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Wolves of the West  10 Recycle residues  14 Food farms a hit  28

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Contents canadian cattlemen · october 5, 2015 · Volume 78, No. 9

 g etting started

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Travis and becky page  manag ement

FEATURES Wolves of the West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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Recycle residues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Travis and Becky Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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Harvey Brink looks to service specialists for expert advice on feeding fababeans and other chores.

Food farms are a hit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Verified Beef Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

DEPARTMENTS Comment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Newsmakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Our History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

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Holistic Ranching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Food farms are a hit It’s a fun way to show kids the link between farming and their burgers and pizza.

Congratulations!

To our October 5 survey winner, Gary Hudson of Perth, Ont. This month’s survey is on page 42.

Cover photo: Taken by the Page family.

28

Prime Cuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Vet Advice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Research on the Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Straight from the Hip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 CCA Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 News Roundup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Purely Purebred. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The Markets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Market Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Sales and Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 C at t l e m e n · o c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

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 COMMENT

By Gren Winslow

Dropping in on the animal rights movement No change — they still want everyone to go vegan

T

he Animal Agriculture Alliance, the industry’s advocacy group in the U.S., recently sent me a report by two young interns who were sent to “blend in” at the National Animal Rights Conference held outside Washington this summer to gain some insight into the movement’s plans.

The short answer is more of the same, as 1,500 activists from 47 states and 22 countries spent three days discussing ways to eliminate the consumption of meat and advance the vegan diet.

On the whole it was a chilling summary. There were workshops on everything from organizing factory farm campaigns to the use of drones to gather damning video and how to garner media attention for the cause.

Overall, the alliance pulled five themes from this report: people need to be convinced they are doing the greatest good for the greatest number; target young people because they want to be different; lead people step by step to veganism; focus on the public because the government and police are not your friends; vandalism is warranted if it can gain media attention and pressure restaurant and retailer policies.

None of this is secret information. Animal rights organizations have been following this manifesto for decades now. If anything, this report seems to show that the movement is becoming more widespread, and more organized over time.

Some of the workshops got into the nitty-gritty of direct action.

One well-known activist mapped out a strategy by which college kids opposed to health research on animals could trick the university into banning students from a building used for animal testing. Then he told them how to inflame the story to make it into something the media would pick up and pressure the university to respond.

He also encourages activists to start a blog and link to the bigger blogs that mainstream media watch for emerging stories.

Another encouraged activists to look at every action as a stepping stone, to scale back their initial demands to something acceptable and then build on each small victory toward the end goal. One example would be to campaign for the end of battery cages in poultry operations on your university, then push to end them in your state and eventually end them in the U.S. His means of obtaining those small steps involves activists gathering video evidence that could be viewed as animal cruelty.

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C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

This strategy really hit home to me as I scanned through the report, as we’ve had a few fresh examples of its success hitting the news wires.

First came the announcement that McDonald’s was going to gradually switch to free-range eggs over the next decade starting with five per cent of its supply last month. According to Sylvain Charlebois of the University of Guelph Food Institute, McDonald’s buys 120 million eggs a year in Canada alone. That requires the services of 3.2 million laying hens that must be pulled from cages over the next decade just to satisfy this one customer.

Slowly over time, enough of the public has been encouraged to believe battery cages are bad, that a major buyer is now forced to tell its suppliers to switch. It means higher costs, which in Canada will certainly be passed on, but we can only imagine that McDonald’s factored that into its decision.

The same company has the cattle industry ramping up to raise fully sustainable beef, although the exact details of what that means are still to be determined. This, too, is in response to public pressure, much of it traced back to the actions of activists.

In August, McDonald’s and Tyson Foods jointly dropped a chicken supplier in Tennessee after Mercy for Animals released a video taken by an activist of workers beating and stomping some chickens.

In September, the Animal Legal Defense Fund released a video taken at a Tyson plant in Texas and filed complaints with the USDA for inhumane animal-handling practices and food safety violations, then asked the attorny general of Delaware to investigate Tyson Foods for similar violations.

You could almost hear them planning it at the annual convention, which by the way had a whole section on dealing with government, law and politics.

These stories are so frequent now we sometimes grow numb to them, especially when they hit other sectors or another country. But activists don’t think that way. They are happy with the long view. Every little success counts.

Meanwhile livestock producers are kept busy devising welfare plans, environmental farm plans, codes of practice, best management practices to show they do deal with their animals humanely. But we know it will never be enough.

If this report from the alliance says anything it is that the activist’s end goal is elimination of the livestock industry. Maybe we need to start asking, what is our end strategy? c

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 THE INDUST RY

NewsMakers Daryl Leppa

Bow Valley Genetics of Brooks, Alta. has welcomed Daryl Leppa as its new sire manager. He worked as herdsman at Six Mile Red Angus in Fir Mountain, Sask. for eight years.

Canadian Cattlemen’s Association director Tim Smith of Coronation, Alta., was named a 2016 Glacier Media Nuffield Scholar last month. His family’s century farm has grown from Tim Smith a small portion of a divided farm in 1915 to a successful ranch with an 800-head cow-calf cattle operation and a custom forage harvesting business.

Through his Nuffield project, Tim plans to research the valuation of ecological goods and services provided by cattle ranches in the U.S., Australia and South America. “This is an unprecedented opportunity to review the delivery of ecosystem services in other countries and learn from the best of them,” he said in a CCA release. “Ecosystem services are important to the ranching and pastoral communities and I’m excited to explore the relationship between the benefits cattle production provides society and the value society is willing to place on those benefits.”

The scholarships of $15,000 are awarded to men and women who are judged to have the greatest potential to create value for them, their industries and their communities through this experience.

Crystal Mackay is resigning as executive director of Farm & Food Care Ontario effective January 1, 2016 to become the CEO of the new national char­­ity Farm & Food Care Canada (FFCC) Crystal Mackay that has a mandate to build public trust in food and farming in Canada.

It is a natural next step for Crystal who left Ontario Pork in 2004 to become the executive director of the Ontario Farm Animal Council and later the joint executive director of both OFAC and AGCare, the provincial association representing the crops industry. Then in 2012

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C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

she helped merge those two to form Farm & Food Care Ontario. According to FFCC chair Bruce Christie, Crystal has been managing the national charity on a part-time basis since it was formed.

Kayla Baldarson Burak is the new manager of the Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan. While taking her master’s degree at the University of Regina she studied post-release moveKayla Baldarson ments, habitat selection Burak and nest success of greater sage grouse moving from Montana to Alberta in 2011 and 2012. She has also worked for Alberta Environment and Parks, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited and the Alberta Conservation Association.

Alberta Beef Producers is looking to hire a marketing and education manager to run the association’s related marketing and education programs out of the Calgary office.

Candidates who have post-secondary training in marketing or communications with a minimum of five years’ work experience in these fields can find more details on the ABP website at www.albertabeef.org.

Of interest to readers who follow our History section, is a new book from the University of Calgary Press, So Far and Yet So Close, written

by Warren Elofson, the former head of the university history department who lists ranching and farming in his background. Elofson compares the coincidental development of the cattle industry in Western Canada and northern Australia from their beginnings in the 1870s to early 1880s on the frontiers of both societies. And while a nearly indistinguishable frontier culture developed in these distant lands, in the end the natural environment pushed agriculture development in both countries along very different paths. Details are found on www.ucalgary.ca/ucpress.

A coalition of Ontario farm organizations along with food and beverage processors has launched a campaign to extend Ontario’s Environmental Farm Plan into a whole farm sustainability plan to address not only envi-

ronmental issues, but economic and social issues, as well. The campaign, labelled The Farm, Food and Beyond: Our Commitment to Sustainability was announced by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Christian Farmers’ Federation of Ontario, the President’s Council, Ontario Agri-Food Technologies, the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Farm & Food Care Ontario and the beverage and food processors’ Provision Coalition at the Ontario Outdoor Farm Show last month at Woodstock. Details are available at www.sustainablefarms.ca.

Leann Clifford is the new executive administrator of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association. She and her husband farmed in the Kayville area until they recently moved to Regina.

DuPont Pioneer has appointed Breeanna Kelln as its new livestock information manager for Western Canada based in Saskatoon.

She holds a bachelor and master’s degree in animal science from the University of Sask­ atchewan as well as a certified crop adviser designation. The company says the creation of this position is another step in its ongoing strategy to grow the use of its low heat unit corn hybrids in Western Canada. c STAMPEDE

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ď ľ our histo ry

guest editorial

Reprinted from Canadian Cattlemen, November 1949

By George G. Ross, Aden, Alta., chairman, National Council of Canadian Beef Producers

T

he recognition by the Department of National Revenue of permanent herds of livestock as capital investment with the returns from dispersal sales of basic herds treated as return of capital and therefore free of income tax, paves the way for oldsters to sell out to younger people and retire on the lifetime savings they have stored away in these permanent herds. This process is always taking place, the old turning the work over to the young, but now it will be much more pronounced due to the decision of the department and to the fact that the older fellows carried on during the war longer than they would ordinarily have done had the boys been there to take over.

In many cases this will be the third generation of ranchers taking over. Actual ranch operations have seen great changes. Practically gone are the days of the old roundup wagons that were out all summer, their work starting with moving the cattle from the winter to summer ranges, branding, dipping, shipping them back to winter quarters. One hurried to finish one job to get at the next. Now each one of these jobs is finished up in a few days and generally the riding is done from the ranches. No more are the cowboys with their bed, saddle, dufflebag and string of saddle horses, who were insulted if asked to even fix a fence. No the ranch hand is a jackof-all-trades from riding the horse, through driving the tractor, to flying the plane to town to get repairs. I notice it is still hard to find one to milk the cows.

Hay is put up by a three-man crew without using a pitchfork and one man feeds it out in the winter, four times as fast as in the old days, and with less effort.

Yes, we have seen great changes in the last three generations, but there is one problem that will face the young fellow just as it did his grandfather and this is one that he is never finished with. We can be thankful that it is an interesting problem and that the satisfaction one receives from improvement will repay him. If this were not so I shudder to think what our breeding programs would be. The great diversification of cattle breeds in Alberta is proof to me that no one in the last 60 years has made a complete success of his breeding program and has come out with the ideal beef animal for this country. If he had, most of us would have switched to that breed. So here is the challenge. And what a challenge it is! We like to brag about the quality of our Alberta cattle but what grounds have we when, if we bunched the cattle at any one of our selling centres, we would find every kind of colour and conformation from good to bad, and sad to say a lot of bad. If our breeding problems were solved it should not be necessary to look at the bill of lading to tell where they came from. We have seen individual herds of cattle come up until they were almost perfection. The problem then

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C at t l e m e n ¡ O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

is where to go from there? We have seen these same herds deteriorate for lack of that knowledge. It is not too difficult to breed a herd of cows up but it is very difficult to hold them there after they have reached a certain grade of perfection. The scientific breeding of corn has increased production tremendously per acre and further increases are predicted. What a revolution in the beef production business it would be if a breed or cross were found that would increase the weight for age say 20 per cent and the dressing percentage 10 per cent.

These are not fantastic figures; no one could say they were impossible to attain. Let us see what this modest gain would do for production of beef in Canada. The grower who is now getting an 80 per cent calf crop would get the equivalent of 100 per cent in weight.

The beef steer that now weighs 1,000 pounds and produces 580 pounds of beef would weigh 1,200 pounds and produce 816 pounds of beef. An Alberta cattle ranch running 1,000 cattle is now producing per year 250,000 pounds of live cattle or 145,000 pounds of beef. The new strain would produce 300,000 pounds of live cattle or 204,000 pounds of beef. In short, if this goal was reached the production of beef in Canada would be increased by 40 per cent per year with the same number of animals. Surely this is an objective worthy of the combined efforts of our producers and government agriculturists.

If it were found that a certain cross would do this but that further crossing would deteriorate, one can visualize specific operators raising heifers to be sold to ranchers and farmers where the final cross would produce the required type of animal. These heifers would be replaced for the specific ranchers much as corn seed is now.

Individual breeders all over North America are experimenting, trying to produce better beef-producing animals with varied results. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has some extensive tests underway and the Canadian Experimental Farms Branch under Dr. E.S. Archibald has done a lot of work in crossing cattle with buffalo. The branch has experimental range stations in Alberta and British Columbia, and is well equipped with qualified men to lead in this work.

What a wonderful future lies before the young fellows who are taking over. Not only to raise cattle in the best country in the world, but to get busy and in co-operation with very willing and able government people, develop a strain of cattle that will be particularly adopted to Canadian conditions and will do a more efficient job of processing our feeds and forage into edible beef. c For more of the past from the pages of our magazine see the History section at www.canadiancattlemen.ca.

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 wildlife

By Debbie Furber

Wolves of the West

Are they as big a threat as they appear to be?

R

eports of cattle losses to wolves continue to come in from across the West. Official estimates indicate wolf populations are stable to expanding, but there’s really no way to know if that in itself is contributing to the reported increase in kills.

Claims history doesn’t reflect the trend because of its short history relative to the presence of wolves in Western Canada and the qualifiers involved in making claims.

Governments have offered wolf control measures since the settlement years but compensation for losses wasn’t introduced until 1974 in Alberta, 1997 in Manitoba, 2002 in British Columbia, and 2010 in Saskatchewan.

Each province specifies eligible predators and livestock, rules and rates. A common denominator is the need for a carcass as evidence of predation. The chances of finding enough of a carcass, let alone preserving the scene for a claims investigator to confirm the kill, narrows as scavengers clean up

10

anything a wolf pack leaves behind. Missing animals don’t count even when recent predation has been confirmed and is the only feasible explanation for high death losses.

British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association (BCCA) general manager Kevin Boon says the wolf issue has been a priority and the one his association has spent the most time on lately because it affects so many members province-wide.

According to the B.C.’s 2014 Wolf Management Plan, the population is estimated between 5,300 and 11,600 with a best estimate of 8,500, compared with 8,100 in 1991, and 6,300 in 1979. Wolves inhabit most of the province, with the highest numbers in the Peace River and Skeena areas and they are now re-establishing in Kootenay, Okanagan and parts of the Thompson regions where they were considered extirpated in the 1970s.

The BCCA has a history with predation issues dating back to 2003 through 2011 when it implemented two successful

C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

Wild Predator Loss and Prevention pilot programs that laid the foundation for the province’s current plan, which is run by conservation officials (Canadian Cattlemen, January 2010).

The BCCA continues to monitor the threat via its voluntary annual survey of members and is now summarizing the first five years of feedback to identify trends.

“Raw data suggests the predation issue shifts from one year to the next, but the overall situation hasn’t really improved.

One thing for certain is that the cost of predation has gone up,” Boon says.

Death loss isn’t the major cost. To that you can add the time lost treating injuries plus lost sale value, weight loss and lower conception rates among harassed cattle.

One producer reported 200 of 350 cows open.

Well under 10 per cent of predation losses are discovered in time to qualify for compensation on B.C.’s remote forested ranches.

In response regional producer livestock predation committees are delivering verification training programs that teach producers how to photograph, identify and verify kills to make timely claims.

Saskatchewan’s compensation program also accepts detailed photos as evidence.

Alberta Beef Producers has created a flow chart to help producers navigate their way through five government agencies involved in delivering Alberta’s predator compensation program.

A recent study by the Miistakis Institute says 31 per cent of beef producers in Alberta have experienced some impact from wolves.

The majority of successful compensation claims were for wolf kills and the majority of those happened along the eastern slopes and the boreal fringe.

Alberta’s estimated wolf population today is 7,000, well above the 4,000 winter wolf population the province’s 1991 wildlife management plan aimed to maintain. The plan is slated for an update that will include a new habitat-based population estimate.

Nobody actually counts wolves with this method. The condition of traditional wolf habitat and amount of prey relative to how much food a pack would need to survive in each type of habitat are rated and entered into a modelling program that rolls out the estimates.

In recent years Saskatchewan producers in spots along the boreal fringe have reported losses of 40, 50, 80 calves in a single Continued on page 12

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wildlife

Continued from page 10

grazing season, 300 calves and 28 cows in one rural municipality alone, and 128 head from a community pasture.

It’s been awhile since Saskatchewan’s official wolf population estimate was pegged at 2,700 to 3,000, says Mike Gollop, team lead with the province’s wildlife management branch. Based on the best available information, he says the population is trending to the high side and probably similar to Manitoba’s at 4,000 to 6,000.

“Saskatchewan is seeing and will continue to see more wolves on the Prairies because of the expanding distribution of populations to the east and south of the province and the traditional periodic encroachment from northern wolf populations. So maybe (it’s) wolves in more places, more so than more wolves,” Gollop wonders.

“One reason wolves are so successful as predators is that they can pioneer quite quickly into new ground,” he explains.

“The old thinking was that they had to have remote areas to survive, but that’s not the case at all. The general consensus today, based on many studies, is that the only thing that limits the wolf population is the prey base. If they can find something to eat, they can live just about anywhere. They can very quickly accommodate people and survive in all types of habitat, just like coyotes.

“To put the problem into perspective, coyotes account for about 90 per cent of the claimed losses in Saskatchewan, but wolves can really hammer a producer because they can take cattle of all ages.”

Manitoba Beef Producers general manager Melinda German says predation on the whole, including wolves, is a significant issue in Manitoba. Producers are seeing more wolves and in pockets outside the hot spots of the Interlake and eastern region the number of wolf-kill and injury claims has increased. This could be due to a combination of there being more wolves and people being more familiar with the claims process.

A multi-stakeholder Livestock Predation Protection Working Group formed two years ago has been busy organizing workshops on claims procedures and wolf ecology for producers in problem areas. Work on a long-term strategy to reduce predation has started with a review of past research, and best-management practices in other jurisdictions.

Hank Hristienko, wolf manager with Manitoba Conservation, suspects it’s not

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the number of wolves, but the visibility of wolves that has increased with more people and more cattle moving into traditional wolf lands. His rough estimate for the current Manitoba wolf population is 4,000.

Overall, according to British Columbia’s Wolf Management Plan, Canada’s wolf population is currently seen as fully viable as wolves now occupy a majority of their historical range except in the Maritimes, where they are presumed extirpated. Wolf populations in every western province, Ontario, Labrador and Yukon Territory are ranked “apparently secure,” while Quebec’s wolf population is a notch higher at “demonstrably widespread, abundant and secure.”

The Northwest Territories and Nunavut are not ranked. The grey wolf was designated as not at risk in 1999 by the Expert Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

olves can quickly W accommodate people and survive in all types of habitat, just like coyotes When good wolves turn bad

Studies of wolf-livestock interaction starting in the 1970s in Western Canada and Minnesota suggest many wolves living near livestock do not prey on them.

