Cct141208

WHAT EUROPEANS ARE SAYING ABOUT FREE TRADE WITH CANADA

THE BEEF MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 2014 $3.00

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

COUNTING GRIZZLIES PLUS

Young judges size up their craft 16 Helping out the Russians 30 2014 Index 48

Andrea Morehouse Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development

Pincher Creek, Alta.

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240

“Canada’s Bulls”

M.C. Quantock Bull Sale SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2015 Important information on

Page 2-3 Call for your free DVD

www.mcquantock.com www.mcquantock.com email: mcquantock@hotmail.com

Catalogue online late December

M.C. Quantock Bull Sale 375 “Canada’s Bulls”

Website: www.mcquantock.com

Profiles Program — Sells Customer Cattle

Complete Catalogue online late December

Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 12 noon MST Exhibition Grounds, Lloydminster, AB/SK All cattle in heated facility!

Free Beef Lunch 11 a.m.

10,500 BULLS... 46 SALES.

BULLS

Red Angus Bulls Black Angus Bulls Super Baldie Bulls Black Super Baldie Bulls Dehorned Hereford Bulls

Call Mac Today 1-800-561-BULL (2855)

Sight Unseen Purchase Plan

Buying your bulls is easy... and it’s as close as your phone...

I have spent 35 years working with cattlemen across Canada and together we have developed the most successful Sight Unseen Purchase Plan in the country, so successful in fact that it can sell nearly half our bulls some years.

Mac Creech, D.V.M. I have done it with sincerity and integrity and the utmost respect for the customers needs and budget. We start by discussing your cows, your breeding program, and what you need to get done.

When we are comfortable with each other we can work together to get you the right cattle at the right price. While a few people sell a few bulls on the internet, I much prefer to visit with our customers, get to know them, and help them select the right bulls.

Our comprehensive catalogue and DVD will give you an accurate impression of the bulls. After the sale I’ll personally deliver your bulls, in most cases. You must be completely satisfied on arrival or you are under no obligation to take them.

You pay for them only when they are delivered and satisfactory.

Call me anytime to get started.

1-800-561-2855 Thanks Mac

H-2 Bulls Super Guppie Bulls Charolais Bulls

Absolutely FREE Delivery

Tentative Delivery Routes

We will safely deliver each and every bull to your nearest centeral location in Westeren Canada. You have my word — we'll work with you to get them within 30 - 50 miles of your ranch. Ontario, Quebec or the Maritimes — we'll cost-share delivery. Talk to Mac for details.

Routes may change depending on bull distribution.

Routes indicated are usually run twice a year — February and April. Some bulls may be interlined with other carriers where necessary.

Even my Wife... loves cows!

This business is so good "even my wife loves cows."

Cattlemen have always told me that their wife thought they owned too many cows.... until now.

Record setting but very real. The best calf prices ever. Most important, these prices are based on solid fundamentals and are here for a long, long, time. We haven't had cow numbers this low since Harry S. Truman was President. It's time, we all deserve it..

Cattlemen are enjoying the good times and reaping the rewards for their perseverance, tenacity and resolve. We all went through 8 to 9 very, very tough years when you wondered (to yourself) at times if you were doing the right thing by sticking with it. The optimism and ability to think long term, which all cattlemen have "etched in their DNA," carried us all through.

Five years ago our sale theme was "Lay in the Weeds... and Wait" Our thinking then is just as valid today.

Survive and prosper by remembering that only a cow can unhook you from the treadmill of high input costs and expensive technology. She's a low tech machine that "will set you free", she harvests grass, stores solar energy and turns it all into high quality protein, her value to the world will only increase.

So get close to nature, graze longer, calve a little later, work less, let your cows work more and have more family time. Remember, cows reproduce their way to your success and financial freedom.

We live in a wonderful "free enterprise" country where if you want it, plan for it, and work hard for it, you will achieve it.

Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 12 noon MST

Unlike a lot of bull producers, we've paid for our ranch and our cows with our cows, we're rooted deep in reality.

Solid, methodical and tenacious, we've used : "old school" genetics, sound breeding principles and the "eye of a cowman" to develop eight different bull lines.

We've moulded a herd of cattle that are all alike. Alike in type, alike in pedigree, alike in performance so both you and your customers can sell uniform high-end cattle, make as much darn money as possible and enjoy a way of life most people wish they could have.

Our only customers are Canada's commercial cowmen large and small.

They buy our bulls because they're good quality, all of them, well culled, they're calves the order buyers keep talking about. Our bulls are older fall and summer born twos (22-26) months when you need them), old enough to be tough and not give trouble. Our bulls can all be left with us till spring, you don't want new bulls around till you need them, so let us look after them.

Our bulls are all delivered absolutely free in Western Canada and cost shared in the East. Our bulls can be purchased sight unseen, in fact about half always are. We help select your bulls and they're guaranteed to be what you want... "true satisfaction on arrival". Our customers trust and confidence in us make it all possible. Our bulls are affordable 75% sold from $2600 to $5300 in 2013 - 2014, and most all sell to solid commercial cattlemen.

Our bulls are guaranteed like no others... you'll have a bull to breed your cows no matter what... hard to get better than that!

As sale time approaches, you can view all our bulls on video on our website or we'll send you your very own DVD and catalogue and you can show the neighbors. In fact, it's probably easier and simpler to buy our bulls than buying bulls locally. You get great service, the best guarantee, lots of selection and your calves will be sired by notionally known bulls. It all helps you to get them sold! Our customers like the fact that all our cattle are managed and fed just like most all commercial cattle.

This year call me for your bulls. *free DVD *Free Catalogue * Free Delivery "Great Bulls" Call Today.

Mac & Pat

Bulls from cows this good...

Big gutted, Big Girthed do-it-yourself females

M.C. Quantock Livestock Corp Call Mac...

1-800-561-BULL (2855)

email: mcquantock@hotmail.com Box 10888, Lloydminster, AB. T9V 3B1

www.canadasbull.com www.mcquantock.com

CALL/EMAIL FOR YOUR FREE CATALOGUE AND DVD

Contents

Established 1938 ISSN 1196-8923 CATTLEMEN EDITORIAL Editor: Gren Winslow 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 (204) 944-5753 Fax (204) 944-5416 Email: gren@fbcpublishing.com

CANADIAN CATTLEMEN · DECEMBER 2014 · VOLUME 77, NO. 1 2

 WILDLIF E Researchers count grizzlies by gathering hair samples from known scratching sites.

Field Editor: Debbie Furber Box 1168, Tisdale, SK S0E 1T0 (306) 873-4360 Fax (306) 873-4360 Email: debbie.furber@fbcpublishing.com ADVERTISING SALES Deborah Wilson RR 1, Lousana, AB T0M 1K0 (403) 325-1695 Fax (403) 944-5562 Email: deb.wilson@fbcpublishing.com Crystal McPeak (403) 646-6211 / (403) 360-3210 Email: crystal@fbcpublishing.com HEAD OFFICE 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 (204) 944-5765 Fax (204) 944-5562 Advertising Services Co-ordinator: Arlene Bomback (204) 944-5765 Fax (204) 944-5562 Email: ads@fbcpublishing.com Publisher: Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com

GETTING A GRIP ON GRIZZLY POPULATIONS  SEEDSTO C K

Associate Publisher/Editorial Director: John Morriss Email: john.morriss@fbcpublishing.com

14

FEATURES

Circulation Manager: Heather Anderson Email: heather@fbcpublishing.com

We’ve got grizzlies! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1

President: Bob Willcox Glacier FarmMedia Email: bwillcox@farmmedia.com

Getting a grip on grizzly populations . . . . 14 Young judges size up their craft . . . . . . . . . 16 Is it really food? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The view from Europe on free trade with Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Verified Beef Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Young judges size up their craft

16

Helping out the Russians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Market your health program . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 2014 index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

 HEALTH

34

Congratulations!

To our December survey winner, Henri Lemelin, Cookshire, Que. This month’s survey is on page 40.

Cover Photo: Kim Pearson

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Contents of Cattlemen are copyrighted and may be reproduced only when written permission is obtained from the editor and proper credit is given to Cattlemen.

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Cattlemen is published monthly by Farm Business Communications.

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DEPARTMENTS

Market your health program

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C AT T L E M E N · D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4

Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Newsmakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Our History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Research on the Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Holistic Ranching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Straight from the Hip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Vet Advice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Prime Cuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 CCA Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 News Roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Purely Purebred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 The Markets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Market Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Sales and Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

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LIVESTOCK PUBLICATIONS COUNCIL

The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Canadian Cattlemen and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis.

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 COMMEN T

By Gren Winslow

Sustainability is in sight The world agrees on a definition

A

s we look ahead to 2015 I imagine most of you are anticipating, or hoping, for a repeat of 2014.

We can’t always see what lies ahead, but in at least one small aspect I’m pretty confident that you are going to hear the word sustainability crop up in conversations a lot more in the coming year.

The sustainability movement picked up a full head of steam last month in Sao Paulo, Brazil when the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) released its master plan for establishing sustainable beef production around the world.

The GRSB defines sustainable beef as a socially responsible, environmentally sound and economically viable product that prioritizes the planet, people, animals and progress. This is further refined into five core principles: natural resources, people and the community, animal health and well-being, food and efficiency and innovation.

Each principle is propped up by its own set of criteria that need to be fulfilled.

Natural resources criteria include environmental stewardship, ecological services, minimizing net greenhouse gas emissions, protecting native forests, grasslands and other ecosystems, biodiversity, water resources, air quality, soil health and sustainable feed production.

People and community criteria emphasize the need to respect culture, heritage, people’s way of life, human rights, property rights and laws of the land and create fair and safe workplaces.

Animal health and welfare criteria set expectations for the treatment of cattle throughout the value chain.

General areas include nutrition, disease control and treatment, responsible drug and vaccine use, appropriate housing, minimizing stress and transport guidelines.

Food criteria address food safety and beef quality from the perspective that improvements and indicators need to be science based, practical and have an impact. Documentation and validation of production/process practices and management systems, sharing information and reducing food waste throughout the chain also fall under this principle.

The efficiency and innovation criteria speak to continuous improvement by adopting technology and leading practices that will help the beef industry adapt to challenges and seize opportunities. It encompasses education, partnerships and sharing knowledge, to selecting and managing cattle to match the environment and available resources, efficient use of water, land and energy while reducing waste, responsible use of production inputs to maximizing carcass value.

It’s now up to national and regional roundtables to apply the GRSB blueprint at the local level. This process www.canadiancattlemen.ca

involves defining what needs to be measured to achieve sustainable beef criteria in a given country and how to verify the outcomes to qualify for a sustainable beef designation across a value chain.

In Canada, that task falls to the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB). The current membership includes provincial and national beef industry associations, dairy and barley producer groups, conservation organizations, and businesses representing the packing, retail, food-service, animal health, and financial sectors.

I am pretty confident that you are going to hear the word sustainability crop up in coversations a lot more in the coming year Some of the pieces are already in place such as the Verified Beef Production program, the Beef InfoXChange System (BIXS), and environmental farm plans but the CRSB will be spending a good part of 2015 developing other sustainability indicators, according to Fawn Jackson, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association manager of environment and sustainability. She is the CCA’s representative on the global roundtable and involved in this process from the beginning to ensure that beef producers have a say in how sustainability is defined and the practicality of the recommended production practices that will be required to bring it about in Canada.

This is not a government program. It comes from the retail and processing sectors in response to what they see as a growing demand from consumers around the globe.

With names like JBS, Cargill, Tyson, Walmart and Costco at the table looking for steady sources of verified sustainable beef, it doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that this will become a base requirement for the industry in the near future.

The CRSB is already working with McDonald’s Canada to develop indicators to source sustainable Canadian beef by 2016.

Currently the CRSB is looking for 80 cow-calf and feedlot producers across the country to complete a survey for a Canadian beef life cycle analysis to establish benchmarks and then a plan to put those benchmarks to work. The analysis part should be wrapped up by next summer.

So, when it comes to sustainable beef, the near future may be nearer than you think. c

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 THE INDUST RY

Photo: University of Calgary

NewsMakers

Jack Anderson and Wynne Chisholm

J.C. (Jack) Anderson and his daughter Wynne Chisholm from W.A. Ranches donated $5 million to the University of Calgary to create the Anderson-Chisholm Chair in Animal Care and Welfare which has been filled by animal behaviour and welfare professor, Ed Pajor.

Anderson had worked with cattle since shortly after high school. His daughter Wynne shared his passion for the business but when her father moved on to pursue interests in oil and gas, she launched her own consulting firm — Wynne Chisholm & Associates Inc. — focusing on organizational development. In 2005, Anderson — then in his 70s — urged Chisholm to join him in getting back into the cattle business by forming W.A. Ranches, a cow and calf operation that has since grown to 900 cows on 18,000 acres of deeded or leased land.

Pajor, who has researched the behaviour of bucking horses and bulls at the Calgary Stampede, says the funds will support research projects such as an examination of the bond between a cow and her calf.

Delegates to the Alberta Beef Producers annual meeting early this month were expected to approve a $1-per-head increase in the province’s checkoff to $4 per head in part to offset the large percentage of refunds being claimed by producers every year.

The former executive director of the Manitoba Forage Council, Wayne Digby is the recipient of the Canadian Forage & Grassland Association’s 2014 Leadership Award.

Wayne Digby The presentation was made at the CFGA annual conference in Bromont, Que. last month. Digby also served as executive director of the CFGA from 2010 to 2013 and was instrumental in establishing the national forage and grassland organization.

At the same meeting Ron Pidskalny CFGA chair Doug Wray announced the resignation of current executive director Ron Pidskalny of Edmonton.

Beef was 100 per cent compliant for most chemicals, and over 99 per cent compliant on all but one category during testing from 2010 to 2012 by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for the National Chemical Residue Monitoring Program. Residues were found for beta-agonists in 12 beef carcasses over the three years of testing, but that is still an improvement from previous reports going back to 2008. The program

monitors 40 different chemicals in livestock to check on the adherence to withdrawal dates. Chicken and pork also had high rates of compliance.

Dr. Trisha Dowling, a professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, is the recipient of the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association’s 2014 Meritorious Service Award. She was Dr. Trisha Dowling cited for her work as the founder and co-director of the Canadian Global Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank and her research on drugs in food animals and horses.

Well-known cattle and businessman, Dale Blair, passed away Oct. 23, after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 74. Dale and his brother Ron were founding partners in the Dale Blair Blair Group of Companies with interests in grain farming, purebred and commercial cattle, and agriculture retail outlets now operated by their families.

Dale was also an original shareholder of the Pound-Maker Agventures Ltd. feedlot in Lanigan, Sask., and sat on its board for 27 years, and a founding board member of the Saskatchewan Simmental Association. The family’s commercial cattle have been multiple winners at the commercial cattle show at Agribition through the years.

Last month Ottawa announced $500,000 in AgriRisk funding for the Guy Carpenter Professorship in Agriculture Risk Management and Insurance in the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Lysa Porth was hired for the professorship back in 2013 but this announcement secures funding for the post for five years.

Correction: Our October story, What can we do about mycoplasma? mistakenly called the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) in Saskatoon the Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization. We apologize for any confusion this caused to our readers. c

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C at t l e m e n · D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Get more horses for your cattle business.

In this line of work, power gets the job done. It helps build the business and pay the bills. So you need a tractor that brings the muscle to work. And the 6M does. With tractors from 105- to 170-hp, you can fnd a model for your operation. You’ll have the hydraulic capacity to cycle heavy loads and lift rear implements, the engine power needed to pull through harsh conditions and the versatility you want for just about any job you’ve got.

Flex some hydraulic muscle Get up to 30 gpm (113 lpm) for big lift and fast cycle times. And with a 3-point hitch capacity of up to 10,582 pounds (4799 kg), you can handle a variety of implements.

Five different transmission options are available.

second, sensing and adjusting power requirements as needed.

With John Deere PowerTech™ engines, productivity goes up, the need for shifting gears, fuel consumption and operator effort goes down.

Work in any weather Take a seat in the cab of a 6M and you’ll instantly get a feel for how comfortable – and protected – you’ll be regardless of the conditions outside. There is great visibility in all directions, colour-coded controls at your fngertips and critical information available at a glance.

Engines that respond to changing demands.

Engines that power up and stay productive Before you even realize your ppower requirements have changed, your 6M will ch respond. The engine re control unit checks co engine en ngine speed and load loa ad changes 100 10 00 times each

Even if you don’t need a cab tractor, you’ll fnd that the open station 6M doesn’t cut corners on comfort.

Shift productivity into high gear On the job, the right gear makes all the difference. And the 6M helps fnd the speed you need for the work you do.

Choose between fve different transmissions – from the PowrQuad™ that delivers four, clutch-free shifts in each range, to an AutoQuad™ Plus that lets you program the transmission to shift automatically within a range depending on the load.

Pick a transmission with 25 mph (40 km/h) capability and you’ll cut transport time in a hurry. Or get the creeper option with speeds as low as .09 mph (1.4 km/h).

And if you do loader work, we have you covered. All PowrQuad transmissions feature a left-hand reverser for no-clutch, no-skid direction changes.

Get into heavy lifting Take on the toughest chores out there with the more than capable, high-performing, heavy lifter. See your dealer and learn why the 6M gives you the horses you need to get the job done.

The 6M has hydraulics and controls for loader work.

Controls that make it easy to put that muscle to work.

More power.

More getting work done.

JohnDeere.ca

Letters Ionophores are human antibiotics

While I appreciate much of the article, Talk, Tweet and Shout About Antibiotics, Oct. 2014 Canadian Cattlemen pp 20, the claim that ionophores are not used in human medicine is simply wrong. For example, nystatin and gramicidin are both ionophores. Gramicidin is one of the components of polysporin. Nystatin is used in common yeast infections.

Further, it sounds as if the author believes that the claim that 80 per cent of antibiotics are used in agriculture is a myth.

However, the FDA collects data on certain agricultural uses and human use and I can confirm that use in agriculture is roughly 80 per cent of the total volume of antibiotics employed in the U.S. (This excludes the unknown amounts given to pets, or used in aquaculture.)

I applaud your efforts to encourage responsible use in humans and livestock.

Aidan Hollis Professor of Economics University of Calgary The Author replies

Thank you for your letter.

Ionophores approved to be fed to cattle in Canada include lasalocid (Bovatec), monensin (generic monensin), Rumensin, (Coban) and salinomycin (Posistac).

Also approved in Canada for use in other livestock species, but not for cattle are maduramicin (Cygro) and salinomycin (Coxistac, Bio-Cox, Sacox).

I should have been clear that the ionophores listed above are the ones not used in human medicine.

