SHOW
MHPH 117E Hobbs ET 203H
CORP CREEK FARM
Bill and Jill Corp and Family OMEMEE, ON 705-799-4788 (Bill’s Cell) 705-772-9345 (Jill’s Cell)
corpcreekfarm@hotmail.com
Registered Breeding Stock
HIDDEN-VIEW POLLED HEREFORDS
Joe and Karen Paszternak NORWOOD, ON 705-9573739 or 705-957-7470
karen.paszternak@gmail.com
Cows and heifers for sale
JDL CATTLE CO. & D&S LIVESTOCK
David, Shirley, Josh & Jessica Lasby Justin, Jaimie Lasby & Family MULMUR, ON 519-943-4147 or 519-278-6819
jessica.lasby@hotmail.com
Good-looking, Sound, Functional Cattle!
LIAN MOR POLLED HEREFORD
Wallace & Fern Pugh & Trevor & Amy Pugh MONO, ON
Wally & Fern lianmor@sympatico.ca · 519-941-8515
Trevor & Amy tpugh27@yahoo.com · 519-939-7489
Breeding Stock Available
O’SHEA FARMS
Jamie and Mel O’Shea DENFIELD, ON 519-477-1238
osheafarms@hotmail.com
Bulls and Females for sale
WHISKEY LANE LIVESTOCK
Herford and Angus
Scott, Paula, Jason and Shelby Cornish INDIAN RIVER, ON 705-295-2925
705-878-3248 (Scott’s Cell)
705-341-3220 (Paula’s Cell) wll@nexicom.net
Visitors Always Welcome
Dr. Lois Batty, President – 705-328-4302 www.ontarioherefords.ca
May/June 2023 Volume 64, Number 2
Telling the story of Ontario’s beef sector and the positive environmental impacts provided by beef farmers and cattle is a key priority for BFO. This issue of Ontario Beef highlights Lynn Leavitt of Prince Edward County who is the Ontario recipient of the Environmental Stewardship Award, which was presented at BFO’s Annual General Meeting in February. On page 20, read about Lynn’s innovative Pac-It compactor and U-Pac AgriServices, as a solution to address agriculture plastics. On the topic of plastics, check out page 30, where you can read about a current research project funded in part by BFO looking at alternatives to agriculture plastics. Special thanks to Kristin Barclay Photography for our cover photo. Kristin is a fourth-generation beef farmer from Toledo, Ontario. Don’t miss out on submitting your photos for our August issue. Please send your summer-inspired photos by July 15 to be considered for the cover. Digital photos in portrait orientation that are at least 300dpi are preferred, and can be emailed to info@ontariobeef.com.
ONTARIO BEEF • Beef Farmers of Ontario
130 Malcolm Road, Guelph, ON N1K 1B1 • Phone: 519-824-0334 • Toll Free (for Ontario callers only) 1-866-370-BEEF (2333)
Fax: 519-824-9101 • info@ontariobeef.com
EDITOR
LeaAnne Wurmli
CIRCULATION COORDINATOR
Bethany Storey
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Cathy Lasby, Preferred Agri-Marketing Services
Guelph, ON
Phone: 519-763-8833 • Fax: 519-763-8833
pams@sentex.net
DESIGN and LAYOUT
Prism Studios Advertising and Design Inc.
Guelph, ON
PRODUCTION and PRINTING
Beck’s Printing Services, Brantford, ON
Ontario Beef is the official publication of the Beef Farmers of Ontario. Contents of this publication may be reproduced only by permission of the Editor and with credit acknowledged. Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and/or editor and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Beef Farmers of Ontario. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement or approval by Ontario Beef or the Beef Farmers of Ontario of products or services advertised.
Advertising deadlines are January 10, April 15, July 15, September 15 and November 15. The publisher reserves the right to refuse or cancel any advertising, including advertising that is inconsistent with BFO’s Sponsorship Policy, available at www.ontariobeef.com. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published, however no responsibility can be assumed for advertising not received in clear, type-written form.
Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement Number 0040007029
POSTMASTER: Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Beef Farmers of Ontario, 130 Malcolm Road, Guelph, ON N1K 1B1
Springmade a brief appearance a couple of weeks ago with summer-like temperatures, but as I write this, the weather forecast is now calling for heavy rain and single-digit temperatures. Fingers crossed, we will see our yards, fields and pastures dry up shortly so the growing season of 2023 can begin. With the weather in flux and planting on pause, it’s given me a bit more time to focus on BFO activities over the last while, including a lot of windshield time to think about plans for the year ahead.
In March, the Government of Ontario released their 2023 Ontario Budget, which included a commitment to increase veterinarian capacity and incentives for northern, remote and underserviced regions in the province. In particular, we were very encouraged to see support for the Collaborative DVM in Rural and Northern Community Practice Program that will see 20 additional veterinarians trained annually with targeted recruitment from northern and rural areas, a program we’ve expressed strong support for. More details on BFO’s involvement in building veterinarian capacity in the province can be found in the Beef Beat column on the next page.
Following the release of the provincial budget, the federal budget was released one week later. Along with the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA), we were grateful to hear of the Government of Canada’s commitment of $57.5 million over five years to fund a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine bank, and support for the development of emergency response plans related to the devastating animal health disease. We and our allies across the Canadian cattle sector had been calling on the federal government to invest in this critical response measure for the better part of the last two years, and are extremely appreciative of the announcement. In addition
Jack Chaffe (Feedlot Director) - President
Phone: 519-301-3034 • Email: jdchaffe@quadro.net
Craig McLaughlin (Eastern Director) - Vice President
Phone: 613-504-1863 Email: cmblackhorse@gmail.com
Don Badour (Cow-Calf Director)
Email: don.badour@ripnet.com
Don Hargrave (Cow-Calf Director)
Email: dchargrave@gmail.com
Jason Leblond (Cow-Calf Director)
Email: jsacres5@gmail.com
Joost van der Heiden (Background Director)
Email: jcvdheiden@hotmail.com
Joe Dickenson (Feedlot Director)
Email: joe@dickensonfarms.com
Jairus Maus (Feedlot Director)
Email: ellengowanfarms@gmail.com
Jordan Miller (Northern Director)
Email: b.jordan.miller@gmail.com
Ron Stevenson (Southern Director)
Email: ron@metzgervet.com
Jason Reid (Director-At-Large)
Email: reidridgefarm@tbaytel.net
Kim Jo Bliss (Director-At-Large)
Email: kimjobliss@gmail.com
to the FMD commitment, Budget 2023 also promises to provide farmers with an increase to the interest-free limit for loans under the Advance Payments Program (APP) from $250,000 to $350,000 for the 2023/24 program year. It is our hope that the increase in the interest-free portion of APP loans will be continued beyond 2023/24, something we’ve been actively advocating for in partnership with CCA.
Another file we will be watching closely is traceability. In March, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) released proposed amendments to Part XV of the Health of Animals Regulations (Identification and Traceability) to enable a more effective and timely response to disease outbreaks and food safety issues, and improve support for disease surveillance activities. Over the last decade, industry and government representatives have been working on this file. BFO together with CCA have provided comments throughout the consultation process and will continue to do so on behalf of our members. Currently, there is a 90-day comment period (will close on June 16th) for industry to respond to the draft regulations. BFO will be preparing comments on behalf of the beef sector after review and discussions with our Board of Directors and Cow-Calf and Feedlot Committees.
In April, I was invited to attend a Beef Day event hosted by the Beef Farmers of Cochrane District to share an update on BFO activities and speak about my operation at home. The event was well organized and attended and I appreciated the time to meet with folks in northern Ontario. In my opinion, the future of our sector is bright based on the attendance and engagement at this meeting.
Executive Director
Richard Horne • richard@ontariobeef.com
Manager of Policy and Issues
Thomas Brandstetter • thomas@ontariobeef.com
Policy Advisor
Darby Wheeler • darby@ontariobeef.com
Policy Advisor
Evan Chaffe • evan@ontariobeef.com
Director of Communications
LeaAnne Wurmli • leaanne@ontariobeef.com
Manager of Public Engagement and Digital Strategy
Jennifer Kyle • jennifer@ontariobeef.com
Communications Specialist
Bethany Storey • bethany@ontariobeef.com
Market Information Coordinator
Jamie Gamble • markets@ontariobeef.com
Accountant
Amber McIntyre • amber@ontariobeef.com
Office Manager
Tammy Purdham • tammy@ontariobeef.com
Manager of Producer Relations
Dan Ferguson • dan@ontariobeef.com
Senior Producer Relations Specialist
Jaclyn Horenberg • jaclyn@ontariobeef.com
Producer Relations Specialist
Robert McKinlay • robert@ontariobeef.com
Check-Off Inspector
Chris Millar • chrism@ontariobeef.com
Provincial Supervisor, Ontario Feeder Cattle and Beef Breeder Co-op Programs
Cheryl Russwurm • crfeederfin@wightman.ca
That same week, BFO Directors Craig McLaughlin, Jason Leblond, Jason Reid along with CCA Director and BFO Past President Matt Bowman travelled to Ottawa to meet with Senators and MPs as part of our regular lobby activities with CCA. The focus of discussions was on Bill 282, beef sustainability and the Advance Payments Program. More details on the discussions can be found within the CCA Update on page 26.
Speaking of CCA, I was recently honoured to be offered the position of CCA Officer At-Large and will join CCA President Nathan Phinney, Vice President Tyler Fulton and Past President Bob Lowe in this executive role for the upcoming year. I look forward to the new challenge, with my first assignment beginning in May where I will attend the Livestock Markets Association of Canada Annual Meeting and Convention in Olds Alberta on behalf of CCA.
Lastly, BFO Executive Director Richard Horne and I visited Queen’s Park in late April to meet with a number of MPPs, including Minister Thompson and Parliamentary Assistants Rob Flack and Trevor Jones. We had some good discussions throughout the day on a number of topics from amendments to the Beef Cattle Marketing Act, the Risk
Management Program to the PAWs Act and land use. This leads me to remind our members of the importance of meeting regularly with elected officials so they have the opportunity to hear our concerns and issues facing farm businesses and families. Shortly, MPPs will be returning to their constituency offices for the summer break, which presents the perfect chance to meet one-on-one, or invite them to your farm for a visit. BFO staff would welcome the request to assist you with background information and leave behind materials for any meetings you arrange.
