March 2017 charolais connection by Charolais Banner

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

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The Charolais Connection 124 Shannon Road Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 5B1 Ph. (306) 584-7937 • Fax (306) 546-3942 Home Page: http://www.charolaisbanner.com charolaisbanner@gmail.com ISSN 0824-1767 Manager/Publisher Helge By Managing Editor Candace By charolaisbanner@gmail.com @ByCandace

MARCH 2017 • VOL. XXXIV, NO. 2 From the Field ............................................................................................8 du champ ..................................................................................................10 Canadian Charolais Association ..............................................................14 De L’Association de Charolais Canadien ................................................14 Profile – FDKL Charolais ..........................................................................19 Time to Set Herd Reproductive Goals ....................................................38 Herd Health ..............................................................................................40 Industry Info ............................................................................................42 Don’t Play Russian Roulette with Your Cattle Genetics ........................46 Pain Control ..............................................................................................48 Pain Mitigation ........................................................................................52 CCYA News................................................................................................59 Salvaging damaged crops as alternative feed sources ..........................60 Emergency preparedness for livestock producers ..................................62 Calendar of Events ..................................................................................70 Index of Advertisers ................................................................................74

Production/Graphic Design Susan Penner charolais.susan@sasktel.net Web Design Dalyse Robertson pdmrobertson@gmail.com FIELDMEN: Alberta & British Columbia Craig Scott 5107 Shannon Drive, Olds, AB T4H 1X3 Res. (403) 507-2258 Fax (403) 507-2268 Cell (403) 651-9441 sbanner@telusplanet.net @craigscott222 Saskatchewan, Manitoba, USA & Eastern Canada Helge By 124 Shannon Road, Regina, SK S4S 5B1 (306) 584-7937 Fax (306) 546-3942 Cell (306) 536-4261 charolaisbanner@gmail.com @CharolaisBanner SUBSCRIPTIONS: $9.45 per year $25.20 – 3 years (Prices include 5% GST) The Charolais Connection is mailed to over 13,000 cattlemen nationwide. Those cattlemen include all purebred Charolais breeders, buyers of purebred Charolais bulls from the past six years and all subscribers to the Charolais Banner. No material contained in the Charolais Connection may be reprinted without the permission of the Charolais Banner. The publishers reserve the right to refuse any advertisements. The material produced in this publication is done so with the highest integrity, however, we assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. We are responsible for only the value of the advertisement. Animals in the photographs in the Connection have not been altered by computer enhancement or mechanical methods according to the knowledge of the publisher.

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On the cover… The Kristjanson family are featured in this issue’s Profile, see page 19. Photo: Helge By Design: Susan Penner

Charolais Connection • March 2017

Postmaster: Please return undeliverable publications (covers only) to: Charolais Banner, 124 Shannon Road, Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 5B1, Canada. Published by the Charolais Banner, Regina, SK (3 times per year - February, March and Fall)

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

POINTS TO PONDER

From the Field Helge By

First off I would like to thank everyone for the positive response to our last articles in the Connection on birth weight and the producer profiles. There are some exceptional commercial producers out there doing a great job and we like to showcase what they are doing in their operations. What we have seen happening over the past number of years is too many producers chasing the smaller birth weights and giving up too many dollars at the market as a consequence. Birth weight correlates to weaning and yearling weight and this past sale season we definitely saw where pounds paid at the auction markets. Weigh some of your calves at birth and see what your cows are capable of having without any problems. This will hopefully allow you to purchase bulls with more performance and return more dollars to your operation in the coming years. The crystal ball of where the cattle industry will be in the next few years is quite cloudy at present. Numbers indicate that the U.S. cowherd has been expanding the last couple of years and here in Canada we haven’t been. The U.S. election has everyone speculating what will happen, and I think it is just that… speculation. I don’t see a big

change in our relationship with our biggest customer to the south. Some of the US trade agreements with other countries could see some change though and we will have to wait and see how that impacts us positively or negatively. Only time will tell. Some of the trade deals across the waters look like they will help us in our export marketing of beef and some should be positive in returns to producers. Glad to see that Harmony Beef at Balzac, AB (formerly Rancher’s Beef) will finally get up and running and will add a third fairly substantial plant into the mix which can’t do anything but help the feeders and eventually the cow-calf producer with more competition for finished cattle. Harmony Beef is up to European specs and will, hopefully, if certified, be able to fill some of the non-tariff export market that is available there after the signing of CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) recently. The plant hopes to ramp up to 750 to 800 head per day when fully operational. The first Charolais bull sales have been strong with the prices off a bit but the volume trading higher. Demand is high and the supply is no more than in previous years. Again this spring I have seen some commercial producers buying their first Charolais bull in many years and the bulls are going to breed straight black cows. The message is getting through from the order buyers and feedlots that the quality silver calves will bring a premium as well. The price advantage for the identifiable Charcross calves is undeniable. We will have a shortage of Charolais bulls when a bigger portion of the cow/calf industry realizes the dollars they are missing by not crossbreeding and using a Charolais bull. We need more Charolais breeders especially in some areas that are almost void of them. If you have thought about becoming a seedstock producer, I would say there is a great opportunity to get started and have a ready bull market moving forward. This is the last Connection of the spring so I wish all of you a very good calving season and look forward to hearing from or seeing many of you down the road. As we get into more of the bull sales, if Craig Scott or I can be of any assistance, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We are always happy to help in any way we can. As I have said before, all our Charolais Banner and Charolais Connection magazines are online for free at charolaisbanner.com, if you want to go back to past issues or show your neighbour past articles. We also try to keep the sale news very current on our homepage so you can check out the latest results usually within a day of the sale. Until next time, Helge

Charolais Connection • March 2017

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

POINT A SURVEILLER

Du champ Helge By

Tout d’abord j’aimerais remercier tous ceux qui ont répondu positivement à nos derniers articles, poids à la naissance et profils de producteurs. Il y a des producteurs commerciaux exceptionnels qui font un excellent travail, et nous aimons montrer ce qu’ils font dans leurs opérations. Ce qui s’est produit ces dernières années, c’est que de nombreux producteurs ont baissé leurs poids à la naissance et par conséquent ont perdu beaucoup d’argent. Le poids à la naissance est en corrélation directe avec le poids au sevrage et à un an, et dans les dernières ventes nous avons vraiment vu une différence sur les prix. Pesez vos veaux à la naissance et voyez ce que vos vaches peuvent vous donner en poids et sans problème. Cela vous permettra peut- être d’acheter des taureaux avec plus de rendement, en plus de retourner plus de dollars dans vos opérations dans les années à venir. Òu l’industrie du bœuf s’en va, même la boule de cristal ne peut le dire, car il y a beaucoup de moments sombres présentement. Les chiffres indiquent que la production Américaine à prise de l’expansion au cours des deux dernières années, et ici au Canada nous ne l’avons pas suivi. Les élections récentes aux USA, tous ont spéculé sur

ce qui se passerait, mais c’est juste de la spéculation. Je ne vois pas grand-chose de différent dans nos relations, avec notre plus grand client au sud. Certains des accords commerciaux des USA avec d’autres pays pourraient enregistrer des changements, nous devons attendre et voir comment cela nous affectera, positivement ou négativement, seul l’avenir nous le dira. Certains des accords commerciaux outre-mer semblent nous aider dans notre commercialisation à l’exportation de bœuf, et devraient être très positif pour les producteurs. Heureux de voir que Harmony Beef à Balsac en Alberta ( anciennement Ranchers Beef ) va enfin se mettre en marche ce qui va ajouter un troisième plan d’importance , ce qui va aider les parcs et éventuellement les producteurs de veaux en créant une meilleure concurrence. Harmony Beef est à la hauteur des spécifications européennes, et si tout va bien elle sera certifiée, et être en mesure de combler une partie du marché d’exportation non tarifaire qui est disponible là- bas après la signature récemment de CETA. Quand l’usine sera en pleine production, elle abattra entre 750 à 800 têtes par jour. Les premières ventes de taureaux sont débutées avec de bons prix et avec un bon nombre de taureaux. La demande est élevée et l’offre n’est pas plus importante que les années précédentes. Encore ce printemps j’ai vu des producteurs commerciaux acheter leur premier taureau charolais pour reproduire sur des vaches noires. Le message est passé les parcs veulent de plus en plus de veaux silver (argent) de qualité, et qui vont donner un plus aux producteurs. L’avantage de prix pour les veaux croisés charolais identifiables est indéniable. Nous aurons une pénurie de taureaux charolais, quand une grande partie de l’industrie vache/veau réalisera qu’il peut augmenter ses profits en utilisant un taureau charolais. Nous avons besoin de plus d’éleveurs charolais dans certaines régions, car ils sont presque nuls. Si vous pensez devenir un producteur, l’occasion est excellente pour débuter dans le marché du taureau. C’est le dernier < Connection > celui du printemps, donc je vous souhaite une excellente saison de vêlage, et nous avons hâte de vous rencontrer et de jaser avec chacun de vous. Nous sommes toujours heureux de vous aider quelques soient vos besoins dans le domaine du charolais. Comme je l’ai dit dernièrement tous nos magazines Charolais Banner et Charolais Connection sont en ligne gratuitement à charolaisbanner.com autant les anciens numéros que les plus récents. Nous essayons de nous garder à jour pour les résultats de ventes, ordinairement le jour suivant. À la prochaine, Helge

Charolais Connection • March 2017

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

FROM THE CANADIAN CHAROLAIS ASSOCIATION

CANADIAN CHAROLAIS ASSOCIATION 2320, 41st Avenue NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6W8 403.250.9242 F 403.291.9324 www.charolais.com @canCharolais www.facebook.com/cdncharolais PROVINCIAL REPRESENTATIVES: ALBERTA President: Stephen Cholak, Lamont SASKATCHEWAN President: Carey Weinbender, Canora Secretary: Dave Blechinger, Rosetown MANITOBA President: Shawn Airey, Rivers Secretary: Rae Trimble, Portage la Prairie ONTARIO President: Jim Baker, Stayner Secretary: Doris Aitken, Mount Forest QUEBEC President: Mathieu Palerme, Gatineau Secretary: Chantal Raymond MARITIMES President: Ricky Milton, Cornwall Secretary: Jennifer MacDonald, St. Mary’s, Kent Co., NB STAFF: General Manager: MEL REEKIE Registry Manager: LOIS CHIVILO Registry: JUDY CUMMER, PIPER WHELAN French Membership: BERNARD DORE bernarddore@videotron.ca EXECUTIVE: PRESIDENT: BRIAN COUGHLIN RR3 1012 Snake River Line, Cobden, ON K0J 1K0 613.646.9741 C 613.312.0270 bh.cornerview@gmail.com

1st VICE-PRESIDENT: DARWIN ROSSO 78 325 4th Ave SW, Moose Jaw, SK S6H 5V2 306.693.2384 rosso.c@sasktel.net 2nd VICE-PRES: RICKY MILTON 4558 Route 19, Nine Mile Creek, PEI C0A 1H2 902.675.3091 C 902.393.8699 rmilton@upei.ca

PAST PRESIDENT: BRENT SAUNDERS RR 3, Markdale, ON N0C 1H0 519.986.4165 C 519.372.6196 F 519.986.4273 saunders@bmts.com

DIRECTORS: MATHIEU PALERME 814 Ch. Pink, Gatineau, QC J9J 3N2 819.682.2723 matpalerme@yahoo.com ALLAN MARSHALL 35266 Rang Road 33 Red Deer County, AB T4G 0N3 allan@futurefarms.ca MIKE ELDER Box 216, Coronach, SK S0H 0Z0 306.267.5655 C 306.267.7730 mjelder@sasktel.net KASEY PHILLIPS Box 420, Waskatenau, AB T0A 3P0 780.358.2360 C 780.656.6400 kphillips@mcsnet.ca