Dr. Rosengren assures us that nystatin and gramicidin are not used in beef cattle.

Both are topical drugs applied to skin or eyes. To her knowledge, the only use of nystatin in Canadian cattle is as a vaccine preservative and gramicidin is not registered for use in cattle in Canada. In veterinary medicine, their primary use would be as topical treatments for small animals or horses.

Nystatin and gramicidin are chemically related to ionophores but their clinical actions differ and so would not be expected to promote resistance to the above-mentioned drugs (and vice versa). In particular, nystatin has antifungal rather than antibiotic activity.

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C at t l e m e n · D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

Keeping in mind that the primary concern about antimicrobial use in food animals is that it will lead to resistance and subsequent treatment failure in bacteria infecting people, Dr. Rosengren was unable to find any evidence that resistance to the ionophores used in beef cattle has any relation to antimicrobial resistance in pathogens important to humans.

Gram-negative enteric bacteria are the most direct link between resistant pathogens in livestock and human illness.

Ionophores have limited activity against gram-negative bacteria and have not been found to promote resistance to other drugs through co-selection or cross resistance. In fact, resistance to ionophores is not monitored by any of the national surveillance programs in Canada, the United States and Europe.

Based on all of the above, she cannot see the links or relevance between nystatin and gramicidin use in humans and ionophore use in livestock with respect to antibiotic resistance in people.

Unfortunately, space limitations prevent a full explanation of how the 80 per cent figure attributed to FDA came to be as well as the explanation of the scientific method of allocating drug use among animals and humans.

While the FDA is required to collect data on the amount of active ingredients in drugs sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals, it didn’t publish the 80 per cent statistic and actually cautions against this method of comparison.

Links to all of the FDA reports on drug use in food animals since the first one in 2010 as well as the cautionary statement are available at: www.fda.gov/forindustry/userfees/animaldruguserfeeactadufa/ ucm042896.htm.

It is my understanding the 80 per cent figure was first calculated in 2010 by a researcher with John Hopkins School of Public Health and then widely publicized in popular media by a U.S. congresswoman and others opposed to the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. The figure was simply derived by subtracting sales data on antibiotics sold by U.S. manufacturers to outlets that supply antibiotics for human use from sales data of outlets that supply antibiotics for food animals. The stats on sales for food animals were published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first time that year. The data on the human side was from a private company that compiles health data.

The FDA subsequently issued a caution

about comparing the two datasets without considering that they don’t represent sales of antimicrobials to patients or to producers for actual use, the human population being much smaller than the livestock population, weights of animals compared to people, and differences in dosage requirements. Agricultural use did include ionophore sales, later determined to be one-third of the total, but the amounts were not species specific. A year later the FDA reported that almost all of the antibiotics sold in the U.S. for food-producing animals were for oral delivery in feed or water, not by injection.

Farmed elk NOT a TB reservoir

I read with keen interest the recent article A facelift for bovine TB surveillance, Canadian Cattlemen, September 2014, about new approaches being adopted in the struggle to get rid of TB in the Riding Mountain Eradication Area. I am a cattle producer in the RMEA. I am also an elk producer in the same area. In fact, there are several commercial elk farms in the RMEA. When I looked at the image used to illustrate the article, I was dismayed to see ear tags in the ears of the elk at the hay feeder.

Most people would see farmed elk — and assume from the caption that FARMED Elk remain the main reservoir of TB…” That is not correct.

TB has not been found in farmed elk anywhere in Canada for over a decade.

TB has never been found in farmed elk in Manitoba, in spite of tens of thousands of skin tests and slaughter inspections being completed. Elk producers in the RMEA are treated the same as cattle operations — regular mustering and skin testing — but no one pays us any muster fee. Of course, we have expensive eight-foot fences — not only around our feed storage areas but around all of our pastures, which provide a higher level of protection, but we pay for all the costs of erecting and maintaining it.

Fortunately, after the triple whammies of chronic wasting disease (elsewhere, not in Manitoba), BSE (in cattle, not in farmed elk) and TB (in wild elk and cattle, not in farmed elk) we are finally profitable again.

All of our various markets are providing positive net margins. We don’t need any more negative impacts. We are part of the team working to rid the RMEA of TB — not part of the problem.

Ian Thorleifson HotSun Elk Company Minnedosa, Man.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 our histo ry

Rights of Surface Owners Excerpts from an address before the WSGA convention by the Hon. N.E. Tanner, Alberta Minister of Land and Mines, Canadian Cattlemen, March 1949

P

rior to 1887 those who received title to their land whether homesteaders or whoever they were, got the mineral rights along with the surface. However, following that time the mineral rights were reserved to the Crown, with the exception of large grants of land which were given to the Canadian Pacific Railway at the time they built the Trans-Continental Railway, and the Hudson’s Bay Company at the time the Dominion Government made settlement with that company, and the C and E Corporation when it built the Calgary-Edmonton line. All of these companies received large grants of land and with these grants went the mineral rights.

Up until 1905 when any of these companies sold the surface, the mineral rights were included, and between that and 1910 they all discontinued selling the mineral rights with the surface rights, and retained the mineral rights in their own name. The amount of minerals held under freehold is about 16 million acres, or one-tenth of the total area of the province. However, it is interesting to note that about half the oil being produced today is produced from freehold land.

Principle involved

In all countries it is a recognized principle that anything done in the public interest, such as building a railway, a highway, a canal, power lines, etc., or in mine development or oil drilling, it is right and proper that those engaged in any of the projects should not be stopped or impeded by any individual land owner. Therefore, arrangements have been made in all countries by legislation whereby those engaged in such projects are required to pay the individual owner over whose property they are to traverse, or for property which will be destroyed, full compensation for severance, damage, inconvenience, etc.

Right of Entry Arbitration Act, 1947

In Alberta, up until about 1938, district court judges decided what the compensation would be and the amount of land that would be required for the drilling of wells, but owing to the fact that different district court judges were dealing with right of entry and that there was no uniformity throughout the province, it was decided to authorize the Board of Public Utility Commissioners to deal with these cases. From that time until about 1946 the Board of Public Utility Commissioners dealt with all applications; however, when oil development began to go forward at such a rapid rate, the work became too heavy for the board, and the Right

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of Entry Arbitration Act was passed setting up a board to deal with these cases.

The situation is this: If an oil company wishes to enter on a man’s property for the purpose of oil development, he must make satisfactory arrangements with the owner and occupant of the surface. If this cannot be done, the lessee of the mineral rights makes application to the Right of Entry Arbitration Board, and the board, at a hearing at which both parties are invited to attend, determines the amount of land to be used and also the compensation that is to be paid for the property destroyed, severance, damage, inconvenience, noise, etc. The point which I would like to emphasize is that no oil company or its representatives has any right to enter on property until it makes satisfactory arrangements with the owner or has been authorized to enter by the Right of Entry Arbitration Board. Section 8 of the act dealing with right of entry states: No operator shall have the right of entry, user or taking of the surface of any land for the removal of minerals or for or incidental to any mining, or drilling operations: or for the laying of pipelines and erection of tanks, stations and structures on such lands until he shall have obtained the consent of the owner of such surface rights and the occupant thereof or shall have become entitled to entry by reason of an order of the board made pursuant to this act.

Apparent Satisfaction

No ranchers have made application to the Right of Entry Arbitration Board up to the present time. Therefore the only conclusion we can come to is that they have been able to make satisfactory arrangements with the oil companies. If this is the case it is a credit to both the ranchers and the oil companies.

Whenever an oil company enters upon any Crown lands which have been leased, all cases are referred to the Right of Entry Arbitration Board to decide what land is required and what remuneration shall be required in so far as the province is concerned. The reason for this is that we want uniformity throughout the province; it is not because we are not in a position to make satisfactory arrangements with the companies. I am sure that you can see that if we as a government made one deal with one company and one with another, we could be accused of discrimination in different cases under different conditions; therefore, it was decided to refer all cases to the Right of Entry Arbitration Board. c For more of the past from the pages of our magazine see the History section at www.canadiancattlemen.ca.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 WILDLIF E

By Debbie Furber

WHAT THE COMMUNITY DID

WE’VE GOT GRIZZLIES!

… it takes a community to keep them at bay

B

ears love everything about agriculture — the livestock, deadstock, standing crops, binned grain, silage, honey, orchards, gardens, and anything else agriculture provides.

Two decades ago it was a novelty to see a grizzly wander across an Alberta pasture.

Not any more, says Jeff Bectell, who ranches south of Cardston, Alta., near the U.S. border, and chairs the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association (WBRA) as well as its carnivore working group.

The area east of Waterton Lakes National Park and north to the Crowsnest Pass is unique in that it transitions from prairie to mountains in only 10 miles or so, making it a short trek for a hungry grizzly to find plenty to eat on agricultural land.

Some ranchers in the area see grizzlies upwards of 30 times a year now, and trail cameras regularly capture more than one bear frequenting farmyards. Ranchers are becoming convinced bears are being forced to spread into new territory by the pressure of a growing grizzly population in the mountains overlooking their ranches.

Ranchers fear for their families and their livestock, saying the bears are becoming bolder with each passing year and the options for dealing with them are limited by a hunting ban that has been in place since 2006.

The southwest corner represents only three per cent of Alberta’s land base, yet 37 per cent of cattle predation claims paid by the provincial predator compensation

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program from 2000 through 2010 were made to southwest livestock producers.

And that’s only the kills deemed eligible by investigating fish and wildlife officers.

The current predator compensation program is another sore point with ranchers. Probable kills are only paid out at 50 per cent of market value and to be considered “probable” the claim has to be backed up with a second kill by the same species of predator within 10 kilometres and 90 days of the first probable kill. Not surprisingly the WBRA is lobbying the province to remove the backup qualifier and pay 100 per cent of market value on probable kills.

All of these issues were brewing beneath the surface when the grizzly bear issue came to a boil at fish and wildlife public meetings in 2007 and 2008.

A 2004-08 grizzly survey had estimated the provincial population at 691 bears, a number producers felt underestimated the real population. It was, however, low enough that the province decided to list the grizzly as a threatened provincial species that can’t be hunted.

A 2011 survey to determine community attitudes toward large carnivores conducted

by Miistakis Institute for the WBRA pegged grizzly bears as the greatest threat to human and livestock safety.

Sixty-six per cent said the current rate of livestock predation was unacceptable but 71 per cent said they can live with large carnivores provided they are being properly managed.

“The reality is we’ve got bears,” says Bectell.

“Society wants to have bears. Producers don’t want to shoot them all — the intent has never been to get rid of all the bears — so we have a problem. Let’s get together to find solutions.”

In that vein the WBRA started a “carnivores and communities” program in 2009 and formed its carnivore working group in 2011. Here are a few of the projects they’ve gotten up and running since then: 1. DEADSTOCK REMOVAL

This became a priority after Montana’s Blackfoot Challenge landowner group showed that carnivore problems can be reduced by removing deadstock. And Alberta had the data to show that deadstock was involved in two-thirds of reported human/bear incidents.

Black bears favour garbage, vegetation, bird feed and grain, with livestock being the main draw in only 10 per cent of the black bear/human incidents reported. Wolves came for living livestock 97 per cent of the time; deadstock was the target in only three per cent of wolf reports The Drywood-Yarrow Conservation Partnership in Twin Butte was the first landowner group to organize a deadstock removal trial in 2009.

The province paid for two predatorproof deadstock bins that were placed on private land and maintained by the ranchers. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency consulted on specified-risk-material concerns and issued permits allowing producers to deliver carcasses to the bins and on-farm pickup for larger carcasses. A rendering company empties the bins.

Based on that experience the WBRA’s carnivore working group helped ranchers in four municipal districts (MD) set-up deadstock removal zones where predation was a problem. By 2013, 12 bins were located in the MDs of Pincher Creek and Cardston. The nearby Ranchland and Willow Creek MDs have a rendering company pick up deadstock from the ranch.

The 14-gauge steel bins come with hinged lids and drop ends for unloading.

“We’ve had bears come to the bins, rip off signs and dig around, but they can’t get in and quit coming because there is no reward, similar to what happened in parks when bear-proof garbage cans were introduced,” Bectell says.

Continued on page 12

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wildlife Continued from page 11

The $28,000 deadstock removal costs from 2009 to 2012 were spread over Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD), Environment Canada, WBRA, Shell Canada and the MD of Ranchland. The province paid $21,000 for nine bins and the MD of Pincher Creek $10,000 for three bins.

Cardston County became the first municipality in Canada to operate a deadstock composting facility when it opened in January 2013. Operations were temporarily suspended on May 1 this year and deadstock pickup reverted to a rendering company until the county, AESRD, CFIA and WBRA can sort out the financial and regulatory issues. During the 16 months it was in operation, the facility disposed of some 600 carcasses.

As of January 2013, the deadstock removal program, including composting operations, has been funded by the WBRA’s carnivore working group with grants from the province and Shell Canada.

The cost of running the deadstock pickup and composting program in 2013 was $25,000. Looking forward, the WBRA esti-

mates it will cost $50,000 per year across the four municipalities, basically covering the area from Nanton south to the U.S. border.

2. Grain bin retrofits

“Now that we’ve cleaned up a lot of deadstock from the countryside we are finding out that stored grain and feed is a major attractant for grizzlies,” Bectell says. There is no provincial compensation program for carnivore damage to infrastructure and crops; however, the WBRA’s funding from the province provides support for bins damaged by carnivores.

Bears get into bins through the doors or by digging under and through wooden floors. Some have even learned that pounding on the seams of metal bins pops them open enough to let grain trickle out.

Successful bin upgrades were cost-shared with producers and involved replacing wooden bins with metal ones, installing heavy steel doors (custom-made by HaulAll Equipment in Lethbridge), and replacing wooden floors with metal, concrete pads or hopper bottoms.

Three producers are using revamped sea shipping containers. These ranged in cost from $3,300 for a 20-foot container

with few modifications, to $6,000 for a 40-foot container remodelled to store two types of feed with two spouts in the roof, a pony wall divider and a bear-proof man door at the end opposite the original container door.

“If a producer is having problems, we work with them, show them the ideas we have and if the producer has other ideas, we can work with that, too,” Bectell says.

3. Electric fencing

Portable and permanent electric fencing, also cost-shared, has kept bears out of bin yards of all sizes, silage pits and calving areas.

Producers who fence off bins suggest making the enclosure large enough to allow for snow drifts and snow removal as well as the occasional graze instead of mowing in summer. Trimming or spraying herbicide under the fence line is necessary to maintain full shock strength. Many producers who pail feed grain or pellets daily found electric wires cumbersome to work around, so some thought should go into how this chore could be managed. Any bear-tempting grain spills around the bins need to be cleaned up quickly.

One design uses stranded cables which are more conductive and easier to handle

Rancher Jeff Bectell shows the heavy-duty bear door designed by a Lethbridge company and 14-guage steel deadstock bins being tested by the area ranchers in southwest Alberta. Note the damage to the regular bin door in the background. The photo on the right shows the interior of rancher Daryl Williams’ custommade bear door plus the cement pad he uses to keep grizzlies from tunnelling under his bins. Williams is pictured on page 11.

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WILDLIFE

than high-tensile wire. Six strands are secured to wooden or heavy-duty fibreglass posts starting two inches above the ground, with six inches to the second wire, eight inches to the third and fourth wires, and 10 inches to the top two wires.

The main drawback to permanent fencing is that it’s not easily moved to create fresh calving and feeding grounds.

Many producers in this area no longer creep feed on pasture to avoid the bears, and save some money. One fellow was going through 36 pounds per head per day.

Several people have installed trail cameras or gained temporary use of fish and wildlife trail cameras, to monitor carnivore activity as a first step toward deciding on a course of action.

4. PEOPLE PROTECTION

This summer the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association and Farm Credit Canada provided funding for two successful bear spray workshops at Twin Butte and Boundary Creek. Families who came learned how to tell when a bear is acting predatory, defending its young, or just plain curious, plus how to position them-

selves and factor in distance and wind conditions when using the spray.

5. INTERCEPT FEEDING

The province suspended its intercept feeding program last spring to assess whether it was worth the cost in terms of its impact on the bears. Highway crews in the area collect and freeze road kill over the winter so it can be flown to the high country by helicopter in spring as the bears emerge from hibernation and are as hungry as, well, a bear. The idea is to keep the bears fed in the mountains so they won’t wander down into the ranchland at calving time. The province has been doing it for some years but its effectiveness appears to be declining with the increase in grizzly population.

Bectell says the results were unclear as there was an increase in bear activity in some areas and a decrease in others.

The province redirected $30,000 to other mitigation projects for the first year of the suspension and is expected to do the same for year two when a full review of intercept feeding will be conducted.

For more on WBRA’s projects and proposals visit www.watertonbiosphere.com. c

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 COVER STO RY · w i l d l i f e

By Debbie Furber

Getting a Grip on Grizzly Populations

Y

ou can’t manage what you don’t measure is as true for wildlife as it is for agriculture, but counting grizzly bears is a bit tricky.

Andrea Morehouse with Alberta Environment at Pincher Creek is heading up a unique grizzly monitoring project in the southwest that collects hair samples from natural grizzly rub objects in Alberta’s bear management area six (BMA6) for DNA analysis to give bear biologists a better idea of bear densities, distribution and travel patterns across the Alberta section of a large grizzly range that takes in British Columbia and Montana.

BMA6 runs from Highway 3 south to the Montana border and from the British Columbia-Alberta border through the grizzly bear range around Pincher Creek, Cardston and the core habitat area in Waterton Lakes National Park.

If this survey method is successful, it could be used to monitor grizzly populations in other bear management areas.

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Rub objects are places where bears stop for a good scratch from time to time and biologists believe rubbing could be a way bears communicate with one another, Morehouse explains. Bears tend to stick to easy travel paths, so the most likely places to find rub objects are along backroads, trails, cutlines, utility lines and fences.

Approximately 900 rub objects have been identified on public and private land across the study area during the four collection seasons, which run from midMay to mid-November. The first samples were collected in 2011 and this year is the fourth and final season.

Wildlife Genetics International at Nelson, B.C., does the DNA analyses of the hair samples to identify individual grizzly bears.

The annual survey numbers aren’t population estimates, Morehouse says. They only identify the number of individual bears that lived in or passed through the area that season.

Finally, the annual survey numbers will

be entered into the computer population modelling program to roll out the official population estimate. That won’t be known until next summer when hair samples collected this summer have been processed.

In September, Morehouse was working on a preliminary population estimate for Alberta Environment’s new five-year grizzly recovery plan, but it may not be ready for the draft expected to be released this fall for public comment.

So far, 177 individual grizzlies have been detected in BMA6. That’s 6.5 times more than the 27 identified in 2007, the last time the area was sampled, which yielded a population estimate of 51 bears that year.

