Canadian cattlemen

AN INDUSTRY IN CRISIS · WHEN JOHNE’S HITS HOME · 2016 INDEX

THE BEEF MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 2016 $3.00 WWW.CANADIANCATTLEMEN.CA

OPPORTUNITIES in the Meat Case

PLUS

Mycotoxins know no bounds 16

Call Mac... 1-800-561-BULL (285

The eye in the sky is watching your cows 20 Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240

“Canada’s Bulls” M.C. Quantock Bull Sale SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2017 Important information on Page 2-3 Call for your free Bull Book and DVD www.canadasbulls.com email: mcquantock@hotmail.com Bull Book online late December

was it all... just a dream!

The last 2 years were incredibly good… it wasn’t just a dream, we all deserved it. It was a nice payback for 8 or 9 darn tough years. Cattlemen enjoyed the rewards of sticking with it… calf prices were the best they had ever been, we all prospered.

This year is still awfully good, probably the third best year we have ever seen. The optimism and ability to think long term which all cattlemen have “etched in their DNA” carried us all

SATURDAY JAN. 28, 2017 12 noon MST

through the tough years, now is not the time to lose faith.

A well designed cow operation is still very profitable at today’s price levels. Survive and prosper by remembering that a cow is a “low tech machine”. She hates diesel fuel, technology and expensive feed, she harvests grass, stores solar energy and turns it all into high quality protein. Her value to the world can only increase.

So cuddle up to nature... graze longer, calve a little later, work less and let the cows work more. Remember cows will reproduce their way to your success and financial freedom. We still live in a wonderful “free enterprise” country where if you want it, plan for it, work hard for it, you will achieve it.

The list of real cow outfits in the bull business gets real short… real fast, 1000 mother cows, 400 sale bulls, 8 breed lines, 11,400 bulls sold, 48 successful consecutive bulls sales, we are here every year.

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

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

Our only customers are Canada's commercial cowmen large and small. They buy our bulls because

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

Our bulls are all delivered absolutely free in Western Canada and cost shared in the East. Our bulls can be purchased sight unseen, in fact about half always are.

We help select your bulls and they're guaranteed to be what you want... "true satisfaction on arrival".

Our customers trust and confidence in us make it all possible. Our bulls are affordable and most all sell to solid commercial cattlemen.

Our bulls are guaranteed like no others... you'll have a bull to breed your cows no matter what... hard to get better than that! As sale time approaches, you can view all our bulls on video on our website or we'll send you your very own DVD and Bull Book and you can show the neighbors. In fact, it's probably easier and simpler to buy our bulls than buying bulls locally. You get great service, the best guarantee, lots of selection and your calves will be sired by notionally known bulls. It all helps you to get them sold! Our customers like the fact that all our cattle are managed and fed just like most all commercial cattle.

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

Mac & Pat

Bulls from cows this good...

Big gutted, Big Girthed, Wide body do-it-yourself females

M.C. Quantock Livestock Corp

Call Mac... 1-800-561-BULL (2855) email: mcquantock@hotmail.com Box 10888, Lloydminster, AB. T9V 3B1

CALL/EMAIL FOR YOUR FREE Bull Book AND DVD

www.canadasbulls.com

M.C. Quantock Bull Sale www.canadasbulls.com The "go to" place for everything.

Hundreds of pictures, updates, videos, testimonials and finally our 75 page, 4 color Bull Book online in late December.

“Canada’s Bulls”

435 HEAD

Call/email ... for the Bull Book a 75 page, 4 color "wishlist" of the best bulls available... complete with DVD

two year old

Red Angus Bulls two year old

Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017

Black Angus Bulls

12 noon MST

two year old

Exhibition Grounds, Lloydminster, AB/SK

Super Baldie Bulls

All cattle in heated facility!

Free Beef Lunch 11 a.m.

two year old

11,400 BULLS... 48 SALES. Call Mac Today

1-800-561-BULL (2855)

Sight Unseen Purchase Plan Buying your bulls is easy... and it’s as close as your phone...