Although many producers who have battled predation have been heard to say the only good coyote or wolf is a dead one, the idea that there are good ones of the live kind is gaining acceptance. Good wolves and coyotes are those that don’t prey on livestock, therefore, don’t teach their young to kill livestock, and their presence keeps those with a taste for livestock out of their territories.

“In Saskatchewan, the prime habitat for wolves is the boreal forest fringe. We have the most wolves there and the most problems with livestock there. It seems there are no problems for many years, then big problems for a few years, then it will be quiet again. Why, we don’t really know for sure.

Something changes that causes a pack to key on livestock,” Gollop says.

It’s speculated that wolf predation has

increased in recent years because of an increase in wolf numbers during a string of harsh winters that reduced ungulate populations, but hot spots of predation on livestock break out in areas with ample prey as well.

“Populations and problems may well be related but the correlation isn’t consistent,” says Gollop. “Circumstance is at least as important as populations.”

One circumstance is a change in pack dynamics when the alpha male or female dies and the pack breaks up. Wolves don’t usually survive for more than seven or eight years in the wild. They don’t have predators, but die from fighting with pack members for dominance or other packs for territory, hoof injuries from their prey, disease when densities are high, and most commonly from starvation, especially pups and young wolves. Lone wolves, which make up 10 to 15 per cent of the population, are usually yearlings or twoyear-olds searching for new territories and they can cover long distances in a short time. It’s a vulnerable stage without the support of the pack for protection and hunting. Mortalities from trapping, hunting, removal because of depredation on livestock or to protect endangered ungulate populations, and vehicle collisions all contribute to the short lifespan.

Whatever the reason behind pack break up, the likely result is that multiple subdominant wolves breed and, if prey is plentiful, pup survival is likely to be high as witnessed in a Washington state study now in its 25th year.

This study confirms the principle of compensatory mortality. Simply put, a wolf (or coyote) that dies in one way can’t die another way. If one is shot another that may have starved will live, Gollop explains. It also confirms that each wolf killed increases the odds of depredation on sheep by four per cent and on cattle by five to six per cent.

Wolves were fully protected when the study began, however, when hunting was reintroduced, the ability of packs to respond when the population dropped was incredible, he adds. The eight dominant packs broke down into more packs with more breeding females that started breeding at a younger age, having larger litters and, because the prey base was stable, pup survival was good. The end result was a young, relatively inexperienced population that began to prey more and more on livestock.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

wildlife

In another 1970s-’80s study in the Simonette pastures of northern Alberta, every legal means was used to take the wolf population down to zero, but within eight months it was back to square one. This demonstrated the ability of wolves to travel great distances to fill vacant territories.

“So just fanning out and killing as many wolves as possible had a backfiring effect because the wolf population is so resilient,” Gollop says.

Other studies show that removing problem wolves is an effective way to curb wild ungulate and livestock losses in areas with high losses.

“If you have a problem pack in your own backyard, by all means deal with it,” says Gollop. “Ideally, take out the entire pack causing the problem and hope that the pack that moves in, because another will come, isn’t going to specialize on livestock.”

The Simonette study is still a standout in his mind because it provided some practical advice.

First, human presence is an important predator deterrent. Predation losses on the supervised part of the grazing reserve averaged three per cent compared to nine per cent on the unsupervised part where cattle were basically turned out into large forested pasture in spring and not seen until roundup.

Second, avoid turning pregnant cows out on pasture where wolves are known to kill livestock and, third, remove cattle from high-risk pastures before September. That’s the time when there are the most wolf kills because the pack’s energy requirements go way up as the pups are growing fast and they’re not experienced hunters, so not very helpful to the pack. All of a sudden there is a lot of extra stress and they’ll turn to livestock because livestock are easier prey than wild ungulates.

Melanie Dubois, a biologist with Ag Canada at Brandon and member of Manitoba’s Livestock Predation Protection Working Group, suspects it isn’t an increase in wolf numbers that sets the stage for predation to start, as much as changes in husbandry practices. Swath grazing, pasturing animals in new areas, or less human presence due to the addition of automatic watering systems in larger more remote pastures are three scenarios that come to mind.

Would altering or adding infrastructure be worth the time and expense? How much would the change reduce the predation risk? Those are questions Dubois hopes to answer with a cost-benefit analysis of

various predation mitigation strategies. To that end she’s developed and field tested a predator risk assessment specific to wolves that was ready to go this summer. By scoring the features that favour predation and the vulnerabilities her assessment points out management practices that may lessen the threat. Suggested risk reduction measures will vary with the operation, the predator and the prey populations.

“A lot of producers have experience deal-

ing with predation losses, but the advantage of a tool is having someone walk through the assessment with them to help identify factors they may not have been aware of previously and to provide information on predators in the area,” she says.

“A big part of the predation issue is the pressure on the family. It can be overwhelming. The assessment helps take the risk from everywhere and the inevitable, to being more manageable,” she says. c

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C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

REV NEW FORMAT VERTICAL

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2015-08-11 03:21 PM relecture

D.A.

épreuve à

 grazing

By Steve Kenyon

Recycle Residues

D

id you know that 80 per cent of what goes in the front of a cow comes out the back end? Most of us might think it is a waste and wonder why the cow is such an inefficient creation? Eighty per cent is wasted! If man made the cow, or at least a machine that did the job of the cow, we would make her 95 per cent efficient.

But let’s think about that for a minute. Why is the cow only 20 per cent efficient? Maybe there is another purpose. Maybe it is not for the benefit of the cow at all but for the benefit of nature to recycle nutrients. In a rainforest, there is no need for ruminants as the soil is always alive with microbiological life that can break down and recycle the plant material 365 days a year. However, in an environment with a dormant season, like our winter, the soil life goes dormant and the nutrient recycling activity stops. It is the ruminant that allows the microbes to live in an environment that they can survive in and still do their job. The cow provides the bugs with a place to work, inside her rumen. Nature gets to recycle nutrients and the cow takes her 20 per cent wage off the top, 80 per cent goes back to nature. The problem in agriculture is we see the cow as the be all and end all of our operations. In reality, she is only one tool in the big picture and until we wrap our heads around that, we will not be sustainable.

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To all you grain farmers out there, what if I told you that you could sell a second crop off your field in the same year with no extra cost?

Would you be interested? The ruminant can also help recycle your crop residues. Chaff bunching is a fantastic concept that more grain producers need to take a look at. I am a market for my local grain farmers. If they have a poor crop to salvage, or residues to recycle, I market my services to help recycle their residues. Or I should say, I offer the services of my cattle. I even put up the fencing in the fall and remove it in the spring.

This year will be known as the drought of 2015 in my area. The price of hay is skyrocketing. When I look around it shocks me because I know we have a very economical feed source right at our fingertips and only a handful of producers utilizing it. Crop residue grazing is almost unheard of in my area. Baling up your straw is only exporting more valuable nutrients off your land.

A chaff buncher is a very simple device that attaches to the back of a combine to collect the straw and chaff. It simply works like a teeter-totter and dumps the chaff in piles across the field. It is a series of long tines that once the straw builds up on it, will also hold the chaff. It makes small piles all over your grain field. Once it fills up, the buncher tips and the stubble pulls the piles off the tines and leaves a nice little pile.

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The key to this method of feeding is to strip graze it. I would never just turn my cows into the whole field. Strip grazing across these piles with a one-, two- or a three-day graze period gives you more even nutrition to the cattle and much better utilization of the feed. (You can decide which is better for you depending on your labour and equipment costs.) Small piles are also cleaned up a lot better than large piles as the cows stand around it to eat and when they lay on it, they don’t soil it as they usually lay with their back ends off the pile.

We live in a dormant-season environment. The land needs ruminants on it! I believe all grain farmers need to somehow incorporate winter grazing on their land. It is great for the land as a lot of your residues are only weathering and not really recycling properly without the use of a ruminant. I know that this is a tough sell to diehard grain farmers but we need to think long term. We need to break out of our paradigms and think about economic sustainability for generations.

I told you that we have already built a replica of the cow. We argue about which colour is best and which one is the most efficient. We call this tool a combine. We harvest the plant material by removing about 80-90 per cent of the nutrients and export it off our land. We only leave 10 to 20 per

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

grazing

cent to be recycled but in reality, most of this weathers. Is this sustainable? Not near as sustainable as our ruminant model. What happens when we can’t get fertilizer? Or it just gets too expensive?

It does come down to profitability and that means you would have to do your own numbers. It could be a neighbour looking to find a new feed source this year and he would pay you to recycle your nutrients.

They would even take care of the fencing I’m sure. I would think it would be very appealing to get a second crop from your fields on any given year, even more so in a drought. You might just find that your profitability goes up in the long term, even though your efficiency goes down.

Chaff bunching is not difficult. It actually lowers my labour and equipment usage a great deal. With a little fall fencing to make the strip grazing easier, I think it is a nobrainer. Yes, huge snowfalls can cause issues but I have had more issues with not enough snow, as well. Piles are easier to find than swaths. We are farmers, so there is risk with almost everything we do.

Try one small field this year and graze for a month or two. Learn how to set it up and once you have your confidence, maybe next year, try a bit more. I hope to be grazing well into January this winter on a couple of fields of chaff piles. When bunch grazing, I would always recommend a feed test and supplement accordingly for protein and minerals. I

usually like to supplement a bit anyway as most grain crops I get are monocultures, which are not natural for cattle. The cattle can develop mineral imbalances while grazing a monoculture. Even better, try to graze the residues of a polyculture crop; but that is even a harder pill for grain farmers to swallow, so I will leave that alone for today. I will be bunch grazing a pea/canola field this fall. Polycultures rock! Check out the seminar posted on my website about grazing residues. 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.

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C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

15

 COVER STO RY · g et t i ng sta rt e d

By Tessa Nybo

Travis and Becky Page

U

nlike many seedstock producers, neither Travis nor Becky Page were born into the purebred industry. Both grew up on a mixed grain and commercial cattle operation, Travis near Didsbury, Alta., and Becky near Grenfell, Sask. As a result, when they started their operation, Redline Livestock, they didn’t have a family name or a multi-generational reputation to ride on. They just had their cattle to represent what they were working towards.

They met at Olds College — Travis was taking the Agriculture Business, Becky Agriculture Production — and quickly came to realize they were both commercial cattle kids who wanted to find their way into the purebred industry. Travis, the youngest of seven children, had taken an interest in purebred Red Angus cattle in his teens partly due to the influence of his great uncle, Ron Devolane, who sold him the last remaining females from the Devolane herd

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in 2008. They form the base for Travis’s purebred Red Angus herd. Becky, on the other hand, had developed a passion for purebred Hereford cattle after working for Jim and Lori Duke of Square D Herefords.

They knew that the first step they needed to take on their venture into the purebred industry was to be together. As a result they were married in July 2010, after graduating from Olds College. Soon after they settled 20 miles east of Didsbury and moved Becky’s Herefords from Saskatchewan to their new farm to join Travis’s Red Angus herd. Their combined herd had humble beginnings, similar to many young people entering the business — 12 purebred females from each breed and seven commercial females.

Ultimately they planned to grow their purebred herds together along with a large commercial herd that would both display the genetic value of their purebreds and help them maintain a close connection to their bull-buying customers.

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“ We want our bulls to represent everything we do, and we want them to go out, work hard and live long lives .”

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

getting started

Today Redline Livestock has 150 purebred females and 150 commercial cows. No small feat for a couple only five years out of college.

Along the way they welcomed daughter Joni in September 2012 and son Grady in December 2013. Their third child, son Morgan, was born in July. It is definitely a balancing act, says Becky.

“Every day flies by with a long list of things you don’t get to. My only hope is that I can give both our kids and our operation enough of myself that I make a difference at the end of the day.”

Despite the challenges Becky is confident ranch life will teach their kids about life in ways they could never otherwise experience, and give them skills they can take with them through life.

“Most of all, it will give them an appreciation for what we do and a connection to both cattle and land that will forever be an asset.”

As labour is almost always limited to themselves the current cattle-handling system is designed to be operated by one or, at most, two people. Soon they hope to incorporate a calving barn into an improved handling system that will more effectively meet their needs. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Beyond the sheer lack of time and hands to do all the work the biggest challenge they faced getting started was learning the ins and outs of the purebred industry. They had to learn how to select a consistent pen of bulls, and just as important, to grow them out efficiently and market them. They began selecting bulls by asking themselves if they would use them on their own cows.

If the answer was no, the animal was cut.

Growing and maintaining the condition of their bulls without sacrificing their health and longevity was another concern. They closely monitor and limit the feed their bulls receive, and avoid self-feeding and creepfeeding scenarios.

They also felt that displaying their own genetics at cattle shows would play a large role in how they marketed their herd. But this pursuit came with a steep learning curve for the couple as everything from halter breaking to clipping and showing were new to them.

“In the beginning, and still, we definitely made many mistakes and learned a pile of lessons, but we always try our best to make them count,” says Becky. “We always find plenty of room for improvement and every year we focus ourselves on what to do better.”

In addition to learning the ropes they also had to gain acceptance within the tight-knit purebred industry.

“Acceptance is tough,” allows Becky, “and it is something you definitely have to earn when you aren’t from the industry. We have grown to have a great passion for all aspects of our industry, and the people in it.”

As to the future they don’t show any signs of pulling up on the reins just yet.

Attaining more land is a top priority to accommodate future expansion. At the same time they will continue to select with the aim of improving the overall quality of the cattle while pushing their females down to a strict 60-day breeding cycle. They rely on detailed herd management records to pin down which cows are most profitable.

Another goal, says Travis, is to make greater use of the tools available to measure carcass data, feed efficiency and fertility to continue improving the quality of their bulls and commercial heifers. “The main concern is which tools to utilize first, their affordability, and how to incorporate them so the results are accurate and effective,” he says.

The bulls and heifers are sold by private treaty.

“We want our bulls to represent everything we do, and we want them to go out, work hard and live long lives,” he explains.

“We definitely feel that a herd of 100 purebreds does not mean you have a pen of 50 bulls and 50 replacements. We think it is as important for people to walk through and see the animals that haven’t made the cut being clearly presented beside the ones which have and to know our reasoning behind those decisions.”

Most importantly, Travis and Becky want to continue to raise their family within this industry.

“We are so excited in this industry now. It is incredible to have friends and neighbours our age working towards the same goals we are. Doing what you love alongside other young people gives you drive and enthusiasm,” says Travis. “Everyone is so optimistic right now and the industry is gaining momentum every year. We grew up observing our families go through tough times with cows, and that is always in the back of your mind to remind you how strong things have become. It would be great to see this continue, and our kids to have an opportunity to be a part in it one day as well.”

More information on their operation is available at http://redlinelivestock.com/. c

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 Nutritio n

By John McKinnon

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Non-Conventional Feeding Programs

F

ollowing up on last month’s column on the challenge of solving a feed shortage with non-conventional feeds, I would like to focus this column on identifying the issues you can face when some of the more common alternative feeds are substituted into the ration. Many of these issues are related to atypical nutrient content and thus the first step in developing an alternative feeding program is to ensure you know what you are feeding. As you will see below, in addition to the traditional feed test that provides moisture, protein, energy, calcium and phosphorus content, you may need to ask for specific tests for nitrates, sulphur, potassium, oxalates or other atypical nutrients that may cause feeding issues. The following are some common examples.

There are several byproduct/alternative feeds that producers may be forced to try this winter for the first time that are high in sulphur. The first group that comes to mind is the various byproducts arising from the ethanol industry. Dried distillers grains with solubles depending on source will have sulphur levels ranging from 0.75 to one per cent or more. Canola silage is another example of an alternative feed that is high in sulphur (i.e. 0.5 to 1.0 per cent or greater). There are two issues with high sulphur intake. The first is more long term, where high levels of dietary sulphur induce copper deficiency by tying up copper and making it unavailable to the animal. The second issue is high dietary sulphur levels are thought to be a causative factor in the development of polio in cattle. The National Research Council (2000) recommends that total dietary sulphur levels not exceed 0.4 per cent on a dry matter basis. While some nutritionists feel that this dietary guideline may be conservative, it is evident that both distillers grains and canola silage contain elevated levels of sulphur and therefore need to be blended into rations appropriately.

Nitrates can be another issue in many non-traditional feeding programs. Cereal crops such as barley or oat or canola harvested for greenfeed or silage can contain high levels of nitrate, particularly when harvested during dry growing conditions. This can be a significant issue as high nitrate levels can lead to nitrate poisoning and if severe, a significant death loss.

Historically, nutritionists used a value of 0.5 per cent (total feed dry matter) to separate safe from potentially dangerous from a nitrate poisoning perspective.

Again many nutritionists feel this value is too conser-

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C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

vative as cattle seem to adapt to nitrate levels that are higher than this value as long as the exposure is not excessive or too rapid. Personally, I would not be concerned until dietary nitrate levels exceed 1.0 per cent (dry matter basis) and would take steps at this point to blend ingredients low in nitrates into the ration to ensure levels do not get excessive.

On the subject of greenfeed, another potential issue to watch for is high dietary potassium levels, particularly as you get closer to calving. Cereals, particularly when drought stressed can accumulate potassium. The situation is compounded when manure is used as a fertilizer. The issue is that high dietary potassium levels can interfere with magnesium utilization which in turn can lead to down cows with nervous symptoms similar to that seen in cows suffering from milk fever. Again, a forage analysis can indicate the potential for an issue and the need for blending into the ration.

Some of you may have had the forethought to bale fields that were infested with kochia. When baled before the plant is mature, kochia can be a good forage source.

Mature kochia, however, contains relatively high levels of oxalates, which interfere with calcium metabolism in the animal leading to issues with hypocalcemia and possibly kidney function. As such, it is a good idea to restrict the amount fed to 30 to 40 per cent of the ration, depending on maturity.

One of the more common alternate feeding programs we will see this winter is the utilization of straw as a forage source. Straw can be safely fed in wintering diets at levels up to 1.25 to 1.5 per cent of body weight (dry matter basis). For a 1,300-pound cow, this means 16 to 19 pounds of straw on a dry matter basis or 19 to 22 pounds as fed. To meet energy and protein requirements, you would need to supplement with a source of energy (i.e. barley grain) and protein (i.e. canola meal) or equivalent (i.e. fortified grain screening pellets). It’s not unusual in the second trimester to feed eight to 10 pounds of barley grain when straw makes up the forage component of the ration. This will increase to 12 to 14 pounds during the third trimester. When feeding more than eight to 10 pounds of grain, it is a good idea to feed it in two separate feedings to minimize potential issues with digestive disorders.