TRAVIS FOOT Box 414, Esther, AB T0J 1H0 403.664.3167 C 403.664.0961 Travis@bigskyrealestate.ca

Why Use A Charolais Bull? Mel Reekie, General Manager

Why use a Charolais bull? The question is rather, why not? The benefits of using a Charolais bull are limitless. Two of the most obvious reasons for using a white bull is the power they pass onto their calf crop and then quite simply, their colour. The Charolais bull can be laid over any cross of cow; they’re versatile and provide punch to those calves. The calves gain and have the size and structure to weigh in at weaningthat adds up to more pounds and ultimately more money improving your bottom line. The calf crop produced from a white bull is distinctive – no tag required. The dominant white gene leaves no question what the calves are from, they’re naturally identifiable. The buyer knows what kind of product he’s getting, there is no mistaking. In addition to the obvious, the Canadian Charolais Association has been led by a progressive Board of breeders since inception that has focused on genetic improvements. As a result, we have a healthy foundation of 1.2 Million pedigree records and over 1 Million performance records. Through various programs, including our current Whole Herd Enrollment and the ongoing research at Kinsella, Charolais breeders are continually submitting valuable data. Over the years, the birth weights have dropped, while calving ease, weaning and yearling weights have all improved. When the data is pooled together and evaluated, we have a scientifically sound and very powerful

selection tool available for use. If you’re not sure about the use of EPDs, consider this statement from Sean McGrath of Ranching Systems: “As with all breeds, the cattle are built by the breeders and their decisions. The current EPD are the result of a long evolution and they will continue to evolve and improve. Certainly, there can be arguments made about the direction breeders have chosen over time but there can be no argument about the effectiveness of EPD for ranking animals for a trait of interest. The biggest number often gets confused with the best number which is unfortunate, but the EPD ranking tool is still nine times more effective than an in-herd index or adjusted weight for determining the correct genetic placing of animals for a trait.” Before upgrading your bull battery this spring, discuss your needs with your fellow breeders, your neighbours, and check out the prices in the auction yards for those buckskins and smokies.Find what fits your program, there’s something for everyone. Plan to join us for herd tours and field days across the country, in addition to our consistent, profitable product, our people are some of our highest assets. The Association’s Annual Meeting is June 10 in Saskatoon, SK; attend and network with the foundation of the breed. Check www.charolais.com for upcoming dates and sales. Charolais offers Proven Performance. Be Identifiable. USE CHAROLAIS.

DE LA CHAROLAIS ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE

Pourquoi utiliser un taureau Charolais? Pourquoi utiliser un taureau Charolais ? La question est plutôt, pourquoi pas ? Les avantages d’utiliser un taureau Charolais sont illimitées. Deux des raisons les plus évidentes d’utiliser un taureau blanc est en premier, la puissance qu’il passeà leur progéniture et de deux, tout simplement la Mel Reekie, General Manager

couleur. Le taureau Charolais peut être croiséà n’importe quelle vache commerciale car ils sont polyvalents et ajoutent toujours de la puissance aux veaux. Au sevrage, les veaux possèdent la taille et la structure désirées pour

Charolais Connection • March 2017

suite à la page 15

supporter du poids supplémentaire et ainsi contribuer à un plus grand profit. Les veaux issus d’un taureau blanc se distinguent naturellement sans l’aide d’une étiquette d’oreille. Le gène blanc dominant ne laisse aucun doute sur l’origine des animaux. L’acheteur connait bien le produit qu’il achète, sans avoir de doute. En plus ce qui est évident au regard, l’Associationcanadienne Charolais est dirigée par un Conseil d’éleveurs progressifs depuis sa créationqui a toujours mis l’accent sur l’amélioration génétique. En conséquence, nous avons une base saine de 1,2 millions de généalogies et plus de 1 million de données de performance. Par le biais de divers programmes, y compris notre enrôlement complet de troupeauactuel et la recherche en cours à Kinsella, les éleveurs de Charolais soumettent continuellement des données précieuses. Au cours des années, les poids à la naissance ont baissé, tandis que la facilité au vêlage, le poids au sevrage et le poids à un an sesont tous

améliorés. Lorsque les données sont regroupées ensemble et évaluées, nous avons un outil de sélection très puissant et scientifiquement utilisables. Si vous avez toujours des hésitations au sujet de l’utilisation des EPD, considérez cette mise à point de Sean McGrath, de RanchingSystems: « pour toutes les races, les bovins sont bâtis par les éleveurs et par leurs décisions. Les EPD actuels sont le résultat d’une longue évolution et ils vont continuer à évoluer et à s’améliorer. Certes, il peut y avoir des arguments concernant la direction queles éleveurs ont choisi au fil du temps, mais il ne peut y avoir aucun argument au sujet de l’efficacité des EPD pour classer les animaux pour un caractère spécifique. Les plus groschiffres sont souvent confondus avec les meilleurs chiffres, ce qui est regrettable, mais le EPD entant qu’outil de classement est toutefois neuf fois plus efficace qu’un indicede troupeau ou un poids ajusté pour identifier le classement génétique correcte des animaux pour un caractère.

DE LA CHAROLAIS ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE, SUITE DE LA PAGE 14

Charolais Connection • March 2017

Avant d’ajouter des nouveaux membres à votre équipe de taureaux ce printemps, discuter de vos besoins avec vos collègues éleveurs, vos voisins et prenez le temps de découvrir les prix aux encans pour les veaux beiges ou les veaux gris. Identifiez ce qui convient à votre programme, il y en a pour tous les goûts. Planifiez de vous joindre à nous pour des visites de troupeau et des journées champêtres qui se déroulent partout au pays. Vous verrez que non seulement notre produit est consistant et rentable, mais les éleveurs qui sont derrières le bétail, sont parmi nos atouts les plus indispensables. L’assemblée générale annuelle de l’Association est le 10 juin à Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) ; prenez-s ’y part et rencontrer ceux qui forment la fondation de la race. Consultez le site www.charolais.com pour les ventes et les évènements à venir. La race Charolais offre des performances éprouvées. Distinguezvous. UTILISEZ CHAROLAIS. 15

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

PROFILE

Candace By

Editor’s Note: This was written in the summer of 2016, sale information is from the fall of 2015

ris and Louise Kristjanson, along with their son Trevor operate FDKL Charolais at Ochre River, Manitoba. Louise and Trevor’s partner Kayla work off the farm, so the 400 head cowherd is managed by Kris and Trevor. There have been many changes in management since Kris started with his parents Finley and Dyanne, but they have improved their bottom line by focusing on improving their program. “We start calving around the 20th of January. We usually run a 65 day calving window, but this year is probably closer to 80 days. That is because we have 150 first calving replacements this year and we just wanted to give the younger ones a little more of a chance to get bred back. We have been buying our replacements except for a handful from our own herd, but this year we are trying something new. We synchronized some of our best red females and bred them to sexed Simmental semen for replacements. All of our replacements are Red Angus-Simmental crosses. We buy them from three main guys but it is

hard to get them calving early enough for our program. Ninety-five percent of them are bred Angus,” says Kris. “Our whole focus on the cows is having them red so we can breed them Charolais. We struggled the last few years sourcing females when we

They have 19 quarters of land and rent another 12-13 quarters. They seed about 700 acres of crop (canola, oats and barley). There is a lot of hay land and they are able to swap hay for custom silaging. The corn silage varies between 145-200 acres. They had such

❝Our whole focus on the cows is having them red so we can breed them Charolais. ❞ are selling these big tan commercial heifers that are just awesome. When you are loading them in the trailer and you look at how wide they are and how thick they are, you think we should be keeping these, but it just doesn’t fit our program. We would lose some of the colouring and some of the hybrid vigour. Out of our 400 plus cows, we only have about 15 white cows from years ago.” There was a brief period where the Kristjansons bought some purebred females to raise their own bulls and sell a few by private treaty. Over time they decided it was more efficient to buy their bull genetics and focus on their commercial cowherd.

a great oat crop last year, they carried over 1800 tonnes of oat silage and a bunch of hay bales. This year they will

Charolais Connection • March 2017

have more feed than they need again, but admit it isn’t a bad problem to have. When I suggested they could always get more cows, there was a resounding No. “What we’ve got on our plates for two of us is enough,” Kris concedes. “All of the credit for the yard work and house stuff goes to Louise, I just don’t get there.” Louise is a full time LPN in Dauphin and works in the renal department. Keeping up with yardwork, housework and gardening is an accomplishment for sure. Trevor, Kris and Louise’s son, has

been home since the spring of 2013. He has enjoyed his three years of full time work with the cows and has no plans to change professions.

❝Last year, the Charolais steers averaged 747 pounds across the board, we didn’t keep anything back, whether they were later calves or not. ❞

continued on page 22

New calving and processing barn

The calves get no creep feed and are raised on grass and mother’s milk. The calves are weaned and sold in October. The steers usually go around the 20th of October and the heifers go around a week later. They are marketed through Ste. Rose Auction Mart. “Back in the BSE years, we did do some off the yard, but I’m not sure that really pays anymore. The way Myles markets from the Auction Mart with the show list works very well. It is nice because the calves go in there two days before. It allows us a little more time to sort and haul and we don’t have to sit in line-ups when you are trying to bring in 150 steers in one

Charolais Connection • March 2017

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

FDKL calves selling at Ste. Rose Auction Mart

shot. Within a couple of hours of arrival they are sorted, on a scale and back in pens. They use a 4% pencil shrink. I think we are a little more accurate on the weights because they aren’t standing around for a longer period of time.” “I also like the fact that our calves sell together, our cattle are not mixed with other producer’s cattle. The buyers are starting to get to know our cattle and they will wait for us. Some of them ask when we are bringing our calves to market. So you know if they are buying them year after year, they have to be working for them.” “In the future, we may consider sourcing them out of the yard. Just because we are going to be able to put groups together in a potload. We

could sell almost two potloads of steers at one time. It is something to think about, but I am not sure if we will get there or not. When you look at the cost of the commission you wonder, but a couple extra bids and the commission is paid on calves of this size.” “Last year, the Charolais steers averaged 747 pounds across the board, we didn’t keep anything back, whether they were later calves or not. That is right off the cows with no creep or backgrounding. The heaviest group was 838 pounds shrunk. The heifers can be just as heavy as the steers, but there will be some 40-50 pounds lighter. There is usually a group of heavier heifers that weigh 770-780 pounds.”