There has been skepticism about the numbers gathered during the 2004-08 Alberta grizzly bear survey because of the capturemark-recapture population model used to estimate the population from the DNA-rub object samples. Back then bears were coaxed to sampling stations that consisted of piles of woody debris coated in scent lure and

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Wildlife

surrounded by barbed wire for scratching, rather than using a survey team to collect hair from natural rub objects.

The provincial grizzly population back then was estimated at 691 bears, plus an estimated 70 in other areas of the Banff and Jasper national parks.

That figure raised concerns among conservation groups who claimed the International Union for the Conservation of Nature guidelines required the province to maintain a minimum 1,000 breeding bears.

In response, Alberta listed grizzly bears as a threatened species and developed a fiveyear recovery plan (2008-13) that extended the 2006 hunting ban to the present day.

Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) recently challenged the accuracy of the 2004-08 numbers based on the growing number of ranchers reporting damage to fences, feed bins and cattle over the past decade.

Policy analyst Fred Hays says ABP has more confidence in the current survey scheme.

As for the new recovery plan, ABP’s view is that it shouldn’t cover the province with one blanket. “In areas where there are bear-

livestock problems, there should be more management and control to push bears back into secure grizzly habitat, such as the mountains, and let the population grow there,” Hays says.

Survey results to date

In 2011 samples were collected once or twice from 501 rub objects on public land representing 40 per cent of study area and identified 51 grizzlies — 33 males and 18 females.

Producers got behind the program in 2012, allowing access to another 302 rub objects on private and lease land. Those, plus others found in the forest reserve and the park, brought the total to 831. The public sites were checked eight times during the summer and fall and the private sites twice, yielding 4,200 hair samples. Another 300 were submitted by ranchers and government field staff. DNA results identified 122 grizzlies — 72 males and 50 females — with 40 of them being among the 51 identified the previous year.

The 2013 field season was the first for sampling across all of BMA6. A team of six visited 879 rub objects on 43 routes, first to

900 rub objects are being checked regularly.

clean them and seven times to collect samples. DNA results identified 128 separate bears — 71 males and 57 females. Thirtytwo of them had visited the area in 2011 and 78 were there in 2012.

This year, the crew has been checking 900 rub objects on the same schedule across the entire study area. c

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15

 seedsto c k

By Debbie Furber

Young judges size up their craft

It’s an honour, not a career

Y

oung as they may seem, today’s up-and-coming beef cattle judges bring a lot of experience to show rings.

Michael Wheeler, Wheeler’s Stock Farm, Saskatoon, Sask., and Kyle Lewis, Lewis Farms, Spruce Grove, Alta., came up through a dozen or so years as 4-H and junior breed association members to judge major shows such as Canadian Western Agribition and Farm Fair International.

4-H lays a solid foundation in cattle evaluation and terminology. Each year at achievement day, members judge a set of cattle and write judging cards explaining their placings. Club winners advance to regional, then provincial competitions and ultimately to the Canadian National 4-H and Youth Judging Competition hosted by Agribition.

Wheeler’s first experience judging a major show came when he won the Canadian competition in 2002 and with it an opportunity to be on the judging panel of the first Lady Classic at Agribition.

Team judging was coming into play in his later years of 4-H and is now mostly offered at junior breed show events. It’s a show ring class where one team member places the animals and gives oral reasons for the placings while the other gains experience in ring steward duties.

Lewis says 4-H gave him the basics. It

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was an exciting day when the whole clan — he and his sister and three cousins — would go out to the pasture to pick their 4-H heifers each year. “Dad guided us, but the final decision was ours so we learned on our own what to look for,” he says.

Nobody wanted to be off base because winnings were pooled and split between the five of them.

He picked up the finer details as the years went by through his involvement in the Young Canadian Simmental Association and as a junior judge with his dad.

“Judging became harder because of the uniform groups of cattle so it had to get down to the finer details and we learned from seasoned teachers who had done it themselves,” he says.

Some young people continue with livestock judging during their post-secondary years. In Canada, there are colleges and universities with stockman’s or judging clubs, but not at the level of the U.S. college credit programs with professional coaches and extensive travel to competitions.

Many U.S. colleges offer judging scholarships along the line of sports scholarships that attract young Canadians south to continue their education.

Between teaching, coaching and judging shows, a few people in the U.S. have even been able to make a career of livestock judging. That’s not the case in Canada, though.

Depending on the level of competition, show committees may be able to cover expenses or offer an honorarium.

“People don’t judge for the money,” Wheeler says. “They judge more to give back to youth and because it’s an honour to be asked and an opportunity to gain experience.”

Lewis agrees. He says it’s humbling to be asked to judge because it means people appreciate your eye for cattle and respect the type of cattle you raise and that they will work for the real world.

Training is just one part of carving a path in the world of livestock judging. “It’s a matter of gaining experience and showing your talent by taking opportunities to judge when you get them and building on them,” Wheeler adds.

Both he and Lewis started with 4-H and still do judge 4-H achievement days and junior breed shows. There’s not as much opportunity on the summer fair circuit as in the past because many fairs no longer have cattle shows and there are fewer stock at those that do.

However, the Saskatchewan Association of Agricultural Societies and Exhibitions (SAASE) still offers apprenticeship judging opportunities for senior 4-H members and adults interested in becoming beef cattle judges. If an agricultural society has someone in mind and the official show judge is comfortable with taking on an apprentice,

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SEEDSTOCK

then the society can apply to SAASE for up to $150 to help cover the apprentice’s expenses to shadow judge for the day.

The junior judging idea is similar, but not as formal, Lewis explains. Sometimes a father and son or husband and wife are asked to judge as a duo, and other times a senior judge may simply ask another person to help out.

Wheeler feels there’s always a need to train more judges. “We are in a better position than 20 years ago, though, because we learned that we have to train young people in judging and give them opportunities.”

Opportunities remain fairly slim for people beyond their 4-H, junior breed association and post-secondary years to get a start in judging. Wheeler says that’s why the Saskatchewan Angus Association has discussed the possibility of offering judging courses.

Lots of people are raising good cattle but need experience on the judging side and even 4-Hers need refreshers once in a while.

ONE PART KNOW-HOW; ONE PART SKILL

Most judges have their roots in seedstock operations, but that’s not a must by any means. Some excellent judges have come up from the commercial side, as well. The best judges, in Wheeler’s view, have a good balance between practical real-word experience breeding cattle and the ability to judge well.

You need to be able to think on your feet, be decisive with placings in the ring, and have the confidence to take the microphone to explain your placings to exhibitors and spectators. The ability to justify placings can make the difference between a good judge and an excellent judge.

“People who enjoy cattle and judging don’t find the public speaking aspect all that intimidating because it’s easy to talk about something if you are passionate about it,” Lewis says. “Above all, a good judge has to be a good cattle person to start with.”

Sure, there are lots of armchair judges, but generally people are polite. They realize it’s one person’s opinion that day, Wheeler says.

The real reason they are there is to present their genetics to the public and spectators will make their own decisions as to what will work in their own breeding programs.

For him, pressure has more to do with time constraints and keeping things moving along especially when there are a lot of large classes. This is when it’s more important than ever to prioritize what you are looking for, stay focused and be decisive,

the group as a whole, so even though some individual animals may not be the best of what you are looking for, the pen on the whole does represent the best there that day in your opinion.

This leads to another unique aspect of beef cattle judging — there isn’t a standardized ideal beef animal as there is in the dairy industry, for example, Wheeler explains.

This is because of differing environments where beef cattle are raised, so people have their own ideas, preferences and priorities of what an ideal animal should look like. Even though there are certain structural characteristics that are important in all environments, such as sound udders and feet, what one person considers good, another may call excellent. Taking opportunities to judge and seeing more top-end cattle across all breeds really helps to get a better idea of good versus mediocre or great.

“As industry moves ahead with technology and other selection tools, maybe some of the basic things aren’t emphasized enough. That’s why I think it’s as important as ever to train young people on visual evaluation,” says Wheeler. c

he suggests. First impression is big for him.

Many times he’ll have his top picks within a few minutes of the class entering the ring and the first impressions start to sort out fairly quickly once he gets a closer look at each animal. What’s really tough is when all of the animals leave a good first impression.

“If you do an honest job and can justify your placings, I think that’s the best you can do, so don’t let your nerves get to you,” Lewis says.

As for the cattle know-how part, judging isn’t breed specific in that people who raise a certain breed of cattle only judge shows for that breed.

Wheeler, who judged the 2013 Canadian Junior Beef Extreme show at Agribition, says the basics are the same for all breeds, but if a breed emphasizes certain traits, then he looks to see that the animal exhibits those traits.

ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE

Across the way at the commercial show, Lewis says judging groups of three to 10 head is quite different from picking two top places in a halter class. You have to consider

“When my pen riders pull cattle, I want them to have a fast acting treatment that’s cost-effective.”

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ZACTRAN ® is a registered trademark of Merial Limited. © 2014 Merial Canada Inc. All rights reserved. ZACT-13-7558-JAD-E

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C AT T L E M E N · D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4 BOV_14106_CanCattleman_nov_Zactran_Metaphy.indd 1 dossier : BOV-14106

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relecture

D.A.

épreuve à

 grazing

By Steve Kenyon

Is it Really Food?

I

get so frustrated when I go into a grocery store. Not because of the crazy grocery cart drivers who fail to yield, or drive on the wrong side of the aisle. It is because I spend most of my time standing over the cart reading ingredient lists. I am just trying to figure out what it is I might be feeding my family. Is it really food?

It is scary to see some of the additives and preservatives that go into our food these days. I dare you to actually look up a few of the ingredients you can’t pronounce. Our Western diet has been criticized for many years now for being one of the worst on the planet and our obesity rates and health care issues seem to prove the point. Food has become too complex at the same time that eating has become too easy. This is backwards from what it was 60 years ago. Then we had simple foods that took effort to store and prepare. Now we have foods with way too many ingredients that can be ready to eat in under five minutes.

One of the best books I have ever read, (other than “The Monster at the end of this Book”) is a very short book on nutrition; it is called Food Rules by Michael Pollan. I like this book so much because it gets to the point very quickly and has taken the complexity out of our meal planning. Even my kids can follow it.

Food Rules does not have chapters but simply a series of 64 rules that will help guide you to a healthier diet for you and your family. Of course you are not expected to follow all 64 rules, but even following a half dozen or so of these rules will improve your diet substantially.

Here are a few of the rules that our family follows. Rule #2 — Don’t eat anything your grandmother would not recognize. Rule #6 — Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.

Rule #7 — Avoid food products that contain ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce. Rule #12 — Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle. Rule #13 — Eat only foods that will eventually rot. Rule #22 — Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.

Rule # 27 — Eat animals that have themselves eaten well. Rule #36 — Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the colour

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of the milk. And of course my wife’s favourite is rule #43 — Have a glass of wine at dinner.

One of my favourite sayings now is one I picked up from Pollan. We have too many “edible food-like substances” in our meals today and not enough real foods. Most of our food industry today is, of course, all about making a profit. Big business needs a longer shelf life so the food will last longer without spoiling. These edible food-like substances last longer because they are highly processed and full of preservatives and additives. Well, I say, if the food is not good enough for the bacteria, it’s not good enough for my family.

ood has become too F complex at the same time that eating has become too easy. This is backward from what it was 60 years ago

I have a son who was diagnosed years ago with ADHD and we have experimented for years with diet. I have seen quite a few dietary issues that affect his behaviour. First off, get rid of the junk food. Eat real food! In general, we now try to reduce the intake of trans-fatty acids, sugar (especially fake sugars), artificial dyes, preservatives and MSG. At the same time we want to increase the intake of essential fatty acids and protein.

We also need to ensure we are ingesting enough iron, fibre, water and vitamins.

A simple rule that we follow is to have at least five colours at every meal. The kids started picking which vegetables they want to make up the five colours. All of the meat that we eat is all natural, grass fed. “AllNatural” refers to what is not in the meat.

The “Grass-Fed” refers to what is still in the meat.

Basically, we are back to eating whole foods and eliminating the processed foods.

Pretty simple on paper but much harder

to do in our fast-food, complex lifestyles that many of us live in today. I believe quite strongly that our diet has a major impact on our immune systems. If we want to be able to stay healthy, we need to eat healthy.

I still find it funny when people argue that their kids need to wear a sweater so they don’t catch a cold. Catching a cold has very little to do with being cold. I would strongly recommend that if you don’t want your kids to catch a cold, improve their diets and let them get plenty of sleep. Those two parental choices will do far more for their immune systems than a sweater ever will. Watch after any holiday season for the number of colds that our children get these days. Every holiday now seems to demand a bucket load of candy, which is detrimental to the immune system. The old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is not just an old saying.

The levels of antioxidants in an apple are through the roof.

Another change we have made is that we no longer take multi-vitamins. It is incredible the amount of additives and dyes and sweeteners that go into some vitamin pills.

We have something better; as well as eating healthy and getting plenty of fruits and vegetables, we harvest our own stinging nettle.

It is a “weed” in our pastures that has more vitamins and minerals than spinach. It is dried, crushed and bagged so it can be used in meals anytime by just sprinkling it in like a spice. The kids don’t even know it is there. It also makes a fantastic tea. Stinging nettle tea is quite flavourful on its own, or try it with a bit of honey or agave nectar as a sweetener. It is a multivitamin in a cup. Cool it off and it makes a great iced tea as well.

I am not a scientist; I am simply a concerned parent who wants to look out for the health of my children. I have been seeking nutritional knowledge for quite a few years now and as I have said before, the more you know, the more you know you don’t know. I have only seen the tip of the iceburg. There is a lot more to learn. c Steve Kenyon runs Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd. in Busby, Alta., www. greenerpasturesranching.com, 780-307-6500, email skenyon@greenerpasturesranching.com or find them on Facebook.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 researc h o n t h e r eco r d

By Reynold Bergen

Feed Barley Breeding Investments

A

s a relatively small crop, barley doesn’t attract much interest from private breeding companies. There are roughly 10 million acres of barley in North America, with six million in Canada. Corn is a much larger crop, with 80 million acres seeded in the U.S. alone. Statistics Canada reports that Canada’s barley acreage has dropped by around 116,000 acres per year since 1980, while corn acreage increased by nearly 23,000 acres annually. At the same time, corn yields increased three times as fast as barley (1.8 bushels per acre per year for corn vs. less than half a bushel per acre per year for barley). These differences add up. In 2014, Canada produced almost 25 per cent more corn than barley, using about half as many acres.

Part of the reason that corn yields have outstripped barley yields is due to fundamental differences in the plants themselves. Corn is open-pollinated, so breeding companies can cross two unrelated varieties to create a commercial variety that greatly outperforms both of its parents because of hybrid vigor. But if the seed produced by the hybrid is saved and reseeded, the second-generation hybrid is much less productive and uniform. Corn growers need to buy seed from the company every year to continue reaping the benefits of the hybrid. Barley is selfpollinated, making hybrid development much more difficult and costly. Barley yields increase so slowly that it is difficult for growers to justify the cost of purchasing new seed every year. Saved seed is economical and legal, but the shortage of royalties means that there is little commercial incentive for private companies to get involved in barley breeding.

Fundamental differences in the way the two plants take carbon dioxide from the air, assemble the carbon into roots, stems, leaves and seeds, and release oxygen back into the atmosphere means that barley will probably never be as productive as corn. Corn thrives in hot, sunny climates, while barley does better in areas with moderate sunlight and moderate temperatures. Both DuPont and Monsanto have recently announced plans to develop early maturing corn varieties that can reach maturity in fewer days. This will allow corn to be grown in more areas, but large parts of Canada will still not have enough heat for corn. Even the most dire global warming models do not predict that days will get any longer, and high elevations will always get frost before corn can mature. There are some parts of the country where barley will always outperform corn.

Barley is also falling behind because Canada’s barley breeding programs have shrunk. A 2008 Canadian Cattlemen’s Association report entitled “Feed Grains and Forage Research and Commercialization in Canada” indicated that many barley breeders have retired, pubwww.canadiancattlemen.ca

lic funding has declined, and some breeding programs have been eliminated. By 2007, for example, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) invested fewer dollars in feed barley breeding than in tobacco research to support 650 farmers on 35,000 acres. Barley producer funding (e.g. through the Western Grains Research Foundation) has focused more on high-value malting and human food than on lower-value feed barley.

Support for Canada’s barley breeding programs needs to come from the livestock producers who need it for swath grazing, silage or feed grain.

Barley breeding can’t even be taken for granted in Alberta, where more than half of Canada’s barley is grown and two thirds of Canada’s cattle are fed. In 2007, Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) became deeply concerned that Alberta’s provincial government intended to shift its breeding programs and resources from feed to biofuel crops. ABP invested $1.5 million in provincial checkoff funds in the feed breeding program at Alberta Agriculture’s Field Crop Development Centre in Lacombe. This soon led to greatly increased interest and support from provincial government funders. In addition to ensuring that Alberta Agriculture maintained their feed grain breeding program, these investments also ensured that they recruited a new scientist (Dr. Flavio Capettini) to lead the program once Dr. Jim Helm retires. Additional industry support from ABP, National Checkoff funds from the Beef Cattle Research Council, and the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association has helped to continue the momentum in this key feed grain and annual forage breeding program.

These researchers work with other breeders at AAFC Brandon and the University of Saskatchewan to screen new lines for disease resistance, agronomic performance, and forage and feed grain yield and quality in different climates and growing conditions. They collaborate with grain breeders around the world so that Canada can benefit from new genetic material in other barley-growing parts of the world.

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

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 Holistic R a nc hi ng

By Don Campbell

planning ahead

I

am writing this article in mid-October. At this time all indications are that cattle prices will remain strong through the fall run. I sincerely hope this occurs. By the end of the year everyone will have had the opportunity to benefit from the stronger prices. This is the first step to rebuilding confidence in the cow-calf sector.

The future is uncertain and unpredictable. We have had one good year. All the indicators in the cattle business would suggest several more good years to come. This might be an ideal time to plan and create the future you desire. In last month’s article I suggested that we will experience an increase in income of over $500 per cow. Producers with 200 cows will see their income and profit (with proper planning) increase by more than $100,000. It’s entirely possible that we will experience four or five good years in a row. This could easily translate into $500,000 or more to invest in our businesses. This is a sizable amount of money. It deserves serious thought as to how best to invest it. Have you thought of your own business over the next five years? How much profit are you likely to have to invest?

Goal setting is a great place to start when we are considering the future. The basis of HM is to make better decisions. Decisions that are simultaneously socially, environmentally and financially sound.

We begin this by developing a three-part goal.