Wishing you a favourable growing season, and remember to take the time to be safe on the farm and road when working with cattle and equipment this spring. OB
Following the Ontario government’s recent announcements and investments to improve Ontario’s veterinary capacity, we wanted to dedicate this edition of Beef Beat to highlighting these efforts and the ongoing issue that many beef farmers experience around accessing large animal veterinary care.
One of the very first meetings I participated in when I joined the Beef Farmers of Ontario team had to do with the shortage of large animal veterinarians in Ontario, and the challenges faced by beef farmers in northern Ontario and other rural areas of the province to access care for their animals. The meeting was with individuals representing veterinarian and veterinary technician associations, the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), and large animal veterinarians and beef producers. The meeting was designed to identify the core contributing factors to the issue and identify potential solutions to help rectify the problem. At the time, this issue, admittedly, was not on my radar as, coming from Stormont County and with our veterinarian approximately a twenty-minute drive from the farm,
We enjoy sourcing Canadian bred bulls for our AI program
• Our bulls are structurally correct with adequate frame and length of body
• These young bulls have good testicle development and stand on sound feet and legs
• The bulls are semen tested and ready to work
my family rarely had any issues with the vet not being able to make it out. However, the long-term extent of this issue was made quite clear to me during this meeting when someone noted they had been involved in discussions on this very subject since the early 1990’s, before I was even born.
In addition to the long-term nature of this issue in Ontario, challenges accessing large animal veterinary care is becoming a concern in other parts of the province, outside of the areas that have historically experienced shortages. Many in the veterinary profession have reported that the shortage of veterinarians now goes beyond just large animal veterinarians and exists throughout Canada, which is also concerning. According to an article in a 2021 issue of the Canadian Cattlemen magazine, of the pool of vet graduates each year in Canada, it’s equivalent to approximately 2.9 per cent of Canada’s veterinary workforce, which is coupled with an approximate three per cent veterinarian retirement rate.
In regards to improving access to large animal care, this is being tackled differently by various jurisdictions. Within Canada, other provinces have implemented various programs and funding initiatives to increase the number of large animal veterinarians and improve access to veterinary care for farmers. For instance, both Alberta and Saskatchewan have financial incentive programs to encourage veterinarians to practice in northern and other underserviced areas (the Saskatchewan program also includes veterinary technicians); Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick have government employed farm animal veterinarians that are regionally situated; and Nova Scotia and Yukon have programs that support farmers to utilize large animal veterinary services. A number of provinces, in recent years, have also allocated more funding to expand the number of seats at their veterinary colleges.
As for Ontario, different solutions have been examined and programs created to address this problem – some of which have come and gone. One of the programs that has been around for many years is the Veterinary Assistance Program. It operates in northern Ontario and other underserviced areas of the province and it provides financial assistance to large animal veterinary clinics for travel expenses to farms, continuing education and locum assistance. The province has also long supported the OVC in training domestic students; however, the number of seats for domestic students had been capped at 105 since the late 1980’s. In early 2022, the provincial government also announced the Livestock Veterinary Innovation Initiative to enhance virtual care options and enhancements for mobile clinics.
Last fall, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) announced its Grow Ontario strategy, which stated a commitment to support efforts to increase veterinary capacity in underserviced areas of Ontario, and plan to modernize the Veterinarians Act. With the release of the provincial budget in March,
Ross & Beth Gladstone operate Eden Farm, a century farm, near Highgate Ontario. Together they have sought to produce the highest quality beef available and built a loyal customer base and reliable sales for his freezer beef and stockers from his small herd of cows. Ross has sought to make the best possible cross, raise better beef and be open to new possibilities and directions with his cattle. Beth has been by his side keeping him grounded, and making sure the operation runs without a glitch. Ross is committed to a full AI program relying on good data, and EPD’s to inform his decision making in an effort to always get the perfect cross. At the center of his operation are shorthorn cows.
A teacher and consummate learner, Ross experimented with different breeds, crosses and trends over the years, searching for the right mix with a belief that “heterozygous offspring have an important role in progressive beef production.” Ross shared his aim over a lifetime of work “... to develop the next big thing, the perfect beef animal, great conformation, gain, tenderness, carcass qualities, growth, reproduction potential and birth weights.”
Though he has a diverse group of cattle, Ross relies on a consistent core of shorthorn cows for the base of his program for their great maternal instincts and milking, that “ability to jump start a good calf.” Ross believes in hands on herdsmanship for the wellness of the herd and the impact happy, content cattle have on the final results. “Shorthorns have the right temperament” to make that possible.
Ross touts the consistency of shorthorns that makes them great to cross with. Not just in terms of temper and maternal instincts but in feed conversion and ease of keeping as well. Through his program Ross has found consistency with well marbled beef he sells locally, stockers averaging 700lbs, and efficiently finished steers and fats.
For Ross and Beth, being “creative with a rock-solid breed” has led to a successful formula.
AsI mentioned in my February column, our communications team has been busy over the last several months embarking on a brand refresh for the association. The most significant component of the process was an update to BFO’s website (ontariobeef.com), which was launched on May 3. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, I would encourage you to do so. There is a lot of great information on our government relations and advocacy priorities, resolutions responses, comment and submission papers, research projects and the most popular - our market information section. A new page on our site can be found under About BFO, which speaks to our social impact as an association. The same information can also be found on our consumer website (ontbeef.ca). I can admit that we aren’t always great at talking about the good things we do, mostly because we believe it’s fundamentally just the right thing to do. But, we need to do a better job of sharing the causes we believe in and support, which demonstrates our values with our members and consumers. This leads me to provide you with an update, which hopefully in turn, you will share in conversations with neighbours, friends and family.
Close to a decade ago, BFO met with the Ontario Association of Food Banks, now known as Feed Ontario, to talk about how we could help children and families in Ontario who were struggling with hunger. In the fall of that year, the BFO Board of Directors committed $40,000 to support
the development of our Ontario Beef Program, which continues to provide Ontario ground beef to food banks across the province. Since then, we have provided over 750,000 servings of ground beef to 537,000 adults, children, and seniors in need. Our total financial contribution is just over $320,000 since 2014. We have been recognized on a couple of occasions for our work in this space, having received the Paul Mistele Memorial Award most recently in November at Farm and Food Care Ontario’s annual Harvest Gala. In addition to our work on the provincial level, we can’t forget about the work of our local associations and their commitment to their local food banks. Over the last couple of years, we have started tracking food bank donations through BFO’s Sharecost Program, and in 2022 our local associations provided close to $30,000 in support of beef donations to local food banks.
The other area we continue to invest time, resources and energy into is youth support and engagement. We launched the Ontario Beef Youth Alliance two years ago, and continue to find ways in which we can support this impressive group (192 and growing!). BFO is also a dedicated supporter of 4-H Ontario and has been a long-time partner of their Discovery Days program, and new this fall we will be supporting their Impact Conference, which will focus on career development. For the last two years, we’ve also been a partner of the Ontario Legislature Internship Programme, which is a non-partisan program that pairs 10 selected interns with backbench Members of Provincial Parliament. The interns are provided with 10 months of practical experience with the Ontario Legislature, the opportunity to supplement their university training, and the chance to gain valuable insight into the provincial political process. Through this program, we have been given the opportunity to meet with the interns to talk about beef production in Ontario and the issues important to our sector. In June of this year, the interns will be getting their boots dirty with a field trip to the Ontario Beef Research Centre and a couple of beef farms to experience life on the farm. Lastly, in an effort to help address the shortfall of large animal veterinarians in Ontario and build a strong pipeline of veterinary leaders, BFO established two scholarships for students enrolled in the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph who are pursuing a career in large animal health and welfare.
GLEN
Top Selling Bred Heifer at Blue Water Sale 2022
Her mother sells along with all our very attractive and productive cows from 3 to 7 years old at Glen Islay, in the Heart of The Herd sale part of the Blue Water Sale on Oct 14.
Most of the cows are genomically tested 9 or 10 for tenderness. 10 is the highest score.
Thank you again to all our bull customers from 3 provinces this year. Only 2 left.
No one ever regretted buying quality. DON & JEANNETTE CURRIE
2234 Conc. 11, R R #1, Nottawa, Ontario L0M 1P0 Phone/Fax: 705-445-1526
Cell: 705-715-2234 • Email: doncurrie@glenislay.com
Food literacy is another important area of work for BFO, and finding ways to connect with teachers, students and classrooms across the province. For the last several years, we have been strong partners of AgScape, an organization that strives to bring agriculture and food education into all Ontario classrooms. Using experiential and science-based programs, AgScape works to inspire youth and educators from all walks of life to see their own role within the food system, which is a vehicle for social, economic and environmental impact. For the past couple of years, we have significantly increased our support to expand beef-specific programming, as well as to ensure that resources are available in French.
Lastly, as an association we remain committed to supporting diversity and equity in our communities, and finding ways for us to be more inclusive to our members and the public. Our new website includes an extensive section on the work we have done in this space to date, but we embarked on a journey not a destination, so we continue to actively look at our association and current activities to see where we can do better, and how we can weave education and advocacy around diversity, equity and inclusion into existing activities and programming.