❝We weigh every calf, all 400 of them, and there are still some that surprise me when I see how heavy they are.❞

“The Charolais steers averaged a bit over $1900 across the board. The Charolais heifers I think were around $1680.” “The larger steer calves from the replacements are marketed in September. We wean the rest and background them until the first part of December or after Christmas. It just depends on the market and what is going on. I like to background them and put an extra 150 pounds on them and ship them two months later.” “The first calf heifers we like to wean early because they are still growing themselves. You have to give them a break before they have to come back in to calve again. It’s nice to let them grow and put some weight back. To source the quality of replacements we want, we have to pay for them. We have a couple of local breeders that also calve early, so they are a good source for us. Sometimes we need a large group, we will work out a price with the guys and make arrangements to have them bred for our schedule. Now we won’t be looking for larger groups, it will just be to maintain the herd size. The cow herd is strong enough here as we have been focusing on performance for a few years. Now we can be more selective as we maintain these numbers. If we have a cow in our herd that just isn’t performing as well as we would like, we will replace her. We are hoping the A.I. program will really help us keep the quality up as we select replacements from the top cows in the herd. It should also help us to get a more uniform calf crop.” “It goes right back to buying bulls. We are competing with some purebred guys when we buy bulls. Do

continued on page 26

Charolais Connection • March 2017

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

Louise in the oat crop

❝The bull market is a funny thing. We struggle with sourcing bulls, that is probably one of my biggest headaches. Probably because I am fussy.❞ we need to select bulls that are that good? I don’t know, but when you look at our calf crop, I think we are doing the right thing.” “I think we will continue to breed our replacements to a moderate Simmental. Most of our cows have some Angus and Simmental in them, maybe down the road ten years, we will if they have too much Simmental, we may have to introduce more Angus back into them, but for now,

we are happy with our cowherd. Our cows average 1500 to 1550 pounds. We don’t weigh, but we have shipped enough cows in the past few years to know what a mature cow weighs. We run the bulls for so many days and we pull the bulls and the cows are pregchecked in the fall, around the first part of November. If a cow is open, she is gone, there is no second chance. There is the odd, odd one, if there is a very good reason why she came in

Aspen groves provide shelter on this land that is suitable for grazing, not cropping

Charolais Connection • March 2017

open, we may give her a second chance, but that does not happen very often. When we ship those cows, we know what they weigh. We don’t keep them to feed them up at all, once the decision to cull is made, they are gone.” “When we do all of our rations we shoot at a 1600 pound female. We know we are over feeding them a bit but I don’t think it hurts them.” “The bull market is a funny thing. We struggle with sourcing bulls, that is probably one of my biggest headaches. Probably because I am fussy.” All of their pastures are sorted by cows with steer calves or cows with heifer calves. It is simply easier in the fall. When they want to sell steers they take a whole pasture and don’t have any heifers to sort out of the group. “There aren’t that many people in our area using Charolais bulls. Most of them are chasing the replacement female market. They are using Angus or Simmental bulls but a lot of them are using a Angus/Simmental hybrid bull. I would rather source the females and sell my Charolais steers and heifers for more money. I don’t think many of those calves would outperform our calves when they go to town. It isn’t that there is a lot of expansion going on, they just want to

continued on page 28

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

raise their own replacement females. There is a handful of them that want to sell a package of 20 or 30 replacements. That isn’t what we do. We have been told to we are crazy not to sell some of our tan heifers but we don’t source our bulls at all for maternal traits. All of our bulls are purchased strictly with performance in mind. Saying that, if these bulls can be 900 pounds when they are weaned, their mama cow has to be doing something. Not just any cow can do that. There has to be strength in the herd.” “I don’t specifically chase a birth weight. We try not to go over 110 pounds, but I don’t want to buy bulls that are 80 and 90 pound birth weights because it is a waste of time. We weigh every calf born on our place and have been for around fifteen years. Any commercial guy that says ‘we can only buy a 90 pound birth weight bull’ needs to invest $700 or whatever those scales are and weigh their calves. I would almost guarantee that every one of them would be surprised what their calves actually weigh. The scale we use now is under the head gate where we vaccinate, tag, dehorn and castrate. It is pretty easy to see what they weigh.” “We weigh every calf, all 400 of them, and there are still some that surprise me when I see how heavy they are. If you get a long bodied calf, they really weigh up. All I tell the purebred guys we buy bulls from is ‘as long as they will calve.’ We go up 28

to 110 pounds. Mature cows can handle that. If they are built right, they will calve. You can have a 100 pound calf that will give you problems and you can have a 120 pound calf that will calve with ease

only way most of them are getting that performance is by upping their birth weights. It just goes hand in hand. You aren’t going to raise a 1700 or 1800 yearling bull and have him come out at 75 pounds. The hybrid vigour in the cows is also probably adding some birth weight.” “We have had more issues with certain breeders in all of the breeds we have dealt with than we have specific breeds. We have bought bulls out of different programs and been disappointed in too small of birth weights out of mature cows and the performance isn’t there and the calves are too small in the fall.” “I think in the Charolais breed, lots of breeders have chased calving ease and lost some of the performance side. To me, the Charolais industry is still a terminal cross sire for the commercial industry. I know there are some guys chasing the heifer bull market and there is a need for that,

❝You can’t raise calves that wean at 900 before shrink, with a 70 or 80 pound birth weight calf. It just is not going to happen.❞ every day. They just have to be built right. You can’t raise calves that wean at 900 before shrink, with a 70 or 80 pound birth weight calf. It just is not going to happen.” “We haven’t noticed a specific birth weight trend linked to either of the breeds we use in our cows,” says Trevor. “We have had some straight Angus cows that have had some 120 pound calves too. The Red Angus breed is chasing performance as well and the

Charolais Connection • March 2017

but I think some of them have lost the punch behind them. By chasing the calving ease, they are losing the natural performance out of the breed. As a guy using Charolais bulls, that has to come back a bit. Pounds pay. The day that we don’t sell calves by the pound, it won’t matter. As long as commercial guys like me are selling calves by the pound, that’s how we are making money. The heavier they are, the more we make.”

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“I understand it has been market pressure for calving ease that has done it, but the first thing commercial guys need to do is buy a scale so they can find out what their calves actually weigh. We are surprised all the time. We have had 135 pound calves born unassisted. I am not saying I want every calf to be that big, but I don’t think guys know what their calves weigh.” “You look at that calf that weighed

won’t come out of the cow, but a 110 pound Charolais calf will, just because he is a foot longer in the body.” “I know the herds I buy bulls from. There are some big cows out there. If they kick out a 90 lb. calf, there has got to be something wrong.” “Our Charolais steer calves average easily 100 pounds and it’s probably closer to 110. Out of 400 cows this year we had one cesarean and it was a

❝I understand it has been market pressure for calving ease that has done it, but the first thing commercial guys need to do is buy a scale so they can find out what their calves actually weigh.❞ 135, I remember weighing him. I was thinking where is all this weight coming from because she is not a huge cow. He was probably 10% of her live weight, but he was so long. It tells you two things. It tells you she is built right to calve and the calf is also built right to calve. The weight comes from the length of spine. If you have a short-spined, sawed-off, little calf, he is not going to weigh up like that long-backed calf.” “Different programs are looking for different things, guys calving on grass are probably going to watch that birth weight more than we are. We push the opposite side, but I don’t want to push our calving weights a whole lot heavier because our cowherd isn’t that big. If we had a bigger cowherd, we would push that a little bit more. Any self respecting 1500 pound cow should be able to have a 120 pound calf unassisted if it is built right. You can take a 90 pound Angus calf and it

Red Angus calf out of a first calf heifer. We calve in January, so we are around and watching. If they are taking a bit of time, we throw them in the barn and check for a malpresentation. We probably assist more than we need to just out of lack of patience or convenience, but we like to see the calves on the ground.” “Every cow has a time limit,” adds Trevor. “Exactly, and you will find on a day when we are really busy and have 20 calves, we will assist very few. Whereas if there is a day with only 6 calves we aren’t as patient because we are watching and waiting and waiting. Now with the new barn and all of the pens, it is so easy. Every pen is connected by an alleyway and the alleyway is connected to the calving barn. So any cow that is taking a little longer, we can run her in the calving barn and check her easily.” They had 84 feet uninsulated and

Charolais Connection • March 2017

added another 120 feet insulated. This included an office area with running water, fridge, microwave, a deep sink, bathroom, hot water and a rest area. “It is crazy how much easier it is with hot water there,” says Kris. Louise adds, “It is just so much easier to not have to run to the house to boil a kettle. There are no more needles in the house, or drugs in the fridge, everything is handy to where there work is.” “I wish we had it years ago but we didn’t have the numbers to justify it. It just makes everything so much easier. We dug another well here that is specific to this side of the yard and the building.” “We are planning to sync about 200 cows this year and we are going to A.I. about 60-70 with sexed Simmental semen for replacements. The other 130-140 we are planning to breed to semen we have drawn from our own bulls. If we can breed half of them and get an 80% conception rate, there are less for the bulls to service naturally. Trying to breed as many cows as we do, in the spring has been a challenge. We have had bulls go down with injuries that have been breeding well. In the last year, we have changed our total management program on our cows – our feed program, our mineral program – we switched everything. This spring our cows were cycling so hard, I think some bulls got injured simply because they were working too hard. We have spent enough money to obtain a strong bull pen to be able to do that. The cost of drawing the semen isn’t that much and when you pay $7,000 to $10,000 for a commercial bull, we know the quality is there. You

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Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

see the proof in our calf crop. I think in the future we could even spend more money and instead of that bull breeding 30 cows, he will breed 120 cows in a year.” This year they hired someone to do the A.I.ing because it was something new to them. They synchronized them all and have no plans to ever attempt heat detection with that number of females. “Syncing with the facilities we have now is no big deal, it was just a couple of hours. The day they came to A.I. 60 cows, we started at 10:30, we brought the cows out, split the calves from them, we sorted them, they were bred and we were having lunch in the office at 1:30. We have three rows of pens in the barn, on one side of the barn we just took out about four or five stalls and we have a crowding tub alley-way head gate system we just backed that right into the barn. That is what we processed the cows through to A.I. and it was so slick. It makes everything we do so easy now.” “I thought it was going to be an all day adventure,” says Trevor, “but it took no time at all.” “Now that we have the facility that we do, we can do things like this. Five years ago we couldn’t have dreamed of doing this. Now with the barn with pens and alleyways, we can bring them in, do what we need to do and it is never a big job and our cows are all quiet.” “Anything that is always heads up or not good in corrals has to to go,” affirms Louise.

❝Our Charolais steer calves average easily 100 pounds and it’s probably closer to 110. ❞ They are situated close enough to Riding Mountain National Park that they were quarantined by T.B. a few years ago. “I am very happy that it is over. It is a real pain because you have to process the cattle once and then again in two days. By the third time around they just don’t want to do it and the cows were always heavy in calf and they didn’t want to be bothered. We always had at least one abortion because of it. The big herdbulls were the worst. They don’t want to be messed with and I don’t like bothering them.” “There is a big presence of wild life in the area. Actually some of our biggest issues now are from wolves. We lost a mature cow last year from a wolf kill. We see them when we are fencing and we see their tracks in the mud. I sit on the Watershed board and the guy from Parks Canada is doing a research project on the wolf numbers and the populations and what people that farm on the edge of the park think of them. We have had a couple of colourful conversations about it. The people in the city that think they are nice should come and have a look at a wolf kill. That is not nice to find. If they would stay to deer and elk, that would be fine, but with the TB situation they irradicated a bunch of the population. When you take away their main food source what are they

Charolais Connection • March 2017

going to do? They are populating like crazy and reproducing and they have to be fed. Because the elk and deer population isn’t in the park, they are moving out to the surrounding farmland and apparently, they like beef. The cattle are easier to catch than elk and deer. What you get paid by crop insurance to replace the cow killed by a wolf is a joke. They paid us $1800 and I told them if they could find me a bred cow the quality of her for $1800, they could buy me a hundred of them. We are replacing them and we have to pay $2500 to $3000. I know it is there to help, but that number doesn’t cover the cost now, it may have been okay five years ago, but not now.” “I go to the Manitoba Beef Producer meetings when I can. I voice my opinion on different topics, but the government is limited in what they can spend and you can only scream for so many things at once.” By participating in the larger beef community, the Kristjansons are not only learning, implementing and improving; they are also sharing their knowledge and experience to ensure the industry is strong and viable for the future. With their ability of adapting to change, high level management skills and strong work ethic, you know they will continue to succeed.