The quality of life portion deals with all the people issues. The forms of production portion deals with what we will do to ensure our quality of life and what we will produce at a profit to support ourselves. The landscape portion describes what our land must look like to support us today and to support future generations for years to come. At this point we have a clear long-term goal to give us direction for many years. We now use all available tools and knowledge to help us move towards our goal.

This is an ideal time to develop a five-year action plan. How will I invest my profit? What changes will I make to my business to ensure that it will remain profitable and sustainable?

To help us make these decisions we can look at the weak link test.

This is one of the seven testing questions we use to help us make wise decisions. It is based on the fact that at any given point in time our businesses will be weak in one area. This is the place where it is wise to invest and strengthen our business. There are three basic phases to our business: growing, harvesting and marketing.

The growing phase asks: Am I capturing the maximum amount of solar energy? Am I growing enough grass per acre?

The harvesting phase asks: Am I converting my grass production into a saleable product efficiently? In this phase we would ask questions like: Do I have enough animals? Do I have the right class of animals? Is my gross profit high? Is my weaning percentage reasonable?

Is my weaning weight where it is most profitable?

The marketing phase asks: Am I able to market my production so that my business is profitable? Do I know the value of my animals? Do I have flexibility in marketing?

Determining the weak link requires some time and reflection.

Basically you are asking: What would improve my business the most at this point in time? Do I need to grow more grass? Do I need to

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C at t l e m e n · d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

 The r e a r e t hr e e bas i c p h as es:

GROWING

HARVESTING

MARKETING

improve my harvesting or do I need to improve my marketing? The quickest way to improve your business is to strengthen the weak link. Money spent doing this is like an investment. In HM we refer to money spent on improving the weak link as a “W” (wealth-generating) expense. It makes no sense to continue to do more of what you are good at and to ignore your weakness. The weak link needs to be evaluated at least once a year. If you have identified a weak link and taken steps to improve in that area you will likely have a new weak link next year.

Here are some examples of “W” expenses for different weak links. This is not an exhaustive list, just some thoughts to get you started. The idea is to brainstorm as many ideas as possible that may improve the weak link. We then evaluate the list and use the ideas that fit with our goal and are most likely to have the biggest impact on our bottom line.

If the weak link is Growing, “W” expenses might be: education, fencing, better grazing management, water development, bale grazing, grass seed, etc.

If the weak link is Harvesting, “W” expenses might be: education, more animals, a longer grazing season, a different class of animals, semen testing, etc.

If the weak link is Marketing, “W” expenses might be: education, purchasing a scale, controlling shrink, pricing your animals over time, knowing the price that makes you profitable, using Western Livestock Price Insurance, having adequate cash flow to market when you want, etc.

You will have noticed that no matter what the weak link is education is always the first “W” expense. This is not an accident. The success of your business depends on you and your knowledge, skills and attitude. Investing in yourself is always a wise decision.

Finding the weak link and investing the money to strengthen the weak link will help us build short-term profit and long-term sustainability. Money spent in this manner is an investment not an expense.

I hope you are successful in investing your profit wisely. I hope we can all look back in 20 years and say: I invested my profit wisely.

I made sound business decisions. I am still reaping the benefits. My children and grandchildren will benefit from my sound decisions.

Happy trails. c Don Campbell ranches with his family at Meadow Lake, Sask., and teaches Holistic Management courses. He can be reached at 306-236-6088 or doncampbell@sasktel.net.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

CATTLE

‌ e n o d t i t that ge

Gliko

Salers Canada wishes all cattlemen a healthy, happy and prosperous 2015!

Salers Association of Canada (403) 264-5850 • info@salerscanada.com

www.salerscanada.com

ď ľ Nutriti o n

By John McKinnon

Stepping Up the Energy

I

n the September issue we discussed formulating rations for backgrounding cattle and focused on the importance of targeting performance.

The take-home message is, if one wants to target a specific rate of gain regardless of the class of cattle you are feeding, a nutrition program needs to be developed that meets the nutrient requirements of the cattle for the expected level of performance with an emphasis on appropriate dietary energy content.

However, developing such a program, particularly if you feed a variety of classes of cattle (i.e. different ages, weights, sexes) is not easy, particularly if you want to keep the feeding program relatively simple and easy to implement.

The approach that the vast majority of larger finishing operations employ and which I find can be easily implemented on smaller operations is to develop a step-up feeding program. These programs are a series of rations that increase in energy content at each step. The number of steps is determined by the nature of the operation and the type of feed available. For example, I find that a 4- to 5-step program can work well for backgrounding operations, while finishing operations can utilize up to eight steps. Each step is formulated to a defined energy content and is achieved by manipulating the dietary forage-toconcentrate (grain plus supplement) ratio.

The following program is one that I like to follow for backgrounding newly weaned calves. The starter ration (step 1) is typically 55 per cent forage and 45 per cent concentrate on a dry matter (DM) basis. In terms of total digestible nutrients (TDN per cent), the energy content is 67 to 68 per cent TDN or approximately 1.55 and 0.95 megacalories per kilogram DM of net energy for maintenance (NEm) and gain (NEg), respectively. With respect to makeup of the forage, I like to see an equal proportion of silage and hay (DM basis). This helps to promote feeding behavior with the goal of having newly weaned calves eating at 2.5 to 2.7 per cent of body weight (DM basis) within three weeks of arrival.

Once the cattle are eating at a level I am comfortable with, it is time to move to the next step. The nature of this move, however, will depend on the weight of the calves and the target gains for the pen. For light weight calves, step 2 is formulated to higher forage content (i.e.

60 to 65 per cent forage, DM basis) and as a result, a lower dietary energy content (i.e. 65 per cent TDN or lower). This step is used when it is necessary to limit gains to less than two pounds per day. An example of its use would be for backgrounding lightweight calves that

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C at t l e m e n ¡ D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

are destined for grass in the spring or for growing out replacement heifers. With such cattle, one typically targets overwintering gains of 1.5 to 1.75 pounds per day.

Heavier calves are typically backgrounded over the winter at higher rates of gain (i.e. 2.2 to 2.75 pounds per day) and destined for finishing in the spring. For such cattle, step 2 is typically not required. Once these calves are adapted to feed, they typically move from the starter ration to higher energy diets. This is accomplished by reducing the forage-to-concentrate ratio in a defined fashion. For example, step 3 might be formulated to 50 per cent forage and 50 per cent concentrate (DM basis) and a TDN content of 69 per cent. The forage content would decrease to 40 and 30 per cent (DM basis) in steps 4 and 5, while TDN content increases to 71 and 73 per cent, respectively. Further, if one wanted to finish cattle, each succeeding step (i.e. steps 6 through 8) would continue to decrease the forage content by five to 10 per cent and increase the concentrate until the final finishing ration is reached at approximately 10 per cent forage on a DM basis.

There are several advantages to using such programs. Perhaps the most important is the knowledge that at each step you are dealing with a specific dietary energy content that can be expressed as TDN or as net energy. With this knowledge it is possible to match energy needs of a specific pen of cattle with the appropriate ration. Cattle performance becomes much more predictable and you have more faith in your break-even analysis. A second benefit is that it becomes easier to transition cattle to higher energy rations. Since each step is set in terms of forage-toconcentrate ratio, moving from one ration to the next can be done smoothly by providing a minimum of three to four days on each step of the program. This helps to minimize potential digestive upsets such as sub-acute acidosis and bloat. Finally these programs allow one to set protein, mineral and vitamin levels at each step of the program that matches the requirements for the class of cattle that will spend the greatest period of time on each step.

For those interested in developing a step-up feeding program, I would suggest that you work with your nutritionist or feed company representative.

These professionals can work with you to develop the nutrient specifications at each step and formulate the rations using your feed resources. They can also provide helpful advice regarding feeding and bunk management. c

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

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 trade

By Colin Ley

The view from Europe on free trade with Canada

Beef exporters will need to be patient before cashing in on new EU opportunities

T

he prospect of a major increase in Canadian beef exports into the European Union, following the recent ending of negotiations for the EU-Canada free trade agreement, hung over this year’s SIAL food fair in Paris as a significant trading change, although one that is very much lodged in the “business pending” tray.

For seasoned Canadian beef exporters, such as Heritage Angus Beef owner Dr. Christoph Weder of Hudson’s Hope, B.C., the new agreement is an opening which could result in a “doubling, tripling or even quadrupling” of his company’s 250-tonnea-year beef delivery into the EU. For producers from within the EU, however, it represents a serious challenge to their internal business club, prompting the response that such agreements work both ways and that they have much to gain from being given easier access to Canadian consumers.

The reality for both sides, of course, is that while the negotiations have been concluded, the EU sign-off tasks of translation, www.canadiancattlemen.ca

followed by an approval process involving both the EU Council and the European Parliament, will shift the real conclusion point well into 2016.

“This is just the beginning of a very long process,” Xavier Poncin, executive director of SIAL Canada, told Canadian Cattlemen. “We could be talking two, four or even six years before this venture is finalized.”

He was in no doubt, however, that no matter how long the EU sign-off took, it would be worth it for Canada in the long term, not only for the cheese industry, with its potential exports increase of 246 per cent, but also for beef farmers.

“The big beef thing in Europe, of course, is to have no hormones, so it will be a good challenge for some Canadian farmers to change the way they do things,” he said, adding that a little change, if necessary, would be well worthwhile if it meant gaining access to the EU’s 500 million consumers.

“It’s a big market, so let’s go for it,” he told a public forum at SIAL Paris, which is one of the world’s largest food trade fairs,

attracting 150,000 international visitors to the French capital every autumn.

Weder has already been “going for it” for four years as an exporter into the EU, working in tune with the EU’s current zero tarifffree quota requirements. During that time, he’s had to cope with the demands attached to selling hormone-free, grain-finished beef under a 45,000-tonne quota which Canada shares with the U.S., Argentina and Uruguay.

Speaking from the Canada Beef stand at SIAL, therefore, he was predictably positive in welcoming the new free trade agreement, while also being clear in his view that growing the EU market for Canadian beef would take time.

“Personally, I think we could double, triple or even quadruple our own company’s export into the EU,” he said. “So far as Canada in total being able to find the 50,000 tonnes of beef that Europe is now willing to allow in, however; well I don’t know how we will do it. It’s going to be a tall order. The supply of cattle for doing that is not there, Continued on page 24

C at t l e m e n · D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

23

trade

Continued from page 23

An equally strong message was given to Canadian Cattlemen by Ireland’s farm minister Simon Coveney, who, while also expressing his approval of free trade, said: “We need to be competitive as a country, it’s really as simple as that. What Ireland needs to do is to make sure our farm products are seen and treated as premium products in markets across the world, all produced safely by family farmers in a sustainable way.

“Obviously, in that context, we have offensive and defensive interests with every trade deal that arises. I fought very hard, in fact, against giving Canada too big a beef quota into the EU. The settlement would probably have been twice what it is without the stand we took.

“While we need to protect ourselves in such agreements, however, if we want to trade with Canada, which clearly has opportunities for Irish producers, then there has to be some give-and-take and hopefully some balance at the end of the day.”

SIAL also featured countless export initiatives from the 40 other counties represented at the event, most notable contributions coming from Brazil, New Zealand and Japan.

and there’s also the question of whether or not the EU market is ready to absorb 50,000 tonnes of Canadian beef.”

The U.S., Australia and others, he added, were already running good beef export operations into the EU, sustaining strong supply routes and relationships. These were links which Canadian suppliers would need to “unseat” if they were to fully accept the new EU beef “invitation.”

There was also plenty of evidence within SIAL’s multi-country meat display sector that the “others” in the marketplace aren’t exactly getting ready to roll over and let Canadian beef sweep into Europe.

“While we support the principle of free trade agreements, the devil is often in the detail,” said Scotland’s farm minister, Richard Lochhead, fresh from spending more than two hours on the Quality Meat Scotland stand, supporting his own country’s exporters.

“We will be monitoring the new agreement closely, therefore, to ensure that our producers are not put at a disadvantage by this.”

Programa Carne Angus Certificada, the certified Brazilian Angus Association, for example, announced a determined drive to increase exports of quality beef into the EU. “We’re not a country which is just about basic beef anymore, drawn from Zebu cattle,” said Programa director Reynaldo Salvador. “Our breeders, around 500 in total, are sending 500,000 very fine crossbred steers for slaughter every year, all from certified Angus cattle, and a lot of that beef is available for export.”

New Zealand beef and lamb exporters, Taylor Preston, with an annual intake of 1,500,000 sheep, lambs, goats, calves, venison and beef to market, have been operating in France for 20 years. They used SIAL to unveil a new online trading platform which they believe “top-end” French consumers are ready and waiting for.

As for the Japanese, they made their first appearance at the exhibition with their highly priced Wagyu beef.

A challenging and crowded marketplace, therefore, but one which Canada Beef ’s SIAL companies are ready to embrace. c

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C at t l e m e n · D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

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 straigh t f ro m t h e h i p

By Brenda Schoepp

What is the Point?

F

or every food that is offered to the consumer, there comes a time when the product is rejected because of composition, perception or price.

This “price point” is a risk that takes into consideration brand recognition, production and distribution cost, and considerable marketing demographics. As domestic beef nears the wall on price we may wish to revisit our relationship with consumers.

Wholesalers and retailers themselves have become directly involved in product development to keep people interested and buying. They do this because they are closer to the consumer and have the power to set production protocols. A block of cheese is just a block of cheese but an artisan cheese soaked in honey and wrapped in hay is a pretty exciting deal. And, it clearly advances price point on what basically started as the same milk product. Another way to advance price is through product differentiation by protocol, such as “antibiotic free.” Although you may not see the price of the burger change, the price point is advanced by downsizing on the offering or on the sides.

Every time there is an added perceived or real value, the consumer engages. In all cases the commodity industry, such as beef, is a respondent to the product offering rather than being active in the dialogue for the creation of it.

So what is the point? Cattle prices are good. Export doors will likely continue to open. The U.S. buys most of our commodity so Big Brother takes care of us. Why challenge the system now? To say that the current cattle prices are a result of innovation or value transfer is pure nonsense. It is a demand-pull that will adjust when beef busts the point of price. Value from end product, coproduct and byproduct has not been transferred down the line. It may be easy at the moment to be lulled by the underwriting of a weak Canadian dollar and continue to focus on increasing commodity exports, but we must ask ourselves — is that a long-term solution to the disconnect with end product and with consumers?

Dan Barber author of The Third Plate, wrote: “Food is a process, a web of relationships, not an individual ingredient or commodity.” I like this quote because it de-commoditizes beef and allows us to go into the disbursement of the thought silo that beef is simply a commodity and that what we do has no relation to food. If we are to erase the tension between eating and farming we first must recognize that our relationship to the consumer is the main focus in full engagement towards softening pricepoint resistance and continued consumption of beef.

Consumers say they have little choice. Although they love farmers, they hate or misunderstand the process that clearly allows them to have massive product offerings on the shelf. The information they get is mixed, emotional, defensive or outrageously incorrect. In response to not www.canadiancattlemen.ca

knowing, they buy in areas that they do understand — local, antibiotic free, grass fed, gluten free and so on. It is not their responsibility to sift out fact from fiction; it is ours to engage with them at every level.

The confusion exists all through the chain. In July of this year, The Guardian reported on a study conducted by professor Gidon Eshel, at Bard College in New York state: “The heavy impact on the environment of meat production was known but the research shows a new scale and scope of damage, particularly for beef. The popular red meat requires 28 times more land to produce than pork or chicken, 11 times more water and results in five times more climate-warming emissions. When compared to staples like potatoes, wheat, and rice, the impact of beef per calorie is even more extreme, requiring 160 times more land and producing 11 times more greenhouse gases.”

At a time of heightened consciousness and in the age of self-formation, we cannot begin to appreciate the impact on consumption and the price trigger to a consumer armed with this type of information. I have hung around the meat counter in an ordinary grocery store and listened to men and women grill the butcher on the source of the cut, how it was raised, what did it eat and so on. They want to know and they are waiting for us to tell them.

Aristotle claimed the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. In modern day language, we liken this to synergy or a collective energy that can achieve much more through co-operation than working as individuals in a group. Co-operative exercises keep all players fully engaged in a common outcome. One interest does not override another, nor does corporate history trump youth, culture, gender, age, location or innovation.

I see this as a beginning. As an industry we may not have control over prices set by retail but we have a strong say in who we are, what we do and why we care. An engaging relationship with secondary processors, retailers and food service would give us an opportunity to be part of the creation of new product lines. The way the beef industry responds now, scrambling to meet change, will never transfer value. If there was one point to agree on collectively and co-operatively with regard to our domestic market then perhaps we could apply some Greek logic and get to the point of full consumer appreciation and mutual engagement with product development. If not we may see the breaking point on price, perception or product composition. c Brenda Schoepp is a motivating speaker and mentor who works with young entrepreneurs across Canada and around the world. She can be contacted through her website www. brendaschoepp.com. All rights reserved. Brenda Schoepp 2014

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BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

“IT’S OUR FUTURE: WHY WE NEED TO BE INVOLVED” Young cattle producer believes in action

Busy is a word that shows up often in Brodie Haugan’s life. A graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, he’s a trained agribusiness professional with experience with a national farm management consulting team.

Today, he’s a partner in a family commercial cow-calf and grain operation south of Medicine Hat, Alta. It’s been in the family more than 100 years.

And he’s a very active player in beef industry affairs, a firm believer that today’s cattle industry depends on people being involved. Especially young people.

He has a simple message for anyone looking to build their future in the cattle business.

“Just get involved and stay involved.

“If we as producers aren’t going to take the time to advocate for our industry, stand up for the people who represent us or don’t get involved in the important issues affecting our industry, other people will do it for us.”

So how does he see that involvement taking place?

DRIVE PROGRAMS

One is to drive programs such as the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program.

VBP provides confidence and builds trust with consumers because it is a thirdparty-verified on-farm food safety program, he says. “It is a program that verifies and supports what our operation and many others across Canada have already been doing for many generations.

“It is important for new producers in the industry to get involved in the development

and implementation of these programs such as VBP. They have the potential to shape our industry.

“It’s our future.”

MEET TOMORROW’S NEEDS

One example of the potential to shape the industry of tomorrow is the addition of new modules to VBP for environment, biosecurity and animal care. It is welcomed, says Haugan, because they address important issues that are currently in the media, and are being developed by stakeholders who are working with the beef industry.

“They will provide an educated, marketinformed stance on issues that will shape our industry,” he says.

LEARN POLICY DEVELOPMENT

One lesson from farm management training is that you can’t manage what you don’t understand. That applies to beef policy development.

Haugan is active in, and serves on the board of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association Young Cattlemen’s Council (YCC).

