hat beef producer Don McLennan of Medicine Hat as AFIN chairman. Chris Fulkerth, a plant sciences instructor at Olds College is vice-chair, Kevin Shaw of Pickseed at Wetaskiwin the treasurer and Morgan Hobin, acting man-

ager of the Peace Country Beef and Forage Association based at Fairview is secretary. Wray remains a director, joining Albert Kuipers of Rocky Mountain House, who is manager of the Grey Wooded Forage Association, and Suryra Acharya, a forage research scientist at the Lethbridge Research Centre. Alberta forage and beef specialist Grant Lastiwka and federal grassland stewardship co-ordinator Arnold Mattson serve as advisers to the board of directors. More information is available at the website www. albertaforages.ca.

ASSOCIATIONS PASTURES AND BRAND INSPECTION DOMINATE SASKATCHEWAN MEETING While discussions surrounding the divestiture of federal community pastures and transferring provincial brand inspection to industry dominated the business session of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association’s (SCA) AGM, members were quick to support an increase in the portion of

their $1-per-head national checkoff allocated to research.

SCA chair Mark Elford says members voted last year to up their research allocation to 20 cents from 10 cents per head and bumped it up to 30 cents on the dollar this year. That is more than any other province allocates for research. Last year the average contribution from all provinces excluding Quebec was 15 per cent.

The remaining 70 cents of Saskatchewan’s national dollar goes to Canada Beef Inc. for beef promotion and marketing at home and abroad.

The SCA considers this to be a good investment in the future of the beef industry since every dollar invested by the Beef Cattle Research Council on average returns $46 in producer benefits.

The refundable provincial checkoff was doubled to $2 per head at last year’s annual meeting and went into effect on April 1, 2012. So far, producers have requested refunds totalling $82,513.

Research in beef and forage production is the No. 1 strategy in the list of eight priorities identified by SCA’s new strategic plan. Elford says he’s excited about the potential of the beef

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and forage production research being done in Saskatchewan.

The SCA has committed $200,000 per year for five years to the University of Saskatchewan’s proposed new Beef Cattle Research Teaching Unit on the condition that the project does proceed and the money be leveraged to cover the cost of the project.

Another $20,700 is budgeted to support the new Saskatchewan Forage Network’s work to come up with a strategy to building forage research capacity and facilitate access to project funds in the province with a goal of funding several new forage research positions in Saskatchewan.

Alongside governance and research Elford says the SCA spent 2012 working with the province to implement premise identification, the divestiture of federal community pastures,

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

and the transfer of the brand inspection service. Though the SCA wasn’t directly involved with the E. coli outbreak at the XL Foods plant Elford says it definitely left a troublesome mark on their year.

Saskatchewan is in the process of installing the premise identification database used in Alberta. Even though some 5,800 Saskatchewan beef producers have registered their premises on the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency’s (CCIA) database, a provincial database must be installed in order to verify the information through the provincial land titles office.

In light of the province’s initiative to transfer brand inspection services to industry, SCA members carried a resolution to look at a made-in-Saskatchewan brand inspection service,

one where the Saskatchewan beef industry retains control of the service.

The brand inspection itself could be contracted out to a service provider, which is exactly what a governmentindustry working group has recommended. Alberta’s privatized brand inspection service, Livestock Inspection Services, has been asked to provide a list of services it can offer and associated costs.

A resolution asking the SCA to investigate a national electronic manifest was tabled until more is known about the work the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) has done on this front.

Another resolution calling on the SCA to “lobby the province of Saskatchewan to retain ownership of the Continued on page 62

Cattlemen / March 2013 61

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federally transitioned pastures and assist with the development of a pasture lands management structure to ensure the pastures continue to serve local producers and communities, and operate on a cost-covered basis,” met with objection on the grounds that it flies in the face of what the minister and cabinet said they would not do.

In the end, the members agreed the SCA should press the province to transfer ownership and/or leasing and management of PFRA pastures to the patrons and assist with the development of a pasture management structure to ensure pastures continue to serve local producers and communities.

SCA also resolved to urge both levels of governments to delay the transfer of the first 10 community pastures.

The concern is that the divestiture was done too hastily and without due diligence.

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ized product. Consequently, Health Canada is now undertaking a risk assessment to examine the safety of mechanically tenderized beef and to provide guidance around cooking temperatures.