I have spent 35 years working with cattlemen across Canada and together we have developed the most successful Sight Unseen Purchase Plan in the country, so Mac Creech, D.V.M. successful in fact that it can sell nearly half our bulls some years. I have done it with sincerity and integrity and the utmost respect for the customers needs and budget. We start by discussing your cows, your breeding program, and what you need to get done. When we are comfortable with each other we can work together to get you the right cattle at the right price. While a few people sell a few bulls on the internet, I much prefer to visit with our customers, get to know them, and help them select the right bulls. Our comprehensive catalogue and DVD will give you an accurate impression of the bulls. After the sale I’ll personally deliver your bulls, in most cases. You must be completely satisfied on arrival or you are under no obligation to take them.

Black Super Baldie Bulls two year old

Dehorned Hereford Bulls two year old

H-2 Bulls two year old

Super Guppie Bulls two year old

Charolais Bulls

Absolutely FREE Delivery

TENTATIVE DELIVERY ROUTES

Call me anytime to get started.

1-800-561-2855 Thanks Mac

YOU PAY FOR THEM ONLY WHEN YOU ARE SATISFIED ON DELIVERY

We will safely deliver each and every bull to your nearest centeral location in Western Canada.

You have my word — we'll work with you to get them within 30 - 50 miles of your ranch.

Ontario, Quebec or the Maritimes — we'll cost-share delivery. Talk to Mac for details.

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

Contents

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

canadian cattlemen · DECEmber 2016 · Volume 79, No. 12

 MEAT National meat case survey finds point of sale promotion lacking in many stores around the country.

Field Editor: Debbie Furber Box 1168, Tisdale, SK S0E 1T0 (306) 873-4360 Fax (306) 873-4360 Email: debbie.furber@fbcpublishing.com Advertising Sales Sales Director: Cory Bourdeaud’hui (204) 954-1414 Email: cory@fbcpublishing.com National Sales: Mike Millar (306) 251-0011 Email: mike.millar@fbcpublishing.com Tiffiny Taylor (204) 228-0842 Email: tiffiny.taylor@fbcpublishing.com Head Office 1666 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H1 (204) 944-5765 Fax (204) 944-5562 Advertising Services Co-ordinator: Arlene Bomback (204) 944-5765 Fax (204) 944-5562 Email: ads@fbcpublishing.com

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MEAT CASE  identificati o n

Publisher: Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com Editorial Director: Laura Rance Email: laura@fbcpublishing.com

12

FEATURES Opportunities in the meat case . . . . . . . . . 12 Mycotoxins know no bounds. . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The eye in the sky is watching your cows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Mandatory premise ID on CFIA agenda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 When Johne’s hits home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

The eye in the sky is watching your cows

20

Newsmakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Our History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Research on the Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Vet Advice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

To our December survey winner, Delaney Klassen, Arborg, Man. This month’s survey is on page 48.

Cover photo: Thinkstock

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Cattlemen and Canadian Cattlemen are Trade Marks of Farm Business Communications.

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

Verified Beef Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 2016 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

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Grounds for a failed feedlot audit

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An industry in crisis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Grounds for a failed feedlot audit. . . . . . . 38

 ANIMAL CA R E

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Free Market Reflections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Straight from the Hip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Prime Cuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 CCA Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 News Roundup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Purely Purebred. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 The Markets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Market Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Sales and Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

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2016-09-15 2:10 PM

 COMMENT

By Gren Winslow

Don’t bet on perceptions

P

erception or reality, it’s hard to figure out which we are dealing with as we prepare to exist with a U.S. headed by Donald J. Trump.

He’s bound to influence whatever plans you are making for 2017 and the next four years. But at this point it’s pretty hard to assess what he will do after he becomes President.

He’s already said he will serve notice of intent to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership, and instead negotiate terms that favour the U.S. in bilateral trade deals with other countries. That apparently works well as a slogan but gives very little in the way of detail. Again we have a perception of what he will do but the reality is yet to come.