It was developed to provide young cattle men and women with the opportunity to raise their knowledge and awareness of beef industry policy development through active involvement.

“The goal of our council is to provide youth with an opportunity to learn how to lead the industry through direct involvement. As well, it provides a youth’s perspective to current leaders in industry policy development.

“The YCC is a great way for young cat-

Brodie Haugan of Canada’s Young Cattlemen’s Council says industry programs like VBP and BIXS are important for the future.

tle producers to get involved and educate themselves on current issues and opportunities,” he says. “It is also a great stepping stone towards becoming involved in your provincial association.

“You can get involved with the YCC by going to www.youngcattlemenscouncil. com and become a member or follow us on Twitter @YCCbeef,” says Haugan.

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 vet aDv i c e

BVDV eradication still a North American pipe dream

O

n October 13 the scientific community clustered in Kansas City, Missouri, to tackle what has become a tired veterinary euphemism: “Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Eradication: Reality or Myth?”

Infections with bovine virus diarrhea virus (BVDV) are widespread throughout the world. Although the prevalence varies among surveys, BVDV infection is endemic in many populations, with a maximum one to two per cent of cattle being persistently infected (PI) and 60 to 85 per cent antibody positive.

Despite the depth of our understanding about this disease, bovine virus diarrhea (BVD) remains an enigma.

Is eradication possible? The answer is probably no. Not in the harum-scarum North American marketplace.

age. PI breeding females and their offspring transmit BVDV to herdmates and spread it widely to contact herds in places like community pastures, or any situation where animals are comingled. Persistently infected females will always produce a PI calf themselves. Research has shown that about seven per cent of PI calves are born to persistently infected dams. The vast majority (93 per cent) of PI calves, however, are born to non-PI dams exposed to BVDV during gestation.

Male PI calves will occasionally be selected for use as breeding bulls. The amount of BVDV excreted in the semen of persistently infected bulls is very high. As well, circulating virus may exist in herds following removal of PI calves. Introduction of the infection into a totally susceptible population invariably causes extensive losses until a state of equilibrium is reached.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

CONTROL

Dr. John VanLeeuwen of the University of Prince Edward Island outlined for the Kansas City conference the significant losses due to this disease.

“BVD is one of those insidious, production-limiting diseases that affects many cattlemen and their livestock, even though owners may not be aware of it. Virus infections acquired during pregnancy produce persistently infected offspring that look normal, but spew tremendous quantities of virus, causing disease and production losses through the rest of the herd.”

He says the cost can run up to $100 per head per year in herds where the virus has a foothold.

One estimate put the cost of having one PI animal in a beef herd between $14.85 and $24.84 per cow per year. Once PI calves hit the feedyard, the costs skyrocket. Another calculated the cost for every animal going into a feedyard following exposure to a PI animal at US$47 per head.

This virus is capable of causing a variety of gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases by suppressing the immunity of infected contacts.

Persistently infected calves often don’t survive more than a year, although some survive up to five years. The survivors are usually poor-doers but remain a constant source of infection every day they remain in the herd.

In the U.S., total annual losses have been estimated at $20 million for every million calves when modeling for low-virulent BVDV strains and $57 million when modeling for a high-virulent BVDV strain. If we take Canada’s breeding herd at approximately 3.9 million beef cows, that would put BVD losses here in the range of $78 and $220 million.

The economic impact of BVD is affected by things like herd size, movement of animals in and out of herds, routine biosecurity precautions, vaccination programs and pasturing practices. Herd losses due to BVD accumulate steadily once an infection is established. It starts with mortality of PI calves prior to and after weaning, but the real damage is from non-specific production losses and secondary infections brought on through immune suppression of infected contacts.

Although PI suckling calves are considered to be the primary reservoir for BVDV in a herd, PI adults can also be present. It has been reported that 17 to 50 per cent of PI calves actually reach breeding

Any thought of BVDV eradication beyond an individual herd must start with the premise that control is very much an industry effort with all the players working together in a systematic fashion.

It is heartening to see the Saskatchewan industry taking a co-ordinated approach to BVD control.

The University of Michigan headed a five-year project to eradicate BVDV from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula herds, one of a very few examples in North America showing that regional eradication is possible.

VanLeeuwen says Norway’s experience with BVD provides an example of how a highly co-ordinated and regulated animal health system eradicated BVDV over a 10-year period.

It all starts with understanding BVDV and the impact the pathogen’s genetic diversity plays in its control. BVDV is not a simple pathogen, nor are the syndromes it causes, or the way it is transmitted. Knowing the enemy and monitoring its prevalence across a broad section of the industry is absolutely crucial. Along with effective surveillance to gauge progress, is the importance of a regimented protocol for diagnosing disease and freedom from disease. Other critical elements include BVD vaccination strategies and common-sense biosecurity practices faithfully implemented at all levels.

One weak link in the supply chain between calving shed and feedyard negates it all and the control pyramid crumbles.

It requires a commitment by the industry, veterinary community, and academia to put all the right pieces together and managing them in the long term. Identifying and eliminating PIs is the first basic step, and the single biggest obstacle in many control programs, especially in a marketing system that embraces the sale of high-risk calves at sharply discounted prices over the testing of all sale animals to eliminate PIs. For now, the industry’s inability to accept presale testing is one major reason why BVD eradication remains a pipe dream. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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

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 trade

By Debbie Furber

Helping out the Russians Nutritionist Barry Robinson is consulting with the largest Angus herd in the world… in Russia

H

ow does a farm go from zero to having what is believed to be the largest Angus herd in the world with more than 250,000 head including 110,000 cows, two 45,000-head feedlots and its own packing plant, in four years?

Besides a lot of money, you start by gathering a lot of know-how from international specialists like Dr. Barry Robinson, a beef cattle nutritionist from Westlock, Alta.

The North American-style beef operation, a division of Miratorg Agribusiness Holding, is oceans away in Russia’s Bryansk region, about 350 kilometres southwest of Moscow.

It’s a 26-hour trip from Westlock to Moscow and another five hours by train to Bryansk.

Robinson’s job as Miratorg’s head beef nutritionist for the past 2-1/2 years involves long-distance consulting with the cow-calf farm and feedlot managers and nutritionists on ration planning and cattle management as well as quarterly week-long trips to visit the operations. For those, Miratorg supplies a driver and interpreter.

Miratorg owners, Alex and Viktor Linnik, are no strangers to food production, processing and marketing. They started raising hogs approximately 20 years ago and established Miratorg in 1995 to create a modern vertically integrated “from field to shop counter” operation from scratch.

Miratorg has grown to become Russia’s leading pork producer with capacity to raise and process three million pigs a year. Fresh, frozen, ready-made and pork products for further processing are sold through the company’s distribution system that supplies its own products and brands, as well as imported meat and frozen vegetables to retail and restaurant chains in major cities across Russia.

The company was well positioned to take advantage of government incentives under Russia’s agricultural development scheme to make the country more self-sufficient in proteins. The goal is to replace about 20 per cent of current meat imports with domestic production to supply 85 per cent of the country’s meat requirements by 2020. The Russian government has dedicated US$69.7 billion from 2013 to 2020 to support domestic agriculture.

Miratorg applied the same business model and principles of implementing the latest technology and efficient production

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Robinson (centre) visits with Americans Phil George (l) and feedlot consultant Mark Dodd.

systems from around the globe to start up a broiler poultry operation in 2010. It now handles 3.7 million birds per year and is set to expand with two more broiler sites by the end of this year.

The company’s beef project started that same year. Robinson says the goal is to supply domestic grain-finished triple-A Angus beef to high-end restaurants and to other customers through its established distribution system.

First came the heifers — by the thousands — from the U.S. and Australia.

Shiploads of 2,500 to 10,000 head arrived through Black Sea or Baltic Sea ports. Some of the cattle liners used to transport them to the farms were similar to those used in Canada, but many were nothing more than

shipping containers with modified ventilation slots for transport.

Being on the same latitude as Edmonton, the climate of the Bryansk region is similar with about 20 inches of precipitation a year and winter temperatures that can dip to -30 C. The geography is much like Alberta’s parkland region with poplar, birch and evergreen trees, rich soil and grasslands… minus the rocks.

As far as Robinson can gather, land in the Bryansk region sells for about $300 an acre.

You’d pay $3,000 to $3,500 an acre to get similar land in the Westlock area.

Miratorg’s land base for the beef project alone was 191,000 hectares in 2013 and was projected to grow to 200,000 this year. The company uses no-till cropping systems to

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

TRADE

grow wheat, barley, maize, peas, sunflowers and soybean crops. It has an established network of high-efficiency feed mills with a current capacity to process 1.46 million tons a year to supply the meat production units, mainly the pig and poultry operations.

Robinson says the main crops grown in the Bryansk region for beef production are high-moisture corn, corn silage, triticale, alfalfa and grasses. Barley for the feedlot rations is brought in from elsewhere.

The forage-to-concentrate ratio of a typical finishing ration is similar to that in Western Canada. Currently, the feedlot is feeding 65 per cent dry-rolled barley and 35 per cent high-moisture corn. High-quality corn silage, sunflower meal and a custom formulated feedlot premix balance out the ration.

Robinson does the complete workup for rations at the feedlot because grain-based feedlot rations are new to the employees and carry a higher risk level than the cow and heifer rations.

At the cow-calf farms, he works with Russian nutritionists, giving them the parameters for rations for each class of cattle, such as estimated dry-matter intake and minimum energy and crude protein requirements, and then the Russian nutritionists formulate the rations.

Each farm has 4,000 to 5,000 cows wintered in roomy pens with wind protection and bedding.

Most of Miratorg’s calves are born May through June, but the farm runs a smaller fall-calving program as well. The calves are weaned and started on feed at about five months of age and then go to grass as yearlings.

The existing feedlot and the second feedlot under construction were designed by Kansas feedlot engineer John George and are very similar to those in the U.S. High Plains and southern Alberta. According to the company’s operational performance for the first six months of 2014, this style of feedlot is unique in Russia.

Robinson says the first of the company’s cattle to be harvested went through the new state-of-the-art packing plant earlier this fall. It is located about half a kilometre from the home lot; however, cattle from the new feedlot will have to be trucked a couple of hours to the plant. When fully operational, the plant will handle 4,000 head a week.

A BIT OF HISTORY

be walking freely around Moscow’s Red Square, but actually working with a major Russian beef producer.

“The people are very nice and welcoming and I feel very safe in Russia,” he says. “The biggest challenge is that there is one entire generation with no beef experience. When a problem occurs it’s important to help them learn how to work through it so that small problems don’t turn into big ones. My objective is to teach the basics over and over again.”

Breeding and raising beef cattle had pretty much fallen by the wayside during the era of collective farms that had been the norm since the 1930s, with most of the country’s beef coming from culled dairy cows and steers. Consequently, up until the current government’s mandate to increase meat production, there were only about 50,000 beef cows left in all of Russia.

Currently, Miratorg contracts approximately 15 Americans to instruct the Russian managers and employees of its 40 cow-calf farms and feedlot operations in livestock husbandry and handling. Valery Samoylov, director of beef operations, along with lead beef managers, Eugene Albokrinov and

Dr. Phil George from the U.S., have been instrumental in the beef project’s success so far, Robinson says.

All of the nutritional expertise for the beef, swine and poultry operations comes from Canada. Dr. Mario Ramirez of the Aylmer, Ont.-based Gowan’s Feed Consulting, is the lead swine and poultry nutritionist and assists on the beef side. Having lived in Russia for several years he is fluent in Russian, which is a key skill when it comes to dealing with suppliers and a number of chores such as bidding on premix.

Other than a few consultants, virtually all of the labour comes from within the region, which is viewed as a positive development for rural Russia where good jobs have not been plentiful for some time.

The beef project alone had 1,700 employees last year and is scheduled to reach 3,000 once production ramps up. Even with automated production systems, the company employs approximately 20,000 people in total across the country.

“I am really enjoying the experience so far and hope it continues for a significant period of time,” says Robinson. c

If farm debt is keeping you awake at night, it’s OK to ask for help.

Financial counselling or mediation may be the solution.

The Farm Debt Mediation Service helps farmers overcome financial difficulties by offering financial counselling and mediation services.

This free and confidential service helps Canadian farmers get their debt repayment back on track. Financial advisors and qualified mediators help find a mutually acceptable repayment arrangement between farmers and their creditors.

For more information on how the Farm Debt Mediation Service can help you: Call: 1-866-452-5556 Visit: agr.gc.ca/fdms

Robinson says he would have never guessed growing up in the U.S. during the Cold War years, that he would someday not only

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 PRIME CUTS

By Steve Kay

WEIGHTY MATTERS

T

he live cattle market’s performance this year on both sides of the border has been remarkable in many respects. Who would have imagined that U.S. packers would pay $170 per cwt for cattle. After all, half that was a pretty good price not that long ago.

That price is likely to be the top for the year, although the snowstorms hitting the northern states as I write this in November might give prices another upward push.

U.S. live cattle are on target to average about $155 per cwt this year, a full 23 per cent higher than the 2013 average of $125.89.

U.S. cattle feeders thus continue to enjoy one of their best periods of positive margins for many years though this might be coming to an end because of the record high prices they keep paying for feeder cattle. Those prices are one reason why exports of Canadian feeder cattle this year have been well ahead of last year (up 45 per cent at the end of October).

Cattle feeders have also fattened their margins by feeding cattle to record heavy end points. Steer and heifer carcasses seasonally peak in the fall, so that’s when they set new records in 2007, 2008 and 2009. But it took until 2012 to eclipse those records. Weights from the start of this year tracked closely with 2013 weights.

But they began to diverge in August by moving higher each week compared to a year earlier. Steers thus established a new record high the first week of September while heifers did the same the last week of the month.

Steers after that made four more new highs and heifers made three more.

The week ended October 25 saw steer carcasses break the 900-pound level for the first time (902 pounds was the average) while heifer carcasses averaged 826 pounds.

That’s what a steer carcass weighed only seven or eight years ago. Barring a weather setback, carcass weights might continue to set new records in December.

Steer carcass weights look set to average 870 pounds this year, up one per cent on last year, because of the surge that began in September. Steer weights in the past five years have increased 4.8 per cent on a monthly basis from May to October. This year they increased 6.1 per cent. From a historical perspective, weight increases over 50 years will have added 223 pounds or one-third to the average steer carcass.

Several factors explain the surge. Cattle are being fed longer than ever before because replacement costs are so high. At the same time, corn prices have declined and it is still economical for cattle feeders to add weight. In turn, packers are not discounting carcasses because they need every animal they can get their hands on. Only a decade ago, a carcass weighing 900 pounds or more was heavily discounted. Now that’s the average steer carcass, meaning some are over 1,000 pounds.

At some point, cattle feeders will need to evaluate feeding efficiency against further weight gains. If efficiency suffers, then cost of gains will increase. But the weight gains this fall showed how much feeding cattle has advanced in mixing high-energy rations and other inputs to maximize cattle growth.

One side-effect of feeding cattle even longer is that cattle continue to grade a high percentage of USDA Prime and Choice. The Prime category set new weekly records twice in October, with the last week seeing 5.02 per cent of all cattle grade Prime. The Choice grade set a new record of 67.96 per cent in mid-January and has remained above 63 per cent ever since. U.S. beef production might be down but the quality remains high. c

A North American view of the meat industry. Steve Kay is publisher and editor of Cattle Buyers Weekly.

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 HEALTH

By Debbie Furber

MARKET YOUR HEALTH PROGRAM

C

onsidering the pull rate for bovine respiratory disease is typically 15 per cent and can be up to 70 per cent for high-risk calves, you might think there’s a digit missing from the Zoetis 0% BRD pull-rate guarantee for SelectVac Gold Plus calves.

Not so, says Les Byers, manager of veterinary services for beef cattle with Zoetis. The 0% guarantee, new this year, is the first of its kind in Canada. It and the Zoetis 5% BRD pull-rate guarantee, which has been available for four years now, are only offered in Canada.

Zoetis will cover up to $20 per calf treated for respiratory disease beyond those thresholds if certain conditions have been met.

The 0% pull-rate guarantee requirements start on the ranch with calves from dams vaccinated with Bovi-Shield Gold FP5 before breeding the previous year to protect the calf from contracting the persistently infected (PI) form of bovine viral diarrhea (BVD). Under Zoetis’s standard quality medicine program, the company will pay market price for any confirmed PI calves from dams properly vaccinated with Bovi-Shield Gold FP5.

The calves from the vaccinated mothers then need to be vaccinated at least two weeks before weaning with a Zoetis modified-livevirus (MLV) 4- or 5-way product, One Shot and a histophilus vaccine to qualify the calves to be registered as SelectVac Gold Plus calves.

SelectVac Gold Plus calves can be registered on the website by providing their RFID numbers and confirming that you’ve followed

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the on-ranch protocols. This sets them up for eligibility for the 0% pull-rate guarantee whether you retain ownership or sell the calves at weaning.

The final step is the BRD control program on arrival at the feedlot when the calves receive Zoetis MLV 4- or 5-way and histophilus vaccines along with a label dose of Draxxin.

Each pen must contain only SelectVac Gold Plus calves and fill within 10 days.

The guarantee is that if any of the SelectVac Gold Plus calves have to be treated for respiratory disease within the 30 days after the pen fills, Zoetis will compensate the producer with free treatment products worth up to $20 per treated calf.

Claims are submitted to Byers through the producer’s veterinarian who verifies that the guarantee protocols and conditions were followed. If the RFID numbers of the treated calves are registered in the SelectVac Gold Plus database, then the claim is legitimate and the replacement medications will be shipped to the veterinary clinic and applied as a credit to the producer’s account.

Registering the calves is important, too, because the guarantee will automatically transfer to a new owner without any additional paperwork required. This is a big plus for producers who sell calves off the cows because the calves can be marketed as registered SelectVac Gold Plus calves already set up to be eligible for the 0% BRD pull-rate guarantee, Byers explains.

The steps done on the ranch are a big value-add and worth something to a new

owner, but it’s up to you to make the most of it by telling potential buyers about your health program.

The 5% BRD guarantee starts at the feedlot. All calves are eligible regardless of their vaccination history as long as they receive the BRD control program on arrival. Again, the pens must fill with all treated calves within 10 days and the guarantee kicks in for the next 30 days. If more than five per cent of the calves in a pen have to be treated for respiratory disease, the feedlot will be compensated through its veterinarian in free product worth up to $20 per calf treated beyond the five per cent.

The guarantee programs are built on the company’s confidence in Draxxin and BoviShield Gold FP5, Byers says. Most of the research shows that the pull rate for BRD is typically around five per cent for calves treated with Draxxin on arrival at a feedlot.