In addition to all of the work we do, our local associations do a great job of engaging with the public which helps to maintain the trusted status of farmers. Many associations will be gearing up for community barbecue season. As a reminder, if you need Ontario-branded napkins, placemats or promotional materials, get in touch with our team. Happy grilling! OB
Contact
Because of their balanced profile of calving ease, growth and carcass quality, Canadian Angus cattle work well in both purebred and commercial operations. Use Angus bulls to make top performing feedlot steers and beautiful replacement females. Visit the Ontario Angus Association website for more information: www.cdnangus.ca/ontario-angus-association
Cairnlee Acres
Victor, Yvonne & Andrew Richardson 6193 Walkers Dr, Strathroy, ON Vic Cell: (519) 871-4240
Cambray Livestock Company Luke, Matt, Joe and Carl Jewell 1153 The Glen Road, Woodville ON 705-934-2853
Fallis Land and Cattle
Mike, Lisa and Cole Fallis 1273 6th Line, Selwyn, ON K9J 6X5 705-740-4878 | sunsetacres@nexicom.net
Gilchrist Farms
Brad & Kristie Gilchrist 1269 Grey Ox Ave RR#5 Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0 519-440-6720 | brad@gilchristfarms.com
Glen Islay Angus Don Currie 2234 Conc 11, Nottawa, ON L0M1P0 705-715-2234 | doncurrie@glenislay.com
Loval Farms
Scott & Sandra Honey 127 Honey Road, Warkworth, ON K0K 3K0 705-924-3809 | lovalfarms@gmail.com
Harprey Farms
Allan Hargrave/Don Hargrave 307483 Centre Line A Proton Station, ON N0C 1L0 Allan 519-375-5541 | Don 519-375-1500 harprey@gmail.com
Maple Line Farm
Ian & Tim Rudkin 3320 Bradburn Road, Blackstock, On L0B 1B0 Ian 905-718-5331 | Tim 905-213-6518 maplelinefarm@hotmail.com
Meadow Bridge Angus
JJ Deslippe 922580 Rd 92 RR # 4, St Mary’s, ON N4X 1C7 519-275-1739 | deslippe@quadro.net
Rob Roy Angus
Don & Betty McNalty 634514 Road 63 RR#2 Singhampton, ON N0C 1M0 705-446-4740 | robroyangus@gmail.com
SCOMAC Livestock
Scott & Elizabeth MacDonald 4169 Highway # 6 Hagersville, ON N0A 1H0 Scott 519-820-1272 | Elizabeth 226-971-0015 scomaclivestock@gmail.com
Silver Springs Farm
James, Joan and Robert McKinlay 609027 12th Sideroad RR#1 Ravenna, ON N0H 2E0 519-599-6236 | jmckinlay@bmts.com
Tullamore Farms
Bill & Sylvia Jackson 260 Regional RD 39 Zephyr, ON L0E 1T0 Home 905-843-1236 | Cell 647-990-2697 tullamore.angus@gmail.com
Whiskey Lane Livestock
Scott, Paula, Jason & Shelby Cornish 2295 Hwy 7, Indian River, ON K0L 2B0 705-341-3220 | wll@nexicom.net
Windcroft Farms
Darcy & Courtney McMorris 573333 Boot Jack Ranch Road Priceville, ON N0C 1K0 226-203-4506 | windcroftfarms@gmail.com
Worth-Mor Cattle
Wehave some big plans for 2023 and with the budget recently approved, work has begun. One project, among many others, is a supercharged BBQ Battle. With this being the fourth iteration of the Battle, we wanted to kick things up a notch, so stay tuned for more information as we get closer to the summer kick-off.
While we waited to get rolling with our plan, we were able to participate in a couple of events and complete our first microinfluencer wave of the year. Though it was quiet, we saw great success with the few activities we did undertake during the lull in activity. Check out some of the highlights below.
As we get under way with our consumer engagement plans, a big part of those plans is sharing the story of the farmers and how they raise their cattle and care for the land. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but we might argue, in this day and age, a picture is worth a million and a video is worth more! With that in mind, we are currently looking for beef farmers interested in having us come to the farm for a photoshoot this summer, as well as those willing to let us highlight them on our social media through mini profiles throughout the year. If you are interested, please connect with me at the BFO office.
In April, we had the opportunity to partner with The Chef Collective and Samurai Media to have a presence at the Toronto Food and Drink Festival. While participating in the show would not have been feasible on our own, this partnership allowed us to have a presence and, of course, show off delicious Ontario beef for a very reasonable sponsorship investment.
Chef Joe Friday was grilling up some delicious Ontario beef Butter Burgers, while well-known mixologist Brenton from @CheerstoHappyHour mixed up tasty cocktails to complement.
Darby from the BFO office went to check it all out and reported back that the burgers were indeed delicious - there was definitely a reason there was a never-ending line up and they ran out of product completely by the end of day two!
In March, BFO had the opportunity to participate as station leaders at four of AgScape’s ThinkAg Career Competitions. The events are designed to have students in grades seven through 12 rotate through the stations and learn about different careers related to agriculture and food production by way of interactive activities.
The first event was held at Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School in Baden, while the other three were part of a four-day tour of schools in Lambton County. Altogether, we interacted with over 1,700 students across the four events.
game. The students worked in small groups to earn carbon and wildlife points by rotationally grazing their herd of cattle and working with the wildlife and plant species in the area. The game was a huge hit with the students AND the teachers! The record for carbon points earned by a group in 10 minutes was 12. Not bad since 15 are needed to win!
The career competitions were a great way to engage with an audience that we normally are challenged to reach, so we look forward to the opportunity to participate at more events in the future.
Ontario Beef was well-represented at the recent Restaurants Canada Show in Toronto. John Baker and the Ontario Beef Market Development Program team had a great booth set-up in the Ontario section of the show, which also had several Ontario beef brands with booths on-site.
For those who have not been to or heard of the Restaurants Canada Show, it is the restaurant and food service tradeshow equivalent to the Outdoor Farm Show. Instead of farm machinery, crop inputs and livestock feed, food service folks can source their restaurant furniture, ingredients and even robots to deliver food to tables.
We are currently seeking enthusiastic beef advocates to serve as Beef Ambassadors at the Ontario Beef booth in “The Farm” building at this year’s Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) being held in Toronto August 18 – September 4, 2023. The Beef Ambassadors will be responsible for greeting visitors at the Ontario Beef booth, answering questions and talking about beef, beef cattle and beef farming, and handing out materials and, of course, some fun swag! If you might be interested in helping for a day or two, contact Jenn at the
the province announced two welcomed initiatives to improve access to large animal veterinary care in the years to come. Although the announcements did not come with in depth details, the following information has been shared:
• Funding to train an additional 20 veterinary students a year through a collaborative program between the OVC and Lakehead University, located in Thunder Bay. Recruitment would be targeted at students from northern, rural and Indigenous communities, and students would spend their first two years at Lakehead University and their final two years at the OVC in Guelph.
• The Veterinarian Incentive Program will look to incentivize recently graduated veterinarians to practice large animal veterinary medicine in an underserviced area. Those eligible will receive grants of up to $50,000 over five years for working in an underserviced area, treating large animals. The program has an eight-year timeline and will invest $900,000 over the first three years and increase to $5 million over the following five years.
We were pleased to see these initiatives announced and although the impacts of these programs will not be felt immediately, we certainly believe they will help to improve access to large animal veterinary care in Ontario in the years to come. BFO is also participating in the review of the Veterinarians Act, which should also aid in improving the scope of practice for veterinarians and veterinary technicians. We will continue to raise this issue with government and work with our industry partners to advance other recommendations to improve access to large animal veterinary care. OB
As the days get longer and temperatures begin to warm up, the producer relations team is eagerly planning for summer producer tours! These events provide a great opportunity to tour farms and engage in informative sessions alongside friends and fellow producers.
We are excited to announce that we have three events planned for this summer that will feature farm tours, speaker sessions, and social time. Please save the date for these events, and stay tuned for event details and registration.
Feedlot Management School
Wednesday, June 21st – Thursday, June 22nd
Wellington and Waterloo County
This event will focus on feedlot best management practices that impact cattle performance and carcass quality. Featuring engaging sessions at the University of Guelph meat lab, feedlot ultrasounding demonstration, and tours of two progressive feedlots.
Ontario Beef Youth Alliance (OBYA) Tour
Friday, July 7th – Saturday, July 8th, Oxford County
This event will feature farm tours that showcase cow-calf, feedlot, and birth-to-beef operations with direct marketing, along with a tour of Norwich Packers. This event is a great opportunity to network with other young producers. Open to all OBYA subscribers.
Cow-Calf Management School
Friday, September 8th – Saturday, September 9th, Durham County
Join us for farm tours of commercial and purebred cow-calf producers across Durham County. This event will provide an
opportunity to learn from other cow-calf producers, along with a tour of a feedlot and cattle handling demonstration.
Please stay tuned for more event details and registration information. We look forward to hitting the road with you!
As a reminder, the Ontario Beef Quality Assurance Rebate Incentive Program (see page 13 for more details) is now providing a rebate of 100 per cent for first-time VBP+ audits, and a 75 per cent rebate for farms being re-audited. We have been busy offering VBP+ training webinars and helping prepare producers for the on-farm audit. If you are interested in learning more about the VBP+ program, please reach out to me or Dan Ferguson. For feedlot producers, if you are interested in learning more about the Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance program, please reach out to John Baker by email at john@ontariocornfedbeef.com. OB
2
Currently offered as a free, live webinar. Please email jaclyn@ontariobeef.com for upcoming training dates.
During the training webinar, you will learn about the audit requirements. Operations must have at least six months of records for cow-calf producers and three months of records for feedlots.
Schedule an on-farm audit with a trained auditor coordinated through the national office. Complete any Corrective Action Requests from the audit to successfully become a VBP+ Certified operation. sTeP3
4
MAINTAIN
Complete yearly record requirements to ensure that you are still in compliance with the program. On-farm audits are completed once every five years.
Ontario feedlots also have the option to be certified under the Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance Program through the completion of training, assessments and an on-farm audit.
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• COMBINED COW-CALF AND BACKGROUNDING (more than 4 months)
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Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) celebrated its return to an in-person annual general meeting in Toronto, Ontario after a two-year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was complemented by this year’s event theme, Reflect, Reset & Reconnect. At the meeting in February, two new directors were acclaimed to join the BFO Board of Directors, and Jack Chaffe and Craig McLaughlin were re-elected to lead the association in the year ahead as president and vice president, respectively.
Joining the BFO Board of Directors were Joost van der Heiden from Perth County and Jairus Maus from Bruce County. Joost will serve as the director on the board representing the background sector, and will replace BFO Past President, Rob Lipsett, who completed the maximum nine years on the board. Jairus will represent the feedlot sector and will replace David Millsap who completed his term of three years.
Joost resides near Listowel, Ontario where he and his family operate a cow-calf-to-finish beef farm with a herd of full blood, purebred and commercial Limousin cattle. They also operate a custom farming operation with a broad range of services. Jairus, and his family, background and finish close to 3,000 head of cattle per year
BFO celebrated its return to an in-person annual general meeting after a two-year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
and
also operate a 300,000 bushel on-farm storage and elevator facility.
Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Lisa Thompson and Parliamentary Assistant Rob Flack joined the membership for the return of the annual banquet featuring Ontario Corn Fed Beef.
BFO was pleased to welcome Canadian Senator Rob Black who attended the meeting, reception and banquet. Pictured here (L to R) is John Masswohl, Director Emeritus International Relations with CCA; Senator Rob Black; BFO President Jack Chaffe with his son Owen Chaffe.