The same strategy is being used on the North American Free Trade Agreement. He’s said he will renegotiate it, but no explanation, no detail, just the slogan. That has caused the mainstream media and trade policy wonks to thrash through every bit of conflicting advice he receives, or what they believe he is receiving, to gain some sense of which way he will jump. You can turn yourself into an Internet hermit trying to read all the things being said and written about Donald J., or his transition teams and their advisers. At the end of it I suspect you will be none the wiser, just tired.

Then there’s that sneaky reference in a transition memo to reinstate country-of-origin labelling. That alone caused the majority of the livestock industry on both sides of the border to cough up a lung.

A costly program that provides nothing Americans want but drains millions from the bottom line, and quite a few jobs in the process. Does that sound like the result Donald J. is aiming for? Not if he is really interested in driving business and profits in the U. S. of A. There I go again, leaning on my own perceptions. If the worst case scenario unfolds and Donald instructs his agriculture secretary to put COOL in play to gain some leverage in NAFTA negotiations, Canada can pull out its WTO order allowing us to slap $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs on any U.S. products being imported to Canada.

I for one am happy that the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the rest of the livestock industry rejected a call by the USDA, and some in our government, to withdraw Canada’s WTO complaint against the U.S. after the legislation was rescinded.

Surely, we will never have to use it, but if we do, it’s still valid and ready to be adopted whenever COOL reappears.

Perhaps by the time Canada Post gets around to delivering this issue to your mailbox we will have seen

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sufficient tweets and YouTube blurbs from Donald J. to have a better sense of what is coming. But for now, as 2016 winds to a close, all we can say for sure is that the U.S. is about to take a big step to the right. How far, is yet to be determined.

There is nothing to be gained by making decisions based on perceptions that may well be wrong.

University of Saskatchewan forage breeder Bruce Coulman gave a pretty good example of what that can lead to at the Canadian Forage & Grassland Association conference in Winnipeg last month.

Back in the 1970s when he was just beginning his career as a forage breeder, working with breeders like Bob Knowles, Coulman recalled a prevailing attitude among the upper crust in Agriculture Canada that the money they’d been putting into forage research was not showing any results. Nothing much seemed to change.

So budget after budget, the money slowly drifted out of forage. When a breeder retired, the funds simply went elsewhere.

The reality, however, couldn’t have been more different. Things were changing, albeit fairly slowly, thanks in part to research done by this dwindling band of enthusiastic scientists. Just during his career from the 1970s to the present we’ve seen the introduction of new and hybrid grasses, the adoption of big bales for hay, and for silage using bags, and later plastic wrap, and more recently an explosion in new ways to extend the grazing season in the West, with a major reduction in winter feeding costs. All of it ushered in by forage researchers whose numbers had shrunk from over 20 in 1980 to just a handful by 2010.

Fortunately the industry started to push back shortly thereafter and today forage researchers, most of them trained abroad, are again being hired in Canada. In their future Coulman foresees the adoption of bloatfree alfalfa, more non-bloating legumes, and improved varieties released more rapidly with the aid of genetic analysis.

We can only imagine where we would be today, if the Ag Canada mavens had waited for reality to make itself known rather than react to their perceptions of what was happening in the countryside.

As for Donald J. Trump, don’t waste your energy worrying about what will happen, the reality will find us soon enough after January 20.

In the meantime, we at Cattlemen wish you and yours and very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 THE INDUST RY

NewsMakers Cattlemen Tim Oleksyn and George Cooper, and grain producer Art Mainil will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2017.

Tim Oleksyn, a rancher and farmer from Shellbrook, has been a supporter of beef research for decades.

He has been a board member and chair of the Western Beef Development Tim Oleksyn Centre and the Beef Cattle Research Council and served on the board of the Sask­atchewan Agriculture Development Fund, Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute and the new Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE). He is currently on the fundraising committee to secure the remaining funds needed to make the LFCE a reality.

George Cooper of West Bend served on the boards of the Canadian Shorthorn Association, Saskatchewan Livestock Association and Canadian Western Agribition and was president of George Cooper the Regina Bull Sale. He passed away in August 2016.

Art Mainil was a founding member of the Palliser Wheat Growers Association and founding president of the Weyburn Inland Terminal, the first farmer-owned grain terminal in Canada where he promoted protein grading for wheat, grain cleaning on the Prairies and the loading of 100-car unit trains. He passed away in November 2011.