“We can offer 0% because we know a lot more about the calves, Byers explains. “We know that they come from dams vaccinated against BVD the previous year so we can be sure the calves aren’t BVD carriers, which makes a big difference. We know that they’ve been vaccinated on the ranch and received the BRD control program including a dose of Draxxin on arrival at the feedlot, and that all of the animals in the pen have come up through the program the same way.”

For additional information and to register calves go to www.selectvacgold.ca, or give Byers a call at 780-632-7596. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 CCA repo rts

By Dave Solverson

U.S. election may fix COOL

I

t’s been a busy month for cattlemen generally.

The good fall weather has allowed producers including myself to wean calves and get them settled for winter or marketed at record high prices.

I’m hearing the demand and competition for feeders has been very strong. That is great for producers who market the majority of their cattle on one day of the year. I believe we will start to see heifer retention this fall, as some producers are telling me their steer calves are bringing as much as the whole calfcrop last year.

I was pleased to join Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister Gerry Ritz in Saskatoon on October 20 for the public announcement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Compliance Panel decision on U.S. mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) welcomes the panel report as it unequivocally supports Canada’s position that the U.S. amendments to the COOL regulation continue the discrimination against live imports of cattle and hogs into the U.S. marketplace. Indeed, in finding that “… the amended COOL measure has increased the original COOL measure’s detrimental impact on the competitive opportunities of imported livestock.” The panel affirms the CCA’s position that the revised regulation is worse than the original. This is an important and decisive victory for Canada. As I write this, the U.S. had yet to indicate what its next steps might be but the political pressure is building in the U.S. to fix COOL and avoid retaliation from Canada and Mexico.

The results of U.S. mid-term elections may also factor positively in achieving a favourable legislative resolution of COOL. The Republican party now has majority control of the U.S. Senate and increased their majority in the House of Representatives. The CCA has had good support in the House for fixing COOL and that remains solid. The reason for CCA’s optimism is that Republican Senator Pat Roberts from Kansas will almost assuredly become chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Kansas is a state that has been acutely hurt by COOL and Kansas producers want it fixed in a manner consistent with what the CCA is advocating, so it’s anticipated that fixing COOL may well be a priority for Senator Roberts.

But even with this change in the committee’s leadership, there is much advocacy work that CCA will need to do in Washington, D.C. The CCA wants the U.S. Congress to immediately repeal the red meat requirements of the COOL legislation or amend the statute to mandate a single label for meat processed in the U.S., thus eliminating the need for U.S. cattle buyers to segregate imported from

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

U.S.-born livestock. Until COOL comes into compliance with the WTO, the CCA will continue to insist that the Government of Canada prepare to impose prohibitively high tariffs on key U.S. exports to Canada, including beef.

The impact of COOL on the combined Canadian cattle and hog sectors was estimated in 2012 to be approximately $1.1 billion per year; however, the impact has increased since the USDA amended the regulation in 2013.

I was pleased to attend CCA’s town hall meeting in Dauphin, Man. Town halls are a great opportunity to hear from producers about issues and also provide them with updates on the work the CCA does on their behalf. I returned to Manitoba a week later for a speaking engagement in Brandon, as the keynote speaker at the Taste of Beef luncheon, the kickoff event to Manitoba Livestock Expo. My topic was the impact of agriculture and, specifically, beef on the Canadian economy.

The drive through rural Manitoba to both events served as added inspiration for my speech. It is very clear agriculture is definitely No. 1 in this part of the country.

If there was ever a region of Canada whose economy is nearly 100 per cent dependent on agriculture and the related spinoff, this is it.

It was also a good opportunity to meet producers from the area attending the expo. One concern raised is the current rules for export of cull cows to the U.S. The CCA will be working to propose some changes to the age verification requirements.

In Alberta I attended three fall meetings of the Alberta Beef Producer (ABP) and heard many positive comments about the CCA’s efforts to work with the Government of Canada on market access in many markets.

There is recognition from producers that the strong global demand for beef is putting dollars in their pockets. ABP is undergoing a plan review this year and there have been resolutions related to the need for an increase in checkoff to maintain the level of industry promotion and advocacy.

CCA manager of federal provincial relations Ryder Lee and I travelled to Edmonton to appear via video conference before the House Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food to discuss Bill C-18. This modernization bill intends to improve several acts relating to agriculture. It will also update the Advance Payments Program and improve it for cattle producers.

Labour was also on the agenda. CCA attended the Agriculture Labour Summit in Red Deer hosted by the Agriculture Industry Labour Council of Alberta. The labour challenges facing the industry will remain a focus of the CCA going forward. c

Dave Solverson is president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association

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 TH E IN DUST RY

NewsRoundup finance

Hard days ahead for the loonie

By Scott Smith, senior market analyst, Cambridge Mercantile Group

If the past few months are any indication of what’s in store for currency markets to the end of the year, market participants should be ready to batten down the hatches as 2014 draws to a close. Volatility is likely to remain elevated.

A number of global macroeconomic developments have placed the U.S. greenback on a steady upward trajectory since early in the third quarter, so it is no surprise to see the loonie limping into the latter half of the year after collapsing under the pressure of a stronger USD. Monetary policies from central banks in developed economies are in clear-cut divergence at the moment, with the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan both looking to expand their balance sheets at a much faster pace than previously. At the same time, we have the U.S. Federal Reserve evaluating when to complete its balance sheet expansion and the best time to begin a cycle of monetary policy tightening.

The expansionary policies from the ECB and BoJ have put massive downward pressure on the euro and yen as the respective

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Lazy_S-Ad-2015.indd 1

governments aim to get their economies back on track, which by extension has boosted the greenback across the rest of the majors as investors seek to increase exposure to the big dollar. While there is sure to be some wobbles in the greenback as participants gauge when the first rate hike will come from the Fed based on the incoming economic data points, there is little to suggest the rally in the dollar has run out of steam — though temporary breathers are likely to emerge from time to time.

Headwinds for the loonie over the second half of 2014 have been voluminous, though one of the major causes for the setback has been the drastic drop in oil prices since the summer, culminating in the most recent flush after the Saudis repeatedly stated they would welcome lower oil prices for a period of time. It’s thought this move by one of the most influential members of OPEC is an effort to boost market share and push out some of the higher-cost supply.

Though the spread between Canadian crude and the American WTI benchmark has tightened during the collapse in international oil prices, the relative value offset has failed to stem the outflow of capital from Canada. The commodity-linked currency has taken a beating as a result. While we think a trough for oil prices is in the process of being carved out, a return to triple-digit oil in the short term is unlikely, and thus a rebound will provide little long-term relief for the loonie.

A Republican victory in the Senate and control of both chambers in Congress may provide the last second push to drive the Keystone XL decision into the end zone; however, the resulting boost to oil prices will be minimal, making the bigger issues for the energy sector in Canada how to get product safely and efficiently to Asian markets.

2015 has the potential to be a big year for Canadian energy markets, though it will take co-operation from both the federal and provincial governments to make sure Canada doesn’t fall behind the energy-exporter curve.

Domestically, the Canadian economy is having a hard time hitting its stride, with exports muddling through soggy international demand but being propped up by a weakening domestic currency. The ongoing transition from an economy heavily contingent on consumer-based spending to one more reliant on business investment and capital spending has yet to materialize, and has handicapped the Bank of Canada into leaving monetary policy on the dovish side of the neutral spectrum.

The central bank has not shied away from highlighting the risks the economy faces from elevated levels of consumer debt, yet realizes there is likely at least two years before the economy is back to full capacity, and thus warrants the current monetary stimulus of low interest rates that are currently in place. The incoming data points have corroborated the mediocre economic assessment, and thus give little to suggest the Canadian economy is at a turning point and the slide against the greenback has come to completion.

While there is likely more pain to come for loonie bulls in the short term, we don’t foresee another 10 per cent drop in the value of the Canadian dollar like we have over the course of 2014, as the flowthrough effects of a stronger American economy will help under-

www.canadiancattlemen.ca 11/8/2014 6:05:44 AM

NEWS ROU NDUP

pin Canada’s export sector and should help defend another extended collapse.

In short, the upcoming few months will continue to be a choppy trading environment for U.S. and Canadian currency and will therefore see more comprehensive foreign exchange (FX) risk management strategies outperform strictly passive ideology.

identification

Central ID database to open in 2015

One national traceability database for all livestock species in Canada will become a reality sometime next year.

Trace Canada, the new company created by the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) and Agri-Tracabilite Que-

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

bec (ATQ) to oversee development and operation of a new and powerful multispecies database and provide related information services was officially given the green light by Ottawa’s recent pledge of $7.5 million to fund the startup.

Trace Canada won’t replace anything the industry has built, but will add to it, says executive director Joshua Belinko.

He describes Trace Canada as the engine that powers the traceability database, while CCIA and ATQ will retain their administrative and frontline roles.

“All of the livestock organizations know that it costs a lot of money to develop and maintain a traceability database — licensing the software, ensuring government security protocols are in place, network

speed — are expensive and it doesn’t make sense for organizations to pay these costs over and over again,” Belinko says.

Trace Canada has actually been in the works since July 2012 when Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada put up $765,000 so CCIA and ATQ could take the first steps to develop a single traceability database for livestock.

The initial focus will be on implementing the system for pigs, cattle, sheep, and bison.

“We are really looking at what we can do to ease the burden of traceability reporting now and get ahead of what will be required in the future as traceability moves farther down the road with movement reporting,” says Belinko.

One way to do that is by aligning traceContinued on page 38

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37

News Roundup Continued from page 37

ability reporting with scanners and software programs already in use on farms, feedlots, auction markets and wherever cattle go.

Provincial livestock manifests, where used, are another example of documentation that provides a wealth of traceability information. The new system can accept data from digital manifests and the team is looking at options to include paper manifests as well as mobile and online feeds.

Another option under investigation to speed up the inflow is single-access windows for producers who input data for more than one species, or operate in more than one province.

The Trace Canada database will connect directly with provincial databases that hold premises identification and other data required for provincial traceability programs, as well as the Traceability National

Information Portal. The portal is a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) initiative under the federal red-tape reduction plan to negotiate information-sharing agreements that allow authorized users to receive traceability data from a single source.

As it stands, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is the only organization that can access CCIA and ATQ databases to deal with disease and food safety issues.

With the new database, authorized users will be able to conduct specific searches to quickly determine the whereabouts of cattle during disease outbreaks and livestock emergencies.

Other requests to access the CCIA and ATQ databases for specific purposes are considered on a case-by-case basis and that will be continued under Trace Canada.

Aggregate data in the new database can be mined safely to keep tabs on disease trends within species and livestock demographics or conduct disease outbreak simulations.

In time, Belinko says producers will be given the option to authorize third-party access in order to share their traceability data within a value chain or as a marketing tool to verify production claims.

“The way we see it, producers own the information and they should have the right to determine who sees it to demonstrate business value,” Belinko explains.

Belinko says privacy and security of information in the Trace Canada database will be a primary requirement of the system, right from its location in a highsecurity data centre to how the data itself is protected from online threats.

Once it is up and running the plan is for the operating costs to be shared by government and industry.

For details visit http://tracecanada.ca.

associations

Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan starts up

It wasn’t a rush decision, but it was a unanimous one that will be made official at the launch of Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan (FFCSK) during its inaugural conference, Farms at the Table: Menus of Opportunity, December 10-11, in Saskatoon.

FFCSK broadens the mandate of the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan (FACS), established in 1992 to advance

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NEWS ROUNDUP

farm animal care initiatives, to include other agricultural commodities, food processors, retailers, wholesalers, and any others who form a link between Saskatchewan producers and consumers. The aim is to become the most credible source of information for Saskatchewan consumers about food and modern farming practices.

FACS executive director Adele Buettner says the changeover traces back to 2011 when her organization watched the former Ontario Farm Animal Council join with Ontario Crop Life to transform into Farm and Food Care (FFC) Ontario.

“My board felt this was an excellent template for Saskatchewan because consumers want to know not just about livestock but about all food and how it gets to their plates. So, this is about the food we produce,” Buettner says. “With less than two per cent of Canadians having a direct link to the farm, sharing information about farming and food production is more important than ever.”

As it turns out, other commodity groups also felt the timing was right for something like this in Saskatchewan. The new organization was given the green light in February following consultations with FCC Ontario and the U.S. Centre for Food Integrity.

The major crop commodity groups in the province (canola, pulse, flax, wheat and barley) contributed a total of $25,000.

FACS contributed the same from its reserve fund on behalf of livestock groups, and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture put in $30,000 with a pledge to match up to $100,000 for the first year. FFCSK’s ongoing operating funds will come from annual memberships, sponsorships and grants.

STAMPEDE

An advisory committee with representation from the five crop, beef, egg, chicken, pork, dairy, bison and fruit growers’ associations met for the first time in June. They will serve as the interim board of directors until elections are held in the new year.

FACS chair Joe Kleinsasser from Rosetown chairs the advisory committee.

Buettner says FFCSK’s primary focus is on building public trust and reaching consumers. Other broad categories revolve around educating members on best prac-

tices and communication, as well as advocacy and intelligence work to respond to claims from animal and environmental activist groups.

Now that their program is underway sponsors and potential members are being approached for support.

Saskatoon’s Great Western Brewing Company is the first to commit to a fouryear sponsorship. “The company uses 100 Continued on page 40

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Developing an agriculture ambassador program and speaker bureau is another priority. Presentations will be tied to the five top themes of interest to consumers as identified in the 2012 Ipsos-Reid survey commissioned by Ontario’s FFC: food

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don’t like. There’s also some space for you to tell us what you would like to see in future issues.

ClIp And enClose your mAIlIng lABel. each month, we will draw one name from all the surveys sent in and send that person a Cattlemen cap. It could be you!

What do you think of: On a scale of 1 to 5, how do you and your family like these features?

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2 1 Nutrition more on the web Comment Research plainjans.com Special features 5 4 3 2 1 Newsmakers Letters Calving Issue (Jan.) CCA Reports Custom Feedlot Guide (Sep.) Prime Cuts Stock Buyers’ Guide (Aug.) Straight From The Hip Animal Health Special (Sep.) Holistic Ranching Beef Watch (May & Nov.) What would you like to see? __________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ How much time do you and your family spend reading 1666 Dublin Avenue Canadian Cattlemen?  Under 2 hours  Over 2 hours Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1

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safety, environment, farm animal well-being, human health and food affordability.

The facts of these matters are the stuff of The Real Dirt On Farming, first published in 2006 by the former Ontario Farm Animal Council in partnership with FACS, Alberta Farm Animal Care, the B.C. Farm Animal Care Council and others. An eightpage digest highlighting national concerns but with provincespecific content will be published by FFCSK in the 52-page third edition of The Real Dirt On Farming.

Chefs have been stepping up to the plate, too, wanting to learn more about the food they serve so they are better prepared to discuss the finer details with their customers. Along this line, FFCSK will be working with chef associations in Regina and Saskatoon to organize farm tours for their members and media with hopes of attracting food writers from major North American publications.

FFCSK’s new website is www.farmfoodcaresk.org.

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Canadian Western Agribition’s long-awaited goal of replacing the old buildings along barn road was set in motion last month with a $50,000 grant from the City of Regina. It will be matched by a three-way split between Evraz Place, Agribition and the Regina Hotel Association for a total of $100,000 to prepare the conceptual design and do some costing of the project.

Agribition CEO Marty Seymour expects this phase to be completed by the end of January 2015, after which the committee will take an official proposal to the city, provincial and federal governments for funding to complete the project. “We feel we can get the design and pricing done quickly because we’ve been chipping away at this for about eight years now and have a good idea of what we need,’’ Seymour says.

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as it was back in 1913 when the City of Regina built the original Winter Fair Building for $14,000.

On December 18, 1917, fire originating from a cookstove, wiped out what major newspapers of the day deemed one of the finest winter fair buildings in all of North America. Some 700 soldiers and 85 horses using the facility during the Great War escaped injury.

In today’s world, building barns on prime property near city centres just isn’t feasible. Seymour says the intent is to replace all of the old buildings along Barn Road with a large, open space that could be set up to accommodate the livestock shows, sales and exhibits during Agribition and be repurposed to host other events throughout the year, such as the Farm Progress Show, consumer trade shows and special events.

A study commissioned two years ago and released November 12 shows Agribition contributes $37 million to the provincial economy, with $20 million of that benefiting Regina and makes a good case for revitalizing the barn area on the grounds with a multi-purpose facility.

The 14 buildings that have been added on through the years, including the stadium built in 1919 that still houses the main cattle show ring, the Winter Fair Building, the annex, auditorium, Prairie Building, the Pasqua and Harlton would pass into history with this plan. The seven old horse-racing barns across Barn Road, that currently house the light horse, sheep, goats and dairy exhibit would fall, too.

The new building would literally be the centrepiece of Evraz Place, connecting the Credit Union EventPlex and new Co-operators Centre on the east side of the grounds with the Canada Centre buildings and commercial cattle building on the west and the Agribition Building and Brandt Centre arena to the south. c

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41

 NEWS AB OUT YOU

By Deb Wilson

PurelyPurebred

Suggestions are always welcome. My phone number is 403-325-1695

 Herefords had great success in the show ring this season, winning Supreme Championships at four different large stock shows across the country. In B.C. at the Interior Provincial Exhibition Caylynne Brown from Princeton claimed Supreme Champion Female with CB 122L LADY B 222Z and her calf, owned with Shar-Lo Farms, Public Landing, N.B. In Saskatchewan, MJT Cattle Company Ltd., Edgerton, Alta., claimed Supreme Champion Bull with MJT NITRO DUKE ET 78A at Lloydminster Stockade Roundup. In Manitoba at the Manitoba Livestock Exhibition ANL A XLP ACTION ET 75Z exhibited by Lone Pine Cattle Services, Vibank, Sask., and owned with ANL Polled Herefords was named Supreme Champion Bull.

Finally, in Ontario, at the RAWF which offered a Supreme overall show for the first time this year, NJW 73S W18 DOWNHOME 21ZET exhibited by Lyons Polled Herefords, St. Thomas, Ont., owned with Dalmuir Farms, Lindsay, Ont., and NJW Polled Herefords, Sheridan Wyoming, took home Supreme Champion Bull. Congratulations to all the breeders, owners and exhibitors.

ponents as part of this branding exercise.

Watch the show’s Facebook page for new postings.

Supreme bull, Manitoba Livestock Expo.

Supreme bull, Lloydminster Stockade Roundup .

42

C at t l e m e n · d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

 The 41st annual Farmfair International brought national and international sellers and buyers together to conduct business, trade industry knowledge and support Alberta’s thriving agriculture industry. A total of 91,516 guests came through the Edmonton EXPO Centre to see cattle shows and sales, equine events, the Heritage Ranch Rodeo, RAM Country Marketplace and more.