Before the annual banquet, delegates were invited to attend the Past Presidents Reception. Pictured here is Past President Dick van der Byl (2001) and Past President Bob Gregson (1988).
On day two, the program included a meat and beef demand panel discussion with Jim Clark, Executive Director of the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association; Dan Jewell, CEO of J.S. Ferraro; and market analyst Kevin Grier. The session was moderated by OMAFRA’s Chief Economist, Steve Duff.
BFO continues to attract strong leaders, which is a tremendous asset as the association embarks on a refreshed strategic plan this year that will focus on market development and public engagement; producer excellence; sector growth; advocacy and government relations; and operations and governance.
In addition to the new directors, Don Hargrave of Maxwell, Ontario was acclaimed for a second threeyear term and will continue to represent the cow-calf sector on the board, and Craig McLaughlin of Foresters Falls, Ontario will continue to represent beef farmers in eastern Ontario in addition to his role as vice president.
BFO’s Board of Directors consists of 12 elected officialsthree from the cow-calf sector, three from the feedlot sector, one from the background sector, one each representing the southern, northern and eastern regions of Ontario, and two elected at-large. Directors are elected for three-year terms on a rotating basis.
“As farmers, there will be as many rewards as challenges in the upcoming year as prices for all classes of cattle could reach new historical highs, but all of our input costs are rising at the same time creating continuing tight margins,” shares Jack Chaffe, BFO President. “This is why the work of BFO, the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association, the Canadian Cattle Association, the Beef Cattle Research Council and Canada Beef will be so important this year.”
The BFO Board of Directors and staff welcomed close to 400 attendees during this year’s two-day annual general meeting. Delegates and guests heard from a number of speakers, including keynote speaker Dr. Vaughn Holder from Alltech who spoke about the role of livestock and the future of global food security. BFO was also pleased to welcome both Senator Rob Black and the Honourable Minister Thompson, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Wednesday evening during the annual banquet to address the delegates. Parliamentary Assistants to the Minister of Agriculture, Rob Flack and Trevor Jones, also joined guests for an Ontario Corn Fed Beef dinner.
The 2023 BFO Annual Report can be viewed on the BFO website or you can access a hard copy by contacting the office. OB
As resolutions are reviewed and responded to by the BFO Board of Directors throughout the year, the responses are posted to the BFO website. Archived responses from previous years are also posted to the website.
23-01 – AGE VERIFICATION AT SLAUGHTER
23-02 – INTEREST-FREE PORTION OF APP
23-03 – ELD EXEMPTION FOR LIVESTOCK TRUCKERS
23-04 – CROWN LAND ACCESS FOR AGRICULTURE
23-05 – AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM
23-06 – PRODUCTION AND LIVESTOCK MEDICINES TRAINING
23-07 – PROPERTY TAX RATES FOR PASTURE GROUND
23-08 – EAR TAG RETENTION
23-09 – PRODUCTION INSURANCE ON DOUBLE CROPPING WITH FORAGES
23-10 – COUNTY/DISTRICT DISSOLUTIONS AND AMALGAMATIONS
23-11 – BUTCHERING AS A SKILLED TRADE
23-12 – VETERINARIAN TELEHEALTH & VTAC MODEL
23-13 – SEPARATION OF COMMERCIAL LIVESTOCK IN PAWS ACT
23-14 – DESTRUCTION OF PRIME AGRICULTURE LAND
23-15 – JOYCEVILLE ABATTOIR
23-16 – CARBON TAX PAYMENTS FOR PASTURE PRODUCTION
23-17– PROMOTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF BEEF CATTLE
Thank you to the many loyal and valuable sponsors and exhibitors who continue to support Ontario’s beef sector and farmers.
It is no surprise that Canada’s beef sector continues to focus on the engagement of young entrants into the beef industry, whether that be grassroots producers, future leaders of our national and provincial organizations, or industry partners along the value chain.
The Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency (the Agency) continues to diversify its youth strategy with the addition of a new annual scholarship, aimed at students who intend to make an impact in Canada’s beef industry.
The scholarship is open not only to beef producers and those directly involved with their families, but it is open to students who can see unique ways to make an impact through marketing, research, public engagement, and other areas where check-off dollars are invested to generate value for the beef industry in Canada.
While preference may be given to applicants who are beef producers or have a background in agriculture, it is not a requirement for the scholarship.
Applicants are asked to submit a one-to-two-minute video, showcasing their desire to improve and grow Canada’s beef sector in a unique way. The investment of the beef check-off in Canada delivers value to the beef industry, and the scholarship seeks to support those who want to make an impact in the same way.
The deadline for scholarship applications is June 30 and the selected applicant will be announced at the Agency’s AGM in August,
held in collaboration with the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Calgary at Stampede Park.
For more information on the scholarship or to apply, visit cdnbeefcheckoff.ca/scholarship. OB
Ona Saturday evening in March, five farmers from Renfrew County were honoured at the Renfrew County Agricultural Wall of Fame Awards celebration at the Renfrew Armouries. One of the inductees, nominated by Renfrew County Beef Farmers, was BFO Past Director, Gerald Rollins.
Gerald began his farming career in 1975 at the age of 20 with his purchase of some land and cattle, which began his family’s cow-calf operation in Renfrew County. In addition to Gerald’s work on the farm, he was equally as involved in the community and supporting the province’s beef sector through his advocacy work. For several decades, Gerald has been an active member of the Renfrew County Beef Farmers and Beef Farmers of Ontario with a specific interest in environmental sustainability.
As shared in his acceptance speech, “I have always believed that if you want to effect change, you need to get involved in the organizations that make the decisions and policy that affect our livelihoods,” Rollins said. “I feel that I have made an impact and it is time for others to take up the challenge.”
In 1996, the first inductee ceremony for the Renfrew County Agricultural Wall of Fame was held with 10 inductees. Following that year, every three years there are three nominations chosen to receive an award. Their photos go on to the wall in the Galbraith Room of the Renfrew Armouries. There are currently 54 pictures of inductees on the wall. OB
As a farmer, do you find it difficult to book processing space? Do you want to contribute to an online tool that can make it easier to find available processors offering the services you need when you need them? As a meat processor, do you find yourself spending a lot of time booking processing time with your clients? Do you want to participate and contribute to a solution that helps you and your clients schedule and receive reminders to efficiently use the skilled labour to process animals?
Meat & Poultry Ontario (MPO) together with AgSights have established a dashboard with availability across the province. Together, with abattoirs and farmers they are working to implement a centralized online booking system for Ontario abattoirs called Processor Links. This system enables farmers to book appointments online for livestock processing, which will improve booking visibility, accessibility, and reduce manual administrative tasks.
MPO and AgSights are currently looking to speak with producers who have recently had or are currently having difficulty finding processing appointments. They will be able to provide administrative support to match them with an abattoir that aligns with their processing needs, while also gathering information for a long-term solution to this industry-wide challenge.
If you are interested in this program, please email processorlinks@ agsights.com or complete an intake form (agsights.com/what-isprocessor-links/), which can be found at the bottom of the webpage. The webpage also features a listing of processing availability by region, and a last-minute availability feature.
As a reminder, if you take advantage of this program and are matched with a processor who you haven’t worked with before, be sure to discuss your end-product and packaging expectations to ensure you are both happy with the experience. OB
TheBeef Farmers of Ontario (BFO), Mapleseed and the Ontario Forage Council, sponsors of the Mapleseed Pasture Award, were pleased to announce Tom Aikins of Ravenna in the Blue Mountains area of Grey County as the recipient of the 2023 Mapleseed Pasture Award. The award was presented in February at the BFO Annual General Meeting Banquet in Toronto. For his environmental improvements and exceptional pasture management, Aikins received a cash award of $500 and a bag of forage seed, courtesy of Mapleseed.
Tom is a relatively new farmer. Neither of Aikins’ parents farmed but as a young teenager, he developed a keen interest in agriculture and notes that the co-op programs offered in high school paired with his enthusiasm, respect, and willingness to apply himself, has brought him a long way. At age 19, he rented his first farm.
“I am reliant on rented land while developing my beef herd and building equity,” says Aikins. “I have focused on rebuilding the soil to improve production.”
Aikins is quick to recognize neighbouring farmers who have taught him a lot, and also provided part-time employment on their farms. He has a beef herd consisting of 45 cows and five replacement heifers, and also custom feeds 30 calves. Rotational grazing is a key part of his management-plan. He feeds round bales on pasture fields during winter to improve organic matter and fertility, while reducing labour costs. According to Aikins, his top five pasture management practices to best use his resources are: rotationally grazing small paddocks; electric cross fencing to manage paddock size; runways to move cattle through to farther pastures; winter feeding pasture; and hauling manure onto pastures to increase fertility.
“It’s wonderful to watch a new farm enterprise evolve and develop,” says Scott Fisher, Sales Manager, Western Ontario with Mapleseed. “With a concern for stewardship, combined with an appetite for knowledge, it is great to see that passion rewarded.”
“The recipient is a great example of a young farmer who has followed his dream,” says Ray Robertson, Manager of the Ontario Forage Council. “Tom has demonstrated his ability to effectively manage his beef and pasture operation.”
The Ontario Forage Council is currently accepting and welcoming nominations for the 2024 Mapleseed Pasture Award and the deadline is November 30, 2023 to apply. Details can be found on the Ontario Forage Council website. OB
Offering
Silver Springs Farms is offering yearling performance tested bulls through private treaty. All bulls are out of calving ease sires and strong maternal cow families. All performance data on Ag Sights bull test.
BFOwas pleased to announce Lynn Leavitt of Leavitt’s Black Angus Beef as the 2023 Ontario recipient of The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA), sponsored by RBC Royal Bank. The award was presented to Leavitt at BFO’s 2023 Annual General Meeting Banquet, which was held in Toronto in February.
Located on the north shore of East Lake in Prince Edward County, Leavitt’s Black Angus Beef consists of 200 acres owned and 300 acres rented, while also purchasing 100 acres of standing hay each year. Of the total operated acres, 175 acres of these are used for grazing the farm’s Angus brood cows and calves that are fed and finished on the farm.