Mechanical tenderization is a process that typically utilizes a set of needles or blades that penetrate meat, cutting through muscle fibres and connective tissue to improve tenderness.

Mechanical tenderization has been used in Canada to enhance the eating quality of beef for many years.

To ensure the best information is available to the government and the industry, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) has instigated a research project focused on four aspects related to the safety of mechanically tenderized beef.

The first relates to reducing the number of bacteria on the surface of the meat before tenderization using treatments already commonly employed by processing plants.

Research is also being conducted to examine how best to clean tenderizing

During the 2012 recall of beef from XL Foods there were five reported cases of illness thought to be associated with the consumption or handling of mechanically tender-

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equipment, which can be a challenge given the numerous blades or needles these machines contain.

Another major focus of the work is to confirm appropriate cooking temperatures. As an interim measure, Health Canada has recommended that tenderized beef products be cooked to 71 C, which is the same temperature recommended for ground beef. Previous Canadian research indicated food safety could be maintained at lower cooking temperatures while preserving the eating quality of steaks and roasts. This issue will be examined further using both beef prepared in the laboratory as well as commercial product.

Lastly, the research will examine how best to communicate cooking temperature recommendations to consumers.

The objective is to ensure consumers are well informed of the food safety aspects of preparing beef, such as cooking temperature, without raising undue concerns that might impact their purchase and enjoyment of Canadian beef.

Upon completion of the research later this year, data will be shared with the Government of Canada as well as the Canadian beef and cattle sector.

The research on mechanical tenderization is part of the E. coli 0157:H7 Research and Education Strategy that was instigated by CCA following the XL Foods Inc. recall. The strategy incorporates studies looking at a broad range of measures which target the reduction of E. coli 0157:H7 in beef products including mechanically tenderized beef. While data from the Public Health Agency of Canada indicates a declining trend in terms of illness related to E. coli 0157, a further reduction in illness associated with beef products is the goal of the strategy. The research on mechanically tenderized beef was supported by funds from the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA).

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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.

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5 – I always watch for it; let’s see more of it 4 – I regularly read it and like it 3 – I usually read it 2 – There are things I’d rather read 1 – I don’t want it; get rid of it Regular Columns 5 4 3

Regular Columns News Roundup Purely Purebred The Markets

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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

Cattlemen / March 2013 63

HigH Quality Bulls

from Reputation Breeders March 1 Maple leaf frencH cHarolais Bull sale, Lakedell Ag Centre, Westerose, AB March 4 palMer cHarolais & nielson land & cattle co. Bull sale, at Palmer Charolais, Bladworth, SK March 12 MctavisH and guests cHarolais & red angus Bull sale, at the farm, Moosomin, SK March16 pleasant dawn cHarolais Bull sale, Heartland Livestock, Virden, MB March 21 diaMond w cHarolais & angus Bull sale, Valley Livestock Sales, Minitonas, MB March 23 wilgenBuscH cHarolais nortH of tHe 53rd Bull sale, at the CSS Charolais Ranch, Paynton, SK March 26 steppler farMs cHarolais Bull sale, at the farm, Miami, MB March 28 elder cHarolais Bull sale, at the farm, Coronach, SK March 30 gilliland Bros. cHarolais & frietag-Martin angus Bull sale, Alameda Auction Market, Alameda, SK April 1 wilgenBuscH cHarolais nortH of tHe 49tH Bull sale, at the farm, Halbrite, SK April 2 cedarlea cHarolais & windy willow angus Bull sale, at the Windy Willows farm, Hodgeville, SK April 4 Hunter cHarolais Bull sale, at the farm, Roblin, MB April 10 Mutrie farMs/Bar H cHarolais Bull sale, Candiac Auction Market, Candiac, SK April 20 cornerstone cHarolais & red angus Bull sale, Whitewood Auction Market, Whitewood, SK

purely purebred Suggestions are always welcome.

My phone number is 403-325-1695 Email:

folks, but maybe if you are like me you have been busy going to industry events or getting ready for bull sales!

deb.wilson@ fbcpublishing.com

Deborah WILSON ◆ I noticed the other day the year letter is “A.” When I was an active producer this would have probably rolled on by without me really thinking about it. But when you are remembering the last time the tattoo letter was “A” and how long ago it was — it is a bit of a reality check! Thank heavens we have all these young producers coming into the industry with all their enthusiasm and commitment.