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MANAGEMENT

Time to Set Herd Reproductive Goals Kris Ringwall, Director/Extension Livestock Specialist, NDSU

If less than 60 percent of the mature cows are calving within the first 21 days, a major re-evaluation of one’s managerial protocols needs to be considered. As the calving season winds down, check the calving book. Count the number of cows that calved within 21 days from when the third mature cow calved. After that, check the number that calved the next 21 days and the next 21 days. Keep counting until you get to the end of the calving book. Why? The No. 1 one indicator - let me repeat - the No. 1 indicator that the cows within a cattle operation fit the managerial program is timely reproduction. In other words, they calve on time. The type of cattle operation is not important, nor is when the calving season is set. What is important is that at least 60 percent of the mature cows expected to calve do so within 21 days of the start of the calving season. Why 60 percent? The average percent for cows calving within 21 days for those North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement producers enrolled in the CHAPS program through the NDSU Extension Service is 61 percent. Why not at least be average? Any excuse that allows for poor reproductive performance within the cow herd will mean increased costs and a decreased output of beef. To go to the next 21 days, a total of 86 percent of the mature cows should have calved within the 42-day calving window. As a cattle producer, if you meet the percentage, continue as is or tweak your managerial thoughts to try to improve. If one really wants a challenge, try to cut replacement and culling rates for the herd. Although a replacement rate of 15 percent is typical, try to cut

it to 10 percent. There always are new concepts for managing cows, but few cattle producers actually achieve a reduction in replacement rate. Back to evaluating calving dates. If less than 60 percent of the mature cows are calving within the first 21 days, a major re-evaluation of one’s managerial protocols needs to be considered. The first point that is noted will be nutrition because it ultimately determines reproduction. However, increasing nutritional inputs carries a cost, so cow genetics needs to be evaluated at the same time. Are the cows the right ones to match the available resources or nutrition? Most cow herds are developed on-site and are a product of generations of cow families that have successfully adapted to the ranch. Buying cow herds and moving them often will end in failure. This not only fails but also generates more expenses that ultimately become difficult to pay back. The industry often used to move cattle to find nutrition. It was a production system essentially based on Longhorn cattle. History books are the best source for that information. In addition to the need to evaluate the cow herd’s ability to reproduce and produce beef, fall culling already needs to be thought through. How many cows are staying and how many are not? Those cows calving after the first 42 days probably will remain. For cows that calved after 63 days, producers should consider those cows as candidates to move on to someone else’s production system. After reviewing the calving data, draw a big circle around the date that the bulls are to be removed from the cow herd. Breeding for 45 days is quite acceptable, and removing the bulls

certainly defines the end to next year’s calving season. Maybe delaying bull turnout is a thought. If the first 21-day mature cow calving rate is less than 60 percent and the desire to increase timely nutritional inputs is considered too costly, then delaying bull turnout may be the answer. The preferred method of raising cows is to match the cow to the surrounding environment. Cows will perform within their given environment if given the opportunity. Fall culling seems a long way away, but now is the time to start thinking about it and evaluating. The calving book holds the answers to most questions. Producers just need to look at it. Count the cows and calves and then evaluate and take action. Enter the calving data into a good performance program and study the calving distribution table thoroughly. Apply the Lazy L technique, which means getting rid of the proper mix of older and late-calving cows. Positive pressure on management means time spent evaluating what one thinks is working. Reviewing the actual numbers and data points will determine if it really is working. As those good heifers are bred this spring, ask yourself if those good heifers that were bred the year before and the year before that still are in the herd and performing according to plan. Are those cows destined for artificial insemination truly ready for synchronization? There are so many good questions to be answered. However, the answers are readily available. It’s called a calving book, so once it’s filled out, read it. It’s good for you. May you find all your ear tags.

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Charolais Connection • March 2017

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

HERD HEALTH

Penile Problems in Bulls Roy Lewis, DVM

When examining young bulls for the first time we, as veterinarians, watch out for many conditions, which may affect breeding ability besides semen quality. Many of these conditions can be corrected and others result in bulls being eliminated from the gene pool. Young bulls more commonly are detected with seminal vesiculitis and other infections involving the secondary sex organs. This is detected upon palpation rectally and the veterinarian will decide then whether treatment, time, or culling is the best option based on the severity of the infection. Seminal vesiculitis results from being excessively ridden or from old infections such as navel infection which seeds out into this area. Pus is then discharged in the semen reducing fertility. The penis when it is protruded several common conditions may be encountered. A persistent frenulum is a ligamentous attachment between the sheath and penis. This will cause the penis to bend on full erection making intromission when breeding very difficult. It can also be the cause of broken penises if not corrected. The already bent penis becomes suddenly bent over on impacting into the back of the cow. This ligament (frenulum) can be identified and incised just after the semen sample is collected. Sexual rest is necessary until this heals and should be rechecked to insure scarring has not occurred. Occasionally two will be present on the same bull. If not detected attempted breeding may also result in ripping with lots of bleeding. Blood is very detrimental to semen quality and fertility suffers. The bull cannot get the rest in the breeding

season to allow the rip to heal. With each erection the bleeding continues. Persistent frenulums are highly heritable so purebred breeders should closely scrutinize breeding forms when purchasing their herd sires. Commercial breeders steer all bulls so it would be inconsequential to them. Warts are another commonly encountered condition on bulls’ penises. Often these can be surgically removed as long as they are not involving the vital structures on the tip of the penis. Veterinarians may remove, cauterize the bleeding if necessary suture where appropriate and recheck later for reoccurrence. Warts are invariably very rough and can rip or tear causing bleeding as well during breeding. Again fertility is impaired. Very large warts near the tip of the penis can impair nerve supply making it impossible for bulls to hit the mark during copulation. I have not tried making an attenuated wart vaccine on herds with a high incidence but have been tempted to. There seems to not be a lot of correlation between body warts and penile warts. Most bulls I’ve encountered with penile warts have no evidence of warts on other locations. They have determined that the two types of warts are slight variations of the papova virus (the cause of warts). Yes a virus causes warts. Two to three weeks is generally enough time for most wart removals to completely heal. Cuts and abrasions are easy to diagnose on visual examination of the penis. Treatment may be necessary but in most cases rest for varying lengths of time solves these conditions. In severe cuts scarring may occur whereby full penile extension is impossible. This is a

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Charolais Connection • March 2017

definite cull candidate. All the above problems clearly identify the need for veterinarians to fully examine the extended penis of the bull during semen evaluation. Most problems found here can be treated provided adequate time is available until the breeding season. In young bulls before puberty the prepuce is tightly adherent to the penis. This prepuce pulls away as the young bulls erections progress. With this comes some bleeding and any time there is blood fertility may be impaired! If we see this adherence at evaluation time it tells us the bull may be immature and has never become completely erect. We must insure this before allowing this young bull out into the breeding herd. Hair rings strangulating the penis occur from bulls mounting others and having the hair from the back form a tight ring around the penis. Most are easily removed but the worst case I’ve seen is the tip of the penis ½ cut off from a constricting hair ring. This rendered a potentially good bull useless as a breeder. Warts near the tip of the penis also allow the hair to more easily wrap around. As can be noted from all the above examples many potential problems can be corrected by carefully paying attention during a young bull’s first semen evaluation. Almost all purebred breeders now have semen evaluations performed so any of these abnormalities can be detected ahead of time. And MURPHY’S LAW of semen evalution is any of these problems always happen to the most expensive sought after bulls. Take heed and especially have new yearling bulls semen evaluated, as many problems can be identified and either eliminated or corrected at that point.

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

NEWS

Industry Info Protein “Highway” Coming A coalition of six U.S. states and three Canadian provinces are joining forces to prepare to launch a branding program to establish what is being called “the Protein Highway,” delineating a region that is known for developing protein-rich crops. The designated region includes North and South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana and Nebraska, along with Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The project seeks to encourage researchers in the region to work to develop and promote protein sources. World’s Largest Livestock Ship Wellard, Limited has launched the world’s largest livestock vessel, the MV Ocean Shearer. The $90 million dollar vessel has the capacity to transport 20,000 cattle or 75,000 sheep or a combination of both, and is suited to trans-hemisphere routes. The ship has enough fuel to travel 18,000 miles, is nearly two football fields in length and is eight stories high. The Ocean Shearer can haul approximately 3,000 tons of feed. The ship is expected to start transporting Australian cattle to China later this year. Vaccine Reduces Antibiotic Use Kansas State University researchers have patented a vaccine that provides

an antibiotic-free prevention and treatment of Fusobacterium necrophorum infection. The bacterium causes liver abscesses, calf diphtheria, foot rot or abscesses in sheep and cattle. The vaccine is designed as an alternative to antibiotics currently used to control the infection. It works by immunizing the animal against leukotoxins, and by preventing the bacterium from attaching to organs. The vaccine is currently in testing for cattle and may eventually be available for sheep and people. Immune Restorative Decreases Food Waste Elanco Animal Health has developed Imrestor, an immune restorative, to reduce the chance of mastitits in cattle. Imrestor is not an antibiotic, vaccine or hormone, but is similar to a cow’s immune system so the cow may function normally. Clinical tests of the immune restorative have shown a reduced incidence of mastititis in calving cows by 285 in the US in the 30 days post-calving. Health regulations prohibit the sale of milk with antibiotic residue, so 1.2 billion servings of milk are lost each year from the dairy chain. The new development decreases the need for antibiotics and other treatments, along

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with reducing the amount of milk discarded during the treatment cycle. Cattle Rustlin in India Two cattle rustlers in Mahemdavad, India, were caught on camera stuffing a cow into the back seat of a white hatchback car, making a quick getaway. The video was circulated to a local vigilante group who alerted the police. Authorities found the car and arrested one man, but the cow wasn’t recovered. According to Indian news reports, cattle rustling has become a growing phenomenon. Affluent Indians have developed a fondness for beef despite the fact that cows are considered sacred in Hinduism. Tyson Invests in Meat Alternatives Tyson Foods, America’s largest meat processor, has purchased a 5% stake in Beyond Meat, a Californiabased company that makes plantbased protein from sources such as soy and peas. A press release stated that the investment will provide additional capital to help the company expand its product portfolio and distribution. The meat alternative company has received other high-profile investors: The Humane Society of the United States, Bill Gates and the venturecapital arm of General Mills.

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

MANAGEMENT

Don’t Play Russian Roulette with Your Cattle Genetics Laura Mushrush, Beefmagazine.com

Cow-calf producers who don’t use science when selecting genetics may find their herd on the wrong end of a smoking gun. A herd sire packs a powerful punch when it comes to the genetic development of a cow herd. An elementary school science lesson and plain common sense teaches the 50:50 relationship when it comes to the creation of offspring — take that logic to the cow pen, and a bad bull = bad calves. However, with years of brain power invested into research and the development of technology, cattle producers have access to the most advanced genetic selection tools of their time, and those tools are right at their fingertips. Even still, there are producers hesitant to embrace the use of science when it comes to purchasing their next herd bull. According to Larry Keenan, director of breed improvement for the Red Angus Association of America, this resistance is as risky as playing a game of Russian roulette with your genetic program. “The quality of a bull will be represented in the entire calf crop, because if his genetics are low-quality, then half of his offspring’s genetics will be low-quality,” Keenan says. “Making matters worse, it has a compounding effect that will stay in herd for generations if replacements are kept.” Reason being since you cull bulls more quickly than cows, your bull battery accounts for 75% of your total herd genetics. 6 bullets: Sale barn bull A cow-calf producer is at the local sale barn to drop off some cull cows when a nice looking two-year-old black bull enters the ring. Needing a new herdsire to put on his older commercial cows, he tips his hat until he buys the bull right above kill value. The following calving season is a disaster, with a 60% calving difficulty rate, two C-sections, a dead cow and 46