Similar to other farmers in Ontario, Leavitt was looking for an environmentally friendly solution to dispose of his used bale wrap, silage bags and twine. His drive and innovation led Lynn to develop and create the Pac-It compactor and U-Pac AgriServices to assist farmers, initially in the Quinte region, to recycle farm plastics. Since then, the service has expanded across the province and has been able to gather about 225,000 pounds of scrap bale wrap and transport it to a licenced recycle plant in Ontario. Of that amount, approximately 30,000 pounds have been compacted at his own farm.
The compactors, as well as blueprints for the compactors are available to farmers across the province.
“This tool has the potential to change the way ag plastic is recycled on farms. It makes recovery, transport, and recycling significantly more efficient and cost effective,” says Christine Lajeuness, Eastern Director of Cleanfarms, a non-profit organization committed to environmental responsibility through the proper management of agricultural plastics. “Borne out of Lynn’s ingenuity, the compaction unit allows the producers to manage the plastic in a safe and efficient manner.”
Lynn has also consulted with other groups in Ontario through a northern Ontario pilot project, a Bruce County pilot project, as well as Municipalities in Quebec. He continues to share information on the Pac-It compactor and U-Pac AgriServices, speaking and making presentations regularly at events across the province. Leavitt’s Black Angus Beef was also awarded the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation for their work on farm plastic recycling and re-purposing, as well as the 2022 Don Hill Legacy Award, recognizing creative and innovative solutions to environmental challenges faced on farm.
“Lynn has dedicated countless hours to educating farmers, organizations, end-users and policy makers about the obstacles and opportunities in collecting and recovering this plastic,” says Steph Vanthof, Member Service Representative, Ontario Federation of Agriculture. “This type of innovative work can be difficult, and Lynn has persevered through it all, culminating in some significant movement regarding plastic recovery in Ontario.”
BFO is currently accepting and welcoming nominations for the 2024 Environmental Stewardship Award. The application/nominations form can be found on the BFO website under Services/Awards, or you can contact Bethany Storey at the BFO office for more details. OB
Cleanfarms’ Building a Zero-Plastic Waste Strategy for Agriculture is a multi-year project aimed at increasing agricultural plastics’ (ag plastics) recycling capacity, entering the second year of pilot operations. At the outset of this pilot project in Bruce County, farmers were provided with plastic collection bags to sort, store, and transport their silage film and bale wrap to collection sites, and they brought in over 40 tonnes of material to date. This demonstrates the strong enthusiasm of farmers in Bruce County and quickly allowed us to evaluate the usefulness of collection bags as a way to ensure that ag plastics are stored in a manner in which they can be recycled efficiently.
Here are some of the key learnings:
• While offering collection bags allowed the pilot to get started quickly in the area, the bags can be cumbersome to incorporate into farm routines, especially for larger operations with daily practices of plastics removal.
• The volume of material that comes into collection depots requires a significant amount of space for storage, specialty equipment for pickup and transportation and significant coordination.
Pilots are all about discovering what works, what doesn’t, and what could work better. In the case of on-farm compactors, they’re
essential to gaining a better understanding of the potential benefits and hindrances of using the tool.
On-farm compactors are an alternative to collection bags and are in use in various regions across Canada. Numerous models are available, each with slight differences in the mechanism used to compress the material.
These compactors are manually operated devices that compress large amounts of ag plastic like silage film into dense square bales approximately 4’x4’x3’ in size. The compactors make materials easier to store, which allows our transportation partners to coordinate more predictable and consistent pick-up schedules with collection sites to boost efficiency. By compressing materials, farmers are also increasing the volume of plastic that can be transported between collection sites and processors on each truckload, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions generated during the process. In Bruce County, Cleanfarms first worked with two farmers to get an initial assessment of compactors as an alternative to collection bags. Following positive feedback, the focus turned towards identifying other large-volume users willing to try out this new tool. Fifteen on-farm compactors are now in
use in the region, with an additional twenty coming into play over the next year.
Pilots are aimed at bringing the right tools and the right people together. In this case, the right tool might be a compactor, so the next step is to identify farmers willing to use it and provide feedback so that the tool and the process can be improved. By nature, farmers are innovators and it makes them ideal candidates for these types of projects. They can see the bigger picture beyond just disposal. They understand that to build up an efficient and effective system, they need to consider reasonable changes to their on-farm practices and routines, as well as how the material will be received at various points in the recycling network – from transport to processing to final product. Farmers with this mindset understand and can help communicate how we need to shift perspectives so that used ag plastics can be seen as a resource and not just trash to get rid of.
Municipal staff have helped us identify these “ideal testers” in their communities and can continue to do so by connecting us with interested farmers. If you’re a farmer in Bruce County and are interested in getting involved, email Jessica Jones, Special Projects Coordinator at jonesj@cleanfarms.ca.
CANADIAN JUNIOR LIMOUSIN IMPACT SHOW
August 2-5 2023 • Spencerville, Ontario
CANADIAN LIMOUSIN ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING
Friday August 4, 2023 • Spencerville, Ontario
ONTARIO LIMOUSIN ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING
Sunday August 6, 2023 • Spencerville, Ontario
ONTARIO LIMOUSIN PROVINCIAL SHOW
Markham Fair • Sunday October 1, 2023
Markham, Ontario
ROYAL WINTER FAIR LIMOUSIN SHOW
Saturday November 4, 2023
Toronto, Ontario
LIMOUSIN INFLUENCED FEEDER CALF SALE
David Carsons Auctions Ltd.
Monday October 23, 2023 • Listowel, Ontario
LIMOUSIN INFLUENCED FEEDER CALF SALE
Cargill Auction Market Feeder Calf Sale
Friday October 27, 2023 • Cargill, Ontario
EASTERN SHOWCASE LIMOUSIN SALE
Saturday December 2, 2023
Maple Hill Auctions • Hanover, Ontario
SPARE TIME LIVESTOCK
Don & Donna Scott & family Oxford Mills, ON Don: 613-913-1579
Laura: 613-316-8728 sparetimelivestock@gmail.com
HILLSIDE FARMS
Ray and Stacie Stanton 4250 King Road, King City, ON, L7B 1K4 416-505-0707 rays@londonproperty.ca
AFTER HOURS LIMOUSINS
Rd.
Port Hope, ON L1A 3V7 905-449-0149
clarkcattle1@hotmail.ca
LOYAL LINE LIMOUSIN
Brent and Vicky Black 82509 Loyal Line
Goderich, Ontario
N7A 3Y3
Cell: 519-955-1234
brentblack204@hotmail.com
Rob & Erin Weppler 117078 Grey Rd. 3 , Tara, ON 519-375-6108 Rob@gbtel.ca
BROWN EDEN LIMOUSIN
Neil & Suzanne Brown 768 Zion Road Little Britain, ON, K0M 2C0 705-768-1605 nsbrown@bell.net
LAKESIDE FARM
Wayne and Nancy Lawrence 263657 Southgate Rd. 26 RR#4 Durham, ON N0G 1R0 519-369-2806
lakesidelimo@hotmail.com
PINCH HILL LIMOUSIN
Paul, Brandon & Chad Homer Stittsville, Ontario 519-339-9659 or 613-987-0822 pinchhill@gmail.com
SELBY GENETICS
1762 County Rd. 11 Selby ON KOK2ZO 613 388 9286
rick.steggles@bell.net
RAIL LINE FARMS
Paul and Brad MacIntyre 221 Bruce County Rd. 1 RR #3, Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0 519-528-2423
pcmacintyre@hurontel.on.ca
By James Byrne, Beef Cattle Specialist, OMAFRA
Horn flies and face flies cause irritation, stress, production losses and effect grazing behavior when numbers are high. There are several species of flies that affect cattle in Canada but only two, horn fly and face fly, are of economic importance to grazing cattle. Stable flies are a particular problem for cattle in confinement as their preferred development habitats are manure pits and spoiled feed.
Face flies congregate around the eyes, nose, and mouth and feed primarily on tear secretions. Face flies are the principal vectors of pink eye between animals.
The face fly life cycle takes between 15 and 25 days to complete and up to seven plus generations can occur over the grazing period. Adult females must lay their eggs in manure of grazing cattle that is less than one hour old as eggs cannot be laid in older crusted over manure. After the eggs hatch as larvae within the manure, they crawl out into nearby soil to pupate. Adults emerge from the soil about one week later.
Face flies spend most of their adult lives living away from beef cattle, preferring to rest on nearby plants and fence posts feeding on nectar. Females must feed on the protein in tear secretions and sometimes blood to be able lay their eggs. Face flies over winter in old fence posts, broken branches, old barns, etc.
Horn flies are the more significant pest of grazing cattle. These flies will be seen on the backs, shoulders, sides, and the belly of cattle. They spend most of their life feeding on cattle. This behavior causes extreme irritation. Cattle can be seen constantly flicking, tail swishing, stamping, and kicking. This behavior distracts from grazing and in addition to blood loss, decreases weight gain.
Horn flies can take up to 40 blood meals per day and as temperatures rise, fly infestations can rapidly increase to over 4,000 flies per animal in the absence of control. Above 200 flies per animal is considered economically deleterious. A moderate horn fly population of 350 flies per animal would cause 14,000 bites per day. This would remove 4.14 oz. of blood per day, amounting to 5.82 gallons of blood loss per 180-day grazing season. At this level of fly infestation, weight loss is estimated to be between 15 to 50 pounds per yearling (Byford et al. 1992). Due to the rapid increase in the horn fly population as temperatures rise, control must begin as cattle go to pasture.
The principal of fly control is to break the life cycle of the fly population either directly by killing the adult flies, (e.g., surface insecticide), or indirectly by killing the developing larvae in the manure using an insect growth regulator. The aim of all these actions is to reduce the fly populations below an economic threshold, considered to be less than 200 flies per animal. Complete fly elimination is not possible, and no one control method is a panacea. Usually, some combination of control methods is required to reduce fly populations to a manageable level.
Dust bags are a relatively cheap method of applying an insecticide to cattle. These bags are activated when cattle walk under the bag causing the insecticidal dust to be spread across the back and flanks. Cattle must be forced to pass under the bags so these bags are best placed where cattle must enter an area for water or mineral. If situated correctly, dust bags can reduce horn fly population by between 80 to 90 per cent, but this drops to less than 50 per cent if there is any room for cattle to avoid the bag. Dust bags are not practical in situations where cattle are continuously rotated to different paddocks.