◆ The “Blast from the Past” picture this month is of an individual who is no longer with us, but his spirit and the memories live on. I thought very highly of him, as did a number of cattlemen. He was an unforgettable character, not afraid to voice his opinion.

Can you identify him and the year? ◆ The American and Canadian Gelb-

◆ The picture in the February issue was sent in by Millie Boake. It was taken in 1983 at Bashaw, Alta. The keen little fitters (above) are Rosslyn Boake and her brother Peter, while the individual across the fence is Rob Matthews. No one identified any of these

vieh Associations have moved their combined National Cattle Evaluation (NCE) services over to the American Simmental Association.

The move will provide: — More accurate WW EPDs due to the addition of historical and future weaning weight records to the analysis.

— Better EPDs on percentage Gelbvieh and Balancer animals since the joint analysis with the ASA will include a larger database of Angus (Red and Black) animals.

— More accurate values for all traits with the inclusion of genomic data to

For more information contact: 124 Shannon Road Regina, SK S4S 5B1 Tel: 306-546-3940 Helge’s cell: 306-536-4261 Candace’s cell: 306-536-3374 charolaisbanner@gmail.com All catalogues will be online a month before the sale at

www.bylivestock.com 64 Cattlemen / March 2013

◆ Blair MacRae identified one of the steer handlers in the Jan. 21 issue as Gavin Hamilton, which is correct. But there weren’t a whole lot of eagle eyes this time around either. Seriously guys, get your reading glasses out, or do I need to ask Gren to print bigger pictures?

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

create genomic-enhanced EPDs (GEEPDs).

— Standardized carcass EPDs with other beef breeds as carcass data will now be age adjusted instead of fat adjusted.

— More accurate marbling EPDs as bull IMF scan data will be included in the calculation of marbling EPDs.

◆ After 47 years the Saskatoon Fall

Fair will hold its last cattle show at Saskatoon Prairieland Park in November this year. The decline in participation at provincial shows over the past several years convinced the organizers that it was time to wrap up this annual event.

It began as a venue where purebred producers could showcase their breeding stock, then grew with the addition of a commercial cattle show and sale, Junior Classic, Prospect Calf Show and Sale, the Cinderella Classic jackpot and the Senior Challenge. But over time with greater mobility to reach larger events, the introduction of video, social media and Internet marketing and DNA-based selection, it all had an effect on the marketing value of traditional show ring competitions. Saskatoon Prairieland Park remains committed to the beef industry however, and a committee has been struck to look at the prospects for educational, youth-oriented, and industry events that would be of value to producers in the future.

◆ The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) recently released its Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS) Carcass Data Guide to help BIXS users understand how to use the carcass data collected by BIXS. It explains the Computer Vision Systems (CVS) and the camera-derived carcass data linked to an individual animal’s Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) ID tag.

Mark Klassen, director of technical services with the CCA, worked with Canadian processing plants to enhance their Computer Vision System grading cameras so they could exchange data with BIXS. He also developed the guide to make this data available to producers. “It’s this understanding that can enhance management decision-making

and ultimately enhance the profitability of the producer and the quality of beef he or she produces,” he says. The system can now provide information on individual animals as well as carcass benchmark reports to show how a producer’s cattle compare to all other animals in the database. The guide is available on BIXS participants on the BIXS website www.bixs.cattle.ca or the CCA home page.

Canadian Angus Association has announced its summer internship selections. The internships provide a summer job for young people with an Angus background attending college, university or a technical school. This is an opportunity for these young people to promote Angus cattle to both Juniors and breeders and gain some experience in association work. The positions run late April to late August. In 2012, summer

◆ For the second year in a row, the

Continued on page 66

2nd Annual 2nd Annual

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WWW.RIGHTCROSSRANCH.COM Cattlemen / March 2013 65

Continued from page 65

interns travelled to 28 cattle shows and 18 schools covering 31,000 kilometres in Alberta and Saskatchewan reaching more than 115,000 children, peers and breeders. The summer internship program includes working a 10-day beef promotion booth in the Cattle Trail, a plate-to-pasture display at the Calgary Stampede.