three dead calves from calving problems, and one 145-pound calf that has become the talk of the neighbors. While the above is part of a worstcase scenario of what can happen when producers buy a bull with an unknown background, the practice is surprisingly common. Maybe it’s in an effort to get a good deal, or the belief that simply eyeballing is good enough, but it can come with some pretty heavy consequences. “The risks are multifold,” says Matt Spangler, a geneticist and Extension beef specialist for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “For one, you’re compromising your operation’s biosecurity since you have no idea what potential disease risks there are,” he says. For example, when genetics are purchased directly from a seedstock provider, the purchaser will have access to knowing if the breeder tests cattle for persistently infected (PI)carriers of bovine viral diarrhea. And while there is a long-standing argument about the ethics of PIs being dumped back on the market through local sale barns once detected by cowcalf producers, backgrounders and feedlots, it is not a risk worth taking by potentially bringing in significant future health issues to a herd. “Secondly, you have no idea if the bull is even fertile, or if he’ll pass a breeding soundness exam,” Spangler says. “You also have no idea what his genetic potential as a parent is. He’s nondescript in terms of having any kind of an EPD [expected progeny difference] or economic index value to choose from. All of those things become uncertain. Even though the bull may be much cheaper, it could be a very expensive decision to make if he happens to be diseased, unfertile or counterproductive to the rancher’s goals.” 1 bullet: EPDs As sale catalogues start to come in the mail, a commercial cow-calf Charolais Connection • March 2017

producer finds a seedstock operation with bulls that best fit his feeder calf program; and when sale day comes, he sorts through lots with a balance of EPD and physical conformation. At the end of the day, he loads up a high-growth bull with EPDs signaling heavier calves, along with a second bull with more moderate growth and greater calving-ease-direct numbers. When breeding season comes, he turns the high growth, heavier-calving bull out with mature cows, and puts the calving-ease bull on his replacement heifers. Calving season brings no difficulties, and that year’s calf crop performs well in the feedyard and on the rail. Simply using EPDs to compliment his program was a significant enough increase in genetic selection accuracy to remove five bullets from the chamber. However, to capitalize on EPD accuracy, genetic buyers need to ignore raw data that may be available to them, such as the actual birth weight, weaning weight and yearling weight. “If you’re looking at a bull with a 700-pound weaning weight and a 75pound birth weight, you have no idea what the environmental contribution was,” Keenan explains. “Did you factor in that the bull was out of a 2-year-old heifer, which we know have lighterweight calves simply because of the challenges she faces? And how did he reach that 700-pound weight? Was it from creep feed or was it genetics?” According to Keenan, EPDs are designed to take raw data collected by the seedstock producer, and put those numbers through a series of complex equations to allow for comparison across herds throughout the country, by sorting out environmental impact from genetic potential. “The only thing an actual or adjusted weight will do is to let you go to the coffee shop and brag about what your bull weighs, because the actual or adjusted weight only

DON’T PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE…, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 46

describes what the bull has done,” Keenan says. “But if you want to brag on how heavy your calves were and select for a future calf crop, then you need to select based off EPDs.” Commercial bulls are another thing cow-calf producers need to be aware of. Depending on the breed association and if it has an open herd book or not, cattle with genetic information on one side of their pedigree may be registered and receive EPDs. However, because 50% of the equation is missing, these EPDs are lower in accuracy compared with

EPDs with known parentage on both sides — but higher in accuracy than referencing actual weights. “In recent years, we have seen a few commercial bulls make their way onto the market,” Keenan explains. “The risk with this is that EPDs only account for what we know about the sire. So if the dam happens to have an extremely low calving-ease direct, the producer could potentially be using an unknown cow killer.” Using the tools in the toolbox If a producers want to reduce the risk of having bullets in the chamber, Charolais Connection • March 2017

it comes down to using all the selection tools available to them. “As a commercial producer, I buy bulls from seedstock suppliers that are using every available tool at their disposal to ensure that the bulls are genetically described as accurately as scientifically possible. DNA tests for genetic merit are powerful tools, but we should realize that the foundation of accurate EPDs will continue to be quality data collection taken on the entire herd” Spangler says. “The combination of quality data and DNA tests will absolutely reduce my risk.” 47

MANAGEMENT

Pain Control Gaining Priority Among Beef Producers

For Saskatchewan beef producers Tamara and Russ Carter administering a pain control product to calves prior to branding and castration procedures was just the right thing to do. Over the past three calving seasons the Carters, who ranch near Lacadena in southwest Saskatchewan, have been treating spring calves with an injection of Metacam just prior to processing. The product from Boehringer Ingelheim has been on the market for several years. It was developed as an anti-inflammatory and pain relief product, quite commonly used in treating companion animals, but in the last few years it has gained traction for use in treating livestock, as well. The 1 ½ millilitre dose for young calves appears to considerably reduce the post-processing discomfort level of calves, says Tamara and while they have no formal research trials to confirm observations, they also believe calves have improved weight gain performance right through to weaning. “It does make a difference in the comfort level of the calves,” says Carter. They were first pointed toward the pain control product during a discussion with their herd veterinarian, Dr. Glen Griffin of Southwest Animal Health Clinic. It was partway through the 2013 calving season and some of the calves had already been processed. “But we learned Metacam was suitable for pain control and we wanted to give it a try on the rest of the calves,” she says. “We were so impressed with the difference it made, we made the commitment to include it in our program the following year. Calves that received pain control treatment with Metacam hopped up much faster after being processed, they paired up with their mothers sooner and returned to nursing and eating sooner. In the 48 hours following processing, the calves 48

treated with Metacam were noticeably more comfortable and spent less time laying around.” As well, Carter says there were no secondary infections of any scrotums, which occasionally needed to be treated in the past. Calves treated in batches The Carters run a mixed farming operation near the South Saskatchewan River about half way between Swift Current and Kindersley. They crop about 3,800 acres and run a 300 head cowherd of straight Black Angus cattle. The Carters, along with their three children, manage all the spring processing that includes branding, castration and vaccination. Calves are processed in smaller batches of 30 to 40 head at a time usually between two to three weeks of age. The Metacam dose is delivered to each calf in a subcutaneous neck injection as they are lined up in a holding queue just before reaching the processing table. It is fast and easy to administer. “We found it much simpler to process these smaller groups ourselves during the calving season, rather than wait until the end and do everything in a day or on a weekend,” says Carter. “Once we have a group of about 30 that are two or three weeks old, we will process them. Working with smaller groups of calves allows us to keep detailed records and ensure that every calf gets the appropriate doses of vaccines and that none are missed.” Carter says while treated calves were visibly more alert and brighter in the hours and days immediately following processing, they have also observed improved weaning weights in the past three years, which she credits at least in part, to easing calves through processing treatments. Overall improved performance With a portion of the steer calves treated with Metacam in 2013, average weaning weights that year were 509 pounds. With all steer calves treated Charolais Connection • March 2017

in 2014 weaning weights averaged 530 pounds and again in 2015 treated steers calves averaged 576 pounds at weaning. Carter says they have examined each season to look at factors, which may have influenced higher weaning weights. Particularly in 2014 and 2015 with calves 21 and 67 pounds heavier, respectively, compared to 2013, the pain control treatment appears to at least be part of the weight gain improvement. “In 2014 we had not changed anything else from 2013,” says Carter. “The bull battery had stayed fairly consistent, the ratio of heifers to cows was the same, the calving start date and weaning dates were all the same. But, again we noticed that calves were up faster with the pain control, seemed less stressed, more comfortable and

headed off with mom right away. They nursed right away and we noticed less laying around.” In 2015, which started out as a dryer growing season, they sold 35 cow-calf pairs in the spring and put the rest out to pasture. “That fall we sold 120 calves with an average weaning weight of 576 lbs.,” she says. “That 67 lb. increase compared to the first year is very significant to us.” Carter says they are not crediting the full weaning weight improvement to the Metacam treatment, but believe it helped. “While our findings are very interesting to us, they are not scientific,” she says. “We have not accounted for things such as tracking calf sires to see if different bulls are breeding more of the cows to produce more offspring with larger birth weights, and therefore possibly higher weaning rates. We also have not accounted for any weather differences or environmental factors from year to year.” Some other producers, after the dryer 2015 growing season, claimed the shorter, more nutrient dense grass increased their weaning weights as well.

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“With the exception of 2013, where we administered Metacam to part of the herd, we have not kept a control group to compare results of calves that did not receive pain control,” says Carter. “What we have found, is that the calves seem much more comfortable and less stressed with the pain control. They are up much sooner nursing and travelling with their mothers. “That reduced stress appears to remain with them throughout the next five to six months, and it seems that they grow faster and gain better as a result. Their immune systems are stronger. None have required treatment for castration-related infections following branding since we started to administer Metacam. All of our other vaccine program and mineral program has remained the same throughout this period. They have all grazed the same pastures each year.” Good management practice “When we realized there was a product we could use to reduce pain in cattle during processing we wanted to give it a try,” says Carter. “We believe that it is the right thing to do to reduce their discomfort during an unpleasant experience and we feel that it greatly reduces their stress.” She says unfortunately the pain control product isn’t cheap. A 100 ml bottle costs about $250, which works out to about $3.75 to $5 per dose. “It is another cost that starts to add up if you are also vaccinating or using implants. Hopefully some day the cost comes down or we begin to see lower cost generic products on the market. The important thing to us, however, is that it does reduce the discomfort for these calves and it provides us with peace of mind that we are doing everything possible to make our animals comfortable and they are

being raised humanely.” As part of their commitment to providing quality care to their animals, Carters have completed the Verified Beef Production program offered through the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, which also promotes proper livestock care, on-farm food safety and sustainable practices. “We can’t definitively prove that the pain control has created the improved growth, but we are convinced that it is a contributing factor. It is rewarding to us as producers to know that our decision to provide pain control at castration appears to help their overall health.” Dr. Eugene Janzen, professor of production animal health at the University of Calgary school of veterinary medicine says the Carters are part of what appears to be a growing trend across the livestock industry to improve the proper care and treatment of livestock. “We are starting to see more interest in using these pain control products in all sectors of the industry,” says Janzen. “Particularly among the young people, in 4-H for example, they want to know what is available and what measures they can use to improve the comfort of their cattle. And that concern is reflected on their parents as they want the farm to use pain control products as well. “But I am seeing interest in pain control measures at the producer level, and in the feed yards, as well,” he says. “I believe for a long time these operators have said “we understand that this procedure is causing discomfort, but what do we do?” We are beginning to see these pain control products, such as Meloxicam or the brand name Metacam used more commonly by producers. It is what producers want to do in terms of improved

production practices, but it is also what the consumer or society is looking for too.” Janzen says there have been a number of studies and surveys that show 75 to 80 per cent of society view pain control in livestock as a priority. That interest is already driving some food processors, food retailers, and the food service industries to search out livestock production programs where pain control measures are applied. And the products do work, says Janzen. While doses and administration times will vary with products, he says the effect of pain control treatment should persist for at least 24 hours — perhaps longer. “We’ve seen in research as well as from on-farm experience that calves that are treated are up and moving around sooner, they have less lethargy, they are back with their mothers and nursing sooner and able to travel sooner, so it does get them over the impact of processing much sooner.” Janzen says he expects to see ongoing adoption by the industry of use of pain control products. “Sometimes when I am speaking to producers about pain control measures I feel like a pied piper,” says Janzen. “I don’t have to convince them that this is a good practice. They just want to know what they can use and how to use it.” He says going forward there is ongoing research in how to better measure pain in livestock, and there is also a need for pain control products that are effective, long acting but also with short withdrawal times, low cost, easy to administer, and able to show a return on investment. “This is something that both the industry and society wants,” says Janzen. Learn more in the video at www.beefresearch.ca/pain

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Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