As you can see there are many issues that need to be considered when developing alternative feeding programs. The advice of a good nutritionist can be invaluable in helping you sidestep many of these potential pitfalls. c

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

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 marketi ng

By Heather Smith Thomas

Intensive grazing and sell-buy marketing stabilized this operation

A

rt McElroy farms in southern Saskatchewan, 50 miles east of Alberta. “My wife Leslie and I — and our children — moved here from the family farm in Alberta in 1996 when I was 44. When we moved here, it was a mixed farm. We ran livestock and grain farmed for 11 years. This is a dry part of the world and soil quality is not as good as what I had near Calgary. We did continuous cropping, with high-input agriculture, under a no-till operation with seven or eight different annual crops,” he says.

“We started seeding grass in 1998, when we could see that some of this land should never have been broken up for farming. I seeded about 600 acres to grass the next five years. The rainfall in this area is sporadic; it can be anywhere from three inches a year to 20. Some of our continuous cropping was very successful and some of it was very unsuccessful. I could see that I was playing myself out, playing the kids out and we were not making the kind of progress we wanted,” Art says.

“If what we were doing — the continuous cropping — was not viable, financially or otherwise, we needed to figure out what we should do,” he says.

“That prompted us to consider rotational grazing. I have one 3,200-acre piece of leased land from the provincial government and it was in one big field. In the year 2000 we divided it into six pieces with one-wire electric fence. We started rotating animals through that, and created more dugouts so every piece had water for the cattle,” Art says.

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“We could see there were places in that pasture where animals hadn’t grazed for years, yet it was overgrazed close to the dugouts. We divided it up and started putting a 1.5-inch water line to get water to areas that didn’t have water.”

In 2006 he seeded 2,000 acres into grass and in 2007 seeded the last 2,000 acres to grass. “I had a neighbour who wanted me to do custom grazing for him. There was no way that I had enough livestock to harvest all this grass by myself. Ever since 2006 this neighbour has sent me up to 1,200 head of yearlings each year. In our own herd we have between 150 and 200 head of cows because they come and they go, and I also run my own yearlings. Then I ran into Neil Dennis, and his philosophy of high-density grazing. He convinced me that we could really speed up the land health and soil improvement if we increased our stock density. In 2008 we started putting 1,200 head on 2.7 acres for two to three hours and moving them up to six times a day.” This provided adequate animal impact.

“What this has accomplished is just phenomenal on this low-quality soil. When you do it on poor soil you can see the benefits and advances very quickly. There’s no way to make it worse, and we can really make it better!”

Right now, in the livestock business, prices are better than they ever have been and it’s hard to fail.“But we know that will eventually come to an end. As we learn to think holistically, as a family, to understand the relationship between plants and soil and the people and the finances, we continue to make pro­

C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

gress. Our exposure to Bud Williams’ livestock handling and sell-buy marketing, and getting some grass-based genetics have also improved the cattle end of it. I see a tremendous stabilizing factor in the life of this farm, going into the future,” he says.

“I can no longer buy the kind of replacement heifers I want. I can raise better heifers than I can buy, because they are more suited to this environment. Any heifer that we keep now as a replacement is the most expensive cow we’ll ever have in the cow herd because of her value as a calf, but if we are going to continue on in the business we have to keep replacements. They are our future and will do a much better job for us than any heifers we can go out and buy,” he explains.

“One thing Bud Williams taught in his sell-buy marketing strategy was that you never let an animal start to lose value. When you have a cow that’s six or seven years old, in a normal market this is when she starts to depreciate a little and lose value,” says Art. “Bud encouraged people to start selling cows when they are six or seven and still have good time left in them, before they start to lose value, and replace them with something that in theory is genetically superior — which is their daughters, raised on your own place.

You can keep more heifers than you can cows, because they eat less, especially if they are developed inexpensively the way we do it.”

SELL-BUY MARKETING

This is a little different than the traditional view of marketing. People in the livestock

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

marketing

business tend to think in terms of buying, increasing (weight or number of animals or value), and then selling, to make a profit.

“In sell-buy marketing you determine what is overvalued and undervalued in the marketplace. You can only deal in animals that you can handle and increase their value. I never buy animals above 800 pounds because I am not in the feedlot business. I might buy anything between 250 pounds and 700 pounds, or some cows, pairs or heifers,” explains Art. “With every sale you can figure out what is overvalued and undervalued in the marketplace by determining the value of every increase in weight gain. It took me a little while to learn how to figure out what was overvalued and undervalued, but you just use 50-pound weight breaks or 100-pound weight breaks and divide the increase in the dollars by the weight gain, to see what the market is paying for every one of those increases in weight,” he explains.

“You’ll always find that the lighter calves bring the most value per pound. If the next increase in weight, whether it’s 50 pounds or 100 pounds is only worth $1 or $1.50 you can begin to see whether you should hold the animals and if you are being paid to put more weight on them or not. If you are not being paid to put more weight on, then you need to sell those animals and replace them with something that is undervalued, that you will be paid to put more weight on,” he says.

“It’s easy to know exactly what all of your costs were on that turn of cattle, and through some simple arithmetic determine what you can afford to pay back for different weight prices and still cover all of your costs on that turn of animals. So you are buying a profit as you are replacing your animals,” Art says.

“Your net worth could be constantly going up and down, but it’s your cash flow that you have to be concerned about all the time, and this is where you end up with cash flow — with what’s left over between the sell and the buy price,” he says.

“Another thing I am learning to do is buying pounds of gain for less money than what it costs me to put it on. There are always some animals out there that you can buy, with the money from your last sale. You can actually take home 50 to 100 pounds or even 150 pounds for very little money, and sometimes you can take them home with a few dollars of cash in your pocket, from your last sale,” he explains.

As we watch the marketplace, the signals that it constantly sends are fascinating.

“When you go to replace animals, if you can’t replace them at a profit, you leave your

money in your pocket. You not only keep your money, but you also keep the feed that the animals would have eaten, whether it’s grass or stored feed. You have to determine what has the most value to you — the animals, your money, or your feed.

“This is a unique system that Bud Williams figured out when he was at VT Feeders in Alberta for 10 years. His daughter and son-in-law, Tina Williams and Richard McConnell, are still teach-

ing this method. You don’t have to do it in large numbers, and it’s not wise to do it with borrowed money.

“It’s been very good for us, though it’s taken me a few years to get my head around a lot of it. I was still thinking in terms of 40 to 50 years of buy-sell marketing, when I was trying to make a living in the cattle business that way. It’s a play on words, buy-sell and sell-buy, but once you get your mind around it, you can see it makes sense.” c

“Cattle coming into my feedlot are usually heavier, so I treat ’em with long lasting ZACTRAN on arrival.”

Heavier weight cattle are often at lower risk to BRD so it makes sense to treat them with the fast acting,1 long lasting2 product that won’t break the bank.

(And it’s plastic, so you won’t break the bottle either.)

Treat them with ZACTRAN ®.

Ask your veterinarian why ZACTRAN is ideal for cattle in your feedlot.

1. Giguère S, Huang R, Malinski TJ, Dorr PM, Tessman RK & Somerville BA. Disposition of gamithromycin in plasma, pulmonary epithelial lining fluid, bronchoalveolar cells, and lung tissue in cattle. Am. J. Vet. Res. 72(3): 326-330 (2011).

2. Based on label claims.

ZACTRAN ® is a registered trademark of Merial Limited. © 2014 Merial Canada Inc. All rights reserved. ZACT-13-7560-JAD-E

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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REV NEW FORMAT VERTICAL

BOV_15108_Zactran_Metaph_En_hfpVert_Ccattl.indd 1 dossier : BOV-15108

client : Merial

description : Annonce Zactran anglais

date/modif. rédaction

août

21

2015-08-11 03:58 PM relecture

D.A.

épreuve à

 Holistic R a nc hi ng

By Don Campbell

Benefiting from Good Times

T

here is no doubt about it. Good times are here in the cattle business. Prices are at an all-time high for all classes of cattle.

The latest Canfax report shows feeder cattle trading $50 to $60 higher (per cwt) than this time last year. On a 500-pound calf that’s an increase of $250 to $300 per head. On a 900-pound yearling the increase would be $450 to $540 per head.

These numbers represent a significant increase over what was a strong market last year. We are being given an opportunity to recover from the difficult challenges of the BSE years.

What will you do with the increased profit that has come your way? I think it would be wise to develop a plan to invest our increased profits wisely. The time to do that is now! It is easy to spend our money. There are countless products and services all claiming they can help us. It requires thought and reflection to invest our money wisely.

We did a brainstorming exercise at our last H M conference. The topic was, how to invest your increased profit wisely. We ended up with 175 different ideas.

All of them were valid for different people. Investing wisely is a very individual exercise. The answers will be as diverse as the people involved. I invite you to come up with a plan so when you are looking back 25 or 30 years from now you will be able to say: yes I remember the good times. I remember investing in (whatever you choose) and I (or my children or grandchildren) am still benefiting from it.

While all of us are enjoying the strong cattle market many are also facing severe challenges from the widespread drought conditions in Western Canada. The conditions vary widely. Some have no drought. In many places it is very severe. The effects for many people have been increased by the heavy grasshopper infestations.

In our little corner of the world we were very dry until mid-July (about 1.5 inches of rain). Since then the rains have been excellent (about an additional eight inches).

The result is that the hay crop is poor and winter feed will be a challenge. The pasture varies from poor to pretty good. The variation is largely due to the management. Better-managed pastures are doing well, continuously grazed pastures are suffering. The local grain crops appear to be about average.

A lot of cows in this area will winter on a straw or hay ration supplemented with some grain. There is lots of information available about formulating rations. I would encourage you to access whatever you require.

22

C at t l e m e n · o c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

This is the year to think in terms of the least-cost ration as opposed to “what I have always done.” No matter what ration you use, remember that it is vital to have adequate nutrition to ensure good performance and breeding in the coming year.

At times like this I tend to recall the wisdom of Bud Williams when he told us, “In the cattle business you basically have cattle, grass and money. You can have too many cattle but you can’t have too much grass or too much money.”

Cattle prices are strong but feed is in short supply and relatively expensive. Is this the year we might be wise to break with tradition and do something different than we have done in the past?

At our place, we calve in May and June and generally background our calves to go to grass the following summer. But with calf feed scarce and expensive, wintering our calves at home doesn’t appear to be a wise choice. Selling our calves on today’s market might be the best decision. If we sold our calves today we would be ensuring a profitable year in 2016. This would fit with Bud’s advice as we would have less cattle but more grass and money to use wisely as we move ahead. There would be some tax implications as we would be selling two calf crops in one year but there are ways to defer your income.

Another plus for this decision would be that all our yearling grass would be available to use as we think best. The extra grass could be cow feed should we suffer another dry year. It might be extended grazing next year to reduce our winter feed costs and increase our profit.

We could also purchase cattle next spring to utilize the grass and again increase profit. We have lots of flexibility.

Another option we are looking at is to have our calves custom wintered. This would allow us to retain ownership of our calves and have yearlings to market next fall.

We will be picking one of these options over the next few weeks.

I encourage everyone to look at all the options. Cattle prices are strong. The slide is high which tends to favour lighter cattle. We don’t have to do what we have always done. We can do what is best in today’s situation.

Remember, thinking pays more than working. I wish you success.

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

Canadian Simmental Association #13, 4101-19th St. N.E., Calgary, AB, T2E 7C4 Tel: (403) 250-7979 Fax: (403) 250-5121 Email: cansim@simmental.com Website: www.simmental.com

 managem e n t

By Debbie Furber

Help Where Help is Needed Harvey Brink looks to service specialists for expert advice on feeding fababeans and other chores

W

hen Harvey Brink needs help he goes shopping instead of advertising. Rather than having a full-time employee or seasonal helpers, he counts on the services of his cattle buyer, beef nutritionist, grain marketer and crop agrologist. A financial adviser may be next as he and his wife, Coby, start thinking about their succession plan.

Handling the everyday work isn’t normally a crunch since their son, Kyle, has been farming full time with them. He is newly wed to Allie. Their daughter, Ashley, and husband Bowen, who live in the neighbouring yardsite, help out at busy times.

Having expert advice at their fingertips frees up time to concentrate on their strengths in the production side of the business. Along with the 800-head backgrounding and finishing feedlot, they put in 2,500 acres of crops and custom seed another 500 acres near Bentley, in central Alberta.

24

“We’re comfortable with that. I think it’s the right size for us now,” Brink says. That’s not set in stone, though, because change has been a constant through the farm’s evolution from mainly a dairy farm in his dad’s time.

Other signs include the concrete walls of an older silage pit that once served as a hog barn when they ran a 140-sow farrow-to-finish operation, and in the meadow beyond, the last of their remaining beef cows.

Beef cows were always part of the mix from the time he and his dad started out with a purebred Horned Hereford herd, until a couple of years ago when they started phasing out the cows in favour of the feedlot.

It took five years of planning from 1998 to 2003 to exit the hog business while learning about feeding calves to ramp up the feedlot side. There’s a weekly income with hogs, but that requires dealing with every stage of production every day, he explains.

Income from the feedlot is sporadic, but the

C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

bulk of the work occurs during slower times for the rest of the farm operations.

To spread out the income from the feedlot, they buy mostly 650-pound calves and some five-weights over a two-month period.

They started out selling shortkeeps at 1,000 pounds and have been working their way up to finishing more over time. They finish approximately half of them now.

Learning is never ending with help from their nutritionist, order buyer, and now, the packing plant buyer.

“We buy Continental-British-cross calves because we need 2.5 pounds per day gain and we use implants to maximize their potential and get the efficiency we need out of them. Now we are learning how to get the best yield and grade,” Brink says.

Adding to overall efficiency is the new concrete bunk feeder with aprons built last year alongside the pens that have gone up since starting the feedlot.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

management

The original pens built in the 1980s for the cow-calf operation are in good shape and still used when needed.

The handling facility has been updated over the past eight years with all-steel holding pens. A new large open-faced pole shed with opaque panels for natural lighting covers the working chute, squeeze and unloading/loading ramps.

A few strategic adjustments have helped improve cattle flow, such as canvas added to one side of the alley to block distractions from the working chute and a solid metal panel for the driver to stand behind where the cattle make the last curve before the loading ramp. The driver closes off the draft while Brink brings in another 20 head and the two of them will have a load moved from the pen into the liner within 45 minutes.

Fababean in the feedlot ration

The Brinks’ crop rotation includes canola, wheat, barley for grain and silage, and a pulse, with fababeans being a new addition in each of the last five years.

“I wanted something different in the rotation because I was tired of peas laying on the ground and all of the disease problems,” he says. “Fababeans handle wet conditions better than peas, but they don’t like hot, dry conditions.”

Prevailing dry conditions from early spring through summer limited plant height to knee-high compared to five feet in years with normal precipitation, although the plants seemed to be podding well, he reported in late August.

Fortunately, the fababean crops missed the July hailstorm that wiped out 320 acres of their barley intended for silage.

They were able to purchase a neighbour’s standing barley crop for silage and some late moisture spurred regrowth of the haildamaged barley fields that they hoped to take as greenfeed.

Fababeans have to be sown as early as you can get on the land in spring and, because of their indeterminate growth habit, have to be desiccated before the first frost.

They are frost tolerant in spring, but not in the fall, Brink adds. That lesson was learned first hand in 2014 when they desiccated 340 acres on a Friday and got hit by frost and a snowstorm that Sunday. The plants stood up well and a week later they were able to take off most of the crop in good condition.

The desiccant (Reglone) didn’t work as quickly on 40 acres of lush crop on rich soil. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

That part of the field stayed green longer and the frost got the best of it. It was the last crop they took off and by that time the beans had blackened beyond anything that could be sold without a deep discount even in the feed market.

So the blackened beans went into their own feedlot rations. They were still 30 per cent protein and after rolling had a nice texture and a sweet taste palatable to cattle.

His nutritionist Brian Vercaigne, BJV Feed

Management at Lacombe, formulated a total mixed ration with fababeans included at 10 per cent for backgrounding and six per cent for finishing, along with rolled barley, barley silage and a mineral-vitamin premix.

Vercaigne focuses on “opportunity feeds” to reduce costs for his clients and says the benefit of fababeans is that they are high in both protein and energy.

Continued on page 26

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25

m a nag e m e n t

Continued from page 25

“One reason for adding fababeans is because they are 30 per cent protein, but also because the energy is as good as in barley. If you put fababeans in you get an economical price for protein, and take barley out you get double the effect,” he explains.

Last year, the beans maybe could have been sold for $6.50 per bushel, but they priced into the ration at $6/bu. because there were no marketing and transportation costs.

Weighing 60 lbs./bu. or 36.744 bu./tonne, that works out to $220.46 per tonne. Barley was worth around $4.25/bu. or $195/tonne.

The additional $25.46/tonne for fababeans, provided a very economical source of protein, especially compared to soybean meal priced at $550/tonne at the time.

Fababean plants do make great silage because of their biomass and nutritional quality. In fact the crop’s potential as silage was a focus of early research. Today’s economics would likely favour harvesting the beans unless the crop has been damaged beyond any use except taking it for silage.

Vercaigne recalls his dad feeding fababeans to hogs on the farm near Brandon, Man., back in the ’70s when fababean and field pea were new crops. Beans fell out of favour because hogs didn’t do as well on them due to the tannin content. Today there are zerotannin fababean varieties that have been bred for use as livestock feed by the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon (Snowdrop) and

by Limagrain in the Netherlands (Snowbird, Imposa). The dark-coloured varieties with tannin remain the premium food-grade fababeans in the export market.

Brink says fababeans are getting easier to market even within the five years they have been growing them. The food market is tough to hit especially since the standard was recently lowered from 15 per cent to five per cent damage on the seed, however, the market for zero-tannin feed fababeans is expanding. They are a less expensive protein alternative than soymeal in hog, poultry and dairy rations and now feedlots are starting to buy them.

Interest in growing fababeans has surged in Alberta and Saskatchewan in recent years.

Alberta Pulse Growers estimates 100,000 acres were seeded in 2015. This compares to an estimated 2,757 acres in 2004. Sask­atch­ewan Crop Insurance Corporation says 61,912 acres of fababean were sown in the province this year, keeping in mind that doesn’t include any fababean acres seeded by producers who are not crop insurance customers.