The three interns chosen to represent the CAA this summer are: Karla Ness who grew up in rural Alberta and is currently at Mount Royal University taking a bachelor of communications and public relations. She will be Karla Ness attending events on behalf of the CAA in Saskatchewan this summer.

Katelyn Dietrich from Forestburg, Alta., is a board member of the Alberta Junior Angus Association and studying to become an elementary school teacher.

Katelyn Dietrich She is based in Calgary and will be covering Alberta for the CAA. Matthew Bates is a animal science major at the University of Guelph and much of his summer internship will be spent organizing for the Canadian Angus National Convention which will be held June 6-9 in Guelph.

Matthew Bates

◆ Manitoba Angus Association has named Guild Farms, David, Jim and Muriel Guild of Brandon as its Commercial Producers for 2012. Guild Farms operates 14 quarters of land with about 2,000 cultivated acres and the balance in pasture land along with a half section of rented river valley pasture straight west of Brandon.

The family had Black Angus cattle for many years until they got involved with the Brandon Research Station’s F1 cow-breeding program where they crossed Charolais, Simmental and Limousin on Black Females. To them, the Simmental-Angus Cross seemed best so they carried on with Simmental bulls on Black Angus cows creating a herd of about 200 red white face cows. As the market situation changed they used more Red Angus bulls and today have a mostly Red Angus herd. picture perspectives on the trends and main issues, along with bottom line business analysis “is needed to manage these issues.” The two-day program begins with a special session for students on the 21st followed by the main program on Friday, March 22.

For details go to www.afac.ab.ca on the web or call 403-662-8050.

◆ The Manitoba Angus Annual Meet-

ing was held on Jan. 5 at the Victoria Inn in Brandon. The meetings are held along with the Limousin, Charolais, Hereford and Simmental meetings, then the associations get together at a single banquet with entertainment.

The association continues to spend

a large amount of its budget on promotion and advertising in its newsletter, newspapers, and a website www.mbangus.ca. In 2012 Manitoba Angus supplied coffee at designated Angus feeder sales and some breeders sponsored Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed burgers. The new field day with the Gold show format saw increased numbers of Angus cattle exhibited and 264 4-H awards presented to Juniors. A new Junior Angus Board was formed and Naomi Best of Harding was elected Junior director to the board. There was a large Angus Show at Manitoba Livestock Exhibition in Brandon, to end the year off with a very successful Keystone Klassic Sale.

C

◆ New global standards in animal

care and innovative assessment models for livestock industry are on the agenda at the Livestock Care Conference (LCC) in Calgary March 21 and 22. The conference is hosted by Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC) and the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association and should be of interest to breed organizations and cattle breeders in general. “Animal care is an area of increasing importance in livestock production, marketing and consumer relations,” says Lorna Baird, executive director of AFAC. She says the conference is set up to give producers and the industry a fastpaced overview of the critical issues of the day. That combination of big-

66 Cattlemen / March 2013

The Manitoba Angus Association board for 2013: Front row (l-r): Barb Airey, Rivers; Arlene Kirkpatrick (secretar y-treasurer), Brandon; Larissa Hamilton, Glenboro; Lois McRae (Canadian director), Brandon. Back row (l-r): Dallas Johnston (president), Brookdale; Allan Nykoliation (vice-president), Crandall; Ken Williams, Oak Lake; Shawn Birmingham, Brandon; Tim Baker, Neepawa; Bonnie Glasman, Russell and Naomi Best, Harding. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

The markets

Market Summary debbie mcmillin Fed Cattle Although market-ready supplies are tight, slow retail beef movement had packers backing up inventories of both beef and live cattle in recent weeks.

With sellers unable to gain any leverage fed prices hovered relatively steady to lower, averaging $114.89/cwt by mid-February, which is off $2.56 from the start of 2013 but up $2.28/cwt from where we were last year at this time. Despite the current softness, premiums showed up on longer fed cattle as packers looked at available show lists. The fed-cattle basis at mid-month was at -9.28/cwt, compared to -11.55/ cwt last year.

One positive in the fed market has been Japan’s announcement that it will begin accepting imports of bone-in beef under 30 months of age, up from the 21 months of age.

Cattle on feed on February 1 totalled 893,520 head, down five per cent from February 1, 2012 and four per cent below the five-year average.