MANAGEMENT

Pain Mitigation

Consumer pressure to avoid painful practices on cattle when possible, and to reduce pain when castration, dehorning, or branding are necessary, is building. The new Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle also makes strong statements about pain control. The knowledge of pain in livestock has advanced steadily over the past 22 years. Behavioural and physiological indicators of pain have been identified, and researchers’ ability to measure animal responses associated to painful procedures have improved. Research has developed new pain control drugs that are registered for use in cattle in Canada, and knowledge is building on the appropriate dosage, routes of administration and synergy between anesthetics and analgesics. Introduction Despite a considerable amount of research, cattle’s experience with pain is not fully understood. Research that has used electro-encephalographs to monitor brainwaves in cattle during painful practices detects clear differences, so it is clear that cattle experience pain, however as prey animals, cattle have evolved to not show behavioural signs of pain, which is a sign of weakness to predators. Most previous research into pain control for castration and dehorning has been done in dairy calves that were weaned at birth, or in feedlot calves. Little or no research has been done in young beef calves in a herd environment. Therefore, it’s unknown whether the relief that beef calves get when they return to their mothers and nurse may also help to eliminate painassociated behaviours. More research is also needed to practically and effectively control pain in cattle. Many past studies have used drugs in ways that are difficult to implement in commercial practice. Some have used elaborate combinations of drugs, some of which are not licensed for use in cattle, or used experimental formulations that are not commercially available for 52

cattle (e.g. oral meloxicam). Other experiments have repeatedly given the pain drugs over several days, requiring additional handling, stress and risk of injury for the cattle. Measuring Pain To accurately mitigate pain, one must first know if the animal is experiencing pain and to what degree. Currently pain in animals can only be routinely measured using behavioural and physiological responses. Depending upon the management procedure being evaluated, researchers have used standing, lying, feeding, ruminating, kicking, tailflicking, ear -flicking, pacing posture, and weight shifting behaviours to gauge animal responses to painful practices and pain control. These behaviours can be recorded, counted, and statistically compared. Acute, immediate pain is easier to measure than chronic, long-term pain (lasting more than 3 days). Acute pain: short-lasting, intense pain Chronic pain: less intense, longer lasting pain Researchers have found that dehorned calves do more head rubbing, head shaking and earflicking than calves that have not been dehorned. Castrated calves stand, move and lie differently than calves that have not been castrated. Pain drugs alter these behavioural differences; feedlot bulls that are castrated using pain drugs show fewer of these abnormal, pain-related behaviours. Painful Procedures In Canada the most common routine management procedures that cause pain are castration, dehorning, and branding. Ongoing research is working to develop ways to reduce animals’ experience of pain during these procedures or find effective alternative practices. Castration Castration, the removal or inactivation of the testicle, is used as a management tool for many reasons Charolais Connection • March 2017

including to avoid unwanted breeding, reduced aggression, improved human and animal safety, improved carcass quality, and to reduce price discounts. All methods of castration are painful. Surgical castration causes more intense pain that lasts for a few days, while banding castration causes a less intense but chronic pain that lasts for more than one month. It is strongly recommended that cow-calf producers castrate calves as young as possible. Castration of bull calves soon after birth results in improved health and gain in the feedlot, and enhanced carcass marbling and tenderness compared to castration at or after weaning. Animal health and welfare risks, and animal performance impacts all increase with age. If bulls are castrated after reaching the feedlot, providing pain control will likely alleviate some of the pain of castration, but will not improve feedlot growth performance. Therefore, the added drug costs will likely lead to steeper discounts on intact or belly bulls at fall calf sales. The Beef Code of Practice requires: • Castration be performed by competent personnel using proper, clean, and well maintained tools • Producers seek guidance from their veterinarian regarding optimum methods, timing, and pain control • Animals be castrated as young as practically possible, before the age of three months and especially before weaning • As of Jan 1, 2016: use pain control when castrating bulls older than 9 months • As of Jan 1, 2018: use pain control when castrating bulls older than 6 months Dehorning Dehorning can be reduced through genetics. Selecting polled (hornless) sires results in polled calves. Research into the performance of polled vs. horned bulls of many different breeds

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Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

has shown no differences in any production performance measures. Horns are a shell made of keratin and other proteins over a core of living bone. Dehorning decreases the risk of injury for both handlers and other cattle, and minimizes the economic loss due to carcass bruising. See the Dehorning page for more information on methods. Tipping of horns is less painful than removal. Tipping the horns causes the least amount of painassociated behavior observed and is similar to not dehorning based on the evaluation of vocalization, depression, gait and posture, lying, horn bud healing, and bleeding. Canadian beef producers are doing a good job at reducing the number of

cattle with horns. According to the latest National Beef Quality Audit, fewer than 11% of non-fed cattle and fewer than 13% of fed cattle processed in Canada in 2010-11 had any type of horns. The Beef Code of Practice requires: • Dehorning be performed by competent personnel using proper, clean, and well maintained tools • Producers seek guidance from their veterinarian on pain control availability • Disbud calves as early as possible, while horn development is in the bud stage (2- 3 months of age) • Effective January 1, 2016: use pain control in consultation with your veterinarian when dehorning after the horn bud has attached

Branding Branding is one of the few permanent methods of animal identification that is easy to identify from a distance and legally accepted as proof of ownership. Branding may be required by community pastures, lending institutions or for export. In Canada, the incidence of branded beef cattle is continually decreasing. The most recent National Beef Quality Audit found that the use of brands dropped from 25% of fed cattle in 1999 to less than 10% in 2011; of these, less than 0.1% had more than one brand. Both Hot and Freeze branding can be used as forms of permanent identification. Although both types of branding are known to cause pain, it

continued on page 56

Pain Control Products Licensed and Available for Beef Cattle in Canada* Route of Administration for Beef Cattle Subcutaneous or intravenous injection

Drug Meloxicam

Brand Name Metacam® 20

Label Claim in Beef Cattle For pain relief following de-budding of horn buds in calves less than 3 months of age, and for the symptomatic treatment of inflammation and pain associated with acute clinical mastitis.

Meloxicam

Meloxicam Oral Suspension

Oral

For alleviation of pain and inflammation following surgical and band castration in cattle.

Ketoprofen

ANAFEN® KETOPROFEN V

Intravenous or intramuscular injection

For the symptomatic treatment of fever, pain and inflammation associated with a variety of conditions including: respiratory tract infections, mastitis, udder edema, downer cow syndrome, endotoxemia, simple gastrointestinal disorders, arthritis and traumatic musculoskeletal injuries

Flunixin meglumine

Banamine® CRONYXIN® Flunazine® Flunixin Injection

Intravenous

For control of fever associated with endotoxemia and acute bovine mastitis, and inflammation associated with endotoxemia

Acetylsalicylic Acid

Acetylsalicylic Acid Bolus ASEN P Powder ASEN 240 Bolus

Oral

For use as an aid in the symptomatic relief of pain

Lidocaine

Lido-2 Lidocaine HCL 2% Lidocaine HCL 2% & Epinephrine Injctn Lidocaine HCL 2% with Epinephrine 1:100,000 Lidocaine Neat Lurocaine

Injection

For epidural, nerve block or infiltration anesthesia

*Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information above. However, it remains the responsibility of the readers to familiarize themselves with the product information contained on the Canada product label or package insert. Ensure label directions and veterinarian instructions are followed when using any veterinary product.

Charolais Connection • March 2017

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

has been shown that hot branding causes more acute pain at the time of the procedure. Freeze branding can only be done on dark-coloured cattle and is more difficult to do properly. Currently there are no licensed pain control products in Canada with a claim for alleviating the pain associated with freeze or hot iron branding in cattle. Until practical alternatives to branding are available, the Beef Code of Practice requires that producers minimize the impact of branding by using proper tools and techniques. Pain Mitigation Techniques Ensuring that procedures are performed as early in the calf’s life as possible, by a competent operator using clean, properly maintained tools, is the simplest way to reduce pain during painful routine management procedures Ensuring that procedures are performed as early in the calf’s life as possible, by a competent operator using clean, properly maintained tools, is the simplest way to reduce pain during painful routine management procedures. Use of anesthetics or analgesics can also help to control pain, especially in older animals. Work closely with your local veterinarian to develop a pain mitigation strategy that works on your farm. Using drugs for pain control Definitions: Anesthetic: Temporarily blocks all sensation including pain (e.g. Lidocaine) Local anesthetic: causes numbness in a particular area General anesthetic: causes unconsciousness Analgesic: Temporarily eliminates pain but not all sensation (e.g. antiinflammatories like Metacam, Anafen, Banamine).

Few pain control options are commercially available for cattle, and all require a veterinary prescription. Anesthetic and analgesic drugs can help control pain. Anesthetic drugs (like freezing at a dentist) eliminate all feeling. Anesthetics (e.g. Lidocaine) help to reduce the pain of surgery, but wear off relatively quickly and are challenging to use. They need to be 56

injected very carefully and precisely around the horn base or in the scrotum, so they may require more restraint so that the person with the needle doesn’t accidentally inject himor herself. Analgesics (e.g. Metacam, Anafen and Banamine) may be a better option for cattle producers. These don’t eliminate all feeling, but do reduce the pain that occurs after the surgery. They can be injected intramuscularly or through intravenous methods and last longer than anesthetics. Anesthetics need to be injected 5 to 20 minutes before an operation, and can provide several hours of pain relief. Injectable analgesics are longeracting than anesthetics, and may provide some pain relief for up to a four days, depending on the drug administered. A number of analgesic drugs have been approved for use in beef cattle. None of these products have a specific claim for pain control following castration, and few are approved for pain control during dehorning, but they do control swelling and pain for a variety of different conditions. The benefit of analgesic drugs with different methods of castration (bands versus surgical) is unknown; chronic pain associated with banding is believed to last much longer (weeks) than the drug (hours). Some experiments are studying the benefits of in-feed analgesics, which is not applicable to nursing calves on pasture. Research shows that a combination of anesthesia and analgesia provides the best pain control. Age of animal Procedures are much less invasive in young animals. The wound is smaller, there is considerably less blood loss, and young calves recover more quickly with a smaller setback in animal performance. Although research is still being conducted in this area, it is suggested that to reduce pain, procedures should be conducted when animals are as young as possible, especially when dehorning because the horn bud attaches at 2-3 months of age. Painful procedures should not be performed during times when the Charolais Connection • March 2017

animal will be experiencing other stressors (e.g. don’t castrate at the same time as weaning). Stress reduces the animal’s immune system and makes them less able to fight off infection. Euthanasia The above mentioned routine procedures are performed to enhance the long-term health and welfare of cattle, their herdmates, their handlers and to protect meat quality. Accidents, injuries, sickness or disease may also put cattle in painful situations. In these cases, euthanasia can be the most humane decision for the animal. Euthanasia is defined as the humane death of an animal without inflicting pain or distress using methods that cause an immediate loss of consciousness followed by cardiac and respiratory arrest and death without a return to consciousness. Having a euthanasia decisionmaking process in place on your farm, along with proper training in both determining when euthanasia should occur and proper procedure will help to minimize unnecessary pain and distress in animals. The Beef Code of Practice requires that animals be immediately euthanized (or culled with proper adherence to the requirements for transporting compromised cattle) if they: • Have chronic, severe, or debilitating pain and distress • Are unlikely to recover • Have failed to respond to treatment or recovery protocols • Are unable to get to or consume food and water • Show continuous weight loss or emaciation There are many acceptable ways of on-farm euthanasia; choosing the best method depends on the individual animal, location, and person who will be euthanizing the animal. It is important to take into account animal welfare, human safety, carcass disposal, and possible need for tissue for diagnostic purposes before deciding on a form of euthanasia. Further Research Despite some advances in

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Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

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PAIN MITIGATION, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 56

understanding pain in cattle, there is still much we do not understand when it comes to the effect and management of pain-associated procedures like castration and dehorning. It is important to note that beef cattle may respond differently to dehorning than dairy cattle due to their fear response to handling and restraint. Continued research on practical methods of mitigating pain and encouraging wound healing associated with castration would be

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valuable. There is also work to be done in addressing the pain associated with banding. New products and delivery methods would be welcome. Finally, research to examine the effects of castration at various ages is also lacking, especially research at very young ages. Research under the second Beef Science Cluster is currently evaluating the relative impacts of age, technique, and pain medication when preweaning beef calves are castrated at Charolais Connection • March 2017

the same time as branding or as a separate procedure. This research will generate science-based recommendations regarding the best age to carry out painful routine management procedures and identify target ages which may require pain mitigation. This information is required to make sound industry recommendations in the national Beef Code of Practice and abate public pressure that can lead to unsound recommendations.