26

“Fababean Production 101,” prepared

by Mark Olson and Robyne Bowness with Alberta Agriculture’s crop research and extension division, covers production and management from seeding rates to putting the crop in the bin, based on information and experience from recent trials. It also includes a comparison of the economics relative to growing canola (http://pulse. ab.ca/images/uploads/board_documents/ FabaOlsonBownessLacombe.pdf).

Why fababeans?

“I wanted something different in the rotation because I was tired of peas laying on the ground.”

Harvey Brink Rancher, Bentley, Alta.

Manitoba Agriculture’s fact sheet is available at http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/ crops/production/fababeans.html.

Romancing the bean

Brink’s agrologist, Carol Holt with Parkland Fertilizers’ Wetaskiwin location, says fababean is a good choice for the central Alberta region because fabas love soil moisture and need consistent moisture throughout the growing season.

C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

“The beauty of fabas is the benefit Harvey is seeing for other crops in his rotation, mainly because of the improvement in soil tilth and health,” Holt says. Wheat the first year after fababean typically has higher yield and protein than wheat on the other fields and canola the second year after yielded more than 75 bushels an acre last year.

Fababean plants nodulate more than pea plants and, therefore, are capable of capturing about three times more nitrogen than peas, she adds. What’s left in the residue and soil is there for subsequent crops.

Brink and Holt got together this year to set up some field-scale trials at the farm to help answer questions he and many other new fababean growers have about the effectiveness of inoculants and micronutrient products.

The answers will be in the yield to be measured with a weigh wagon at harvest, which was two to four weeks away at the time of writing.

Holt says a visual difference is already apparent between specific inoculant products for fababean, each applied with the seed on 20-acre plots. The biggest visual difference is in the root mass and because larger roots are able to scavenge deeper and wider for moisture and nutrients, the plants are taller with larger stem diameter overall. Holt believes this will translate into additional yield, too.

Another trial put two foliar-applied micronutrient packages head to head applied on June 10 and again just before flowering on two separate 20-acre plots.

In another field, boron alone was applied on 20 acres at flowering.

The final trial tested the effectiveness of a fungicide application to control chocolate spot, although disease pressure was low this year due to dry conditions. There are no fungicides currently registered for use on fababeans, so production from this plot won’t be marketed.

“We want to see if growers are getting a bang for their bucks spent on these products and see if we can push yields by getting the plants to flower more and keep them flowering to make pods. Typically plants will produce eight flowers but only one or two mature to make pods, Holt explains.

Brink hosted a field tour in mid-August and plans to follow up with a seminar this winter to discuss the results. Stay in touch by emailing sprucelanefarms@live.ca or calling 403-304-6491. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 prime cuts

By Steve Kay

The BSE decade

S

tudents of history often look back at previous decades to see what lessons were learned and how they can be applied to the present and future.

So it’s instructive to look back at the past two decades involving the beef industries on both sides of the border.

The E. coli crisis of the 1990s changed the nature of beef processing, at least in the U.S. Yet it scarcely compared to the drama of the following decade, as homegrown cases of BSE were discovered in Canada and the U.S., a food-versus-fuel debate raged and deal making profoundly changed the ownership structure of the North American meat and poultry industry. Also in the mix was the battle over country-of-origin labelling.

The Canadian beef-processing industry had long interested U.S. companies because of the supply of high quality, uniform cattle. That’s why Cargill opened a new plant in High River, Alta., in 1989. For several years after that, Cargill and Lakeside Packers at Brooks competed head on, especially after Lakeside started slaughtering seven days per week in 1993. IBP, the U.S. largest packer, wanted a piece of the action so it acquired Lakeside Farm Industries in October 1994. Lakeside at the time was the largest agricultural company in Western Canada.

Fast-forward to the next decade and Cargill spread its wings to Eastern Canada by acquiring Better Beef in Guelph, Ont., in 2005. By then, IBP (now Tyson Fresh Meats) was starting to struggle at Brooks because of a labour dispute. Canada’s first BSE case in May 2003 had also raised processing costs because of Canada’s enhanced SRM ban. So Tyson agreed in 2008 to sell Lakeside to XL Foods. This deal was finalized in early 2009.

The 2001-10 decade witnessed an even more breathtak-

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

ing series of mergers and acquisitions down south. First came poultry giant Tyson Foods’ acquisition in 2001 of red meat giant IBP, a deal that had more than its fair share of drama. 2001 was destined to go down as The Year of the Mergers, with deals totalling an unprecedented $5 billion.

Only 1987 came close to seeing similar changes.

2007 saw Brazil’s JBS SA swoop in to buy Swift and Company, the Smithfield Beef Group in 2008 and a majority share of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation in 2010. In just three years, the largely unknown JBS had become the U.S. industry’s second-largest meat and poultry company.

None of the above though compared to the fateful May day in 2003 when Canada announced it had discovered BSE in a homegrown cow. Seven months later, the U.S. announced its first case. These cases sparked the most traumatic episodes in the history of the North American beef industry. The Canadian case cost its industry several billion dollars and has stunted cattle herd expansion to this day.

The U.S. case was to cost the U.S. industry more than US$16 billion, mostly in lost exports, and its impact also lingers.

Another seminal event in the U.S. was the federal government’s support of ethanol production, which surged in the second half of the decade and forced corn prices to record-high levels by 2012. This set off a furious foodversus-fuel debate that the livestock and food industry comprehensively lost.

The takeaway for the industry was not just how dependent it was on “cheap” corn to make money. Its inability to sway lawmakers and the White House showed how a policy, however misguided, could harm the industry yet it could do nothing about it. The same has applied to the debate over COOL, which remains unresolved to this day. c

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 youth

By Debbie Furber

Food Farms Are A Hit

It’s a fun way to show kids the link between farming and their burgers and pizza

W

hat kid doesn’t know about tasty burgers, fries and pizza?

But how many know that it all starts on somebody’s farm? Too few, sadly.

Two years ago some folks in Yorkton, Sask., did something to bridge this gap by laying out their first pizza farm. It’s a fun place, where schoolchildren have a chance to learn about, and grow the ingredients in their favourite foods.

The idea started with the staff of the Sask­atch­ewan Ministry of Agriculture (SMA) in Yorkton in partnership with Agriculture in the Classroom, Saskatchewan (AITC-SK). And it’s growing.

The Carrot River Valley Watershed Association (CRVWA) teamed up with Farm Link Marketing Solutions at Melfort in 2014 to put a new spin on this concept by organizing a burger and fries ranch.

SMA staff at Moose Jaw came on board that same year with another pizza farm.

This September put a wrap on pizza farms at Yorkton, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert along with the burger and fries ranches at Melfort, Moose Jaw and Outlook.

Food Farm has since become the umbrella term for SMA-affiliated farms, leaving the theme open to the imagination. Tacos anyone?

AITC-SK partners with local SMA ag-awareness champions and other host organizations to help with anything from organizing the schools to programming, helping the teachers and followup classroom presentations. As well, AITC-SK often looks after booking and manning Agrium’s popular Seed Survivor trailer. The interactive displays and games teach about soil, water, and how plants grow, the importance of plants to human survival, and how modern technol-

28

C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

ogy helps farmers care for crops to grow food for people around the world (http://seedsurvivor.com).

There’s no requirement to contact SMA or AITC-SK if a Food Farm sounds like something you’d like to bring to your community.

All it really takes to get the ball rolling is a host organization that’s willing to take the lead.

“Food Farms are a perfect fit with Sask­atchewan’s Grade 3 and Grade 4 science curriculum,” says AITC-SK programs manager Leah Hermanson. “Grade 3 focuses on plants and soils, and Grade 4 focuses on Saskatchewan agriculture.”

The details vary with the community but generally Grade 3 students plant the menu ingredients, then return in September as Grade 4 students to help with harvesting and preparing the meal. Other activities related to food production and the role of agriculture in the community keep students busy during spring and fall field days.

The host group organizes and manages the site from planting through harvest, sets the agenda, and finds the sponsors and volunteers needed to pull it all together. Food Farm sites have ranged from Monsanto research sites to demonstration farms, grain terminal yards and private land.

“The number of volunteers from producer groups, industry, the schools and the community is phenomenal,” Hermanson says.

Yorkton and Melfort organizers found seed and input suppliers, grain-marketing companies, greenhouses, local businesses, community groups and individuals eager to sponsor the Food Farm once they heard about the concept.

Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Ag Awareness Initiative also provides funding to projects such as locally organized Food Farms that bolster the public perception of agriculture. Details are found at http:// www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/GF2-AgAwareness.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

youth Planting pizza at Yorkton

SMA regional livestock specialist Naomi Paley describes the Yorkton pizza farm as a large circular plot partitioned pizza-style. Groups of students rotate through the wedges, planting and learning about the plants that go into a pizza, and how they are grown, both on today’s farms and in the past.

Tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic and herbs form the sauce.

Wheat supplies the flour and canola the oil to form the crust.

Some crop wedges are seeded with modern technology and inputs.

Others are broadcast by hand. By fall the side-by-side comparison shows pretty clearly the advantage of modern methods.

Two wedges are reserved for a September field trip where they showcase a pig as the source of the ham and pepperoni and a dairy cow that supplies the cheese. Students then harvest the garden and haul the ingredients back to the school where they make their pizzas from scratch.

Many of the students had never been on a farm before, up to 90 per cent in one class, so this provided a unique experience for them.

Burgers and fries at Melfort

Question: How many kids weigh as much as a steer? photo supplied

by Lynne Rozell

year, even though the weather was better on planting day. Volunteers from Wright’s Greenhouse and Farm Credit Canada helped students plant their bags and their own potatoes in the main garden where they learned about companion planting and other gardening tips.

Volunteers then planted the other fixings: tomatoes, onions, lettuce, peppers and carrots.

In September, the potato station sizzled with activity as students made homemade fries to compare with ready-made fries. Then they learned how the condiments are made, and prepared their own fixings. Prairie North Co-op donated the food for the spring and fall barbecue lunches.

For more information and tips on organizing a Food Farm, contact SMA’s Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 306-694-3727, AITC-SK at 306-933-5204, CRVWA at 306-752-1270 or follow along on Twitter at #burgerandfriesfarm. c

Seeing beef cattle up close was a big deal for most of the students who visited the Melfort burger and fries ranch.

Even in this small city of 5,000 located in an area dominated by agriculture there were children who had never been to a farm and farm kids who may not have had an opportunity to see all sides of agriculture, says Carrot River Valley Watershed Association manager Lynne Rozell.

Members of the Beatty 4-H Beef Club set up the live animal display and explained about their animals, their club and the activities 4-H offers kids from all walks of life.

SMA livestock specialist Alicia Sopatyk, who covered the basics of beef production last year, says she got into some very enthusiastic discussions in the half-hour she had with each group. She told them about what cattle eat and how the rumen digests it as well as different types of beef operations and the purpose of the dangle tags and radio frequency identification tags in the ears. There were some unexpected questions, too, about hormones, slaughterhouses and butcher shops, meat packaging and labels, which showed their understanding that farm animals have to be harvested for food.

This year, 4-H club leader Dale Atkinson ended his discussions December by weighing a steer and then having students gather on the scale to December th thth th find out how many of them it took to match the steer. th December 9thth, 9th & 1010 2015 8 ,thDecember 8 & 2015 Syngenta donated staff time and inputs to plant and harvest the th th 8th, 9thth & 10th 2015 8 , 9 & 10 2015 plots of wheat, canola and mustard where students learned about the crop cycle, nutrients and weeds. In the fall they came back and found out how wheat is ground into flour for buns, canola is crushed 4440 GATEWAY BOULEVARD 4440 GATEWAY BOULEVARD Speakers: to make cooking oil and mustard ends up in squeeze bottles on the 4440 GATEWAY BOULEVARD 4440 GATEWAY BOULEVARD Speakers: Dr. Yamily Zavala What is Soil Health? grocer’s shelf.

Dr. Yamily Zavala What is Soil Health?

Speakers: Dr. Harold van Es Soil Health Assessment and Building Soils for Better Crops Speakers: Speakers: Volunteers from SaskMilk were on hand to talk about what goes Harold van Assessment and Building SoilsCommunities for Better Crops Gabe Brown SoilWhat Soils, Healthy Farms, Healthy Dr. Yamily Zavala is Soil Health?

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Dr.EsYamily Zavala What is Soil Health? into making butter.

Healthy Plants Grow in Healthy Soils Dr. Jill Clapperton Healthy Soils, Gabe Brown Healthy Farms, Healthy Communities Dr.Harold Harold Soil Health Assessment and Building Soils for Better CropsCrops Dr. vanvan Es Soil Assessment and Building Soils for Better Crops Dr. Es Harold van EsHealth Soil Health Assessment and Building Soils for Better Adaptive Grazing Leads to Reduced Inputs & Improved Profitability; Dr. Allen Williams Healthy Plants Grow in Healthy Soils Cervus Farm Equipment placed a large air seeder at the site as a Dr. Jill Clapperton Grazing for Soil Health Gabe Brown Healthy Soils, Healthy Farms, Healthy Communities Gabe Brown Healthy Soils, Healthy Farms, Healthy Communities Gabe Brown Healthy Soils, Healthy Farms, Healthy Communities Dr. Jeff Battigelli Adaptive Soil Biodiversity the World Your Feet Grazing Leads- Exploring to Reduced InputsBeneath & Improved Profitability; visual contrast to the equipment of days gone by on display at Farm Dr. Allen Williams Healthy Plants Grow in Healthy Soils intoHealthy Dr. Clapperton Healthy Plants Soils of Prairie Soils Dr.Dr. JillMartin Clapperton Healthy Plants Grow in Grow Healthy Soils Health for Soil Health Dr.JillJill Clapperton Ecological Farm Management Improve Entz Grazing Adaptive Grazing Leads toLeads Reduced Inputs &Reduced Improved Profitability; Adaptive Grazing Leads to Inputs & Improved Profitability; Link’s Glenda Murphy’s acreage.

Dr. Jeff Battigelli Soil Biodiversity Exploring the World Beneath Your Feet Adaptive Grazing to Reduced Inputs & Improved Profitability; Dr. Williams Grazing to Healthier Soils Neil Williams Dennis Dr. Allen Dr.Allen Allen Williams Grazing for Soil Health Grazing for Soil Health Grazing for Soil Health Ecological Farm Management to Improve Health of Prairie Soils Entz Gardening activities took on a unique twist the first year when Earthworms, Soil Conservation, Soil Health...Getting to the Roots of It Dr. Odette Menard Dr. Dr. JeffMartin Battigelli Soil Biodiversity Exploring the World Beneath Your Feet Dr. Jeff Battigelli Soil Biodiversity - Exploring the World Beneath Your Feet Dr. Jeff Battigelli Soil Biodiversity - Exploring the World Beneath Your Feet Cover Crops and Living Soils Jay Fuhrer Grazing to Healthier Soils Neil Dennis torrents of rain left the plots too muddy to plant, so the organizers Ecological Farm Management to Management Improve Health Prairie Soils Dr. Martin Entz Dr. Martin Ecological Farm toof Improve Health of Prairie Soils Entz Ecological Farm Management Improve Health ofRoots Prairie Dr. Martin Entz Producer Panel How I Improved the Health of Myto Soil Earthworms, Soil Conservation, Soil Health...Getting to the of Soils It Dr. Odette Menard Grazing to Healthier Soilsto Healthier Neil Dennis improvised by having students seed grocery ingredients in AgGrazing Soils Neil Dennis Banquet Speaker: Grazing to Healthier Soils Neil Dennis Cover Crops and Living Soils Jay Fuhrer Scholar “Multi-species Cover Cropping Around the World” Earthworms,Nuffield SoilEarthworms, Conservation, Soil Health...Getting the Roots of It to the Roots of It Dr. Odette Menard BlakeMenard Vince Soil Conservation, Soil to Health...Getting Dr. Odette More-Than-Ever tote bags and volunteers planted the garden when Earthworms, Soil Conservation, Dr. Odette Menard Producer Panel How I Improved the Health of My Soil Soil Health...Getting to the Roots of It Cover Crops Living Soils Jay Fuhrer Cover Crops and Living Soils Jay Fuhrer For more information or toand Register contact: weather permitted. As things turned out these mobile gardens were Banquet Speaker: How ICover Crops Living JayPanel Fuhrer Producer theand Health of MySoils SoilHealth of My Soil www.albertasoilhealth.ca or ARECA Producer Panel Improved How I780-612-9712 Improved the a hit with parents and the students who were able to watch their Nuffield Scholar “Multi-species Cover Cropping Around the World” Blake Vince Banquet Speaker: Producer PanelBanquet Speaker: How I Improved the Health of My Soil Nuffield Scholar “Multi-species Cover Cropping Around the World” gardens grow during the summer break.

Vince Scholar “Multi-species Cover Cropping Around the World” Blake For more Blake information orVince to RegisterNuffield contact: Banquet Speaker: In fact, the garden-in-a-bag worked so well they did it again thiswww.albertasoilhealth.ca Nuffield780-612-9712 Scholar “Multi-species Cover Cropping Around the World” or Register ARECA Blake Vince or to For more information contact:

December 8 , 9 & 10 2015

Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS

4440 GATEWAY BOULEVARD

Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS

Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS

Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS

For more information or to Register contact: www.albertasoilhealth.ca or ARECA 780-612-9712 www.albertasoilhealth.ca or ARECA 780-612-9712 For more information or to Register contact:

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

www.albertasoilhealth.ca or ARECA 780-612-9712

C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

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 vet aDvi c e

UNDERSTANDING THE VALUE OF VACCINES

A

lthough vaccines have been used commercially for more than 70 years, the bulk of vaccines available on the market has not changed significantly. They are still mostly the products of either live or killed whole virus or bacterial culture. Research has yielded improvements to adjuvants (components that stimulate immunity), introduction of genetically engineered subunit and DNA vaccines, vaccine markers, and methods to deliver vaccines that increase effectiveness.

Vaccine research vastly improved our understanding of the body’s immune system and opened doors to new technology allowing modification of how the immune system responds to disease organisms.

The rationale of preventing disease through appropriate and timed vaccination programs becomes a critical part of veterinary guidance to producers. Vaccination strategies need to be well thought out and continually reviewed by the producer and veterinary consultant.

Three basic principles become a part of most vaccination strategies: • Need: Is risk of exposure to a given disease high enough, or the level of stress great enough to become a health issue?

• Efficacy: Is the vaccine effective and is enough evidence available to support claims?

• Safety: Is the vaccine safe and timing of administration appropriate?