Lower feeder prices and a smaller

Deb’s Outlook Fed Cattle Packers are currently not motivated to increase production leaving the nearterm trade mostly steady however, as barbecue season approaches, packers typically gain more interest in middle meats which should support fed prices moving into spring. Japan’s announced easing of its import restrictions will also support the fed-cattle trade by increasing export sales and beef movement.

Feeder Cattle The bigger picture for feeder cattle

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overall calf crop left auction market volumes smaller and total feedlot placements through the month down 27 per cent from a year ago.

Fed-cattle exports to the end of January were running five per cent below last year at 28,293 head. The slow pace of meat movement provided packers with no incentive to increase production speed, so slaughter rates in Canada are down since the start of the year.

Steer slaughter is down nine per cent at 139,100 head while heifer slaughter is off 28 per cent at 68,910 head.

Feeder Cattle The high cost of grain and forage coupled with slower beef movement and pressured fed-cattle prices have limited feeder cattle advances so far in 2013. Lighter and mid-weight feeder cattle attracted premiums at a few sales in recent weeks, but overall feeder cattle prices were considerably lower than a year ago. At mid-February, 550-lb.

Alberta feeders averaged $157.50/cwt, up $1.92 from the start of the year but $27.70/cwt lower than a year ago.

Heavier feeders under pressure since the start of the year have lost $1.08/ cwt since January 1 to average just under $130 by mid-month, almost $11 under last year. The feeder basis has widened to -17.81/cwt versus -12.38 last year.

Despite the high cost of feed and slow fed market U.S. buyers remain interested in Canadian calves. Feeder exports through January totalled is driven by the fact the U.S. cow herd continues to contract while Canadian supplies remain historically small and unemployment and consumer spending are both expected to improve giving a boost to beef demand. All of these factors are positive for feeder cattle throughout 2013. In the near term however, feedlots are not making break-evens on their fed cattle and the swap to place feeder cattle into lots is not pencilling out which is a negative for the feeder market. Heavier feeders pegged to finish in the sluggish summer market will continue to see some buyer resistance. That said, tight supplies should start to fuel the grass

15,059 head, a 60 per cent increase over January 2012.

Non-Fed Cattle High forage costs and a harsh winter encouraged many producers to sell their cull cows sooner and in greater number than they may have originally planned. Even though packers had plenty of available inventory the steady demand for grinding meat in North America kept prices relatively strong with D1,2 Alberta cows averaging $73.90/cwt in mid-February, up $3.90 since January 1 and only half a dollar under last year. Butcher bull prices were up as well to $81.11/ cwt. Facing high forage costs producers found these prices attractive with the result that domestic slaughter and export sales of non-fed cattle are up.

In the first six weeks of 2013 cow slaughter totalled 67,726 head, three per cent more than a year ago while exports totalled 23,354 head, a full 130 per cent more than the same six weeks in 2012. Bull slaughter is currently just over 100 head which is down 93 per cent from a year ago however, exports of bulls through the first four weeks of January were 66 per cent above a year ago at 4,478 head.

— Debbie McMillin

Debbie McMillin is a market analyst who ranches at Hanna, Alta.

More markets➤ cattle market as buyers start to think about securing enough stock. Look for stronger prices on good-quality feeder cattle as feedlots wait for the spring fed market to rally and feeder buyers size up their spring requirements.

Non-Fed Cattle Demand for trim and grinding meat remains strong and all non-fed supplies are expected to tighten over the next month. Given the small U.S. cow herd, demand from U.S. buyers will provide a solid floor if not add fuel to the cow market. Non-fed prices should continue to strengthen slowly through the spring.

Cattlemen / march 2013 67

Break-even Prices on A-Grade Steers 140

ALBERTA

170

120

100 90

Steer Calves (500-600 lb.)

180

130

110

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

155

ONTARIO

145

D1,2 Cows

85

135

75

125

65

115

55

105 95 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

2013

Canfax weighted average price on A-Grade steers

45

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

Ontario 2012 Market Ontario prices based on a 50/50 east/west mix Summary O ntario

2013

2012

A lberta

Break-even price

2013

for steers on date sold

2013

2012

Kevin Grier2012

Market Summary (to February 9)

February 2013 prices* Alber ta Yearling steers (850 lb.)............... $130.08/cwt Barley................................................. 6.07/bu.