Oilers work on the basis that cattle like to scratch themselves. With this method, the insecticide is blended with canola or a light mineral oil. As the animal scratches itself, the insecticidal oil is released onto the back of the animal. Oilers have the advantage over dust bags in that cattle do not need to be forced to use them. This increases the number of grazing situations where they can be used. The oil insecticide blend needs to be renewed regularly.
There are many different types of pour-on products, (e.g., macrocyclic lactones) that can be used for fly control. These products are absorbed into the skin and kill flies as they bite. To be effective, pour-on products must be reapplied every 7 to 21 days. These products will also control lice, ticks, and gastrointestinal roundworms. High use of the same active ingredient encourages the development of resistance. This can be reduced by rotating between different classes of product every year.
Fly tags are probably the most used fly control method for grazing cattle. The active ingredient in fly tags will be either a pyrethroid, an organophosphate or macrocyclic lactone. Fly tags are impregnated with the insecticide which is released when the tag touches skin and hair. This is then further spread around by the natural grooming behavior. Fly tags kill adult horn and face flies directly. To prevent the build-up of resistance, it’s important to rotate between the different active ingredients each year. Note that this is not the same as changing brands as two different brands may use the same active ingredient. On farm, ear tags are effective for about three months and the best fly control is achieved with two tags versus one. Fly tags should be handled with latex gloves as the active ingredient can be absorbed through a person’s skin. To maximize the benefits of fly tags, they should be deployed when the population reaches about 100 flies, although this is not always practical.
Oral larvicides, (e.g., Methoprene) are an in-feed method of control, where the active ingredient is added to a mineral premix for grazing animals. The active ingredient passes through the animal into the manure where it interrupts larval development and so lowers the fly population. This type of control does not kill the adult flies directly. The big advantage of this type of control method is ease of application. To be effective the product should be fed from the start of the grazing season to prevent a build-up of adult flies. If this is not possible, adults should first be controlled with one of the products described above and introduce an insect growth regulator once the adult population is under control. As oral larvicides are an in-feed product, cattle must consume enough of the feed to ensure an effective dose of the larvicide is consumed. Where this is done using a mineral premix, careful monitoring of mineral intake is important to ensure adequate intake.
Summer fly control is an important aspect of achieving good productive performance from grazing cattle. The best results are seen when a combination of control methods is used rather than relying on one single method. OB
There has been a flurry of activity at the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) since our last update in February. The first quarter of the year is always a hectic time in the lead up to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in March.
Our AGM saw the election of a new leadership team, essential discussions on important issues to Canadian cattle producers, and the setting of priorities for the coming year. Nathan Phinney and Tyler Fulton were elected President and Vice President, respectively for 2023-24. Following the AGM, Beef Farmers of Ontario President Jack Chaffe was appointed to the role of “Officer at Large” to round out our leadership team.
Phinney took over the role of CCA President in December 2022, following the sudden passing of Reg Schellenberg. To honour Reg’s legacy as an industry leader, the Schellenberg family attended CCA’s AGM and President’s dinner which held a special tribute to Reg.
Over the course of the AGM, the key priorities discussed included: the recently launched consultation on the proposed changes to the traceability regulations, the impact of Bill C-282: An Act to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act (supply management) on future trade deals, achieving reciprocal access for beef in the trade negotiations with the United Kingdom (UK), the addition of new trading partners to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), raising awareness about animal welfare concerns associated with the mandatory use of electronic logging devices (ELDs) for livestock transporters, and the need for further enhancements to business risk management programs.
CCA has been keeping a pulse on what’s happening in Ottawa and how it may impact Canada’s beef producers. There has been a lot of activity on the trade, animal health and care, and environment policy front.
On the heels of our AGM, CCA was pleased to see full restoration of market access into Japan with the Government of Canada announcing the opening of processed beef into our second largest export market for Canadian beef.
This decision marks the removal of the last set of restrictions put into place by Japan after the discovery of a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in 2003. CCA is grateful for Japan’s decision to adhere to science-based trade with the removal of BSE-era restrictions following Canada’s attainment of BSE-negligible risk status by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) in 2021. Japan’s decision to grant full market access to Canadian beef may signal other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region to follow suit. This is good news for Canadian cattle producers as the Indo-Pacific region holds the greatest potential for beef export diversification.
On March 28, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, released the 2023 Federal Budget. Most notable for Canadian beef producers was the funding for a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine bank and additional funding to develop Canada’s emergency response plan.
CCA has advocated tirelessly over the last number of years for a federally funded FMD vaccine bank. March’s announcement included funding of $57.5 million over five years, going towards the creation of a FMD vaccine bank within the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and developing an emergency response plan.
With the ongoing threat of FMD remaining high, the establishment of this vaccine bank will be critical and helps provide our industry with
one of the tools needed to regain Canada’s export markets if FMD finds its way here. While we hope the bank and emergency response plan is never needed, we welcome its introduction and look forward to working with the CFIA on its implementation.
CCA was also pleased to see the increased limit to interest-free loans under the Advance Payments Program from $250,000 to $350,000 for the 2023 program year.
Late March also saw the Government of Canada’s announcement that Canada has reached a market access agreement that will form the basis for the United Kingdom (UK) to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) without achieving viable access for Canadian beef to the UK. This was very disappointing news to CCA.
The CPTPP negotiations with the UK were an opportunity for Canada to rectify the disadvantages in market access and non-tariff barriers Canadian beef producers face in this market. However, Canada has supported the UK’s accession without resolving these issues. While full details of the deal remain unavailable, CCA is aware of other members of the CPTPP achieving unlimited beef access in their bilateral agreements with the UK. We have been informed that similar access for Canada is “off the table”. This is a frustrating development for Canada’s beef producers.
British beef has unlimited, tariff-free access to Canada while Canadian beef only has tariff-free access to the UK under a tariff rate quota. Given this market access imbalance, we need reciprocal access and the full acceptance of Canada’s meat hygiene system which is widely recognized as one of the finest in the world. CCA and our provincial members will continue to share our concerns with Parliamentarians during our spring fly-ins.
Lastly, we continue to monitor the progress of Bill C-282. CCA did have the opportunity to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT) on Bill C-282. The Bill seeks to prevent the Minister of Trade from discussing supply management products in future trade negotiations.
As a trade-dependent country, Bill C-282 risks Canada’s economic growth. This legislation will not only jeopardize market access opportunities for agriculture, but it will also affect all other Canadian export-oriented sectors. The Bill has moved from committee and is going back to the House of Commons for Third Reading. CCA, alongside the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), will continue to advocate against Bill C-282.
CCA is on the advisory committee and working closely with industry stakeholders across the broader agricultural sector to provide input into the consultation and development processes for the new Sustainable Agriculture Strategy (SAS). Our goal is to ensure the direction and actions to improve the environmental performance and enhance resilience to climate change in the agriculture sector take into consideration the realities on the ground of beef producers as well as the efforts currently undertaken by the Canadian beef industry.
CCA, through our involvement with Agriculture Carbon Canada, is continuing to urge the swift passing of Bill C-234: An Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act before Parliament adjourns for the summer. This Private Members’ Bill will extend the exemption from carbon pricing for on-farm use of propane and natural gas. This is good news for Canadian farmers as it will provide much-needed relief and the ability to reinvest the capital from carbon pricing for on-farm investments. OB
CanadaBeef finished the fiscal year on a high note with much of the innovative work undertaken last fiscal gaining traction in April. Maintaining this momentum and ensuring the 2023-2024 investment plan delivers maximum benefit for Canada’s beef producers are priority areas for the team going forward.
Work continues at Canada Beef to develop and implement a Foodservice Recovery Strategy aimed at supporting beef sales within the sector. The strategy contains several tactics focused on consumer research, innovation, and stakeholder education. The latter pillar includes videos developed in the enhanced studio facilities at the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence (CBCE). The videos cover three different categories to help maintain beef as a desirable and accessible menu item for foodservice operators. The videos can be viewed at www.cdnbeefperforms.ca
Raising awareness of the role of beef in life-long cognitive health remains a focus area for Canada Beef’s Health and Nutrition team. Further to the position paper on the role of meat and Alzheimer’s
Disease mentioned in our last column, Canada Beef presented a free webinar on nutrition for brain and mental health exclusively for health professionals on April 20.
The one-hour webinar featured Canada’s top nutrition and brain health dietitian, Doug Cook, who shared the latest evidence about the interplay of the human brain and diets, and why food choices matter. According to Cook, “Many to most of the foundational nutrients that
Under CPTPP, Japan’s 38.5% tariff on beef imports (including primary processed products like ground beef patties) will decrease to 23.35% on April 1, 2023, and will fall to 9% by 2033. According to the Government of Canada, tariffs on further processed beef products will be reduced even more and, in some cases, eliminated altogether – a change that provides Canadian exporters with a clear tariff advantage over key competitors.
The development is significant as it removes the last restrictions on Canadian beef that Japan put in place in 2003, following the discovery of a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Alberta.
Canada Beef was delighted to host Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau at its Calgary headquarters in March. The Minister toured the newly renovated CBCE and received a detailed overview about the enhanced technical capabilities of the CBCE studios and boardroom from Mathieu Paré, CBCE Executive Director, and Cameron Pappel, Director, CBCE Studios.
The final numbers are in for the Burger It Forward campaign held in February. The Canada Beef campaign to “beef up” the protein portion of food bank offerings while supporting locally owned restaurants raised more than $53,000 in ground beef donations and dollars for 16 food bank organizations across the country. A big thank you to all those who supported the campaign and purchased campaign burgers.
Participating restaurant locations reported 29,261 burgers sold for an estimated average of 174 burgers sold per location. Eight beef producer associations, two dairy farmer associations, 14 restaurant recruitment partners, and 112 restaurants participated in the campaign.
Speaking of burgers, with grilling season upon us, Canada Beef has partnered with two-time Olympian Sage Watson to create a custom design, limited edition grilling apron. The black denim apron features
the track and field star’s personal mantra: “I’m Powered by Canadian Beef” and signature.
Visit the Beef Pride eStore to order the "I’m Powered by Canadian Beef” apron.
As we move forward, it is fitting that Canada Beef acknowledge its past. Canada Beef will host a special luncheon celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of beef marketing and promotion activities in Canada and abroad. The special event will take place on August 15 during the Canadian Beef Industry Conference (CBIC) in Calgary, AB. Producers and industry stakeholders attending CBIC 2023 are welcome to join us for the event. Please save the date, and stay tuned for more information. OB
Currentglobal efforts at moving away from single use plastics are targeted at widely used consumer items like grocery bags and take out food containers, but ultimately agriculture will also need to find replacements for everything from bale wrap and silage bags to plant pots, semen straws, and more.