CANADIAN CHAROLAIS YOUTH ASSOCIATION NEWS

2017 Show News Courtney Black, 2017 Conference & SHow President

Every year the Canadian Charolais Youth Association works hard to plan an amazing summer conference for members from all over Canada to come together and participate. This summer the 2017 youth conference will be in be Barrie, Ontario, from August 2-5 and together the National Board and Ontario Planning Committee are very excited to welcome both new and returning members! Since there are so many activities and competitions at each conference for members to take part in, it is easy to see how it takes months of planning to organize it all beforehand. Our planning committee for the 2017 youth conference consists of members from all across Ontario, and we are all super excited to be hosting the conference in Barrie. Barrie is approximately one hour from Toronto, so for anyone interested in staying for more than the conference, there is definitely no shortage of things to do and see! Toronto is home to the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium, Canada’s Wonderland, and of course the Toronto Blue Jays, who are playing a number of games in August that are always fun to go and check out. In terms of accommodations, our committee has arranged two hotels for members to stay at which are the Holiday Inn, the closest to the grounds, and the Best Western, which is only slightly farther. Both hotels have pools and are no more than an 8-10 minute drive from the fairgrounds where the conference will be held. We’re also fortunate to be having it in Barrie this year because the Essa Agriplex, the location of the conference, is brand new and we are super happy to be able to host the conference at such a nice venue! In addition, West Jet has provided the Canadian Charolais Youth Assocation with a 10% off coupon for anyone to use who is flying in or out of Toronto. However, they do have certain blackout dates which are August 3-5 and 7-8, so for those planning on attending the conference, I’d encourage you to take advantage of this awesome offer while you can! The coupon code for the Canadian Charolais Youth Association is: GQHNVWE and here is the link to complete a booking with this discount code: http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deals/promo-code/ generic- 3.shtml

The Ontario Planning Committee is extremely excited to be organizing this event, and we cannot wait to see our Charolais youth, both the new faces and the returning competitors. I hope that everyone has a great spring and look forward to seeing everyone in Barrie for the 2017 CCYA conference! CCYA NATIONAL BOARD charolaisyouth@gmail.com President: Shae-Lynn Evans evans32s@uregina.ca Vice-President: Wyatt Ching w.ching476@gmail.com Treasurer: Courtney Black cblack04@mail.uoguelph.ca Secretary: Tomina Jackson tomina.jackson@gmail.com Director: Aidan Jamieson awjamieson@gmail.com Director: Megan McLeod rmegan.mcleod@usask.ca Director: Shelby Evans sle379@mail.usask.ca Director: Keegan Blehm keegb34@yahoo.ca

2016 CCYA Conference & Show Executive President: Courtney Black cblack04@mail.uoguelph.ca Secretary: Tayler Aldcorn Treasurer: Sarah Wyville CCYA Provincial Advisors SK: Suzanne Smyth suzannetylersmyth@gmail.com ON: Billie-Jo Saunders dbjsaunders@gmail.com MB: Donna Jackson Jackson7@mymts.net AB: Kasey Phillips kphillips@mcsnet.ca Youth Coordinator: Kirstin Sparrow kp.sparrow@hotmail.com

Plan to Attend…

Canadian Charolais Youth Association Conference and Show August 2-5, 2017 • Barrie, ON Charolais Connection • March 2017

MANAGEMENT

Salvaging Damaged Crops as Alternative Feed Sources Stacey Spenst, BSA, PAg; Regional Forage Specialist, Kindersley Reprinted from Agriview, Saskatchewa Ministry of Agriculture

Severe weather can damage crops, making them unsuitable for human consumption and uneconomical to combine. Depending on how badly they are damaged, drought-stunted, hail- or frost-damaged and sprouted crops can be used as livestock feed; however, certain potential risks must be minimized first. Nitrate poisoning can occur when feeding any stressed or damaged crops to ruminant livestock. Nitrates can accumulate in plants when they are stressed, especially in heavily fertilized crops. When livestock eat feed containing high levels of nitrates, it reduces the ability of their blood to carry oxygen, resulting in death from asphyxiation with some animals. Atypical Interstitial Pneumonia may happen when cattle are moved from poor quality pasture to a lush, salvaged crop. Within 10 days of being moved, affected animals will become lethargic

and make grunting noises when they breath. Animals can die if not removed from the feed source. Grain overloading is another issue when either grazing salvaged mature cereal crops or feeding greenfeed bales that contain ripened grain. Animals must be gradually introduced to feed containing large amounts of easily digestible carbohydrates, such as grain or corn; otherwise, they can develop abdominal pain that can potentially lead to death. Symptoms include belly kicking, dehydration, diarrhea, staggering and bloat. Tetany and Milk Fever are two metabolic diseases that are caused by low levels of magnesium and calcium in the blood. Annual cereal crops can accumulate excessive levels of potassium and contain low levels of calcium and magnesium. A diet high in potassium and low in calcium can

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

limit an animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to absorb magnesium, which can result in loss of appetite, staggering and paralysis. Awned barley varieties can also cause issues when fed to livestock. The awns can become lodged in an animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gums and cheeks and between its teeth, causing painful abscesses. Animals may also be reluctant to accept a new, unknown type of feed, so they should be monitored closely during the adjustment period. These are only a few complications that may be encountered when using alternative sources of feed. To avoid problems, producers should always get a feed analysis done if they are thinking about adding salvaged crops to livestock rations. A feed test will detect any toxins present so that a balanced ration can be formulated to help prevent the above issues. For more information visit Saskatchewan.ca/agriculture.

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

MANAGEMENT

Emergency Preparedness for Livestock Producers Kathryn Tonita, MSc, PAg; Animal Health and Welfare Specialist, Livestock Branch Reprinted from Agriview, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture

Are you prepared if a natural disaster affects your farm or surrounding community? Natural disasters, such as wildfires and floods, can strike at any time, so developing a plan is critical to safeguarding the people and animals on your property. In any emergency situation, the safety of people comes first, followed by animals and then the protection of property. The first step in developing a farm emergency plan is to understand the risks specific to your region. Animals housed indoors have a different set of risks than those housed outside. All animals need to be marked with some form of permanent identification in the case of loss or displacement. As well, a list of all animals present on the farm should be created and kept up to date to ensure you have some form of proof of ownership.

Registering in the Saskatchewan Premises Identification (PID) program is important to ensure rapid notification in the event of an emergency. As well, the information in the system is crucial to locating animals during rescue efforts. Register your premises at premisesid.saskatchewan.ca. Your written emergency plan should include a list of emergency telephone numbers, including employees, neighbours, your veterinarian, the poison control centre, the local humane society, Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan, transportation resources and local volunteer organizations. Include a contact on the list who is unlikely to be affected by the same emergency and ensure that person has a copy of the plan. Your emergency plan should include procedures to shelter

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Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

animals on the farm as well as a plan for evacuation. Having a well-stocked farm emergency kit is essential to emergency preparedness. Some items to include are: food, water and emergency supplies for your family, a list of all animals on your farm, supplies to temporarily identify animals (eg. plastic neckbands and permanent markers), a basic first aid kit, livestock handling equipment, water, feed, buckets, tools, cleaning and disinfecting equipment, and emergency equipment (eg. cell phone, flashlight, portable radio and batteries). The Government of Canada has a website to assist you with creating an emergency plan. It also provides information on risks and tips to develop an emergency kit. For more information visit https://www.getprepared.gc.ca.

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

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Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

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Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

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Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

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IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES IN OUR INDUSTRY

Calendar of Events

March 4 Ferme Louber Annual Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., at the farm, Ste-Marie de Beauce, QC March 4 High Country Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Pincher Creek (AB) Ag Grounds March 4 Wrangler Made 5th Annual Bull Sale, 1:30 p.m., at the farm, Westlock, AB 70

March 4 Chomiak Charolais Bull & Female Sale, 1:00 p.m., Viking (AB) Auction Market March 5-6 98th Pride of the Prairies Bull Show & Sale, Lloydminster (SK) Exhibition Grounds March 6 Coyote Flats Charolais 2nd Annual Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., at the farm, Coaldale, AB Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

March 7 RRTS Charolais Bull Sale, 12:30 p.m., BC Livestock Co-op, Kamloops, BC March 7 Built Right Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Provost (AB) Livestock Exchange March 9 Buffalo Lake Charolais Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Stettler (AB) Auction Mart March 10 A. Sparrow Farms Bull Sale, 2:00 p.m., on the farm, Vanscoy, SK

March 10 Footprint Farms Charolais Power Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Dryland Cattle Trading Corp, Veteran, AB March 10 13th Annual Northern Classic Bull Sale, Grand Prairie, AB March 10 Neilson Cattle Co. 27th Annual Bull Sale, at the farm, Willowbrook, SK March 10 Three Choice Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Balog Auction, Lethbridge, AB March 11 Horseshoe E Charolais Annual Bull Sale, 2:00 p.m., Johnstone Auction Mart, Moose Jaw, SK March 11 Benchmark Charolais Bull Sale, 1:30 p.m., Renfrew Pontiac Livestock Facility, Cobden, ON March 11 Source For Success Bull Sale, Elmlodge Herefords, Indian River, ON March 11 Northern Impact IV Charolais Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., North Central Livestock Exchange, Clyde, AB

March 12 Steppler Farms 6th Annual Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Steppler Sale Barn, Miami, MB March 13 Palmer Charolais 6th Annual Bull Sale, 2:00 p.m., at the farm, Bladworth, SK March 13 Lazy S Charolais Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., VJV Auction Mart, Beaverlodge, AB March 14 6th Annual McTavish and Guest Charolais & Red Angus Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., at the farm, Moosomin, SK March 14 Harvie Ranching Bull Sale, at the ranch, Olds, AB March 16 McKeary Charolais Bull Sale with guest Prairie Cove Charolais, 2:00 p.m., Bow Slope Shipping, Brooks, AB March 17 Family Tradition Bull Sale, 2:00 p.m., at Rolling D Charolais, Dropmore, MB March 17 Reese Cattle Co. Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Innisfail (AB) Auction Mart

Charolais Connection • March 2017

March 18 Pleasant Dawn Charolais 15th Annual Bull Sale, 2:00 p.m., Heartland Livestock. Virden, MB March 18 Rollin’ Acres/Patton/Whiskey Hollow & Guests 7th Annual Bull Sale, 2:00 p.m., Maple Hill Auctions, Hanover, ON March 18 Ferme Palerme Charolais Bull Sale, Vinoy Test Station, 1:00 p.m., at Ferme Gagnon, Cheneville, QC March 18 Select Genetics Bull Sale, at Forsyth Angus, Herbert, SK March 18 Canada’s Red, White & Black Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Johnstone Auction Mart, Moose Jaw, SK March 18 North Central Charolais Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., North Central Livestock Exchange, Clyde, AB March 20 North West Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Kramer’s Big Bid Barn, North Battleford, SK

March 20 Grassroots Bull Sale, 2:00 p.m., Dryland Trading Corp., Veteran, AB March 21 15th Annual Diamond W Charolais, Red & Black Angus Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Minitonas, MB March 21 Gilliland Bros. Charolais Bull Sale, 1:30 p.m., at the farm, Carievale, SK March 22 HTA Charolais & Guest Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Beautiful Plains Ag Complex, Neepawa, MB March 23 Elder Charolais 7th Annual Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., at the farm, Coronach, SK March 24 Alameda Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Alameda (SK) Auction Mart March 24 Seven Quarter Circle Charolais and Charmil Ranching Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Williams Lake (BC) Stockyards March 24 Thistle Ridge Ranch Bull Sale, Taber (AB) Agriplex