Barley silage..................................... 75.88/ton Cost of gain (feed)........................... 81.36/cwt Cost of gain (all costs)................... 105.85/cwt Fed steers...................................... 115.89/cwt Break-even (June 2013)................. 121.40/cwt Ontario Yearling steers (850 lb.)............... $129.86/cwt Corn silage....................................... 57.76/ton Grain corn........................................... 6.97/bu.

Cost of gain (feed)......................... 104.54/cwt Cost of gain (all costs)................... 129.83/cwt Fed steers...................................... 116.40/cwt Break-even (August 2013)............. 129.85/cwt *Mid-month to mid-month prices Breakevens East: end wt 1,450, 183 days West end wt 1,325 lb., 125 days

68 Cattlemen / march 2013

2013 Total Canadian federally inspected slaughter................ 275,839 Average steer carcass weight............................................ 886 lb.

Total U.S. slaughter.......................................................4,105,000

2012 315,508 881 lb.

4,227,000

Trade Summary EXPORTS 2012-13 Fed cattle to U.S. (to Feb. 2)............................................ 28,293 Feeder cattle and calves to U.S. (to Feb. 2)..................... 15,059 Dressed beef to U.S. (to Dec.).............................. 435.14 mil.lbs Total dressed beef (to Dec.).................................. 597.56 mil.lbs

2011-12 29,750 9,416 555.65 mil.lbs 739.61 mil.lbs

IMPORTS 2012 Slaughter cattle from U.S. (to Dec.) . ........................................ 0 *Dressed beef from U.S. (to Dec.)........................ 374.27 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Australia (to Dec.).................... 34.58 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from New Zealand (to Dec.)............... 46.46 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Uruguay (to Dec.)................... 24.62 mil.lbs

2011 0 358.64 mil.lbs 21.90 mil.lbs 53.91 mil.lbs 13.33 mil.lbs

Canadian Grades (to February 9, 2013) % of A grades AAA AA A Prime Total

EAST WEST

+59% 21.5 27.4 1.3 0.2 50.4 Total graded 61,170 210,391

Yield –53% Total 11.6 55.5 2.7 39.8 0.0 1.4 0.8 1.6 15.1 Total A grade 98.3% Total ungraded % carcass basis 4,222 73.0% 56 85.7%

54-58% 22.4 9.7 0.1 0.6 32.8

Only federally inspected plants

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

market talk with Gerald Klassen

Consumer spending and the cattle market

A

n old-time cattle feeder once told me that if you want to know how current profitability is in the cattle business, you just have to look at hotel occupancy rates in Vegas. The reason being if Las Vegas is busy, it means consumers have excess disposable income which translates into stronger beef demand.

Many cattle market analysts focus on cattle-on-feed numbers and cattle inventory but fail to look at the demand equation. At the time of writing this article, April live cattle futures are $8 off the contract highs. I’ve received many inquiries from feedlot operators and cow-calf producers and the first comment is, “I thought beef supplies and feeder cattle were supposed to be so tight this winter but the market is actually going down, instead of up.”

In this article, I want to discuss how consumer spending influences fed-cattle prices which determines how much feedlot operators can pay for feeder cattle.

When I was in my final year of university, a financial institution asked us to study the financial risk and reward for feeding 800 pounds steers to 1,300 pounds over a 20-year period. My colleagues and I were to compare this outcome with the risk and reward of holding a major Canadian bank stock. If a hedge fund had $20 million how much should be allocated to cattle feeding and how much should be allocated to the bank stock to provide the optimal risk reward scenario. Without going into detail of the actual results, I noticed there were periods of cattle feeding where there was lower risk and sharply greater reward compared to the bank stock.

The period that is most optimal for cattle feeding is CME live cattle futures and U.S. quarterly GDP (% change)

when the economy moves from the lowest point of contraction, to the strongest point of expansion in the business cycle. I’m going to go over two examples. The U.S. economy was in recession in 1974 and bottomed out in late 1975. Economic activity started to improve in 1976 and expansion continued until peaking in the spring of 1980.

Live cattle futures moved from a low of $33 in the spring of 1975 to a high of $80 in April of 1979. In 1974 prior to the recession, interest rates were at 12 per cent and by 1976 interest rates were at five per cent. We all remember that interest rates continued to rise to 20 per cent in 1980 which basically stopped all spending and economic expansion.