The induction ceremony will take place on April 22, 2017, in Saskatoon.

Irricana, Alta. rancher Doug Wray is the recipient of the Canadian Forage & Grassland Association’s 2016 Leadership Award sponsored by New Holland.

Wray is a past chairman of Doug Wray the CFGA and director of the Alberta Forage Industry Network.

Stacey Domolewski became the science and extension co-ordinator for the Beef Cattle Research Council in November. She is currently completing a master’s of science at the University of Saskatchewan College of Agriculture and Bioresources and is a past graduate of the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program. Her family ranches in southern

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Alberta. With Domolewski’s appointment the former extension co-ordinator Tracey Herbert is promoted to extension and communications director.

Jess Verstappen

Brad Dubeau

Congratulations to Lakeland College student Jess Verstappen for winning the Canadian National 4-H and Youth Judging Competition held at Canadian Western Agribition.

Brad Dubeau has resigned as director of communications for the Canadian Hereford Association to become the marketing and education manager with Alberta Beef Producers, effective December 12.

Emily Ritchie is the new youth leadership co-ordinator for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

She has a diploma in agricultural technology from Lethbridge College and is Emily Ritchie involved with her family’s commercial cow-calf and horse breeding operation near Turner Valley, Alta. In her new position, she will be the manager of the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program and the Young Cattlemen’s Council.

Laura Gadowsky of Edmon­ ton has been named the deputy president for the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC). After serving as the chair of the board of the Laura Gadowsky directors for Northlands from April 2013 to April 2015, Gadowsky began a two-year term with the RASC n November at the Commonwealth Agricultural Conference in Singapore.

Dr. Stephen Miller is the newly named director of genetic research for the American Angus Association and Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI). Miller, who received his doctorate and undergraduate degree from the University of Guelph, was most recently a principal scientist with AgResearch Ltd., in

New Zealand. His career also includes stints as chair of bovine genetics at the University of Alberta and CEO of the Alberta Bovine Genomics Program, and director of the centre for animal science at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation in Australia.

The Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program has announced its 2016-17 list of industry mentors who have volunteered to share their experience with this year’s class of young leaders (in brackets). They are: producer Graeme Finn, Madden, Alta. (Mel Hermanson, Hussar, Alta.); Marty Seymour, Regina (Roxanne Olynyk, Regina); producer Ryan Copithorne, Jumping Pound, Alta. (Madelaine Knodel, Seven Persons, Alta.); Ryder Lee, Regina (Jessica Sperber, Rimbey, Alta.); Dr. Tom Smylie, Johnstown, Ont. (Becky Tees, Cochrane, Alta.); producer Ryan Kasko, Lethbridge, Alta.

(Jesse Williams, Hanna, Alta.); Carol Kitchen, Calgary (Kristy-Layne Carr, La Broquerie, Man.); Brenna Grant, Calgary (Mona Howe, Empress, Alta.); producer Leighton Kolk, Iron Springs, Alta. (Luke Marshall, Innisfail, Alta.); John Sullivan, Dunlap, Iowa (Katie Songer, Sylvan Lake, Alta.); producer Darren Bevans, Raymond, Alta. (Kylie McRae, Forget, Sask.); Deborah Wilson, Edmonton (Grayden Kay, Lloydminster, Alta.); Matthew Heleniak, Norwich, Ont. (Jason Hurst, Guelph, Ont.); Tim Hardman, Washington, D.C. (Nicole Viste, Hanna, Alta.).

Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) has announced the 2016 recipients of its $2,500 scholarships given to students with a history of involvement in CWA. They are: Cassandra Gorrill, Lindsay, Ont., in fourth year at the University of Guelph, majoring in animal science; Morgan Heidecker, Middle Lake, Sask., pursuing a bachelor of science in agribusiness at the University of Saskatchewan; Emma Nicholas, Milestone, Sask., a Grade 12 student who plans to attend the University of Saskatchewan College of Agriculture; Megan McLeod, Cochrane, Alta., pursuing a bachelor of commerce degree at the University of Saskatchewan.