March 25 High Point Charolais Bull Sale, 6:00 p.m., at Sunrise Charolais, Stayner, ON March 25 Impact Angus & Charolais Bull & Female Sale, 1:00 p.m., Saskatoon (SK) Livestock Sales March 25 K-Cow Ranch Bull Sale, 1:30 p.m., at the ranch, Elk Point, AB March 25 PIC Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Carson Sales Arena, Listowel, ON March 25 Borderland Cattle Company Bull Sale, 1:30 p.m., at the ranch, Rockglen, SK March 25 Transcon’s Mountainview Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Innisfail (AB) Auction Mart March 25 Tee M Jay Charolais Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Ashern (MB) Auction Mart March 25 Cornerview Charolais Bull Sale, 1:30 p.m., Renfrew Pontiac Livestock Facility, Cobden,ON

Charolais Connection • March 2017

March 25 Lazy S Cattle Co. Limousin & Charolais Bull Sale, 6:00 p.m., VJV Auction Mart, Rimbey, AB March 26 Best of the Breeds Bull sale, 2:00 p.m., Heartland Livestock, Yorkton, SK March 26 Candiac Choice Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Candiac (SK) Auction Mart March 27 Allanville Farms Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., at the farm, Tisdale, SK March 28 Prairie Distinction Charolais Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Beautiful Plains Ag Complex, Neepawa, MB March 28 Poplar Bluff Stock Farm & Twin Anchor Charolais Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Dryland Trading Corp., Veteran, AB April 1 Tri-N Charolais Farms & Guests Bull Sale, 2 p.m.,Heartland Livestock,Virden, MB April 1 Vermilion Charolais Group 31st Annual Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., North Central Livestock, Vermilion, AB

April 1 Maritime Bull Test Station Sale, at the test station, Nappan, NS April 1 Saunders Charolais 12th Annual Bull Sale, 2:00 p.m., Keady (ON) Livestock Market April 1 JTA Diamond Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., at the farm, Courval, SK April 1 Transcon’s 21st Annual Advantage Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Saskatoon (SK) Livestock Sales April 1 Acadia Ranching Charolais & Angus Bull Sale, 2:00 p.m., Bow Slope Shipping Association, Brooks, AB April 3 14th Annual North of the 49th Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., at Wilgenbusch Charolais, Halbrite, SK April 3 Martens Cattle Co/Four Bar X Ranch Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Spiritwood (SK) Stockyards April 4 Cedarlea Farms at Git ‘R Done Bull Sale, at Windy Willows, Hodgeville, SK April 5 White Cap/Rosso Charolais & Howe Red Angus Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., at White Cap Charolais, Moose Jaw, SK April 6 Hunter Charolais 5th Annual Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., at the farm, Roblin, MB April 6 Ringuette Charolais Annual Bull Sale, 12 Noon, Atlantic Stock Yards, Truro, NS

April 8 Vanderhoof (BC) Bull Sale April 8 Eastern Select Bull & Female Sale, 1:00 p.m., Hoards Station Sale Barn, Campbellford, ON April 8 Wilkenridge & Guest Walking Plow Charolais Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Ridgeville (MB) Hall April 11 Top Cut Bull Sale, 2:00 p.m., Stockman’s Weigh Co., Mankota, SK April 13 Sliding Hill Charolais Bull Sale, 1:30 at the farm, Canora, SK April 15 Brimner Cattle Co. at Cornerstone Bull Sale, 1:30 p.m., Whitewood (SK) Auction Mart April 15 Cedardale Charolais 14th Annual Bull & Select Female Sale, 1:00 p.m., at the farm, Nestleton, ON April 15 Cattle Capital Bull Sale, 1:00 p.m., Ste. Rose (MB) Auction Mart April 15 Lindskov-Thiel Bull Sale, at the ranch, Isabel, SD June 9 & 10 Canadian Charolais Association Annual General Meeting, Saskatoon (SK) Inn July 30 Saskatchewan Charolais Association Annual General Meeting & Pen Show, Moose Jaw, SK August 2-6 Canadian Charolais Youth Association Conference and Show, Barrie, ON

Breeding Season Will Soon Be Here

Many superb herdbulls will be on offer this spring. Know what you need and take advantage of the tremendous offering. If you need assistance with your purchases, give us a call

Helge By 306-536-4261

Craig Scott 403-651-9441

Charolais Connection • March 2017

LOOKING TO FIND SOMEONE?

Advertisers Index Acadia Ranching 1976 Ltd.............................61 Amabec Charolais ..........................................67 Angle H Stock Farm .......................................36 Annuroc Charolais .........................................67 B Bar D Charolais ...........................................67 Baker Farms....................................................67 Bar H Charolais .........................................62,68 Bar Punch Ranch ............................................65 BASKM Angus ................................................43 Beck Farms .....................................................68 Be-Rich Farms.................................................65 Blackbern Charolais .......................................67 Bo-Jan Enterprises .........................................68 Borderland Cattle Co................................37,68 Bova-Tech Ltd.................................................64 Bow Valley Genetics Ltd. ...............................64 Bricney Stock Farms .......................................68 Bridor Charolais .............................................67 Brimner Cattle Company.....................44,45,68 Buffalo Lake Charolais .................................65 By Livestock ........3,7,9,13,33,43-45,70,IBC,OBC Campbells Charolais ......................................53 Canadian Beef Industry Conference.............63 Carey, Brent....................................................64 Cattle Lac Charolais ..................................33,36 Cedardale Charolais..................................51,67 Cedarlea Farms ...........................................7,69 Charla Moore Farms ......................................69 Char-Maine Ranching....................................65 Charolais Journal ...........................................64 Charworth Charolais Farms...........................65 Chomiak Charolais ........................................65 Circle Cee Charolais Farms ............................65 Cline Cattle Co. ..............................................66 Cockburn Farms .............................................67 Cornerview Charolais ....................................12 Cougar Hill Ranch ..........................................69 Coyote Flats Charolais ...................................65 Creek's Edge Land & Cattle Co. ...............11,69 C2 Charolais .........................................33,35,66 Davis-Rairdan .................................................64 Defoort Stock Farm .......................................66 Demarah Farms..............................................69 Diamond W Charolais...............................69,70 Dog Patch Acres........................................24,25 Dorran, Ryan ..................................................64 Double L Ranch..............................................65 Double P Stock Farms ...............................33,66 DRD Charolais ................................................47 Dubuc Charolais.............................................68 Dudgeon-Snobelen Land & Cattle................67 Eaton Charolais..............................................70 Edge, Dean.....................................................64 Elder Charolais Farms .................................9,69 Ericson Livestock Services ..............................64 Ferme Palerme ..........................................16,68 Fischer Charolais ............................................65 Flat Valley Cattle Co. ................................60,65 Fleury, Michael...............................................64 Flewelling, Craig ............................................64 Foat Valley Stock Farm ..................................65 Footprint Farms ............................................65

Future Farms ..................................................65 Gerrard Cattle Co...........................................65 Gilliland Bros. Charolais ...........................17,69 Good Anchor Charolais .................................65 H.S. Knill Company Ltd..................................64 Happy Haven Charolais ............................33,66 Harcourt Charolais...............................24,25,69 Hard Rock Land & Cattle Co..........................67 Harvie Ranching ............................................65 HEJ Charolais .................................................65 Hicks Charolais ...............................................67 High Bluff Stock Farm ................................5,67 Holk Charolais................................................65 Hopewell Charolais........................................69 Horseshoe E Charolais ...................................69 HTA Charolais Farm ...................................3,67 Hunter Charolais ....................................67,IBC JMB Charolais ................................................67 Johnson Charolais..........................................65 Johnston Charolais ...................................33,34 Johnstone Auction.........................................64 JTA Diamond..................................................59 June Rose Charolais .......................................57 Kaiser Cattle Co. ............................................65 Kanewischer, Jerry .........................................64 Kay-R Land & Cattle Ltd. ...............................65 KCH Charolais ................................................66 Kirlene Cattle .................................................67 La Ferme Patry de Weedon ...........................68 Lakeview Charolais ........................................23 Land O' Lakes Charolais ................................67 Langstaff Charolais........................................68 Laurel Creek Ranch........................................69 Lazy S Cattle Co. ............................................41 Lazy S Charolais ...............................................8 Leemar Charolais ...........................................66 LEJ Charolais .............................................15,67 Lindskov-Thiel Charolais Ranch ....................70 M & L Cattle Co..............................................68 Mack's Charolais ............................................68 Maple Leaf Charolais.....................................66 Martens Cattle Co.....................................18,69 Martens Charolais..........................................67 McAvoy Charolais Farm............................21,69 McKay Charolais ............................................67 McKeary Charolais .........................................66 McLeod Livestock...........................................64 McTavish Farms ..............................................69 Medonte Charolais ........................................68 Miller Land & Livestock ............................42,68 Murphy Livestock...........................................66 Mutrie Farms.............................................55,69 Myhre Land and Cattle..................................67 Nahachewsky Charolais.................................69 Norheim Ranching.........................................64 P & H Ranching Co.........................................66 Packer Charolais.............................................68 Palmer Charolais ............................................69 Parklane Charolais .........................................66 Patton Charolais ............................................68 Peno Valley Charolais ....................................10 Phillips Farms ............................................39,69

Charolais Connection â&#x20AC;˘ March 2017

Pleasant Dawn Charolais..........................13,67 Poplar Bluff Stock Farm.................................31 Potter Charolais .............................................68 Prairie Cove Consulting .................................64 Prairie Gold Charolais...............................16,69 Pro-Char Charolais .........................................66 Qualman Charolais .......................................69 R & G McDonald Livestock .......................33,34 Raffan, Don....................................................64 Rammer Charolais..........................................71 Rawes Ranches...............................................66 Rebuild with Steel .........................................64 Reeleder, Andrew ..........................................64 Reese Cattle Company.....................................6 Reykdal Farms Charolais................................67 Rollin' Acres Charolais ...................................68 Rosso Charolais .........................................27,69 Royale Charolais ............................................68 RRTS Charolais ...............................................66 Saddleridge Farming Co................................66 SanDan Charolais Farms ................................66 Saunders Charolais ...................................31,68 Scarth Cattle Co. ............................................67 Serhienko/Voegeli Cattle Co. ........................69 Sharodon Farms .............................................68 Skeels, Danny .................................................64 Sliding Hills Charolais ...............................49,69 A. Sparrow Farms..........................................IFC Southview Farms............................................68 Springside Farms............................................66 Spruceview Charolais.....................................66 Stephen Charolais Farm ................................69 Steppler Farms Ltd. .......................................67 Stock, Mark ....................................................64 Stockmen's Insurance ....................................65 Sugarloaf Charolais .......................................66 Sunblade Charolais ........................................33 Sunrise Charolais............................................68 Swistun Charolais...........................................39 T Bar C Cattle Co...................18,24,25,36,65,73 Tee M Jay Charolais .......................................57 Temple Farms .................................................69 Thistle Ridge Ranch .......................................66 Transcon Livestock Corp. ...............................65 Tri-N Charolais...........................................43,67 Turnbull Charolais..........................................66 Twin Anchor Charolais ..................................31 Vermilion Charolais Group............................72 Western Litho ................................................65 Whiskey Hollow Cattle Company .................68 White Cap Charolais .................................27,69 WhiteWater Livestock ...................................68 Wilgenbusch Charolais..........................70,OBC Wilkie Ranch ..................................................66 Windy Willows Farms .....................................7 Wood River Charolais ..............................29,70 Wrangler Charolais........................................66 WRAZ Red Angus......................................44,45