The Beef Cattle Institute, Kansas State University surveyed the current recommendations by 23 consulting feedlot veterinarians who care for a collective 10 million head on feed in Canada and the U.S. The seven factors commonly used by them to predict morbidity and mortality in feeder cattle ranked as follows: • Risk of health-related events • Amount and quality of labour • Quality of nutrition when cattle were received • Weather • Class of antibiotic used for metaphylaxis (treatment of large groups on arrival) • Class of antibiotic used for treatment • Vaccine choices The choice of vaccines, though considered important as a tool for managing health, ranked seventh in both 2009 and 2014. Vaccination protocols vary with veterinarians’ personal experience, variance in how herds and feedlots are managed, and type of cattle being handled i.e. high risk or low risk. Antibiotic use is more common in feedlot replacements considered “high risk” for contracting bovine respiratory disease (BRD), especially newly weaned calves and those that have been transported long distances.

Disease control in beef herds has traditionally centred on vaccination to prevent clinical disease. While reduction of the severity of clinical disease can be directly related to immunization, decreasing the transmission of pathogens between individuals in a herd is a primary objective.

Herd immunity, rather than individual immunity, becomes the target in most vaccination programs. Herd immunity is achieved by: • Reducing the number of individuals shedding pathogens • Decreasing the amount of pathogen being shed by individuals • Decreasing the duration of pathogen shedding • Increasing the infective dose needed to initiate disease Sound vaccination programs reduce the efficiency of transmis-

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sion between individual animals and collectively across herds, while reducing the number of individuals shedding infectious organisms.

The percentage of immune individuals in a herd to achieve herd protection varies, but generally ranges between 83 and 94 per cent.

An exception being the percentage of immune individuals limiting the spread of bovine virus diarrhea (BVDV) within and between herds. Without persistently infected (PI) individuals it’s calculated to be 57 per cent. With PIs the figure jumps to 97 per cent. The value of vaccine in herds with PIs is low (i.e. a high percentage of immune animals is needed to limit transmission) if not supplemented by testing animals at risk and culling all PIs. Modern livestock systems have adopted the practice of giving vaccines containing multiple antigens, either as multivalent combinations or individual vaccines administered concurrently. Use of vaccines in this manner is often a result of only being able to handle calves once or twice between birth and weaning. Preventive health strategies can include administration of vaccines containing as many as eight or more antigens at the same time. The value of the “shotgun” approach to vaccination is often questioned; not knowing whether calves are capable of responding to all vaccine components at the same level, or if some antigens actually interfere with response to other components.

Shipping, handling, processing and most importantly, commingling are major stressors on commercial calves entering today’s marketplace. The value of vaccines and vaccination protocols are inversely proportional to the risk of exposure to infectious disease and stress, especially commingling. Slowing the rate of exposure through commingling provides susceptible animals time to respond to vaccination.

At present, calf health and weaning programs emphasize BRD vaccination protocols and weaning for at least 45 days. Although vaccination is still considered an important component of providing healthy calves to the marketplace, key factors are low-stress weaning and the interval between weaning and sale. Vaccination in this case probably plays a secondary role to good management practices.

Presently there are no broad-spectrum antiviral pharmaceuticals available. Good production practices and biosecurity plans that limit exposure combined with vaccination are the only means to prevent or control viral infections.

The value of vaccines will probably become a decisive factor in the global struggle against antimicrobial resistance. Learning to work effectively with the immune system through effective vaccination certainly provides a stepping stone to more prudent drug use and antimicrobial stewardship in both animals and man.

Sound vaccination programs also fit with a growing sentiment by consumers that the livestock industry must adopt clearly understood and justifiable means of rearing animals for food. Codes of practice promoting proper care and welfare of animals make effective vaccination against common production diseases a valid part of our social licence to operate. c Dr. Ron Clarke prepares this column on behalf of the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners. Suggestions for future articles can be sent to Canadian Cattlemen (gren@fbcpublishing.com) or WCABP (info@wcabp.com).

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

Update on new VBP+ modules There’s progress. Here’s what producers should know The Verified Beef Production (VBP) program, known in Canada for on-farm food safety, is adding new modules for biosecurity, animal care and environment. It’s an ambitious development for the program and potentially significant for the national beef industry.

These new plans and related development around sustainability have producers regularly wondering about the purpose and progress of this effort.

Manitoba cattle producer Betty Green has watched the developments of the new modules from both inside and outside the program. As a producer she knows these will affect her own ranching operation in Manitoba’s Interlake region. As VBP coordinator for her province and a program representative on the national VBP+ effort, she knows the questions producers and industry players are asking.

Here’s a recap of key things she believes producers should know.

There’s a purpose for doing this.

Market expectations domestically and globally are asking for transparency and accountability. Adding new modules can help accomplish that, she believes. “And a co-ordinated industry effort also works to avoid unnecessary and costly duplication of the services needed in the beef marketplace.”

Other groups are working to leverage this effort. The Canadian Cattlemen’s

Producers like Betty Green of Fisher Branch, Man. are instrumental to adding practical and flexible modules to add to VBP.

Association has spearheaded the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable beef. This VBP+ program is a platform for this initiative.

Even more important a number of leading companies such as McDonald’s and Loblaws are looking for ways to leverage the VBP+ effort in their own branded products. Others are also expressing interest.

“As a result the work on VBP+ has potential to pay off in many ways,” says Green.

It’s a combination of old and new.

There are new aspects to this new era of sustainability but the bulk of this is built on tried-and-true practices well established over time, says Green.

“It’s really important that producers understand VBP+ has been built around the goal of not reinventing the wheel. The goal is a program that is easy to use. We are using generic risk assessments to identify priorities. And we are using existing programs such as animal care codes and Environmental Farm Plans.

“This is designed to build on established efforts such as Ontario’s Corn-Fed brand.”

We’re making good progress. The VBP+ initiative is being overseen by an extensive industry-led group designed to realistically meet producer and industry needs.

The business plan for the new VBP is being developed. Modules have been tested on farm and will be available in 2016.

Industry pride

“There is a lot of hard work yet to be done to get all of this implemented seamlessly,” says Green. However, she believes producers would be pleased with what has been accomplished in the VBP+ process.

“It would be very rewarding if all producers could have a chance to hear first hand the complimentary comments about producers from the players around the table during in these meetings.

“There is strong support for how beef producers manage their farms and ranches today. And there is real confidence in VBP to work with partners to meet market expectations.”

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 researc h o n t h e r eco r d

By Reynold Bergen

Conjugal Visits

T

he federal government’s CIPARS program studies E. coli in healthy cattle entering packing plants and in retail ground beef. Its surveillance shows that resistance to antimicrobials of the highest importance in human health continues to be very rare in these samples, and multi-drug-resistant bacteria are even less common. The risk of consumers being exposed to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria through exposure to healthy cattle or beef is extremely remote.

But antimicrobial resistance does occur, and can cause real problems in feedlots. Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the leading cause of sickness and death in feedlot cattle. It is caused by a number of viruses (BVD, IBR, BHV-1 and PI3) and bacteria (Histophilus, Mannheimia, Mycoplasma, Pasteurella). Cattle at high or very high BRD risk usually receive a preventive (metaphylactic) antimicrobial treatment on arrival. Cattle that get visibly sick and pulled are usually treated again. Chronically sick cattle may be treated multiple times. When bacteria are exposed to antimicrobials, the antimicrobial-resistant ones are more likely to survive. Antimicrobial resistance is usually genetic in origin, so resistant bacteria can pass it on to their descendants, and the proportion of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria increases in cattle that are treated repeatedly.

Bacteria can also share antimicrobial resistance with each other.

In “transformation,” a resistant bacterium leaks copies of antimicrobial-resistance genes that are absorbed by a second bacterium, making it resistant, too. In “transduction,” bacterial viruses (phages) transfer copies of antimicrobial-resistance genes from one bacterium to another. In “conjugation,” two bacteria physically mate and share antimicrobial-resistance genes.

Antimicrobial-resistance genes are often grouped together in the bacterial DNA. This is why there is a risk of co-resistance (I talked about this in the June column). If genes coding for resistance to several different antimicrobials are all side by side in the bacterial DNA, they will travel as a group. In that case, treating cattle with one antimicrobial will not only increase the likelihood of resistance to the antimicrobial that was used, it will also increase the resistance to several other antimicrobials, even if those other antimicrobials were never used in those cattle.

The ability of BRD bacteria to spread multi-drug resistance through conjugation was clearly illustrated in a 2014 paper (Journal of Clinical Microbiology 52:438-448).

What they did: A team of Canadian researchers from AAFC Lethbridge, the University of Saskatchewan and Feedlot Health Management Services collected samples from 68 BRD mortalities in feedlots in Alberta, Texas and Nebraska. Lung tissue samples and swabs from deep in the back of the nose were collected, and BRD bacteria were isolated and tested for antimicrobial resistance. Conjugation studies tested the ability of Mannheimia and Histophilus to share antimi-

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crobial-resistance genes with Pasteurella, and the ability of Pasteurella to share them with E. coli under optimal lab conditions.

What they learned: 72 per cent of Mannheimia and half of Pasteurella isolates were antimicrobial resistant. Of these, 30 per cent of the Mannheimia and 12.5 per cent of the Pasteurella isolates were resistant to more than seven antimicrobial classes, including antimicrobials of Very High (e.g. fluoroquinolones like Baytril), High (e.g. penicillin and aminoglycosides like streptomycin, commonly found in scour treatments) and Medium Importance in human health (tetracyclines like Liquamycin). One of the seven antimicrobial classes (pleuromutilins) is approved for use in swine but not cattle. None of the multi-drug-resistant isolates were found in Alberta samples, but that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t develop here or don’t already exist here. One of the Histophilus isolates also carried genes with a similar multi-drug-resistant profile.

Lab experiments demonstrated that Mannheimia and Histophilus could successfully conjugate with and transfer many antimicrobial-resistance genes to Pasteurella. Pasteurella did the same with E. coli.

What it means: These cattle were likely treated multiple times before dying, so it’s no surprise that the level of antimicrobial resistance in this study was much higher than we see in routine CIPARS surveillance. This obviously isn’t a direct threat to consumers, because cattle that die in the feedlot don’t reach the store.

But antimicrobial resistance is a threat to feedlot cattle, particularly if resistance genes naturally spread among bacteria the way they did in the lab study. Antimicrobial resistance will impact beef producers and their cattle long before it becomes a threat to consumers. Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria arise naturally through random mutations, and bacteria transfer those genes from one to another on their own. Inappropriate antimicrobial use ensures that the resistant bacteria become more common, more quickly. Responsible antimicrobial use slows the development of antimicrobial resistance and ensures that these antimicrobials will continue to be effective in cattle. The widespread adoption of prevention-based health management practices (e.g. vaccination, low-stress weaning and marketing practices, and other preconditioning-related practices) could reduce the need for antimicrobial use in Canada’s beef industry.

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.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 straigh t f ro m t h e h i p

By Brenda Schoepp

Beef — naturally

A

chart on the slide laid it out in colour. Food sales in “natural” and “organic” products were not a niche or a fad — they were a well-established trend.

Deep in a city boardroom shared with the major food industries, it became clear to me that what we assume of our urban and global customers may have been slightly underestimated. These producers and agri-food giants were very clear that the customer of the day demanded a natural product with full transparency, freshness and versatility.

A little research found that most associations are aware of the well-documented consumer shift to a more natural product but in the same article will call it a “fad” or “niche.” That tells me the depth of the market may not be fully understood. More than a decade ago a few of us in the business worried over consumer issues and talked about the shift from the practice of the day to a more natural product. We knew it had to be but at the same time it was an expensive conversion for industry — one that takes pure economic advantages and trashes them for buyer need. Could we do it?

The question is no longer if the conversion will need to take place but when it will be dictated. We only have to look at the mandates that were demanded in other industries, such as poultry and eggs to know that beef is on the hook.The success of natural programs cannot be ignored. “A customer is a customer, no matter where they are,” (AgriSuccess May/June) is a mantra to the global context of food. How we handle this broadening of scope as an industry will determine our future.

Beef is a wonderful protein that has the distinct advantage of tasting terrific. Consumer studies show us that taste is still the major driver for beef buys and tenderness the handicap. That is why middle cuts continue to sell — although in smaller portions. In Canada we enjoy state of the art of feeding and processing and are leaders in cooked meat, especially hamburger. In fact the Cardinal Meat Specialists plants in Brampton and Spruce Grove are so advanced they are unrivalled anywhere else in North America. We do have competitive advantages.

This may all sound repetitive until we fan the pages on the future. When we look ahead there is a resounding new theme — transparency. We hear the need from scientists such as Temple Grandin, from consumer groups and young technically savvy farmers. We tend to have a knowledge gap with transparency in the processing side. This, according to Brent Cator, needs to change. In an interview with meatingplace.com, Cator was firm: the biggest trend will be in transparency. The change will come to slaughter and processing. The technologies will be diverse so they can be “combined, layered and have multiple advantages.”

Operational diversity is the key. We know in an industry, diversity brings experiences and ideas to the table. A

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diverse collective intelligence that runs a farm, factory, plant, industry or home is open to innovation and creativity. In nature, for example, biodiversity is the secret to balance and the higher the diversity — the greater the resistance and stronger the resilience.

A study by NPD Group recently stated that “young, ethnically diverse buyers are tomorrow’s meat buyers,” so we know that we are facing diversity at every juncture and on the marketing side all the time. How that crosses over into production for cattlemen is another story and how that product is prepared is another layer to implement.

Slaughter is an unfashionable necessity and further processing even more removed from our acceptable consciousness. If Cator is on the mark then the question becomes: how do we increase transparency in the ugly end of business? Animal welfare is first and as we move down the line, the aspects of value adding need to have a higher than regulatory standard with ample creative technologies that ensure a fresher product. Add a dash of full transparency and it sounds easy enough until economics dictate that this must be done at a reasonable cost.

Is the problem the solution? If natural is in then that can be solved with education and research for producers, cattle feeders and processors. If customers want a more convenient natural protein experience or a more flavourful one, then that can be solved with technology.

If buyers want a fresher product then that can be solved with airplanes. And if full transparency is at the top of the list — then data systems can be developed to support it.

The recipe for success may include the Cloud, robotics, improved transportation infrastructure, creative design, science, diverse teams from outside of industry, selfdriven regulations that exceed baselines and embracing the knowledge that the world has changed yet again.

Remember the days before rotational grazing, electronic auctions sales, conveyor restraint pre slaughter, hydraulic chutes and gates, MLV, cryovac packages, high-temperature cooking, HACCP, robotics or the round baler? Do you remember the pushback when those were introduced? We cannot go back to that time when we now can knit protein fibres and sequence the bovine genome.

Science and technology have saved lives, made our world safer, improved performance for our animals and given us the tools to be better stewards. It took a diversity of thought, fearless innovation and sharing (transparency) to get to this space. As we move to the next phase, beef has the opportunity to once again be centre of plate — naturally. c Brenda Schoepp is an inspiring speaker, consultant 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 2015

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 CCA repo rts

By Dave Solverson

Good prices soften uncertainty

F

or all the uncertainty some producers have endured this year as a result of extreme weather, the one constant that has enabled everyone to stay focused is the market price for cattle. Calf and feeder prices continue to sell incredibly strong. As we head into the fall run, limited supplies and strong demand for Canadian calves allow prices to be very resilient. Producers were ecstatic with prices a year ago, and calves have added another 50 to 70 cents/lb. this fall, enough to soften the blow of any decisions a producer may be forced to make due to circumstances beyond his control. The weaker Canadian dollar has been a big contributor to the Canadian cattle market. Many producers have taken advantage of these strong prices, as a significant number of calves were forward sold for fall delivery as producers have been proactively marketing cattle through less traditional channels.

While the good times continue to roll on the markets, the federal election fast approaching on October 19 likely has many producers wondering what else fall may bring.

Resolving the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute with the U.S. over country-of-origin-labelling (COOL) is the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) highest priority, as outlined in our Federal Election Priorities document.

The CCA specifically requests all parties seeking to form the Government of Canada in the 42nd Parliament to declare their intention to swiftly impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports the moment Canada is authorized to do so by the World Trade Organization if the U.S. has not eliminated the incentive to segregate imported livestock by that time.

The CCA attended the WTO arbitration panel hearing in Geneva regarding U.S. COOL in mid-September.

The panel, which heard arguments from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. on their respective calculations, is expected to release its decision later this year.

Canada has requested authorization to impose tariffs on more than C$3.1 billion per year of U.S. exports.

Mexico is requesting authorization for over US$713 million in retaliatory tariffs.

The U.S. estimates the costs related to COOL arbitration at US$91 million. The CCA notes that the U.S. estimate of an arbitration amount ignores any valuation related to segregation of cattle, transportation issues or price suppression in the Canadian market. Given that the WTO has already found these issues to be at the core of the COOL violation, the CCA feels confident that our calculations will be strongly considered by the arbitrators.

In addition to resolving COOL, the CCA election priorities document recommends utilizing resources in a targeted manner to achieve the following highest priorities: • Successfully negotiate and implement the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement to address the 38.5 per cent tariff imposed by Japan on Canadian beef;

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• Establish technical conditions that enable commercially meaningful beef exports to the European Union and implement the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA); • Remove the “temporary restrictions” imposed by Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia on Canadian beef products since February 2015; • Restore access for over-30-month beef to Mexico; • Secure full access for Canadian beef exports to China; • Ensure expeditious procedures and resources exist to facilitate importation to Canada of live breeding stock and genetics.

The CCA election priorities document outlines a number of issues that can help create the operating environment for beef cattle herd expansion in Canada, like fully funding programs that help producers manage risk and investing in infrastructure, investment in research and sustainable practices and access to sufficient labour to work on farms and to process the meat.

Canada prides itself on its testing and surveillance networks and we had another demonstration of the strength of our systems in September when bluetongue virus (BTV) was found in beef cattle in Ontario through Canada’s Bovine Serological Surveillance program. There is no risk to human health associated with BTV and this occurrence will not affect exports of Canadian live cattle to the U.S. or exports of meat or meat products.

Bluetongue is an animal health disease transmitted by a species of biting midge. Cattle typically show no signs of clinical infection but BTV can cause serious illness and death in sheep, deer and potentially other wildlife. There is no effective treatment for BTV. Most of Canada is free of the disease given our climate — midge activity ceases with the first hard frost.

Five of the six known occurrences of BTV in Canada in the past 30 years have been in the Okanagan Valley.