Kathryn Serhienko of Maymont, Sask., won the $1,500 Barry Andrew Family Scholarship to pursue studies in agriculture, while Tyrell Hicks of Parkbeg, Sask., won the $1,500 William M. Farley Memorial Scholarship for students who contribute to the show as volunteers. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Blue Means Strategic

My 800 acre farm is irrigated because I am pushing for the highest possible yields, so I always have a lot of residue to deal with. I was using a disc ripper but it never left a flat surface for the next crop. That’s why I bought a KARAT, because it does the four things I need to do in one pass – ripping the field, perfectly mixing the topsoil with heavy residue, levelling it and then packing it to a firm, even seedbed.

Because the topsoil is loosened, mixed, then packed over the whole width of the machine, I don’t get furrows like I used to with the disc ripper, and my crops are more even.

Frans Pot … farms 800 acres of wheat, hybrid seed canola and dry edible beans at Bow Island, Alta.

The KARAT is the ultimate strategic tillage tool!

Creating an ideal seedbed in one pass at working depths of 3 to 14 inches is only possible with LEMKEN’s combination of shanks, leveling discs and finishing packer rollers. The KARAT offers seven different quick-change shares optimizing power and fuel consumption at every working depth for any Strategic Tillage use.

The KARAT is ideal for the following strategies: ■

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Reducing fuel, manpower and passes Promoting early, uniform seed emergence

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 our histo ry

Edwin Aubrey Cartwright of the D Ranch (Part 1)

By Guy Weadick, High River, Alta.

Abridged from the May 1950 Canadian Cattlemen

E

lected this year as president of the Western Stock Growers’ Association is a man who has been continuously and actively engaged in the production of beef cattle for the past halfcentury. For most of that time he has been identified with the same ranch where he was first employed as a cowhand, but of which he later became part owner.

Christened Edwin Aubrey Cartwright, but better known to his intimates as “E.A.,” he was born in Toronto, Ont. in 1879. The son of a lawyer and a member of one of Eastern Canada’s oldest families, he was the first to enter the field of agriculture, other members of the Cartwright family from earliest days being professional men.

Hon. Richard Cartwright was a member of “Butler’s Rangers” who fought with the United Empire Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. He was the grandfather of Sir Richard John Cartwright, who entered public life as a member for Lennox and Addington in the Canadian Assembly at the general election of 1863, and continued to sit for that constituency until the Union of 1867. In the earlier days of his political life he supported Sir John A. Macdonald. After the period of the Pacific scandal he acted with and was a member of the Reform Party.

He was minister of finance in the cabinet then formed by Mr. Mackenzie. He was chief spokesman for his party in all fiscal subjects and developed in debate powers of oratory superior to all public men of his time, save only the Hon. William Macdougal. On Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s ascension to power, July 1896, Sir Richard (he was created a K.C.M.G. in 1879) became minister of trade and commerce in the new government. During Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s absence from Canada in 1897, he was temporary leader of the government in the House of Commons. Sir Richard was a cousin of E.A.’s father.

On his mother’s side, his uncle, Major Charles A. Boulton, along with the ill-fated Thomas Scott, was in the party that accompanied Hon. William Macdougal to Manitoba, where the latter was to represent the Federal Government in the turning over of the Hudson’s Bay Company Lands. It

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May 1950, Canadian Cattlemen

was upon that occasion that both Scott and Boulton were captured by the Metis, imprisoned in Fort Garry (now Winnipeg) and sentenced to death.

The Metis then concluded that their prisoner Boulton was bad medicine and turned him loose. He was soon on his way back to Ontario. But he again returned shortly afterward with the Wolseley Expedition, after which he again returned east. In 1879 Major Boulton again returned to Manitoba, this time taking up land and settling at Russell. Soon another new settler arrived in the vicinity, he being Capt. Gardner (the father of Clem Gardner, rancher of the Pirmez Creek district near Calgary) with whom Major Boulton had soldiered in the British Army before coming to Canada.