The cattle market traded sideways from 1980 to 1990.

For the second example, I’ve attached a weekly live cattle futures chart from 2008 to February of 2013. Notice during the recession in the fourth quarter of 2008, U.S. quarterly GDP was -3.7 per cent and then dropped a whopping -8.9 per cent. This was the worst period of the recession. In the first quarter of 2009, GDP was -5.3 per cent and started to improve so that by the fourth quarter 2009, it was 4.0 per cent. This was the key opportune time for cattle producers to expand their herd given low cow prices.

After the final quarter of 2009, the cattle market started a three-year upward trend and prices improved by 155 per cent from lows of $80 to highs just over $130. The U.S. Federal Reserve had its lending rate at 5.0 per cent in 2007 and dropped it to basically zero in 2009 to jump-start the economy.

Consumer spending is approximately 70 per cent of U.S. GDP so this is a good indicator how cattle and beef prices will behave. A one per cent increase in consumer spending results in a near one per cent increase in beef demanded. The fourth quarter of 2012 saw GDP drop to -0.1 per cent and of course cattle futures have come off the January highs. We could see another marginal GDP quarter with no real growth from January through March 2013.

In conclusion, U.S. consumers have less take-home pay due to an increased social security tax which has lowered consumer confidence. During 2012, U.S. income rose by 3.5 per cent, which is the weakest increase since 2009. It will be difficult for the fed-cattle market to make fresh highs if we don’t see consumer spending increase.

Chart courtesy of TDTN Prophet X

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Gerald Klassen analyzes markets in Winnipeg and also maintains an interest in the family feedlot in southern Alberta. He can be reached at gklassen7@ hotmail.com.

Cattlemen / march 2013 69

SALES AND EVENTS EVENTS March

12-14—Ottawa Valley Farm Show, CE Centre, Ottawa, Ont. 21-22—2013 Livestock Care Conference hosted by AFAC, Executive Royal Inn, Calgary, Alta.

June

7-9—Lakeland College-Vermilion, 2013 Alumni Homecoming and Rose Ball — 100th Anniversary, Lakeland College, Vermilion, Alta., 780-853-8628, www.lakelandc.ab.ca 9-11—Saskatchewan Stock Growers 100th Convention and Annual General Meet-

AD INDEX Page Ag Growth Industries 22 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 21 Bar T5 Agra Services 62 Boehringer Inglheim 27 Brett Young Seeds 23

By Livestock 64 Canada Beef 14 Canadian Angus Assoc.

IFC Canadian Cattlemen’s Assoc.

7 Canadian Charolais Assoc.

OBC Canadian Gelbvieh Assoc.

62 Canadian Hereford Assoc.

5 Canadian Limousin Assoc.

62 Canadian Maine-Anjou Assoc.

35 Canadian Shorthorn Assoc.

44 Canadian Simmental Assoc.

39 Canadian Welsh Black Society 62 Case-IH 9 Crowfoot Cattle Company 18 Direct Livestock Marketing 63 Eionmor Stock Farm 40 Fallen Timber Farms 18 General Motors 17 Greener Pastures 22 International Stock Foods 62 John Deere Ag Marketing Center 19 Justamere 61 Lakeland Group/Northstar 20 a-p Merck Animal Health 13, 24, 25, 53, IBC Moose Creek Red Angus 40 Nerbas Brothers Inc. 59 Peak Dot Ranch 57 Pfizer Animal Health 11, 32, 33, 45 Plain Jane 62 Red Brand Fence 51 Right Cross Ranch 65 Riverside Welding 62 Salers Assoc. of Canada 62 Short Grass Angus Sale 55 SIBL Simmentals 60 Six Mile Ranch 43 Spirit View Ranch 12 Spruce View Angus 49 Summit 3 Sale 48 Thistle Ridge Ranch 59 Tru-Test Inc. 47 Vermeer Corporation 29 Vetoquinol 15 Who’s Your Daddy Bull Sale 58 Xplornet 41  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

70 CATTLEMEN / MARCH 2013

ing, Heritage Inn, Moose Jaw, Sask., www. skstockgrowers.com/100th 17-18—ALMA’s Future Fare, Sheraton Hotel, Red Deer, Alta.