This latest occurrence of the virus appeared on a birth farm outside of its normal region in Canada, impacting Canada’s status with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as a country free of BTV. In beef cattle the impact of BTV is primarily to the genetics industry.

As a result of not being able to claim freedom for BTV, Canada suspended several certificates for live ruminants and semen and embryos due to current certificate requirements. These certificates will have to be renegotiated with the respective countries to meet requirements for bluetongue, and will become available as negotiations proceed. The U.S. and Mexican markets remain open as the virus is already endemic in these countries.

According to OIE rules, it will take up to two years for Canada to regain its BTV-free status provided it meets requirements. c

Dave Solverson is president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 TH E INDUST RY

NewsRoundup Grazing

The ins and outs of grazing stubble

Turning cows out onto stubble fields is a good way to utilize forage resources,” says Barry Yaremcio, beef/forage specialist at the Alberta Ag-Info Centre in Stettler. “They will pick and choose what they eat from the straw, chaff, weed seeds in the stubble, slough hay from the low areas and mature hay growing along the fences and headlands.

“The quality of what they eat can be variable depending on the type of crop grown, fertility program and stage of maturity when the crop was cut or harvested. The combine setting — the amount of light grain and weed seeds thrown out onto the ground will impact what the cows eat as well.”

Straw, chaff, and overmature grass hay typically have low amounts of protein, energy, calcium and magnesium. “These feeds are also high in neutral detergent fibre (which can reduce total feed intake) and relatively high in phosphorus,” says Yaremcio. “Grains and weed seeds are also high in phosphorus and have higher energy and protein content than the grasses, straw and chaff.”

Cow-calf pairs that are turned onto stubble fields have different mineral supplementation requirements compared to when they were on a mixed alfalfa — grass pasture. The lack of calcium and magnesium in the straw and forages can cause two problems.

A diet that is low in calcium and higher in phosphorus can reduce phosphorus absorption. Phosphorus is the driver of all metabolic functions. When phosphorus is not absorbed, feed intake is reduced which in turn reduces

milk production and weight gain on the calves. Cows can also start to lose weight. If the imbalance continues, it can impair reproductive performance — with cows taking longer to cycle and conceive a calf next year.

A calcium/magnesium deficiency can cause cows to go down and it generally requires a veterinarian to treat animals in this situation.

A mineral supplementation program should contain additional calcium and magnesium.

“When it comes to calcium, in many cases, a 2:1 mineral does not provide enough calcium to remedy the situation,” notes Yaremcio. “A feedlot mineral with a 3:1 or 4:1 calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is preferred. If a 1:1 or 2:1 mineral is left over from the summer, mix one bag of limestone (38 per cent calcium) with one bag of mineral and one bag of fortified trace mineral salt (with selenium).

This mixture (roughly 165 pounds) should be consumed by 100 cow-calf pairs in five to six days. If consumption is too low, add dried molasses to improve consumption. Add eight to 10 pounds of dried molasses to the entire mix and adjust to get the proper intake.”

If feeding a straight mineral, magnesium content should be in the three to five per cent range if the recommended intake is between 70 and 100 grams per day. “The added magnesium along with the calcium reduces the risk of downer cows,” explains Yaremcio. “If magnesium is not present in the mineral, it can be purchased as an individual product from some feed stores or feed mills.”

Feeds that are overmature or crop aftermath are usually low in protein.

“A lactating cow requires 11 per cent protein (minimum on a dry basis) to maintain feed intake and milk production,” says Yaremcio. “Dry cows can manage on eight per cent protein. Supplementing protein on pasture is troublesome. Protein tubs or blocks will help solve the problem, but the mineral and vitamin supplementation should still continue as described above.

Feeding three to four pounds of grain every third day along with a protein supplement is another option. Putting weaned cows onto these fields is an option to reduce protein requirements.”

If the energy and protein requirements of the cow are not met, the cow will not be producing much milk, says Yaremcio.

“This will reduce calf gains. To offset the loss of calf performance, creep feeding the calves with a ration that is between 14 and 16 per cent protein will improve average daily gains. If feeding straight oats, which has 10 to 11 per cent protein on average, the calves will put down fat rather than lean growth and they could possibly not frame out properly resulting in fat, dumpy butterballs that will be discounted at auction.

A mixture of one-third peas and two-thirds oats or barley by weight will provide a creep ration that meets protein and energy requirements. With lower grain prices and high calf prices creep feeding will pay very well in the long run.”

Trade

Australia raises beef export forecast by 20 per cent

In mid-September Reuters reported that Australia raised its forecast for beef exports by 20 per cent as drought conditions worsened by an El Niño weather pattern forced farmers in the world’s third-largest exporter to maintain near-record slaughter rates.

Beef exports are expected to total 1.225 million tonnes in the crop year to July 1, 2016, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture, Resource Economics and Rural Sciences (ABARES) said, up from its June forecast of 1.02 million tonnes.

The stronger exports will be driven by Continued on page 38

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

37

News Roundup

specialist, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, picked up 100 miles away, the cost will be Stettler. “As a result, feed and hay prices have $600 per load. Assuming 18 tons per load, risen dramaticallyww from a year ago. Producers the freight cost is $33 per ton or $123 per aniare faced with eitherExperience buying expensive feed or mal for the 215 days.” moving their livestock to feed if they want Yardage charges on the farm include the ww Enthusiasm to keep ownership and equity in their anicost of operating“Working equipment, corral forcleanYou – Working ww Experience Integrity Continued from page 37 mals. Choosing an option depends on the ing, utilities, and wear and tear on facilities.

Experience Integrity rEgulAr fAt, fEEdEr & StockEr cAttlE SAlES economics of each alternative.”

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BY YEARLINGS wEdnEsday, sEPtEmbEr 23 been - 1:00 Pm ** PLUS TUESDAY RANCHER SALES Enthusiasm Ability Farmers in Queensland have 35 pounds perFOLLOWED day to– maintain her,with it will You” can useSPECIAL the labour to generate alternative tuEsday, octobEr 20 - CALF 10:30 am** “Working for You Working BY YEARLINGS wEdnEsday, sEPtEmbEr 23 1:00 Pm wEdnEsday, sEPtEmbEr 30 - 1:00 Pm tuEsday, octobEr 20 10:30 am 19th annual british brEEds calf salE wEdnEsday, 1:00 Pm Pm plagued by droughtsEPtEmbEr for more than take about 7,500 pounds or approximately income, then the opportunity costsalE of not 19th annual british brEEds calf wEdnEsday, octobEr 730- -two 1:00 ** SPEcIAl HAY AuctIoN ** tuEsday, octobEr 27 - 10:30 am wEdnEsday, octobEr 7 -cAttlE 1:00SAlES Pm rEgulAr fAt,wilted fEEdEr & StockEr tuEsday, octobEr 27 - 10:30 am SPEcIAl rANcHEr cAlf SAlES SPEcIAl rANcHEr cAlf SAlES years, which has pasture and dried 3.75 tons of hay over 215BALOG days,” says Dyck. feeding cattle must be added to the cost COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB 9th annual angus adVantagE calf salE of 9th annual angus adVantagE BALOG PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, up ** damsSPEcIAl — forcing graziers to AuctIoN cull animals AB ** “FeedingBALOG days areCOW suggested to be longer this AB 18, purchasing and hauling feed. ” calf salE friday, sEPtEmbEr 2015 -COW 2:30 Pm HAY friday, octobEr 2 - 10:30 am ** SPEcIAl HAY AuctIoN ** wEdnEsday, sEPtEmbEr 16 - 12:30 Pm BALOG COW PALACE, LETH cows, bulls, finishEd cattlE – 10:30 a.m.

BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB BALOG INTERNET AUCTIONS at record BALOG levels. COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB comingwEdnEsday, winter dueIMMEDIATELY tosEPtEmbEr a lack of fall23grazing The second step isSALE to calculate the cost of friday, octobEr 9 - 10:30 am FOLLOWING CATTLE VIDEO - 12:30 Pm BALOG INTERNET AUCTIONS ThUrSdaY, ocToBer 1, 201 friday, octobEr 16 10:30 am stockErs, fEEdErs, grassErs – 1:00 P.m.

SALES EVERY THURSDAY 10:00 a.m. friday, sEPtEmbEr 18, 2015 2:30 Pm wEdnEsday, sEPtEmbEr 30 - 12:30 Pm 108 Square bales of Prairie wool x alfalfa hay opportunities and to give pastures time to moving the animals to a custom operator and SALES EVERY THURSDAY 10:00 a.m.amagricultural, indu friday,SPECIAL sEPtEmbEr 18, 2015 - 2:30 Pm friday, octobEr 23 - 10:30 BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB sElling: “Bring theentire entire world to your corral” SPRING CALVES WILL SELL EVERY YEARLING SALES JJ IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING CATTLE VIDEOJJ SALE cut), weigh 1179 lbs, bales BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB approx.

“Bring thefeed world to your corral” friday, octobEr 30 -is 10:30 management recover from lack of(1st moisture.

Ifbales good-qualpay forSelling the and care there.

This the sum IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING CATTLE SALE ThUrSdaY, ocToBer 1, 2015 10:30 a.M. Trucks, Irrigation Construction wEdnEsday 12:30 P.m. wEdnEsday, 16xVIDEO -alfalfa 1:00 Pm ThUrSdaY, all classes of cattle for 108 Square balessEPtEmbEr of Prairie wool hay are located at Balog Auction Machinery Yard ocToBer 1, 2015 -total 10:30 a.M. all animals classes of cattle for SALES ** Selling PLUS SPECIAL TUESDAY RANCHER CALF ** 108 you - Square bales of Prairie wool hay sElling: agricultural, industrial cars & Should expensive ity hay costs about $200 per ton, the cost of shipping the to and from the lot, FOLLOWED BY YEARLINGS wEdnEsday, sEPtEmbEr 23x -alfalfa 1:00 Pm immediate or forward delivery (1st cut),buy bales weigh approx. 1179 lbs, bales call today sElling: agricultural, industrial cars &will be available tuEsday, octobEr 20 - 10:30 am to book your EQuiPmE Nutrient analysis sale day immediate or forward delivery (1st cut), bales weigh approx.

1179 lbs, bales Trucks, Irrigation Construction, Recreational sEPtEmbEr 30 - 1:00 Pm “If19th you want to sell direct on the farm” are at Auction Yard feedwEdnEsday, or located custom the cows? of the Trucks, hay willIrrigation be $750Construction, per animal. Shipping with theto cost ofdirect feedbrEEds aton thethe facility, and Recreational along annual british calf salE you want sell farm” are locatedfeed at Balog Balog Auction Machinery Machinery Yard octobEr 7 - 1:00 Pm call today to book your EQuiPmEnt: 403-320-1980 “Ifgive Nutrient us a call today!

403-320-1980 tuEsday, octobEr 27 10:30 am call to book 403-320-1980 wEdnEsday, totoday transport theyour hayEQuiPmEnt: to the farm need the yardage charge by the feeder to care Nutrient analysis analysis will will be be available available sale sale day daycharges give us a call today!

403-320-1980 tWo coMPlEtE ANguS9th rANcH coW dISPErSAlSand “Lack of moisture curtailed pasture and hay to be added. According to Alberta Agriculfeed theannual animals.angus adVantagE calf salE ** SPEcIAl HAY AuctIoN ** BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB tWo ANguS rANcH coW dISPErSAlS tWo coMPlEtE coMPlEtE ANguS rANcH coW dISPErSAlS production in many areas of Alberta this year, ” charges are IfBALOG the price of hay is the same at the custom BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB ture’s custom rate survey, freight INTERNET monday, noVEmbEr 9, 2015 - 1:00 AUCTIONS Pm BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB BA saysfriday, Dean Dyck, farm business management approximately $6 per loadedfEaturing: mile. If hay is 500 ffeeder, the cost Ranch ofTHURSDAY feed Cows would- be $750a.m. per BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB SALES EVERY 10:00 sEPtEmbEr 18, 2015 - 2:30 Pm ancy Angus

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fAll SoutH couNtrY MAcHINErY tHESAlE fAll rouNd-uP rouNd-uP AuctIoN monday, Pm BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB monday, noVEmbEr noVEmbEr 9, 9, 2015 2015 -- 1:00 1:00 Pm

“Bring the entire world to your corral” BAlog AuctIoN SErVIcES IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING CATTLE VIDEO SALE SErVIcES fEaturing: Angus Ranch Cows ** P CROSS RANCH LTD. AuctIoN (GARRET & JOCELYN POLETZ) ** of BIGGAR, SK fEaturing: 500 500 ffancy ancy Angus Ranch Cows ThUrSdaY, ocToBer 1,BAlog 2015 - 10:30 a.M. Selling all classes cattle for 108 Square bales of Prairie wool x alfalfa hay 250 young black & red angus cows bred angus Brand of excellence VIdeo caTTle Sale #2 ** PPCROSS RANCH LTD. (GARRET & JOCELYN POLETZ) ** BIGGAR, SK Brand of excellence VIdeo caTTle Sale #2 sElling: agricultural, industrial cars & ** CROSS RANCH LTD. (GARRET & JOCELYN POLETZ) ** BIGGAR, SK immediate or forward delivery (1st cut), bales weigh approx.

1179 lbs, bales 250 black & cows angus ** REID & JESSICA MCLEOD ** PLENTY, SK Recreational 250 -- young young blackAuction & red red angus angus cows bred bred angusTrucks, Irrigation Construction, “Ifcows you bred want to sell directPm on the farm” are located at Balog Machinery Yard friday, september 18, 2015 1:30 ** REID & JESSICA MCLEOD ** PLENTY, SK 250 -friday, young black & red angus 18, angus & redPm gelbveih september 2015 –– 1:30 ** REID & JESSICA MCLEOD ** PLENTY, SK call today to book your EQuiPmEnt: 403-320-1980 Nutrientblack analysis will be available sale day give COMPLETE us a call today!

403-320-1980 250 gelbveih CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR DETAILS 250--young young black & & red red angus angus cows cows bred bred angus angus & & red red gelbveih Balog cow cow Palace Palace––leThBrIdge, leThBrIdge,aB aB Balog CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR COMPLETE DETAILS

2015 Special Stock cow & Bred Heifer SaleS CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR COMPLETE DETAILS

tWo coMPlEtE ANguS rANcH coW dISPErSAlS

SPEcIAl Stock coW & BrEd HEIfEr SPEcIAlBALOG Stock SAlE COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB

BALOG PALACE, AB BALOG COW COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, LETHBRIDGE, AB Pm monday, noVEmbEr 9, 2015 - 1:00 monday, noVEmbEr 2015 -- 1:00 Pm monday, noVEmbEr 16, 2015 1:00 Pm fEaturing: 500 fancy16, Angus Ranch Cows fEaturing: **JASON HARTLEY ** AB fEaturing: **JASON HARTLEY ** CARDSTON, CARDSTON, AB ** P CROSS RANCH LTD. (GARRET & JOCELYN POLETZ) ** BIGGAR, SK

50 fancy raised, 11 iron, solid red heifers. synchronized to 50--big big250 fancy-home home raised, iron, solidangus red angus angus heifers. synchronized young black & red cows bred angus to easy calving all may 23, easy calving red angus angus bull. bull. all bred bred ** mayPLENTY, 23, 2015 2015 SK ** REID & red JESSICA MCLEOD ** SALE OPEN TO ALL 250 - young black & IS red angus bred angus & red gelbveih ** THIS THIS SALE IS OPEN TOcows ALL CONSIGNMENTS** CONSIGNMENTS** call all thE - 403-320-1980 CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR COMPLETE DETAILS call for for all thE dEtails dEtails

tHEimmediate fAll rouNd-uP immediate and forward forward delivery. and delivery.

SPEcIAl Stock coW & BrEdand HEIfEr SAlE This sale sale will will feature both Yearlings Yearlings and Calvesfor for This feature both Calves BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB

monday, noVEmbEr 16, 2015 - 1:00 Pm BAlog AuctIoN SErVIcES Sale will be be broadcast broadcast atwww.dlms.ca www.dlms.ca Sale will at fEaturing: **JASON HARTLEY ** CARDSTON, Brand of excellence VIdeo caTTleAB Sale

#2 50 - big fancy home raised, 1 iron, solid red angus heifers. synchronized to ANY MEMBER OFbull.

THE BALOG TEAM TO CALL ANY MEMBER OF THE BALOG TEAM easy calving red angus all bred may 23,–2015 friday, september 18, 2015 1:30 TO Pm ** THIS SALE IS OPEN TO ALL CONSIGNMENTS** DISCUSS YOUR FALL MARKETING OPTIONS DISCUSS YOUR FALL MARKETING OPTIONS cow Palace – leThBrIdge, aB callBalog for all thE dEtails - 403-320-1980

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SPEcIAl SAlE rANcHSPEcIAl coW dISPErSAl MAJEStIc cAttlE SPEcIAl Stock Stock coW coW & coMPlEtE rANcH coW dISPE coW SPEcIAl Stock coW BrEd HEIfEr SAlE (JIM J. HENdErSoN) BALOG PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB (JIM J. HENdErSoN) COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB immediate and forward delivery.

BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE BALOG PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB BALOGCOW COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB thursday, 3, 2015 2015 -- 1:00 1:00 Pm Pm 3, 2NdANNuAl ANNuAlcoMMErcIAl coMMErcIAlcoW coWSAlE SAlE PurEBrEdBull Bull SAlE 2Nd &&PurEBrEd SAlE thursday, dEcEmbEr 3, 2015 - 1: monday, noVEmbEr 23, monday, noVEmbEr 16,Pm 2015 - 1:00 Pm dEcEmbEr monday, noVEmbEr 23, 2015 2015 -- 1:00 1:00 Sale www.dlms.ca noVEmbEr 23,broadcast 2015 - COW 1:00at Pm fEaturing: ROCKINGmonday, HEART CATTLE CATTLE CO. --will be HEART CO. BALOG PALACE, LETHBRIDGE,AB AB BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, 200 fEaturing: ROCKING HEART CATTLE 200 hEad hEad fEaturing: fEaturing: fEaturing: **JASON HARTLEY ** CARDSTON, AB CONSORT, AB AB CONSORT, 200 hEad fEaturing: saturday,dEcEmbEr dEcEmbEr5, 5,2015 2015- -1:00 1:00Pm Pm CONSORT, AB **DEL RANCHING **DEL GRIFFITH RANCHING * 300 - synchronized red Angus X Simmy & Black Black Angus Angus Simmy Simmy cows. cows.** saturday, 50 - bigGRIFFITH fancy home raised, 1 iron, solidLTD.** red angus heifers. to &

CALL ANY THE BALOG * 300 - TEAM red AngusTO X Simmy & Black Angus Simm 90 - 1st & 2nd calving. calving. 110 110 -- 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 5th 5th calvers. calvers. MEMBER OF fEaturing: 4th, fEaturing: easyCESSFORD, calving redAB angus bull. all bred may 23, 2015 AB 120 120 -- 1st 1st calf calf heifers: heifers: 90 - 1st & 2nd calving. 110 - 3rd, 4th, 5th calv 100 - 6th & 7th calvers. all bred bred to to red red & & black black simmy simmyCESSFORD, bulls. ** 200 bulls.