When the Riel Rebellion broke out in 1885, Major Boulton formed “Boulton’s Scouts,” of which Capt. Gardner was a member and who was severely wounded in the fighting.

Back in Toronto, young Edwin Cartwright of course heard of the exploits of his uncle “out west” and like the majority of small boys of the period developed a keen desire to visit the frontier West. In 1895 eye trouble necessitated his leaving school and he decided to visit his uncle Major Boulton at Russell, Manitoba.

He remained there a year and a half and then retuned to attend the Agricul-

tural School at Guelph, Ont. In 1898 he took advantage of a harvester excursion to again visit his uncle in Manitoba, where he remained until returning for Christmas to his home in Toronto.

But the West had gotten into his blood and he finally decided to strike out again toward the setting sun, this time farther west to take a whirl at ranching, where range stock raising was more pronounced.

He had letters of introduction to persons in Calgary who contacted Fred Stimson, manager of the Bar U Ranch, who gave the young man a job riding for that outfit.

Mr. Cartwright recalls that upon his arrival in Calgary the first bucking horse riding he witnessed was at the Chipman ranch operated by the late R.G. Robinson. Some outfit from the States had trailed in a bunch of horses, and their riders, along with Lee Marshall, were riding out a string of them.

After working for the Bar U awhile, Cartwright went to work for the late Walter Hanson whose ranch was then located on the Highwood close to where the town of Longview is now located. Then, like many of the other ranger riders, he worked for first one outfit and then another. In those days there were many ranches scattered along the foothill range, and fifty years ago there were more outfits and people back in that country than there are today. Most of the range occupied by these different outfits is now the property of the Bar U, the D Ranch and the 7 U outfit.

Back on the middle fork of Pekisko Creek was the 86 outfit owned by John Thorp and, alongside, the V.E. operated by Duncan Cameron. Both these outfits worked together in a sort of a partnership deal, although each had their own respective brands.

Young Cartwright went to work for John Thorp at the 86 and has remained there ever since. While working for Thorp, he got together a little bunch of cattle and horses of his own, branding his cattle 9PH and his horses Half Diamond Z. c (Continued in our January 2017 issue.)

For more of the past from the pages of our magazine see the History section at www. canadiancattlemen.ca.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

REWRITING THE BOOK ON

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 cover • m eat

By Debbie Furber

Opportunities in the Meat Case

Quebec followed by Alberta had the most shelf space devoted to beef in this national survey of 70 retail stores.

S

eventy retail store visits and more than 21,000 packages of beef later, findings from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s National Retail Meat Case study are coming together.

This is the first big-picture view of how the beef you produce is being marketed to Canadian consumers.

“Asking consumers what they would like to buy is not always reliable. The intent of this study is to document what types of beef products are actually being sold to Canadian consumers by national retail chains. Benchmarking key attributes of the Canadian meat case can help guide future strategy development that will support the viability and profitability of the Canadian beef sector,” explains CCA director of technical services Mark Klassen.

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The composition of the retail meat case across Canada is changing over time, he says, listing some of the significant influences in recent years. The aging and increasingly health-conscious population, entry of new global competitors, higher beef prices and, by some accounts, growing interest around method-of-production claims, such as antibiotic free, environmentally sustainable, certified humane or organic have all played a part in how beef is marketed.

“Given the investment and time required to implement any changes at the farm level, documenting trends, such as those related to method-of-production claims, is important to cattle producers,” Klassen adds.

PHOTO: thinkstock

Organic status was noted on 1.1 per cent of roasts and 0.9 per cent of steaks; “antibiotic free” on 2.6 per cent of roasts and 3.9 per cent of steaks; “hormone free” on 0.5 per cent of roasts and 0.3 per cent of steaks

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meat

The meat case in a nutshell

The National Retail Meat Case Study collected information from the fresh meat cases at 70 stores representing the major supermarket chains in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario.

Beef products had 29.8 per cent of the linear feet, pork had 31.9 per cent, poultry had 25.5 per cent, and other meats had 16.8 per cent. The remaining four per cent was non-meat items or empty space.