The guests included hundreds of registered international and Inbound Buyer Program participants from 10 countries — Australia, Brazil, U.S., Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, Scotland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. The program pays up to 50 per cent of a buyer’s travel costs up to $1,500. In addition to the buyers, the Australian High Commissioner to Canada, Her Excellency Louise Helen Hand and Ahmet Altiparama, governor of Erzurum in eastern Turkey participated in events.

Next year’s Farmfair International runs from November 10-15, 2015.  The Young Canadian Simmental Association (YCSA) is holding its second annual semen and embryo fundraiser.

Thanks to the generous donations of Simmental breeders, six lots of semen will be auctioned off at various sales across the country. Funds raised will go towards the YCSA program. For more information on these lots, contact Carla Schmitt 306-2217950 or Sophie Wotten 705-464-1713.  The Canadian Bull Congress 2015 edition will be held Jan. 23, 24, in Camrose, Alta. Entry forms are now available online.

Be sure to read the rules, as changes have been made to some of the shows. They have also added a Mature Bull Show. The complete handbook is not available to download, but the majority of the book is online under the required components.

Remember, entries are accepted on a firstcome, first-served basis. Give the office a call if you have any questions. You’ll also notice Canadian Bull Congress has a new logo which is part of its rebranding campaign going into 2015. Staff are also working hard to implement new marketing and international genetic and travel com

Email: deb.wilson@ fbcpublishing.com

 Shirley Lousie Rosso of Rosso Charolais, passed away on Saturday, October 25 at 72 years of age. She was from the Old Wives District, near Moose Jaw. Shirley leaves her husband of 53 years, John, her sons Darwin and Kevin, daughter Alma Wanner and seven grandchildren. She was predeceased by her son, Victor and brother, Bryan Lemieux. John and Shirley were recipients of the Saskatchewan Charolais Association Honour Scroll in 2008.  In late Oct., Dale Blair lost his battle with cancer. He was an important member of the Blair family and also a second-generation owner of Blair’s Family of Companies. Dale has played an important role in western Canadian agriculture, the Blair family and the Blair’s business.  With funding from the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency Ltd. (ALMA) Northlands unveiled the Livestock Innovation Showcase in conjunction with the Beef Shows in Hall B of the Edmonton EXPO Centre during Farmfair International in November.

The showcase highlighted the latest technological advancements in Canadian livestock production through the use of static and interactive displays. Northlands president and CEO Tim Reid says the showcase, “gives our industry the opportunity to market their products and genetics to domestic and international audiences that would otherwise go untapped.”  Livestock Gentec’s Tom Lynch-Staunton recently issued a report on the fall meeting of the Beef Value Chain Roundtable in Calgary. The main topics were the labour shortages facing the beef industry and an update on Ottawa’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, a summary of the latest research on antimicrobial/antibiotic resistance by Dr. Tim McAllister of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research station in Lethbridge, and an update on the new National Beef Strategic Plan being developed by Beef Cattle

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

PURELY PUREBRED

Research Council, Canada Beef Inc., Canadian Beef Breeds Council, National Cattle Feeders, the Canadian Cattleman’s Association, and the provincial beef organizations.

The five-year plan (2015-19) is to be a co-ordinated effort to address challenges and opportunities for the Canadian beef industry and includes targets for increasing demand for beef, reducing Canada’s cost disadvantage compared to international competitors, increasing the efficiency of production, and collaboration throughout the value chain and industry stakeholders.  Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Profiles: — Erin Durrell grew up on her family’s historic ranch, Wineglass Cattle Company in Riske Creek, B.C. Situated along the banks of the Chilcotin River, the central grasslands Erin Durrell of B.C.’s interior have been home to the Durrell family since the 1800s. Erin and her sister (Keely) and brother (Iaian) are the fifth generation to grow up there and be actively involved in the ranch from Day 1. Erin and her siblings have been very involved in rodeo, and she excelled as a breakaway roper during high school, winning a provincial championship in her graduating year and earning trips to the National and Canadian high school rodeo finals.

Wineglass Ranch runs a reputable commercial Black Angus herd that Erin is excited about continuing to develop.

The ranch has also developed a grassfed, antibiotic- and implant-free beef market through a local butcher shop and

through farm gate sales. All cattle work is done with horses and dogs and grassland and environmental sustainability are important to the ranch, its history and for its continued generations. Erin recently became a director of the local regional Cariboo Cattlemen’s Association and is looking forward to her involvement there. She has worked in agriculture in Australia, and in the veterinary industry here at home and is looking forward to returning to university to finish her degree in ag business.

Her interests include marketing and trade as well as animal health and the sustainability of family ranches. Erin is also looking forward to working with her mentor Kevin Boon. Kevin spent the past five years as general manager of the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association and is a former rancher and volunteer director with the cattle industry in Alberta. He is a member of the Minister’s Agriculture Advisory Committee for B.C., and a career mentor with the Thompson Rivers University Alumni and Friends Association.

— Jaclyn Horenberg developed her love for agriculture and passion for the beef industry on her family’s cow-calf operation near Stratford, Ont. She has shown Jaclyn Horenberg c a t t l e t h ro u g h o u t Canada with 4-H and the Ontario Limousin Association. She always knew she wanted to pursue a career in agriculture, so Jaclyn obtained her bachelor of science in agriculture, with a major in animal science from the University of Guelph.

During her third year, she began working with Agribrands Purina as an intern. Part

of her internship was with Cargill Meat Solutions where she worked with the beef procurement department purchasing cattle with the head cattle buyer. Since graduating in 2012, Jaclyn has continued to work with Agribrands Purina as a beef farm consultant assessing the nutritional needs of beef herds and recommending proper feed rations designed to maximize performance and meet economic goals.

Jaclyn and her husband do not operate a farm themselves, so she is grateful that her job allows her to stay involved in the beef industry.

Her mentor is Darryl Gibb. Darryl obtained degrees in animal science from Utah State University (bachelors and PhD) and the University of Nebraska (M.Sc.). He has conducted research at the farm level with Agriculture and AgriFood Canada and for the past 20 years work focused on ruminant nutrition for ranches and feedlots. Part of that work has been developing ration software for Continued on page 44

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feedlots and using NIRS to identify feeds that help enhance the profitability of producers.

— Neil Overby was raised on a commercial cow-calf and bison operation near Inwood, Man. He attended the University of Manitoba where he was enrolled in the animal science program concluding in 2007. During university, Neil created Overby Stock Farm, a purebred Gelbvieh operation and has been expanding the operation ever Neil Overby since. He has been fortunate to be involved in many established purebred cattle operations after university giving him valuable experience. Neil and his fiancée, Deanne Wilkinson, take great pride in how the purebred program has progressed over the years and are excited about where they can take it in the future.

The operation is located at Ste. Rose du Lac, Man., and along with Jaymarandy Limousin and Maple Grove Gelbvieh, Overby Stock Farm had an inaugural Western Gateway Bull Sale at the Ste. Rose Auction Mart on March 29 where they offered two-year-old and yearling Gelbvieh and Limousin bulls.

Along with the cattle operation, Neil also works for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development as a farm production adviser — ag Crown lands representative out of the Ste. Rose office. Neil feels privileged to have been selected into the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program and visiting with his mentor, Mike Fleury of the Saskatoon Auction Market.  The 36th annual Lloydminster Zoetis Stockade Round Up Oct. 30-Nov. 1 had nearly 500 cattle shown, with entries up in the purebred shows. This year the UFA Feature Show Series continued with the Stockade Lady Show, a heifer jackpot, and the King of the Ring Show, a bull jackpot! The Saskatchewan Angus Gold Shows were hosted at this event.

Dave and Sheila Crittall of Paradise Hill, Sask., were this year’s recipient of the Lloydminster Exhibition Cattleman of the Year Award.  A few weeks ago I had lunch with Ted Power, an old friend and president of Edmonton-based ViewTrak Technologies Inc. — a company working to help the livestock industry get better at tracking and sharing information to boost profits and competitiveness.

Ted and I talked about his perspective on what’s missing in the cattle industry — a focus on what he called “collaborative economics.” He feels that the industry is falling behind other livestock producers because we haven’t been sharing data effectively — for the sake of everyone from producers to consumers. Data sharing allows producers to ask for, and get, a premium price for their products by giving consumers a reason to pay a premium for their meat. Ted tells me that pork and lamb producers are driving data sharing in their industries because they have the most to gain, or lose.

It’s hard to argue with Ted’s point that data sharing is the path to not just revenue growth but also increased profits, and sustainability within the industry. I agree that responding to consumer demand for more information is just good business.

Retailers are already on this path, and we producers can’t afford to keep banging our heads against a wall on this issue. c

Bryce and Dawn McKenzie, Rosetown, Sask.

Publications Mail Agreement

44

Number 40069240

C at t l e m e n · d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 Market Su mma ry

By Debbie McMillin

TheMarkets Fed Cattle

 DEB ’S OUTLOOK

Following strong contra-seasonal fed prices this summer, cash cattle continued to climb to new highs through the fall. While it’s not uncommon to see annual highs posted in the fourth quarter, the size of the year-over-year change is unprecedented. The current cash average of $174/cwt is nearly $50 more than the same week in 2013. While Canadian prices have been historically high, the cash-to-cash basis has been seasonally weak leading to increased bids from U.S. buyers. The current cash-to-cash basis is -16.81/ cwt compared to the five-year average of -11.06/cwt. Fed cattle exports have jumped to over 10,000 head per week.

Year-to-date exports are up seven per cent at 318,427 head.

Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle-on-feed numbers increased seasonally this fall, but the October 1 report has the numbers on feed down three per cent from 2013 at 700,963 head. September placements were also down three per cent from last year. Fed steer slaughter, however, is up four per cent on the year at 1,221,294 head and heifer slaughter is running 10 per cent ahead of last year at 729,535 head.

Fed Cattle Given the large number of cattle forward contracted for delivery this month and tight overall supplies available, the cash trade is bound to remain light for the remainder of 2014. At the same time the demand for middle meats during the holidays will support fed prices through the remainder of 2014.

As we look toward a new year the tighter overall supplies of cattle in North America should prevail and lead to a strong fed market as we start 2015.

Feeder Cattle

Non-Fed Cattle Given that cow slaughter across North America is smaller than normal, prices will remain strong.

The Canadian market generally sees a rally in beef prices toward the end of the year and 2014 should be no different. High fed cattle prices support the cull price by increasing the value of lean trim.

The demand for grinding meat and trim hasn’t wavered and is expected to remain strong in 2015.

This coupled with the lower Canadian dollar and smaller U.S. cow supply will support prices and keep a solid floor under this market.

Outstanding prices continue to be the story in the feeder market, but the peak volumes entering the market allowed buyers to become more disciplined in their purchases with the result, feeder prices slipped back for four consecutive weeks. 550-lb. Alberta steers lost $15 to average $278.93/cwt at the start of November but were still $117 ahead of last year.

Even though heavy feeder volumes are small this time of year, prices were still running $94/cwt ahead of last year to average $237.17 on 850-lb. steers the first week of November. The 850-lb. feeder basis remains wide at -33.29/cwt compared to a five-year average of -12.60/cwt. The Canadian dollar is the lowest it has been since the first quarter of 2009. That, coupled with the lowest U.S. corn price in recent years and a wider than seasonal basis, has retained U.S. buyer interest in Canadian calves, and exports have increased in recent weeks, pushing year-to-date shipments up 45 per cent over 2013 to 342,368 head.

non-fed Cattle Cow slaughter is smaller this fall than in recent years. As pregnancy checking takes place, additional cows will be marketed; however, after years of large sell-offs there are fewer cows available. The strong calf market in 2014 will no doubt encourage many producers to cull less aggressively. As a result the seasonal drop in cow prices has been a lot less than in past years. D1,2 cows dipped down as www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Feeder Cattle Feeder buyers are closely watching the feeder-tofed swap ratio as rising feed costs pose an added risk to continued profitability. Meanwhile, the weak Canadian dollar and lower cost of gain south of the border will maintain U.S. buyer interest, which will keep a solid floor under the Canadian feeder market. With volumes available at auction shrinking as the end of 2014 approaches, prices should reflect the smaller supply. Look for a solid market moving forward to the new year.

low as $123.10 from the high of $128 at one point, but in the past six weeks climbed back up to near $126/cwt, compared to $73 at the start of November 2013. Cow slaughter-to-date is down eight per cent at 321,578 head and exports are off by nine per cent at 211,252 head.

Butcher bull prices have dropped below the posted highs but are still averaging $138.07/cwt, high enough to bring in more culled bulls than usual as many producers will look at replacing bulls in the spring rather than holding them through the winter. So far in 2014, bull slaughter in Canada is up 15 per cent from last year at 4,725 head and exports of butcher bulls are up 10 per cent to 66,691 head. c Debbie McMillin is a market analyst who ranches at Hanna, Alta.

More markets 

C a t t l e m e n · d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4 45

M A R K ETS

Break-even Prices on A-Grade Steers

Market Prices

190 180 170 160 150 140 130 120 110

290

ALBERTA

250 210 170

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

180

ONTARIO

165

130

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

130

D1,2 Cows

120 110

150

100

135

90 80

120 105

Steer Calves (500-600 lb.)

70 60

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

Canfax weighted average price on A-Grade steers

Break-even price for steers on date sold

2014 2013

2015 2014

November 2014 prices* Alberta Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $239.64/cwt Barley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.92/bu.

Barley silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.00/ton Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.26/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96.10/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171.21/cwt Break-even (April 2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183.25/cwt Ontario Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $233.64/cwt Corn silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.48/ton Grain corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.31/bu.

Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.79/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96.77/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170.41/cwt Break-even (May 2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177.00/cwt *Mid-month to mid-month prices Breakevens East: end wt 1,450, 183 days West end wt 1,325 lb., 125 days

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

Ontario

Alberta

2014 2013

2014 2013

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

Market Summary (to November 8) 2014

2013

Total Canadian federally inspected slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,336,497. . . . . . . . . 2,246,222 Average steer carcass weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859 lb.. . . . . . . . . . . . 876 lb.

Total U.S. slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,207,000. . . . . . . . 28,251,000

Trade Summary Exports 2014 2013 Fed cattle to U.S. (to November 8). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338,791.. . . . . . . . . . 309,061 Feeder cattle and calves to U.S. (to November 8). . . . . . . . . . . . 374,725.. . . . . . . . . . . 252,716 Dressed beef to U.S. (to September). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361.30 mil.lbs.. . . . 320.44 mil.lbs Total dressed beef (to September). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515.02 mil.lbs.. . . . 453.40 mil.lbs 2014 IMPORTS 2013 Slaughter cattle from U.S. (to September) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 *Dressed beef from U.S. (to September) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218.43 mil.lbs. . . . . 268.55 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Australia (to September) . . . . . . . . . . 43.37 mil.lbs. . . . . . .26.59 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from New Zealand (to September) . . . . . . 19.95 mil.lbs. . . . . . .29.48 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Uruguay (to September) . . . . . . . . . . 10.68 mil.lbs. . . . . . . 25.62 mil.lbs Canadian Grades (to November 15, 2014) % of A grades +59% 54-58% AAA 21.1 21.7 AA 27.4 9.1 A 1.9 0.1 Prime 0.3 0.5 Total 31.4 50.7

EAST WEST

Total graded 527,404 1,835,210

Yield – 53% Total 12.7 55.5 2.5 39.0 0.0 2.0 0.9 1.7 16.1 Total A grade 98.2%

Total ungraded 19,961 752

% carcass basis 82.9% 88.8% Only federally inspected plants

46

C at t l e m e n ¡ d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 market ta l k

By Gerald Klassen

Barley could see $240

C

ash barley prices in southern Alberta have been percolating higher since mid-September. At the time of writing this article, feedlots in the Lethbridge area were buying barley in the range of $185 to $188 per mt delivered which is up from the harvest lows of $155/mt. After all the talk of burdensome feed grain supplies in Western Canada and the larger corn crop in the U.S., barley prices have managed to stage a sizable rally. I’ve had many inquiries over the past month regarding the price outlook for feed barley over the winter period. This latest price strength caught many feedlots by surprise and influencing their cattle feeding projections due to the higher cost per pound of gain. Therefore, I thought this would be a good time to discuss the fundamental structure for feed barley and the risks that will influence prices over the winter.

Average barley yields across Western Canada came in lower than anticipated resulting in a sharp year-over-year decline in production. Canadian yields averaged 62.7 bushels per acre compared to the record of 71.7 bushels per acre last year. The 2014 production is now estimated at 7.2 million mt, down from 10.2 million mt in 2013. Western Canada will be contending with extremely tight barley supplies for the remainder of the crop year and the market will have to move higher to slow exports and ration demand to encourage the use of alternate feed grains.

Domestic malting companies are struggling to find quality supplies but Canadian human food usage will be about 0.8 million mt, Supply and disposition of Canadian barley (’000 tonnes) StatsCan 10/11

StatsCan 11/12

StatsCan 12/13

10-year average

Estimated Estimated 13/14 14/15

Acres seeded

6,911

6,472

7,405

9,379

7,083

5,949

Acres harvested

5,899

5,843

6,797

8,280

6,554

5,248

Yield (bu./ac.)

59.21

61.00

54.10

57.48

71.70

62.70

Opening stocks Aug. 1

2,583

1,441

1,195

2,149

983

1,924

Production

7,605

7,755

8,012

10,322

10,237

7,164

SUPPLY

Imports TOTAL SUPPLY

42

14

19

42

7

12

10,230

9,210

9,226

12,514

11,227

9,100

1,272

1,200

1,250

1,576

1,554

600

USE Exports Seed

233

257

249

317

209

235

Human food/industrial/1

902

933

886

957

971

800

Feed-waste-dockage

6,382

5,625

5,858

7,560

6,569

6,250

TOTAL USE

8,789

8,015

8,243

10,409

9,303

7,885

TOTAL CARRY-OVER

1,441

1,195

983

2,105

1,924

1,215

1/includes barley processed domestically and then exported as malt

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

marginally less than the 1.0 million mt consumed in the 2013-14 crop year. The talk in the trade is that about 150,000 mt of European malt barley is moving into Canada to help supply domestic malters.

When production is historically low, the domestic feed market functions to keep supplies away from offshore channels. Domestic Canadian feed usage is estimated at 6.2 million mt compared to 6.569 million mt last year. This leaves about 0.6 million mt available for exports of feed and malt barley. The result is a carryout near 1.2 million mt which is sharply below the 2013-14 carry-out of 1.9 million mt and also below the 10-year average of 1.9 million mt.