---Black Angus, BWF & Black Angus Simmy bred heifers **** ** 200 black angus, bwf & black angus x simmy bred heifers **100 THIS SALE IS OPEN TO ALL CONSIGNMENTS** ** 200 black angus, bwf & black angus x simmy bred heifers 120 1st calf heifers: 100 -- solid solid black black heifers heifers 100 - OPTIONS 6th & 7th calvers.**all bred to red & black sim put in in July July 7, 7, 2015 2015 bulls put DISCUSS YOUR 100 FALL MARKETING --Synchronized ’ed - -due March synchronized& ai’ed duemarch march15 15 put in July 7, 2015 call for all dEtails - 403-320-1980 synchronized &&AI ai’ed 100COWS** - solid black 100 heifers 10 red big -- fancy feminine 10--solid solid red heifers, heifers, bigthE fancy feminine bulls ** TREMENDOUS SET OF YOUNG YOUNG RANCH RANCH COWS** Bredto tolong longdistance. distance.

Bred distance. heifers, heifers,all allBred Bred to to Black Black & & Red Red Angus Angus bulls.

10 - solid red heifers, big - fancy feminine ** TREMENDOUS SET OF YOUNG RANCH 100 Naturally starting 100---Angus naturally bred- -due due startingMay may111 ltd.

100 naturally bred starting may coMPlEtE rANcH coW dISPErSAl cAttlE coMPANY SPEcIAl Stock to march 15, tostart start calving calving marchcoW 15, 2016 2016SAlE heifers, all Bred to Black &MAJEStIc Red bulls. kAY & lAurIE WYNdEr WYNdEr Angus/simmental bred ** 200 Red angus/simmental heifers **** ** 200 Red angus/simmental bredheifers heifers** **SECOND CHANCE CHANCE CATTLE** CATTLE** **SECOND (JIM J. HENdErSoN) to start calving march 15, 2016 BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB BrEd HEIfEr SAlE ANNuAl HEIfEr SAlE BALOG COW PALACE, AB LETHBRIDGE, AB & ’ed - -due March CHAMPION, AB CHAMPION, 100 --Synchronized synchronized &&AI ai’ed march 100ANNuAl synchronized ai’ed due march15.

15. thursday, dEcEmbEr 3, 2015 1:00 Pm **SECOND CHANCE CATTLE** 2Nd coMMErcIAl coW SAlE & PurEBrEd Bull SAlE COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB BALOG PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB monday, noVEmbEr 23, Pm 31 1stcalf calfyearling yearling heifers.

(162015 black-& &1:00 31 --1st heifers.

(16 black 15 red) Bred Jewel.

Bredto toCrimson CrimsonJewel.

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CHAMPION, AB fEaturing: ROCKING HEART CATTLE CO. BALOG COW PALACE, LETHBRIDGE, AB saturday, dEcEmbEr 5, 5, 2015 2015 -- 1:00 1:00 Pm Pm 200 fEaturing: All BredhEad to Black Black Angus bulls, bulls, All Bred to Angus BALOG COW 100 Naturally due starting May 1 100 naturally bred starting may 1 100 naturally bred due starting may 1 PALACE, LETHBRIDGE CONSORT, 31 - AB 1st calfred yearling heifers.saturday, (16 black & 15 red) big feminine reputation && red red red dEcEmbEr 5, 2015 1:00 Pm toGRIFFITH startcalving calvingRANCHING march 15, 15, 2016 2016LTD.** 100 start march **DELto ** 100 Black Angus cows bred to ** * 300- -fancy, red Angus X Simmy &reputation Black Angus Simmy cows. * saturday, 5, 2015 - 1:0 100 -black blackangus angus cows bred to**** dEcEmbEr Allsimmental Bred to Black Angus**bulls, heifers - red CESSFORD, AB baldie901st red angus simmental **MARK & & ELROY ELROY COMSTOCK** **MARK COMSTOCK** - 1stcalf & 2nd calving.

110 -angus 3rd, 4th,xx5th calvers. fEaturing: White Charolais bulls.

Due starting May 111 feminine reputation red White Charolais starting May White Charolais bulls.

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NEWS ROU NDUP

animal. However, the cost of freight for moving the cattle to and from the feed yard has to be factored in. The average custom rate for hauling cattle is about $5.50 per loaded mile with 50 cows per load. A 100-mile round trip cost will be $22 per head, making the total cost of hay and hauling $772 per head for 215 days. If the feeder charges $0.85 per head per day in yardage, the total cost will be $954 per head for 215 days, or $72 per head lower than the cost of buying feed.

“These are just examples and you must figure your own costs including the purchase price of feed and the cost of shipping hay and cattle,” says Dyck. “Comparing the two options, if the cost of feed is the same for the producer and the custom feeder, the primary factors in making your decision are the distance and the cost to ship the hay or cattle, the yardage charge, and the amount of feed waste. If you are considering custom feeding, both parties should agree on a body condition score going into and coming out of the feed yard as well as a fairly accurate estimate of pregnancy.

“Saving the most equity in the cows should be the primary goal,” concludes Dyck. “Evaluate your decision based on

your risk-bearing ability, market outlook and distance/availability of feed or custom feeding operations. After considering all the factors, choose the best single or combination of alternatives that will give you the best change at preserving equity.”

Economics

North Dakota production costs jump 200 per cent

By Kris Ringwall, beef specialist, NDSU Extension Service

Beef production is becoming expensive.

I am not referring to the end product but rather to the weaned calf. The cost per pound weaned per exposed cow has jumped 200 per cent since the turn of the century. That is not good news. Cost control is critical in every business. If costs are allowed to run out of control, the next step is liquidation.

The beef business is no different. Producers need to be cautious when operating within affluent prices. Those cheques coming in can be very deceiving if not appropriately matched to the cheques going out.

Historically, beef producers are not

overly enthusiastic record-keepers. With a fairly constant production phase, producers have kept costs at a minimum. They were willing to maintain when prices were typical and appreciate good prices when they cycled through.

With a tight chequebook and several multi­generational family members keeping their eyes on expenses, things worked fine.

Dad was not asked to buy something that was not absolutely needed. And even then, why buy it if some other mechanism could be jerry-rigged to get the job done?

Where are these thoughts coming from?

My usual sources are the North Dakota Farm and Ranch Business Management Education Program database and FINBIN from the Center for Farm Financial Management, University of Minnesota.

Levi Helmuth, farm business management instructor at the Dickinson Research Extension Center, and other North Dakota instructors contribute to the database.

A review of North Dakota numbers from FINBIN since 2000 certainly shows the changes, compared with today. What has Continued on page 40

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News Roundup Continued from page 39

changed? The simple answer is that income means nothing without a cost calculation.

While many producers generally understand that feed and the cost of maintaining the cow inventory are large, one of the biggest expenses is total direct and overhead costs.

In 2000, producers spent, on average, $342 per cow for total direct and overhead expenses. By 2013, that average value was $564 per cow, an increase of 165 per cent.

And in 2014, that average value was $648 per cow, an increase of 189 per cent.

Has calf output kept up with expenses?

No. In 2000, according to FINBIN, the average weaned calf weight was 544 pounds. It were 541 pounds in 2013 and 547 pounds in 2014. Pounds weaned per exposed cow was 492 in 2000, 479 in 2013 and 471 in 2014. This amounts to a cost per pound of weaned calf per cow exposed of 69 cents in

2000, $1.18 (up 171 per cent) in 2013 and $1.38 (up 200 per cent) in 2014.

So, what is likely to go up and what is likely to go down? That is the painful question. Historically, costs tend to remain or increase through time. Occasionally, costs, particularly feed costs, will go down as prices fluctuate in the grain and hay market.

Supply and demand drive the market.

Direct costs often are called variable costs because they do vary and respond to the current market. Overhead costs are certainly more long term, and a conservative approach to accruing long-term debt always is advisable. Those debt payments, locked in for a fixed number of years, can become problematic if the value drops out of the beef business.

As the beef industry interacts with the market, individual producers must decide their individual approach to survival, and meeting the family and operational goals.

Invariably, those thoughts will include dollars. Why be in the beef business without a return to labour and management?

With the current demand for replacement cattle indicative of a positive industry stance to maintaining and expanding

the beef business, now is the time to ponder some fundamental costs of the business. The direct costs are manageable, but remember, replacement of breeding stock is leading the pack in regard to negative impact on the gross margin per cow.

And then comes the long-term question: Is there enough revenue to maintain and expand, which means an adequate return on investment on total assets? The real answer to the question of profit rests with the ability to complete a process that fundamentally provides a proper business evaluation.

Why is this important? The dynamics of the beef business change, and yet the beef producer is trying to focus down the road.

Increased direct and overhead costs, and retirement or family expansion create difficult questions. For now, buy wisely, spend thriftily and control costs.

Management

Tips for diversifying your ranch with nature tourism

By Michael Flood

Many cattle ranches in Canada are located in beautiful natural surroundings. In Alberta

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NEWS ROUNDUP

and British Columbia many abut on the sublime Rocky Mountains and have their land criss-crossed by streams and forests, dotted with scenic ponds and other attractive features. This beauty isn’t just one of the perks of the ranching life — it can also be an economic asset that a savvy rancher can turn into a valuable side business through nature (or “eco-”) tourism.

According to the Canadian Tourism Com­ mission an estimated 4.4 million Canadians are Soft Outdoor Adventure Enthusiasts — that is, they enjoy outdoor activities oriented around hiking and backpacking, mountain biking, wildlife and bird viewing, canoeing and kayaking, and fishing. Given Canada’s aging population, it’s also a demographic likely to grow as more Canadians

find themselves too old for more strenuous activities like rock climbing, skiing, and white-water rafting. Canadian ranchlands are ideal places for the activities these tourists enjoy.

Nature tourism could be a good opportunity for making extra money from your land and creating a more regular cash flow between cattle sales. It’s not for everyone, though; any business diversification needs to be entered into carefully and after asking some important questions. To help you out we’ve put together four tips for deciding whether nature tourism is right for you.

1. Decide whether you are a people person

The most fundamental question you must

answer before you consider diversifying into nature tourism is whether or not you are a “people person.” This isn’t just making sure you’re not an antisocial grouch or a loner but asking yourself honestly whether you would enjoy meeting lots of new people and sharing your enthusiasm for your land and the natural world with them. You may have a big family and a wide circle of friends but dealing with strangers constantly throughout your open months can be wearing on even very gregarious people.

2. Catalogue your natural assets

Ask yourself what features make your Continued on page 42

Make Your Decisions Profitable

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ranch unique. It might be a spectacular view of a local mountain or a stream full of trout that any fisherman would love. It may be fields full of wildflowers or populations of wild game that city dwellers rarely see like elk or bighorn sheep. Consider that you may be a bit jaded to the natural beauty of your land; after all, you see it every day of your life. Ask visitors, both family and professionals like vets, what they like about your land and what they think are noteworthy features that other people would enjoy seeing.

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Answer our survey — and have a go at winning one of our caps

We have a goal to be the best beef cattle magazine in the business. But we need your help. If you could just fill in this survey and return it to me, you would be helping us set the future editorial direction for Canadian Cattlemen. All you have to do is tell me what you like about the magazine, and what you

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We’d appreciate it if you could tell us a little about yourself. It makes it easier for us to keep your main interests in focus  I’m ranching or farming Enterprise Total beef cattle Yearlings on feed/pasture Registered cows Fed cattle (sold yearly) Commercial cows Horses Calves on feed/pasture Other livestock

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 In agribusiness (bank, elevator, ag supplies, etc.)  Other (please specify) ____________________ My approximate age is:  a) Under 35  b) 36 to 44  d) 55 to 64  e) 65 or over

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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?

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

Regular Columns News Roundup Purely Purebred The Markets

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Market Talk Sales and Events

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

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NEWS ROUNDUP 3. Consider your resources

When considering diversifying into natural tourism you need to be realistic about your management abilities and whether the new venture can integrate into your existing business. You’ll need to consider things like how much of the year you’ll allow access to your ranch, and whether that could interfere with your breeding or calving seasons. In addition you’ll want to think about what to charge for admission and how many people would have to attend in a year to make it viable. Consider not just your own time but the time of family members and employees who work on the ranch as well.

You’ll also need to know about and comply with all the health and safety restrictions for your province. This means making sure that trails are properly marked and can be safely traversed, and that you have first aid and other safety equipment on site to deal with any emergencies. If someone has a heart attack on your land and calls for help you want to make sure that search and rescue personnel don’t have to search every acre but can know in what areas the afflicted person will be.

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By now you’re probably starting to realize that diversifying into nature tourism requires a lot of different skills and capabilities, and can occupy a lot of time. While you may still like the idea you may not be willing or prepared to handle every aspect of the business yourself. In that case you may want to consider partnering with a nature tourism company, one that offers package tours to outdoor enthusiasts. They can handle marketing as well as leading tours of your land to see its natural beauty in exchange for a cut of the admission fees. Internet searches will enable you to find companies specializing in nature tourism. Get in touch with them and invite them to check out your property to see if they’d be interested in a partnership.

Nature tourism is not a cure-all that will “save the ranch” but instead should be looked at as a means to diversify your income and provide ready cash during lean times. However, if you’re proud of your land, like meeting people, and love the idea of sharing the beauties of nature with tourists then it just may be a venture you’ll want to undertake. c

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 NEWS ABOUT YOU

By Mike Millar

PurelyPurebred  2015 Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Angela Kumlin, Duchess, Alta.

Mentor: Aaron and Adrienne Ivey Angela was raised on a farm near Eston, Sask. where she grew up immersed in agriculture. Throughout high school, she was very involved with 4-H at the club, district, and provincial levels, and competed Angela Kumlin internationally for judging. In 2012, Angela earned her agriculture degree from the University of Saskatchewan, majoring in animal science. She served on the Agriculture Student’s Association executive for three out of her four years there, as well as being the Stockman’s Club president in her final year. Angela and her husband Matt currently run a small purebred Red Angus herd, and a small but growing commercial herd, on top of their off-farm jobs.

She is very excited to connect with current and future industry leaders through this program!

Adrienne and Aaron Ivey own and operate Ever­­ green Cattle Com­pany, a cattle operation near Ituna, Sask. They farm with their two children, Noelle nine, and Cole seven, and Aaron’s two parents. They currently run 1,100 cow-calf pairs, as well as backgrounding all of their calves, which are then grazed as yearlings. They also grain farm approximately Adrienne Ivey 1,500 acres per year as well.

Adrienne’s corporate work in agriculture, primarily in sales and marketing, has been an asset to the farm since their decision for her to use her professional experience to continue to grow their operation on a full-time basis. As well as working on farm and raising their two children, Adrienne is a passionate advocate of Canadian agriculture. You can Aaron Ivey follow her on social media, as well as her blog viewfromtheranchporch.wordpress.com.

Off the farm, Aaron has focused on improving ag research on a provincial and national level. He has been involved in a number of steering committees and projects to bring government and producer group funding and focus back to research for both beef and forage. He is past president of the Saskatchewan Forage Council, and current chair of the Saskatchewan Forage Network.

Benjamin Campbell, Black Diamond, Alta.

Mentor: Dylan and Colleen Biggs Ben Campbell is a third-generation rancher from Black Diamond, Alta. He graduated from the University of Alberta with an engineering degree and then moved to Zambia in Southern Africa to work for Engineers Without Borders. After working as Benjamin Campbell an engineer in Canada for a couple of years he is almost at his goal of ranching full time. Ben sits on the board for the very active Foothills Forage and Grazing Association. He works with his father on the family ranch where they have 200 Black Angus/ Maine Anjou commercial cows. He and his wife Steph have their own herd they use for their direct-market grass-fed beef business. They

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Suggestions are always welcome. My phone number is 306-251-0011 Email: mike.millar@ fbcpublishing.com

have two boys, Henry and Sam and are excited to bring them up on the ranch and expand their business.

Dylan and Col­leen Biggs ranch at Hanna in east-central Alberta in the semi-arid grasslands of Special Area 2. It didn’t take too many years for them to realize that making a living from ranching without off-farm income was not easy. By the mid-1990s they had gone as far as they could with low-input production without starving their cows Dylan Biggs and were faced with getting off-farm jobs to make ends meet. But instead of looking for jobs they decided to add value to what they were already doing and began direct marketing strictly grassfed and finished beef under their own TK Ranch label. They added heritage breed pasture-raised pork, grass-finished lamb and free-range chicken and turkey to their product offering in the late Colleen Biggs 1990s. Today TK Ranch is recognized as one of the pioneers of farm direct marketing in Alberta and as leaders in farm animal welfare. Their products are sold across Alberta in health food stores and they have a loyal following of customers.

Colleen and Dylan have received several provincial and national awards for their environmental stewardship and animal welfare programs on TK Ranch. In 2011 Colleen received Global Television’s Woman of Vision Award for her dedication to saving the small family farm. In 2013 TK Ranch was certified through Animal Welfare Approved, the most stringent farm animal welfare certification program in North America.

Bethany Storey, Guelph, Ont. Mentor: Annemarie Pedersen Growing up on a purebred, Limousin cow-calf farm near Napanee, Ont., Bethany has had a love for beef cattle, and a passion for the agriculture industry her entire life. Throughout her youth she was very involved in 4-H, both showing cattle and a member Bethany Storey of her judging club. Knowing she wished to pursue a career in agriculture she attended the University of Guelph, graduating in 2012. She currently works with Beef Farmers of Ontario as communications co-ordinator, and appreciates the opportunity with her job to work with both the producers and consumers in Ontario and to promote Ontario beef. Bethany is excited to be a part of the CYL program and the many different networking and learning experiences it will provide.