Beef Farmers of Ontario is taking a proactive approach to the issue of finding alternatives by funding research by Dr. Erica Pensini, an associate professor in the Department of Engineering at the University of Guelph.
Agricultural plastics in general contain contaminants that make them harder to recycle, but even if they didn’t, plastics recycling isn’t as effective as it could be, explained Pensini during a Horizon Series webinar presentation hosted by Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC) where she gave an update on her work.
Only nine percent of Canada’s annual plastic waste production is recycled, with the rest going landfill, waste-to-energy facilities or into the environment. Stateside, the situation is similar with less than nine percent of the United States’ 36 million tons of annual plastic waste being recycled. As well, China, a traditional market for plastic wastes, is no longer accepting shipments.
As part of the project, which is also supported by Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Pensini and her team have been exploring different options, starting with a corn protein called Zein that is very versatile and simple to work with. A spray-on film dried rapidly and although it prevented erosion and run-off in the lab, it was less successful in the field. That’s because its tortilla chip-like flavour is also extremely appealing to rodents.
Adding linseed or tung oil not only kept the rodents away but also created a rigid bioplastic that can be mixed with natural fibres to make plant pots.
“This would be a good alternative to pots used in greenhouses, for example,” she said. “Ideally you would put them directly into the soil without removing the seedlings, so you’re not only reducing environmental impact, but also avoiding trauma to the plant.”
Another challenge with Zein was that it wasn’t flexible enough, so they mixed it with cutin, a component found in tomato and grape peels. Although this created a water repellent coating – and had the added benefit of repurposing a food processing waste product – the product was hard to make and although flexible, didn’t meet the level of stretchiness plastics need for applications like bale wrap.
This led Pensini’s team to consider using vegetable oils like linseed or soybean oil as the base for a spray-on film. On-farm tests with hay revealed the liquid penetrated between the layers, and farmer feedback showed interest in a pre-fabricated film instead of a sprayon product. The resulting modification, although bendy enough for mulch or silage wrap, still wasn’t stretchy enough to be a suitable substitute for conventional bale wrap.
“So we mixed epoxidized soybean oil, used citric acid as a hardener, added oleic acid to make it stretchier, and cured it in an oven,” she said. “It’s the best one we have so far in performance, it is flexible and stretchy, but it would need to be fabricated in a dedicated facility.”
As a next step, the team will be introducing fibres in an effort to upcycle agricultural waste products and make them into useful solutions for agricultural applications. They’ll also be experimenting with other fatty acids to see if they can be used in place of citric or oleic acids to further enhance the new materials’ properties.
“It’s not just about improper disposal, but also the process of making the plastic, which starts with petroleum extraction, then fractionation into components to make polymers. Extraction takes about 6.5 barrels of water per barrel of oil,” said Pensini. “There is a big environmental cost associated with the use of plastics. I’m not saying we have to phase out oil in a day, but it is another reason we need to think about other options.”
According to Pensini, the need to find commercial partners is also important, and she’s had quite a bit of interest in the bio-based plant pots and the ability to simply leave them in the soil. However, conventional plastics will either need to start being phased out or become more expensive before bio-based alternatives will come into largescale production and use. Plastic replacements will become more economically attractive when oil prices rise or water becomes scarce, like in California and the southwestern United States, for example.
Pensini’s Horizon Series webinar is available on the LRIC website at livestockresearch.ca/white_papers, along with the other 14 webinars, which cover everything from regenerative agriculture and animal-free products to One Health and greenhouse gas emissions. OB
This article is provided by Livestock Research Innovation Corporation as part of its ongoing efforts to report on research developments and outcomes, and issues affecting the Canadian livestock industry.
By Amber Anderson, Communications Manager, Farm & Food Care Ontario
dairy products with an ice cream giveaway.
Let your urban friends know, especially those who frequent Ontario’s west coast in the summer, that they can take advantage of this excellent opportunity to experience agriculture. A $5 fee will reserve a ticket and will be refunded once guests arrive – making the event free of charge for attendees.
This event is not possible without the support of local volunteers, who help answer questions, wrangle crowds and direct traffic, among other tasks. Those in the area who would like volunteer that day can email events@farmfoodcare.org. OB
Reported as of April 27, 2023
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The OBCFPP list is updated regularly and can be found on the Agricorp website. OB
Beef Cattle Financial Protection Program provides financial protection to beef cattle sellers when a licensed dealer defaults on payment. Administration of the program is funded by the Government of Ontario.
The ministry licenses all beef cattle dealers (including country dealers, abattoirs, auction markets, associations and meat packers).
To be eligible for protection, beef farmers must sell their animals to a licensed dealer and pay a check-off fee on each sale. The fees are deposited into a fund.
Two types of claims can be made against the fund:
• Cattle sellers may make a claim if a licensed dealer defaults on payment. Compensation is 95 per cent on approved claims. Sellers making a claim must apply to the Livestock Financial Protection Board (LFBP) within 30 days of the day of sale. Sellers may also make a claim if a dealer has ceased operation or if a dealer’s assets were placed under a trustee or receiver.
• Licensed dealers may make a claim if a producer defaults on payment. Compensation is 85 per cent, up to a maximum of $125,000. There is no compensation for claims less than $5,000.
The LFPB manages the fund and determines if a claim should be paid.
Agricorp supports the ministry in licensing dealers, collects the check-off fees and supports the LFPB, and OMAFRA manages program policy, licensing decisions, investigations and enforcement.
For information on how to obtain a dealer license or to make a claim, contact Agricorp at 1-888-247-4999. OB
Johne’s disease, or paratuberculosis, is a condition affecting mature cattle, seen as diarrhea, and loss of body condition over time. It is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), which over time causes thickening of the small intestine and leads to poor absorption of nutrients. It is a disease that seems to primarily affect cattle, sheep and goats. As the disease is slow-acting, and clinical signs appear only in mature cows, producers can have a difficult time eliminating Johne’s disease from their herd. This can have a negative economic impact, resulting from reduced weaning weights in calves of affected cows, delayed time breeding back cattle and the culling of affected cows from the herd. Johne’s affected cows often wean calves that weigh on average 50 lb less than calves from normal-testing cows.
Johne’s disease is present in a low percentage of Canadian cattle herds and is more commonly found in dairy herds. Though there has been an increase in the number of dairy-cross cattle in the beef industry, Johne’s disease is not a significant concern in feedlots due to the delayed onset of the disease and the faster turnover of cattle on feed compared to cows remaining in a breeding herd.
Calves can acquire MAP in several ways. Bacteria can be transmitted to the calf while in the uterus of a cow positive for Johne’s disease. MAP will also be found in the colostrum and milk of an affected cow, throughout the entire lactation. It can be found shed in manure, and picked up by calves in the maternity pens, if ingesting manure on contaminated teats or surfaces. Johne’s disease is usually transmitted to calves in the first six months of life. Clinical signs will not be seen in young, growing calves, and chronic wasting and diarrhea will commonly be seen at two to six years of age. The bacteria primarily settle in the tissues of the small intestine, where it multiplies but remains dormant for years. MAP can also spread to other body systems, such as the udder, lymph nodes, uterus and in the male reproductive organs, though this will be more relevant in the shedding of bacteria and transmission of disease later on. There seems to be low risk of sexual transmission of disease from an infected bull, but they may shed bacteria in their manure.
Cows showing clinical signs of disease should be removed from the breeding herd, but should not be separated and penned in areas that are used when calving. Diagnostic testing involves fecal or blood samples, but testing is not accurate until cattle have started to show clinical signs and are shedding large numbers of MAP. Using testing to screen your herd and cull positive testing animals has shown limited success. However, testing may help to identify low or high MAPshedding cows and help with decision-making to later test or cull any female calves from these affected cows. There is currently no vaccine for Johne’s disease prevention, and no licensed antibiotics in livestock to treat and kill MAP bacteria.
Due to the limited treatment options, prevention and management of the cattle are the most important interventions in reducing the impact of Johne’s disease. Strict biosecurity measures can help reduce the introduction of Johne’s disease to your herd. Purchase of cattle and breeding stock from test-negative herds is recommended, or at minimum discussing the herd health status with the cattle distributor and a veterinarian. The use of colostrum from another herd could be a potential risk. Many commercial colostrum supplements use methods to destroy MAP in production and are safe to use. Reducing calf exposure to affected manure is critical. This can be accomplished by calving first-calf heifers in a separate location to mature cows, moving cow-calf pairs out of the calving area after giving birth, deep bedding pens with straw, using separate equipment for handling feed and manure (or washing equipment between uses), considerations of when and where you are spreading manure on pasture, among other methods of control.
It is important to note that chronic wasting and diarrhea in mature cattle can also be caused by parasite burden in the cow, hardware disease (ingestion of metal or wire), and poor nutrition/malnutrition. These diseases can be investigated further during a veterinary exam on the animal.
If you have had a positive-testing animal in your herd, or suspicions of disease and chronic wasting in your mature cattle, contact your veterinarian for follow-up recommendations. Your veterinarian can work with you to examine your herd health status, and make decisions regarding testing and culling animals. Your best option for preventing introduction into your herd starts with establishing biosecurity standards to eliminate the risk of introducing Johne’s disease onto your farm through infected livestock, colostrum or manure. Management of your calving herd and first-time heifers to prevent exposure of calves to affected manure, and culling of female calves born to affected cows can be one place to start. OB
OnMarch 1, Statistics Canada released its January 1st Cattle Inventory Report. Fed steer volumes on Ontario farms as of Jan 1, 2023 totaled 273,600 head up 4.5% from Jan 1, 2022 and up 12.3% from Jan 1, 2021. Fed heifer volumes on Jan 1, 2023 were reported at 120,100 head up 2% from Jan 1, 2022 but 3.8% below Jan 1, 2021. The overall fed cattle total volume on Ontario farms was 393,700 head, which is the largest overall volume for Jan 1st data since 2019. Beef replacement heifer volumes on Ontario Farms as of Jan 1, 2023 are reported at 34,300 head down just 0.5% from Jan 1, 2022 but 3% fewer than Jan 1, 2021. Beef cow volumes on Ontario farms as of Jan 1, 2023 are up from the previous January but down from the higher July 2022 volumes by 5%. As of Jan 1, 2023 there are 225,300 head of beef cows in Ontario up 3% from last January but 5% fewer than Jan 1, 2021. The Statistics Canada Cattle Inventory Report listed 430,400 stocker/feeder cattle on Ontario farms on Jan 1,2023 down 5% from Jan 1, 2022 and 1.3% less than Jan 1, 2021. Volumes were up slightly from the previous July, but the increase from July to January was much lighter than typically noted.