If the carry-out is below the 10-year average, then prices have had a tendency to move above the average price over the past 10 years.

This is a rule of thumb but in the 2014-15 crop year, there are a few factors that will temper the upside.

Feed wheat in southern Alberta was trading in the range of $185 to $190 delivered to the feedlot or feed mill in early November. During harvest feed wheat was actually trading at a discount to barley but it appears that the hard red spring wheat crop may be higher quality than earlier anticipated. Secondly, Canadian wheat production was 27.5 million mt, down 10 million mt from the 2013 crop.

Supplies of feed wheat are not overly burdensome.

This fall many analysts were factoring in a surge of U.S. imports into Western Canada. However, record-high rail rates in the U.S. have tempered the import of U.S. corn into the West. U.S. rail rates have traded as high as US$5,000 per car over tariff adding costs of US$45 to $60 per mt. This has virtually eliminated the use of U.S. corn in southern Alberta feedlot rations. U.S. rail rates are now decreasing so this is something to watch moving forward.

In conclusion, I wouldn’t be surprised to see feed barley trade up into the range of $230 to $240 per mt delivered Lethbridge. At these levels, we would see some U.S. corn trade into southern Alberta tempering the strength in feed barley. This would also eliminate feed barley exports as barley from northern Alberta and central and northern Saskatchewan would price competitively into southern Alberta rather than export channels.

Strength in feed barley prices could limit the upside in the feeder market over the winter as well. A large portion of feed barley trades directly off farm to feedlots and producers have to buy smaller volumes in many cases. This also makes it difficult to source sufficient supplies and causes the market to be quite volatile at times. Feedlots will want to make sure they have sufficient coverage as the market could incorporate a risk premium if adverse wintry conditions materialize. Truck logistics will once again be a major factor driving the market because supplies for southern Alberta will have to be sourced from more distant locations. c Gerald Klassen analyzes markets in Winnipeg and also maintains an interest in the family feedlot in southern Alberta. He can be reached at gklassen7@hotmail.com.

C at t l e m e n · d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

47

 2014 ind ex

Title

Issue

Page

ANIMAL HEALTH

Manitoba TB battle gets some backing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 42 Zoetis introduces Bovi-Shield Gold one shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 49 Assessing risks for venereal disease in cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . . 8 Hunting for Johne’s disease in Saskatchewan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 26 Zilmax shows no harmful effect on cattle — study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . 41 A facelift for bovine TB surveillance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 32 Ear tags for early disease detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 36 Can twine kill a cow? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 42 Toe-tip necrosis still something of a mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 38 Virtual on-farm necropsy hunts out disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . 46 VBP animal care module moving ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . 48 Talk, tweet and shout about antibiotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . 20 What can we do about mycoplasma? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 38 The full cost of pink eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . 40 Out of tragedy: lessons learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 14

ASSOCIATIONS

The yards a hit at CWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 70 Larson wants a stronger voice for SCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . 44 Manitoba approves checkoff increase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . 46 Dave Solverson: CCA president . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 24 Beef Farmers of Ontario highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . 40 NCFA settles into its role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 32 Streamlined BCCA board gets down to work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 35 SSGA sets busy agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 32 Farm and Food Care Saskatchwan starts up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 38

BREEDING

Keeping it simple with F1s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 10 Update on the Canadian Cattle Genomic Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . 50 Common pitfalls with semen evaluations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 15 Droplets: A common defect in young bull evaluations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 16 Genomics hits the ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 32 Putting genomics to work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 34 An AI cowculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 24 Deflating fixed-time AI myths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 26 Rethinking the public perception of genomics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 16 The next time you process cattle, pull tail hairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 51

CALVING

Be prepared for calving season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 14 Four calving seasons per year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 18 Late weaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 24 Fetal programming of beef cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 29 Calfhood vaccinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 38 ICalve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 42 Tips for calving at pasture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . 50 The advantages of calving at pasture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 54 Practical advice on scours prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . 56 Are your cows in season? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . 60 Genomics 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . 64 Calving tips and tales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . 66 Female triplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 42 Triplets again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 42 New quads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 35

economics

Producers give thumbs up to price insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 10 Making a profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 18 Hard days ahead for the loonie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 36

ENVIRONMENT/Wildlife/WELFARE

Wolves under the microscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 46 B.C. wolf management plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 48 Western Ranchlands combines conservation and profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 35 Fee-for-service conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . 20 Measuring agriculture’s shadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 24 Burgess family wins Saskatchewan environmental award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 34 Proving feedlot animal welfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 21 Alternative phosphorus-based manure applications evaluated . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . 50 We’ve got grizzlies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 Getting a grip on grizzly populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 14

EQUIPMENT

Solid-state digester shows promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . 20 Winter water systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 28

Feed/FEEDING

U of S feedlot gets the green light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 42

Forage

Native forage species go under the microscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . 56

48

C at t l e m e n · d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

Title

Issue

Page

Swift Current researchers take the long view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 10 Alberta Forage Network seeking more members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 38 Swaths won out over standing grass on this ranch test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 38 Manitoba to fund community pasture transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 41 Brett Young and Lallemand team up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 42 Can I do that on grass? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . 46 Don’t gamble on feed quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 10 Mountainview, a sainfoin with staying power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 52 Here’s the thing about trace minerals in Saskatchewan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 10

gRAZING

Bale grazing: more than one way to skin a cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 38 How I receive grass cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 18 The grazing plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 12 Grazing Prior style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 14 Bale grazing still too chancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 18 Grazing habits of cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 28 You can learn about grazing yearlings from a dairyman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 36 Common tansy and scentless chamomile love the wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 10 The more you know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 22 My best employee ever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 14 Gravity always works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 16 Twice-over grazing leads to herd makeover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 26 Canadian (thistle)… and proud of it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 16 A greener pastures walk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 12 The importance of field diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 16 Pasture pigs prove profitable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 26 Is it really food? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 18

History

They rode away together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 12 Pauline and Brenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Canadian embargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 10 Western Evangeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Feed and feeder policy in 1947 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Wanted — a bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . . .7 Aunt Kate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Horse sense, what is it? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Lachlin McKinnon, the passing of another pioneer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . . 7 Predator destroyed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The legend of the white horses of Chief Mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Rights of surface owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 10

HOLISTIC RANCHING

Planning for 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 32 Planned grazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 19 Benefiting from good times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . 40 HRM Conference report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . 20 Seizing the opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 20 Supplying consumer demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 24 Planned grazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . .18 The greater sage grouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 26 The power of paradigms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 28 Exiting the beef industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 33 The danger in strong cattle prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . 30 Planning ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . 20

IDENTIFICATION

Saskatchewan shakes up premises ID and brand inspection services . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 76 RFID tagging best done in warm weather — PAMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 49 Ninety-eight per cent retention of ID tags on calves and yearlings . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 32 Has traceability fallen off the track? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 22 Central ID database to open in 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 37

Management

Milk goats and beef fit together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 28 It takes a neighbourhood to grow beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 42 Front load the heifers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . 20 Sharpen your human resource skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 38 Sharpen your human resource skills, Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . 30 Don't believe the chatter… Implants pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 18 Sharpen your human resource skills, Part 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 38 Praise for price insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 46 No hay here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 10 A farm built for two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A small herd built with pride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 14 Making the most of every opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 26 Straight talk on steroids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . 40

Marketing

Beef Advocacy Canada ready to roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 73 Quality in: quality out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 12

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 2014 ind ex

Title

Issue

Page

Advocacy on the front lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 24 CAB growing in Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 52 BCBeefNet goes online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 54 McDonald’s wants verified sustainable beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Verified sustainability is coming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 24 New market app available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 44 Auctioneers rattle it out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 36 A&W wants to market more beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 14 Direct-marketed grass-fed beef fuelled their expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 28 Veteran market introduces fall-forward sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 32 Fundamentals strong but beware of ceiling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 42 A&W missed a step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . . 7 Heavy feeder exports will continue — analyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 51 From birth to beef: the story of Buis Beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 32 Highly marbled beef fits the bill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 49 Market your health program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 43

Meat/packers

VG Meats debuts tenderness=tested beef in Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 12 ALMA supports upgrades to Harmony Beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 39

Market Talk

Beef demand looking forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 82 Barley price outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 62 Feeder cattle market outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 57 Barley fundamentals changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 49 Corn outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 57 Feeder cattle market looking forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 45 Beef demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 41 Feed grain price outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 49 Larger meat supplies could weigh on feeder market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 59 Feed grain update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 67 Risk sentiment weighs on Canadian dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 61 Barley could see $240 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 47

Miscellaneous

Beef Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 33 Rick Wright named to LMAC Hall of Fame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 37 Caution to hobby farmers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . . 7 Beef Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 43

Nutrition

Feed the rumen first: Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 28 Supplementing vitamins A, D and E to beef cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 18 A midterm checkup for your feeding program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 28 With calves at $2 — attention to detail pays dividends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 16 Something to think about . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 15 Something more to think about . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . .12 Choosing the right mineral more than price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 10 Strategic protein supplementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 20 Achieving performance in backgrounding programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 30 Is your roller mill stealing your profits? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 18 Vitamin case cracked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 42 Vitamin E levels drop in stored feeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 56 Are mycotoxin hiding in your feed supply? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 38 Stepping up the energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 22

POLICY

Momentum building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 58 Issues for 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 44 Finishing up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 44 Western price insurance, at last . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 48 Positive momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 34 COOL case gets a reboot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 32 Interesting times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 28 Promoting beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 28 Labour shortages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 36 A busy August . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . 40 Trade and labour issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . 50 Texas trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 48 U.S. election may fix COOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 35

PRIME CUTS

Leadership and unity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 48 A year of change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . 40 The COOL nightmare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 31 Roller-coaster record ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 33 Focus on quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 37 COOL’s legal turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 34 The tipping point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 31 Cruel weather and cows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 27 Fewer cattle, fewer plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 31 Working for the industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 48

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Title

Issue

Page

COOL tariffs threaten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 35 Weighty matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 32

RESEARCH

Plant-based veterinary vaccines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 34 Bug spray for beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . 40 Moderate gains for heifers get green light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 16 Undernourished bull calves can’t make up lost ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 32 Beam me up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 36 Cold enough for you? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 36 The high cost of shortchanging cows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 22 Weighing a production system’s impact on beef quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 39 Better tests for trich and vibrio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 30 Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 22 Ergot — low levels cause big problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 23 A new look at acidosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 25 Hot air doesn’t just come from cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 14 Flipping for mechanically tenderized beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 36 Canada’s beef industry supports forage research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 29 Feed barley breeding investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 19

Safety/biosecurity Now’s the time to speak up about Safe Food Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 38

SEEDSTOCK

Big DNA step for U.K. Aberdeen Angus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 37 Lowlines make the cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 59 Little cattle with a mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 22 Young judges size up their craft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 16 Agribition barns will come down under new plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 41

STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP

2014 game changers for beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 62 Something that I said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 46 Uprooting an economic dependency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 42 The next transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 26 Building blocks for success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 40 Out of control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 30 Who owns you? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 30 What is at ‘steak?’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 34 How we are portrayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 44 Value branded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 46 Lean in our approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 47 What is the point? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 25

TRADE

COOL back to WTO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 48 COOL update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 45 Suspend COOL if WTO rules against U.S., says coalition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 49 Free trade creeps closer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 56 The view from Europe on free trade with Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 23 Helping out the Russians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 30

TRANSPORT

A trucker’s memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 12

Verified Beef production

Teaching responsible use of antibiotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 61 A new generation of VBP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 41 On-farm biosecurity: keep it simple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 43 The promise of a new beef year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 35 Ranch-fresh thinking for managing animal health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 41 Avoid poisoning cattle on pasture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 29 Needle-free injections show promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 29 Natural health products and the food safety challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 31 A master plan for cull cows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 41 Respect required for feed ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 44 Ontario producers test drive new animal care code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 34 “It’s our future: why we need to be involved” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 28

Vet Advice

Will we ever learn? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 46 Seeking credibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb . . . . . . . . . . 30 Still a long way to go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar . . . . . . . . . . 30 Disease prevention equals crisis prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 32 Trichomoniasis is still a threat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 14 Long winters: a tipping point in calf health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . . . . . . . . 18 It’s in the stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July . . . . . . . . . . 22 Update on guidance #213 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 30 Trust at the heart of a social licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 15 Brood cow nutrition part of fall planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . . . . . . . . . . 19 Back to basics with BRD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . . 36 BVDV eradication still a North American pipe dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 29

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49

 GOINGS ON

Sales&Events Events December

5-6

anitoba Cattle Producers Annual M Meeting, Victoria Inn, Brandon, Man. 18-19 Beef Farmers of Ontario 2015 Annual General Meeting, International Plaza Hotel, Toronto, Ont. 18-20 Alberta Beef Industry Conference, Sheraton Hotel, Red Deer, Alta.

9-11 2 014 Western Canadian Grazing Conference — “Going Beyond Sustainability,” Radisson Hotel South, Edmonton, Alta., www.wcgconference.ca 10-11 Saskatchewan Farm and Food Care Launch, Transitioned from Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan, Sheraton Cavalier, Saskatoon, Sask.

17 Canadian Beef Breeds Council Board Meeting, Calgary, Alta.

April

January 2015

December

10-25 National Western Stock Show and Rodeo, National Western Complex, Denver, Colorado, www.nationalwestern.com 21-23 Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference, Evraz Place, Regina, Sask.

23-24 Canadian Beef Industry Congress, Camrose Regional Exhibition, Camrose, Alta. attle Industry Convention and NCBA C Trade Show, Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas

 ADVERTI S E R I ND EX

dvancing Women in Agriculture, A Conference, Calgary, Alta.

17

21 27

Sales 15

S andan Charolais Spring Calving Dispersal, at the farm, Erskine, Alta.

January 2015 31

31

February 4-7

6-7

16

C Quantock “Canada’s Bulls” Sale, M Lloyd Exhibition, Lloydminster, Alta., www.mcquantock.com Lazy S Bull Power Sale, at the ranch, Mayerthorpe, Alta.

February 6

7

nchor D Ranch Genetic Edge A Simmental Bull Sale, at the ranch, Rimbey, Alta.

Hill 70 Quantock Ranch “Barn Burnin’ Bull Sale,” at the ranch, Lloydminster, Alta./Sask., www.hill70quantock.com Chapman Cattle Co. Bull Sale-Red and Black Angus, Stettler Auction Mart, Stettler, Alta.

26th Annual Mader Ranches Bull Power Sale, at the farm, Carstairs, Alta.

Soderglen Select 2015 Annual Bull Sale,

Page Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 31 Airdrie Trailer Sales 41 12 Canadian Angus Assoc.

40 Canadian Charolais Assoc.

OBC Canadian Gelbvieh Assoc.

40 Canadian Hereford Assoc.

40 13 Canadian Limousin Assoc.

40 Canadian Red Angus Promotion Society 40 14 Canadian Shorthorn Assoc.

37 Canadian Simmental Assoc.

40 Cattlesoft-Cattlemax 13 43 Central Testing Laboratories L I V E S T O C K C A R E Greener Pastures 43 L I V E S T O C K C A R E Hi-Hog Farm & Ranch Equipment 41 Hill 70 Quantock Ranch 9 International Stock Foods 40 Help Line & Resource Team Help Line & Resource Team John Deere Ag Marketing Center 7 To Lreport Lazy S Ranch 36 Line I VHelpElivestock S &TResource O care C Team K concerns C A R E MC Quantock Livestock IFC,&3 Resource Team CALL Help Line To report livestock care concerns Merck Animal Health IBC CALL Merial 17 afac.ab.ca Supported by Alberta’s Livestock Industry Mosaic Company 15, 38 Help Line & Resource Team Plain Jan’s Inc. 40 reportbylivestock careIndustry concerns afac.ab.caTo Supported Alberta’s Livestock Rawes Ranch 39 Salers Assoc. of Canada 21 CALL Saskatchewanafac.ab.ca 13 Beef Industry Supported by Alberta’s Livestock Industry Soderglen Ranch 26, 27 afac.ab.ca Supported by Alberta’s Livestock Industry 6 The Cattle Range

at the ranch, Airdrie, Alta., www.soderglen.com Ole Farms 10th Annual Family Day Sale, at the farm, Athabasca, Alta.

Rawes Ranches 32nd Annual Performance Tested Charolais Bull Sale, at the ranch, Strome, Alta., www.rawesranches.com Lewis Farms 30th Annual Bull Sale, at the farm, Spruce Grove, Alta.

Stewart Cattle Co. and Guests Bull Sale, Beautiful Plains Ag Society, Neepawa, Man.

March 3

7

elvin Angus Bull Sale, at the farm, B Innisfail, Alta.

26th Annual Davidson Gelbvieh Bull Sale and Lonesome Dove Ranch Bull Sale, at the bull yards, Ponteix, Sask., www.davidsongelbvieh.com

April 1

18

eak Dot Ranch Bull and Female Sale, P at the ranch, Wood Mountain, Sask.

37th Shortgrass Angus Bull and Female Sale, at the ranch, Aneroid, Sask. c

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

Your contact is Deborah Wilson at 403-325-1695 or deb.wilson@fbcpublishing.com

STAMPEDE

By Gerry Palen

ALERT ALERT ALERT 1-800-506-2273 ALERT 1-800-506-2273

L I V E S T O C K

C A R E

To report livestock care concerns CALL

1-800-506-2273

1-800-506-2273

50

C at t l e m e n · d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Do you qualify for a

BREATHE EASY CREDIT?

Optimize BRD protection with ZUPREVO

®

High and sustained concentrations in lung tissue.1 Indicated for the reduction of morbidity associated with BRD in feedlot calves.

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* Per like-sized vial in animals of comparable weight. † Consult your veterinarian for details.

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1. Menge, M., Rose, M., Bohland, C., Zschiesche, E., Kilp, S., Metz, W., Allan, M., Röpke, R., Nürnberger, M. Pharmacokinetics of tildipirosin in bovine plasma, lung tissue, and bronchial fluid (from live, non-anesthetized cattle). J. Vet. Pharmacol. Therap. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2885.2011.01349.x.

2. As per the approved Canadian product label concentrations and recommended dosages.

ZUPREVO® and RESFLOR® are registered trademarks of Intervet International B.V., used under license by Intervet Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA, operating in Canada as Merck Animal Health.

MERCK® is a registered trademark of Merck Canada Inc. in Canada.

Copyright © 2014 Intervet International B.V., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All rights reserved.

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2320 41st Ave NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6W8 Phone: 403.250.9242 I Fax: 403.291.9324

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