Annemarie Pedersen is an independent communications consultant based in Calgary, Alta. She has 10 years’ experience in agricultural communications and works with clients in both crop and beef sectors. Annemarie began her communications career with AdFarm as a communications co-ordinator and most recently worked with Canada Beef as director, Annemarie industry relations and as community relations manPedersen ager at UFA. She is a passionate advocate for the agri-

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

PURELY PUREBRED

culture and beef industries and was part of the team that developed the Beef Advocacy Canada program. Annemarie is also a volunteer with the Calgary Stampede, Canadian Cattlemen’s Foundation, the Alberta Farm Writers’ Association and is very proud to be a mentor for the 2015 Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program.  The Canadian Simmental Association has posted its 2015 fall update of Simmental genetic evaluations and the new EPDs online at http:// www.simmental.com/. Questions should be directed to the CSA office toll free at 1-866-860-6051 or 403-250-7979.  Charlie Johnstone, the former president of Honda Indy Toronto has been named the new CEO of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. He is a Toronto native with an extensive track background in organizing national and international spectator events. At Honda Indy he oversaw sales, marketing and operations of one of North AmeriCharlie Johnstone ca’s most respected motorsport events. Before that he operated a successful sports marketing and communications firm. The 93rd annual Royal Agricultural Winter Fair takes place from November 6-15, 2015 at Exhibition Place.  Cogent Breeding Ltd. (“Cogent”) of Chester, U.K., a leading supplier of beef and dairy genetics to over 40 countries worldwide, has acquired Foundation Genetics of Listowel, Ont., a specialist Canadian bovine genetics company. Cogent CEO Andrew Turner

says this acquisition provides his company with a strong platform to benefit our international customers with the superior genetic quality of Canada’s herd and an expanded portfolio of exceptional beef and dairy genetics, animal health products and value-added services. While the Foundation Genetics name will disappear Dave Brand will stay on as general manager.  The Canadian Angus Association is seeking a commercial Angus program co-ordin­ator for a one-year term to help launch and grow the Canadian Angus Identification and performance program.  On August 7, 2015, samples collected by a CFIA inspector from an animal in southwestern Ontario as part of the ongoing national Bovine Serological Surveillance returned a positive result for bluetongue. The animal did not show any clinical signs of the disease prior to slaughter. On September 2 subsequent test results from two herdmates that have never left the herd of origin indicated that bluetongue serotype 13 was present and transmission between animals had occurred in Ontario. Bluetongue is spread by insects, particularly biting midges of the Culicoides species. Certain serotypes of this disease are known to be endemic in the U.S. Canada has been considered to be free of bluetongue, except in the Okanagan Valley in B.C. This is the first case of bluetongue in Canada outside of the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.

Continued on page 46

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Continued from page 45

There are no food safety concerns related to this disease finding. However, as a result, of not being able to claim freedom for bluetongue, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency suspended the certificates for export of live ruminants and ruminant semen and embryos and certain animal products to several countries. The United States and Mexico remain open to live cattle, beef, and genetics as the virus is already endemic in these countries. For more information on the bluetongue virus visit the CFIA website at: http:// www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/diseases/ reportable/bluetongue/fact-sheet/eng/1306116803992/130 6121522520.

 Rollin Acres Zip 12B by SCF You Betcha 94Y was Grand Champion Charolais Bull and Supreme Champion Overall Breeds at the Barrie, Ont. fair, reports the Charolais Banner.

Owned by Rollin Acres Charolais, Shelburne and Gold-Bar Livestock, Victoria Harbour this win qualifies the bull for the Agribition Supreme Show in November.

 Congratulations to Amanda Libke of Sunny Valley Simmental fame of Hanley, Sask., and Kyle Reay from Durum, Ont. as they celebrated their wedding day, Aug. 22, 2015. Kyle comes from a commercial cattle background as an order buyer in Ontario and Amanda works for PotashCorp in Saskatoon.

They run Simmental cattle, as part of the Sunny Valley brand and will continue to play an ongoing, active role in the farm.  The Canadian Angus fraternity was saddened by the loss of Don Henderson, a third-generation Angus breeder from Heatherbrook Farms in central Alberta at the age of 91. He leaves his wife of 67 years, Mary and family. c

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 Market Su mma ry

By Debbie McMillin

TheMarkets Fed Cattle Just when we thought the sluggish summer market had seen bottom, uncertainty in commodity markets and the global economy jumped in.

It’s not uncommon for fed prices to struggle in September which is typically known as a weak basis month.

Prices have dipped by $4.36 to average $179.48/cwt in the past two weeks.

That’s still $19 better than a year ago, thanks in part to the slumping Canadian dollar that was trading at US$0.92 last year compared to 0.75 today. Carcass weights have continued to grow. Year-to-date steers are averaging 874 lbs., up 28 lbs. from last year.

Currently they are up to 906 lbs. At the same time steer slaughter is down five per cent at 882,792 head and heifers are down 12 per cent at 498,008.

Exports of fed cattle for slaughter to the third week in August were off by 46 per cent at 133,926 head.

Feeder Cattle Although nervous commodity markets played a role in the fed market in recent weeks the feeder market continues to have a strong feel to it. The bulk of the yearling run is over with prices holding on goodsize packages of nice-quality cattle.

Average 850 steers hit a new high of $270/cwt the first week of September, $50 better than 2014, reflecting a strong shift in the 850-weight feeder basis in the past week to +2.71/cwt, compared to -14.28 just a week earlier. After the first week in September calf volumes had not reached what would be considered fall run size yet demand was solid holding the 550-lb. Alberta steer average at $322/cwt, steady with mid-August and down just $8/cwt from the record high posted earlier this year. Compared to a year

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ago, steers are still up nearly $62. As producers look at ways to capitalize on the year-over-year growth in the feeder market many have turned to electronic forward selling of their calf crops. The volume of feeder cattle sold with deferred delivery dates has increased significantly in the past few weeks. Feeder cattle exports are down by one per cent from a year ago at 241,551 head.

Non-Fed Cattle A recent increase in fed steer slaughter may have softened the packer’s need for non-fed cattle. Nevertheless, average D1,2 cow prices have held in the range of $139 to $141 for the past six weeks. The first week of September D1,2 cows averaged $140.88/ cwt, $18.58 better than a year ago and $63/cwt ahead of 2013. Statistics Canada estimates Canada’s beef cow herd is 3.4 per cent smaller heading into this fall and the reduction is reflected in the number of cows coming to market. Cow slaughter is down 13 per cent year to date at 225,819 head and exports are off by 23 per cent at 129,696 head. So while the herd is still shrinking producers appear to be holding on to more of their breeding females than in the past. While bull slaughter is more than double last year’s kill it still only amounts to 6,310 head. Conversely bull exports are down by two per cent but we have already exported 51,373 culled bulls to the U.S. so far in 2015. Bull prices have been very strong throughout the summer and are still hovering near the highs in the first week of September averaging $169.85/cwt. c Debbie McMillin is a market analyst who ranches at Hanna, Alta.

 DEB ’S OUTLOOK Fed Cattle Longer pickup times have led to increased carcass weights, more beef to move through the pipeline and feedlots losing currentness in their marketings. Improved packer margins and larger kill numbers in recent weeks should support buyer demand for fed cattle. As well, supplies of fed cattle should tighten in the coming weeks.

Uncertainty in all commodities markets and the global economy will continue to weigh heavy on the minds of buyers. Consumer demand for beef has held, however, in the face of economic weakness, record-high retail beef prices and ample supplies of lower-priced poultry and pork, demand needs to be watched closely. The Canadian dollar has without doubt cushioned the steeper downward trend seen south of the border however, caution is advised. As the dollar settles the market will start to adjust. In the near term, prices may be volatile as packers move through some heavier-weight inventory and technical markets remain edgy.

Feeder Cattle Demand for feeder cattle has been strong as feedlots look for bunk replacements from a limited Canadian calf crop. On the flip side, technical markets remain volatile and risk management strategies less clear at current break-evens. Add to that a higher cost of gain than a year ago that will be closely monitored as the harvest continues.

The Canadian dollar has a huge impact on feeder prices and the weaker dollar has clearly helped support the market. With the fall runs underway increasing volumes will also pressure the feeder market.

Non-Fed Cattle Expect seasonal pressure in the non-fed market over the next month as producers sort through herds and start culling as calves get large enough to wean. Forage supplies are tight in some areas and hay prices high, which will add to the depth of culling in some herds this fall.

Although the global and domestic economy is uneasy right now demand for ground beef should hold. Even in an economic downturn people turn to hamburger for their beef meals.

U.S. buyers will continue to support the cow trade but their market is also poised for a seasonal decline in coming weeks.

More markets 

C a t t l e m e n · o c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5 47

MARKETS

Break-even Prices on A-Grade Steers 210

ALBERTA

190

340 310 280

170

250

150

220

130 110

Market Prices

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

210

ONTARIO

190

160

150

100

130

80

Canfax weighted average price on A-Grade steers

Break-even price for steers on date sold

2015 2014

2016 2015

September 2015 prices* Alberta Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $265.85/cwt Barley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.77/bu.

Barley silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.63/ton Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73.21/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110.63/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181.20/cwt Break-even (February 2016) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204.87/cwt Ontario Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $256.31/cwt Corn silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.92/ton Grain corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.74/bu.

Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74.40/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.82/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185.25/cwt Break-even (March 2016) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193.21/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

140 120

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

(500-600 lb.)

160

170

110

Steer Calves

190

60

D1,2 Cows Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Ontario

Alberta

2015 2014

2015 2014

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

Market Summary (to September 5, 2015) 2015

2014

Total Canadian federally inspected slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,664,173. . . . . . . . . 1,808,061 Average steer carcass weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876 lb.. . . . . . . . . . . . 847 lb.

Total U.S. slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9,663,000. . . . . . . 21,099,000

Trade Summary Exports 2015 2014 Fed cattle to U.S. (to August 29). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137,434.. . . . . . . . . . 256,884 Feeder cattle and calves to U.S. (to August 29). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244,721.. . . . . . . . . . 249,606 Dressed beef to U.S. (to July) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286.63 mil.lbs.. . . . . .279.17 mil.lbs Total dressed beef (to July). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384.70 mil.lbs.. . . . . 397.19 mil.lbs IMPORTS 2015 2014 Slaughter cattle from U.S. (to July) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 *Dressed beef from U.S. (to July) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157.82 mil.lbs. . . . . . 1 72.65 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Australia (to July) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.25 mil.lbs. . . . . . . 39.24 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from New Zealand (to July) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.90 mil.lbs. . . . . . .23.64 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Uruguay (to July) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.34 mil.lbs. . . . . . .26.54 mil.lbs Canadian Grades (to September 12, 2015) % of A grades +59% 54-58% AAA 19.8 23.8 AA 22.3 9.3 A 0.2 1.6 Prime 0.3 0.6 Total 33.9 44.0

EAST WEST

Total graded 369,969 1,322,980

Yield – 53% Total 16.3 59.9 2.9 34.5 0.0 1.8 1.1 2.0 20.3 Total A grade 98.2%

Total ungraded 13,140 3,706

% carcass basis 79.9% 88.5% Only federally inspected plants

48

C at t l e m e n · o c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

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 market ta l k

By Jerry Klassen

Canadian Dollar Review

I

’ve received many inquiries over the past couple of months in regards to the outlook for the Canadian dollar. Canadian feeder and fed cattle prices have been somewhat divorced from U.S. values due to the ongoing weakness in the loonie and overall strength in the greenback compared to other currencies. There are a few main factors that will influence the Canadian U.S. exchange rate over the next couple of months which cattle feeders should be aware of. A sharp move in either direction will have a direct effect on Canadian cattle prices. Feeding margins are narrowing due to weaker fed cattle prices and bids from U.S. packers have been sharply below those of Alberta processors.

While exports of beef products to the U.S. are running at similar levels to last year, year-to-date exports of slaughter steers and heifers are down 46 per cent compared to year-ago levels; exports of feeder cattle and calves are down a meagre one per cent from 2014.

At the same time, Western Canada is contending with a year-over-year decline in barley supplies and the weaker Canadian dollar has inhibited imports of U.S. corn. Feed grain supplies will be rather tight for the 2015-16 crop year and the currency will have a larger influence on input costs moving forward.

The outcome of the Canadian election will have a larger effect on the Canadian dollar longer term. At the time of writing this article, the polls show all three parties are in a close race but the NDP seems to have a meagre lead. The left-leaning NDP will incorporate tax hikes for corporations and larger-income earners, (similar to the NDP of Alberta), oppose pipeline infrastructure and impose a capand-trade system for carbon emissions which would stifle further development in oil and gas production and investment. Social spending would reach unprecedented levels so that government deficits would spiral out of control. The Liberals have a similar fiscal policy but on a somewhat subdued level compared to the NDP while the Tories would maintain the status quo to some extent. The main point is that if the Liberals or NDP get into power, we could see the Canadian dollar depreciate by an additional 30 to 40 per cent, starting with a sharp drop on election night.

The second major factor influencing the exchange rate is the activity from the Bank of Canada. If we see the Bank of Canada cut rates over the next month, the Canadian dollar will also have a negative deteriorating bias. Canada is technically in a recession and there will be a propensity to lower the overnight lending rate in order to stimulate corporate and personal spending along with improving the balance of trade. The large government revenue-generating oil and gas sector cannot afford to have a stronger exchange rate given the weaker price of crude oil. Western Canadian beef and grain farmers are in a similar boat. The central Canadian car industry has

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 Ca na d i a n d o l la r m o n t h ly ch a rt 1.10000 1.05000 1.00000 0.95000 0.90000 0.85000 1.80000 0.75450

Downside Potential if the NDP wins the election

0.70000 0.65000

Chart courtesy of DTN Prophet X 1995

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been one bright spot of the economy and will be vital to the election outcome. Any further pain in the backyard of politicians is sure to garner animosity. The U.S. Federal Reserve has potential to increase rates longer term and this diverse anticipated action from the two central banks will cause the Canadian dollar to deteriorate.

Outside influences will play a secondary role to the factors mentioned above. The crude oil market dropped by nearly 40 per cent from mid-June through mid-August.

Prices have experienced a modest recovery or correction after the recent slide which is normal activity in a market.

However, it is important to realize the downward trend in crude oil is still intact. We could see the energy market stabilize for a month or two but then resume the downward slide as the fundamentals remain quite burdensome.

As one analyst stated, the Middle East producers will push crude oil low enough that production in the Balkan oilfield comes to a halt and is deterred from resumption. The slowdown in the Chinese economy is a major wild card as to the severity and time frame. Finally, conflict in the Middle East appears to be getting worse; we don’t know how major players will respond with Europe contending with the bulk of refugees.

In conclusion, the bias appears to favour further weakness in the Canadian dollar over the next couple of months. An NDP win will cause the Canadian dollar to drop to the 2002 lows while a Conservative victory will at best stabilize the market given the activity of central banks. Outside influences have potential to cause large swings in a short period of time. c Jerry Klassen manages the Canadian office of Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA Grains and Produits Ltd., and is president and founder of Resilient Capital specializing in proprietary commodity futures trading and market analysis. He owns farmland in Manitoba and Saskatchewan but grew up on a mixed farm feedlot operation in southern Alberta. He can be reached at 204-504-8339.

C at t l e m e n · O c t o b e r 5 , 2 0 1 5

49

 GOINGS ON

Sales&Events Events October 5-6

dvancing Women in Agriculture — A Life Skills for Leadership, Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto, Ont. 9 Holistic Management workshop, Richards and Family Farm and Livestock, Bangor, Sask.

9 Expo Boeuf, Victoriaville, Que. 13-14 Livestock Gentec Conference, Delta Edmonton South Hotel & Conference Centre, Edmonton, Alta.

28-29 AFAC Crises Communication Forum, Calgary, Alta.

29-31 Manitoba Livestock Expo, Brandon, Man.

November 2-3

echnical Large Animal Emergency T Rescue Seminar, Executive Royal Hotel, Leduc, Alta.

3 Cow-calfenomics Seminar, Vermilion Regional Centre, Vermilion, Alta.

3-20 NA International Livestock Expo, Louisville, Kentucky 4 Cow-calfenomics Seminar, Hazel Bluff Community Hall, Westlock, Alta.

5 Cow-calfenomics Seminar, Olds Student Alumni Centre, Olds, Alta.

5-8 Lloydminster Stockade Roundup, Lloydminster, Sask.

6 Cow-calfenomics Seminar, Country Kitchen, Lethbridge, Alta.

6-7 Ontario Trillium Classic,Toronto, Ont. 6-15 Royal Winter Fair, Toronto, Ont. 10-15 Farmfair International, Edmonton, Alta.

10-17 Northern International Livestock Expo (NILE), Billings, Montana

17-19 Canadian Forage & Grassland Association Convention, Saskatoon, Sask.

17-19 24th Range Beef Cow Symposium, The Ranch, Loveland, Colorado 18-19 Ontario Association of Bovine Practitioners Fall Meeting, Holiday Inn Hotel, Guelph, Ont. 23-28 Canadian Western Agribition, Regina, Sask.

25-27 Agricultural Excellence Conference, Ramada Plaza, Regina, Sask.

December 7-9

lberta Beef Producers Annual Meeting, A Sheraton Cavalier Hotel, Calgary, Alta.

9-10 Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan Farms at the Table Conference, Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon, Sask.

January 2016 14-16 Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners Conference, Sheraton Cavalier Hotel, Calgary, Alta.

July 17-22 International Rangeland Congress, Saskatoon, Sask.

August

 A DV E RT IS ER IN DEX Page Advanced Agri-Direct Inc. 11 AgriClear Ltd. Partnership IBC Airdrie Trailer Sales 43 ARECA 29 Balog Auction Services Ltd. 38 Boehringer Ingelheim 31 Canadian Angus Assoc.

42 Canadian Charolais Assoc.

OBC Canadian Forage & Grassland Assoc.

39 Canadian Hereford Assoc.

IFC Canadian Limousin Assoc.

42 Canadian Red Angus Promotion Society 42 Canadian Shorthorn Assoc.

41 Canadian Simmental Assoc.

23 Cattlemen’s Financial Corp.

43 Elanco Animal Health 5 Gilbrea Consulting Ltd. 42 Hi-Hog Farm & Ranch Equipment 43 Hub International 33 Merial 13, 21 Nester Livestock 15 New Holland 7 Riverside Welding 42 Rocky Mountain Dealership Inc. 19 Salers Assoc. of Canada 42 Tru-Test Inc. 45 Zoetis Animal Health 9

21-28 International Limousin Congress, Ireland

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November 21

enton Hereford Ranch, at the ranch, F Irma, Alta. c

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