The first quarter of 2023 is definitely one for the record in the price department but costs are also record high. Railgrade prices are very strong and have been increasing steadily since January with prices at the time of reporting (April 18) at $375.00 dressed for steers on strong demand despite the loss of the TruHarvest plant at the end of January. Regardless of the record high prices for dressed cattle, the breakeven prices are also high with profit margins small. Moving forward the breakeven from May to September is estimated between $371.00-$384.00 per hundred weight (cwt) indicating further price increases will be needed to maintain profitability.
Support for the fed cattle market has been partially a result of the U.S. demand for Ontario fed cattle due to tight supplies south of the border. Prices in the U.S. have been soaring, which mixed with the lower Canadian dollar provided the opportunity for U.S. packers to purchase Ontario cattle. Ontario was trading at a premium to the U.S. for close to over a year, but since last September the Ontario/U.S. basis has turned negative. Export volumes to the U.S. from Ontario are up considerably over last year. As of February 28, 2023 fed steer exports to the U.S. total 3,308
head, up 750% over the same time in 2022, fed heifer exports are at 4,510 head up 56% from the same time last year and cow exports total 8,348 head up 5% over February 28, 2022.
Both the federal and provincial processing volumes this year are down from last year. Federally some of the decline can be attributed to the closing of the TruHarvest plant. The overall volume of cattle processed in Ontario federally as of April 8, 2023 is at 156,751 head down 9% from the same time last year and 7% fewer than in 2021 and the lowest year-to-date volume since 2016. Provincial processing volumes as of February 28th are also lower at 12,952 head down 10% from the same time in 2022 and 10% fewer than Feb 28, 2021. Ontario federally inspected cattle grading Prime make up 7% of the volume compared to 6.5% in 2022 and 7.5% in 2021. AAA grades make up 69.3% of the total volume processed as of April 8, 2023 down from 70.2% in 2022 and 71.9% in 2021. AA grades as of April 8, 2023 are steady in volume to this time in 2022 and up slightly from 2021. Carcass weights this year are very close to the five-year average and well below the record high weights realized in 2021.
The volume of cull cows sold through auction markets is at 32,044 head as of March 31, 2023 up 2.3% over 2022 at this time, but 12.6% below March 31, 2021. Beef cow volumes are up 0.7% from 2022 and 14.5% more than 2021 year-to-date. Dairy cows are up 2.7% over last year but 17% below volumes recorded in March 31, 2021. Cow prices the first quarter are high but have not reached the monthly average price record set in March 2015 of $123.95 cwt. Beef cows the first quarter are trading $17.00-$20.00 cwt stronger than the first quarter of 2022 and $30.00-$40.00 cwt stronger than the monthly average prices recorded in 2021. At time of reporting in mid-April, the market is trending higher with strong demand both locally and from south of the border.
As of April 16th, there has been 51,997 stocker and feeder cattle sold through Ontario auction markets year-to-date which is down 2% from April 16, 2022, down 11.5% from 2021, down 5.3% from 2020 and fully steady to April 16, 2019. At time of reporting in mid-April, the spring stocker sales are about to ramp up. On the graphs included, please note that April values are from April 1 to
Continued from page 35.
15 due to reporting deadlines and will change as the special sales conclude. So far this year, the replacement cattle market has been strong despite the high cost of feed. Corn prices did start the year out record high but have declined slightly since that time, however they are still well above the five-year average. On a monthly basis replacement cattle average prices have only surpassed the record high average set in 2015 on steers over 800 lb, with all other categories still averaging below record highs at this time. On a week-to-week basis steers 500-800 lb and heifers 800-900 lb have met or exceeded the weekly average records set in 2015, but only for one week. Overall monthly average prices are up $60.00 cwt plus for steers 800 lb and over compared to last year. Steers under 800 lb are up $50.00-$60.00 cwt over year ago prices. Heifers 800 lb and over are $50.00 plus stronger than a year ago, while classes under 800 lbs are up $60.00 plus cwt on average. Slightly lighter available cattle volumes, slightly lower feed prices and a strong fed cattle market should support strong prices through the spring run with possibly more records being broken.
The market information section of our website can help you keep an eye on current market prices. For those without a computer or mobile device, BFO provides a recording that is updated twice a day (at noon and 4:30 p.m.) with the day’s auction market sale reports, railgrade prices, cattle futures and the Alberta and U.S. markets. The recording can be accessed by calling the BFO toll free number at 1-866-370-2333 or locally at 519-824-0334. Just dial extension 301 for the noon report and 300 for the night report or the rail report. Daily and weekly reports are available on the BFO website under Market Info at ontariobeef.com or via email or fax. The weekly report is available by regular mail for those without access to the internet. OB
The information provided on this report is based on weighted averages for actual data collected. Input costs are a guideline only and will vary from producer to producer. BFO does not take any responsibility and accepts no legal liability arising from or connected to damages or losses experienced by producers when using this information. This is to be used at your own risk.
June 17 – Breakfast on the Farm, Hosted by Farm and Food Care Ontario and the Prior Family, Brussels, Ontario. Visit farmfoodcareon.org for details.
June 21 - 22 – Feedlot Management School, Wellington and Waterloo Counties. Visit www.ontariobeef.com for details.
July 7-8 – Ontario Beef Youth Alliance (OBYA) Tour, Oxford County . Visit www.ontariobeef.com for details.
July 29 – Ontario Shorthorn Association Summer Picnic
August 2-5 – Canadian Junior Limousin Impact Show, Spencerville
August 3-6 – Young Canadian Simmental Association National Show, Ancaster
August 4 – Canadian Limousin Association Annual Meeting, Spencerville
August 5 – Canadian Simmental Association Annual Meeting, Ancaster
August 6 – Ontario Limousin Association Annual Meeting, Spencerville
August 14-17 – Canadian Beef Industry Conference, Stampede Park, Calgary. Visit canadianbeefindustryconference. com for details
August 26 – Ontario Shorthorn Association Junior Show, Erin
September 8-9 – Cow-Calf Management School, Durham County. Visit www.ontariobeef.com for details.
September 12-14 – Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, Woodstock, Ontario
September 16 – Source for Success Hereford Sale, Indian River
September 19-23 – International Plowing Match and Rural Expo, Bowling Green, Ontario (Dufferin County)
The Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) is committed to protecting the privacy and security of producers’ personal information in compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Subscribers to Ontario Beef magazine, the official publication of the Beef Farmers of Ontario, do so on a voluntary basis. By subscribing, subscribers are consenting to have their contact information used for the purposes of receiving the magazine and developing an BFO mailing list.
This mailing list will be used for the distribution of the BFO magazine.
The BFO will not sell, trade or otherwise share its Ontario Beef mailing list under any circumstances. A service may be provided whereby items are submitted to the BFO and mailed internally with the magazine but all materials must be approved by and acceptable to the BFO. In rare instances where external, non-commercial organizations, like the provincial or federal government, wish to use the Ontario Beef mailing list to distribute information, the government must provide their mailing materials in a finished format to BFO and/or its mailing house. BFO will then coordinate the mailing, at the requesting organization’s cost, thus maintaining confidentiality of the list. In cases where the BFO may commission a mailing, the company providing the service is required to sign a mandatory confidentiality agreement.
Subscribers to the Ontario Beef mailing list who wish to have their names removed, should call 519-824-0334 or email bethany@ontariobeef.com. Please allow 15 business days to allow us to update our records accordingly.
BFO’s complete privacy statement, covering areas of information including the electronic update system, Website, membership list and market information can be viewed on its Website at http://www.ontariobeef.com/privacy.asp
Simmental Bulls is our Business & Heifers that can Produce them
May is upon us and with that comes a busy month of planting and pasture prep. As farmers are in the fields, planting plans can be disrupted by equipment breakdowns, bad weather can cause delays, and changes in expenses for seeds, fertilizer and fuel can occur. The stressors of feeling too much to do in a short period of time, long working days, and
constant problem solving can build up quickly.
According to the Canadian Association of Mental Health, stress is a normal response to situational pressures or demands and is part of everyday life. Stress causes our bodies to release hormones, which make our blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar levels rise. While a small amount of stress can be a positive boost of hormones to promote accomplishments and activities, chronic stress can lead to mental health problems and medical issues.
As stress becomes long-term and overwhelming, risks for mental health and medical problems increase. Long-term medical health problems such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse problems and sleep problems increase. Stress also increases the risk of medical problems like high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, muscle tension and headaches.
Everyone experiences and deals with stress in different ways, but here are a few tips to help you on the farm:
• Talk yourself through it. Talking positively to yourself is always a good step. Tell yourself why you are stressed out, what you have to do to overcome the task at hand, and most importantly, that all will be ok. It is also helpful to write it out, whether in a journal, or just a blank piece of paper nearby. Just having a plan in front of you, explaining the points positively can go a long way.
• Reach out to a friend or family. Supportive people are key to stress management. This may be a supportive person or group you already have, or you may be more comfortable joining a local networking organization, or seeking professional help.
• Listen to music. Listening to calming music or music you enjoy can have a very relaxing and positive effect on the body.
• Breathe. Focusing on breathing and changing the way you breathe can make a difference to overall stress level. Breathing techniques can calm the body and brain in just a few moments. There are many easy breathing exercises available online!
• Take a walk. Exercise is a fantastic stress reliever that can work in minutes. Been sitting in the cab of the tractor too long? Hop out and take an easy walk around the equipment a few times to clear your head.
Finding the best stress relief strategies takes time, experimenting and practice. Different habits for different people will promote resilience to stress, as well as overall mental health and wellness. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and regular exercise and promoting self-awareness will all help in warding off stress and dealing with challenges. Keeping stress at a manageable level is important for your overall well-being.
If you need support, contact the Farmer Wellness Initiative at farmerwellnessinitiative.ca or 1.866.267.6255, accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. OB