25—Western Beef Development Center Annual Field Day, Termuende Research Ranch, Lanigan, Sask.

SALES March

15—V & V Farms Bull and Female Sale, Guest Consignor — Towerview Farms, at the farm, Redcliff, Alta.

15—Reese Cattle Co. Charolais Bull Sale, Innisfail Auction Mart, Innisfail, Alta.

15—19th Moose Creek Red Angus Yearling Bull Sale, at the ranch, Kisbey, Sask., www. moosecreekredangus.com 16—LLB Angus Annual Sale, at the farm, Erskine, Alta.

16—Boynecrest-Skridge 1st Annual Simmental Bull Sale, Rathwell, Man. 16—Gelbvieh Advantage Bull Sale, Innisfail Auction Mart, Innisfail, Alta., www.brittainfarms.com or www.evgelbvieh.com 16—Sandan Farms Charolais Bull Sale, at the farm, Erskine, Alta.

19—13th Annual On Target Bull Sale-SIBL Simmentals, Barrhead, Alta.

19—Alberta Plaid Galloway Bull and Female Sale, Innisfail Auction Mart, Innisfail, Alta., www.albertaplaidgalloway 20—Advantage Bull Sale — Simmental and

LETTERS Hay to Texas

Your recent article about Saskatchewan ranchers sending hay to less fortunate ones in Ontario rang a bell for me. Good moisture during the growing season in 1998 resulted in a good hay crop at my small ranch in southwest Alberta. I usually sell my hay to a neighbour, but since it was plentiful he did not need any that year.

Just finishing baling, I saw a story on the late news that grabbed me.

There had been a terrible drought in Texas (skinny cattle/cracks in the ground etc). A politician said to an impoverished rancher, “All I can do for you is offer you a low-interest loan.” That galvanized me to action — “If that s.o.b. won’t help him, I will.” I had just finished baling 4,000 60-pound bales, including 1,000 on my 70th birthday.

I contacted the Texas Farm Bureau in the capital Waco. They told me that the Midland-Odessa area needed help real bad. Since transportation presented such a real problem I had interviews

Angus, Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, Sask.

25—Harvie Ranching Co. Ltd. Annual Bull Sale — Polled Hereford, Charolais, Simmental, at the ranch, Olds, Alta., www. harvieranching.com 25—Fallen Timber Farms Simmental Bull Sale, Auction Mart, Beaverlodge, Alta., www.fallentimberfarms.com 29—K-Cow Ranch Family Bull Sale, at the ranch, Elk Point, Alta.

31—Saskatoon Gelbvieh Bull and Female Sale, Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, Sask.

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 4—Who’s Your Daddy Bull Sales — Shorthorn Bulls, Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, Sask.

6—Summit 3 Speckle Park Sale, Northlands, Edmonton, Alta.

13—Six Mile Red Angus 38th Annual Bull Sale, at the ranch, Fir Mountain, Sask.

13—27th Annual West Country Shorthorn Bull Sale, at the farm, Innisfail, Alta., www. shorthorn.ca 15—Justamere 18th Annual Bull Sale — 60 Black Angus Bulls, at the farm, Lloydminster, Sask.

20—35th Annual Short Grass Angus Bull and Female Sale, Sandy Bar Ranch, Aneroid, Sask.

with Calgary TV and the HERALD. The last time, I hit pay dirt. The local manager of Champion Technologies that hauls oil and gas chemicals from Texas to Alberta said, “I think we can help this guy.” He contacted his boss in Houston who said, “Make sure that it’s legit, and if it is, we’ll haul it all.”

Next, I needed helpers to load since the drivers don’t. My oldest daughter was a nurse at the Calgary Remand Centre and contracted a Young Offenders Work Camp at Beaver Mines and asked if they could help. The answer was a resounding “Yes.” My responsibility to them was to provide lunch.

I would get 15 to 20 foot-long subs from Subway. It took nine semi-loads to haul all the hay.

At Midland Texas the hay was distributed to ranchers based upon their number of cattle. The recipients had ranchers from Odessa to Rankin.

I received letters of gratitude from a number of people including George W. Bush (the governor of Texas, and a year later president of the U.S. I visited many of the grateful recipients in February of 1999.

GRANT W. FAWCETT, CALGARY, ALTA. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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