Out-of-stock beef items were noted at 20.8 per cent of the eastern stores and 31.8 per cent of the western stores. The average of 24.3 per cent represents potentially lost sales, Klassen adds.

Quebec, followed by Alberta, had the most space allocated to beef. Klassen says it is very likely that beef’s share of the meat case space has decreased in recent years due in large part to higher beef prices. Future surveys will continue to monitor this trend.

The average price per kilogram of beef steak was about 44 per cent higher than for roasts. The price per package for roasts and steaks was highest in Alberta because of the larger amounts of beef per package versus other provinces.

Pricing discounts on beef included feature pricing, value packs and markdowns.

Feature pricing applies to all products of that type in the meat case and are often promoted by retailers in their flyers to increase traffic in the store. Overall, 18 per cent of roast packages and 17 per cent of steak packages were featured with special pricing, most commonly in Quebec. Markdowns were only for items near the end of their sell-by dates and were noted on 3.4 per cent of the packages. Thirteen per cent of stores sold roasts and steaks in largerquantity value packs, with steak in value packs being more common in the West.

Beef product mix

Information was collected from 21,205 packages of fresh beef in the cases on the day of the visit, amounting to 14,368 packages in Ontario and Quebec stores and 6,837 packages in Alberta and British Columbia stores.

In both regions, steaks were by far the top cut, accounting for 50.3 per cent of the packages. Ground products followed at 23.9 per cent, being slightly more common in the East (25.6 per cent) than the West (20.3 per cent). Roasts followed at 9.0 per cent.

These three categories made up 83.2 per cent of the beef packages. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

The remainder of the beef mix included cubes (6.7 per cent), organ meats (3.2 per cent), ribs (2.4 per cent), strips (2.3 per cent), sausage (0.3 per cent), and other (1.9 per cent).

Klassen found cubes an interesting category. In the East, 7.4 per cent of the packages were cubes, nearing roasts at 8.1 per cent. Cubes and strips together accounted for 9.0 per cent of the packages. The gap was wider in the West with 5.1 per cent of packages sold as cubes compared to 10.9 per cent sold as roasts. Cubes and strips combined for 6.9 per cent.

Another notable difference was the popularity of ribs out West, accounting for 4.1 per cent of the packages compared with 1.5 per cent in the East.

Approximately 30 per cent of steaks, 37 per cent of roasts, and 56 per cent of ground beef packages were case-ready products cut and packaged outside of the store versus in the store.

Mechanical tenderization to enhance eating quality was utilized for 15 per cent of roasts and 16 per cent of steaks and was significantly more common in Quebec.

 p ro duct mix

Steaks Roasts Ground Sausage Rib Organ meat Cubes Strips Other

Consumer information

“The butcher continues to be a key source of information for consumers. Information from websites and smartphones is underutilized and could play a more important role in communications with Canadian consumers,” Klassen notes.

Self-serve meat cases accounted for 96.1 per cent of the fresh-meat linear footage. The remaining 3.9 per cent was personal-service counters with a butcher, those being the most prevalent in Alberta. Of the stores visited, 77 per cent had an in-store butcher, but most of those were without a personal-service counter.

Only four per cent of stores had beef items with QR codes that can be scanned with smartphones to view website information. Only 0.2 per cent of beef steaks and no roasts had written website addresses on the packages.

Beef recipe cards were found at 10 per cent of the stores, while those for pork and chicken were at seven per cent and four per cent of the stores, respectively.

Nutritional information (tables and rating systems) was provided on less than five per cent of steak and roast packages.

The most common instruction on roasts and steaks had to do with safe storage, such as “keep refrigerated.” Safe-storage instructions

 meat case share

(% of linear feet)

Beef 29.77% Pork 31.90% Poultry 25.52% Other meats 8.93% Non-meats 1.70% Empty 2.18%

Continued on page 14

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m eat

Nine per cent of roasts and eight per cent of steaks carried traceability claims; less than two per cent carried claims related to animal diets.

Continued from page 13

were noted on 75 per cent of roast packages and 73 per cent of steak packages. Safehandling instructions were on 19 per cent of roast packages and 30 per cent of steak packages. Safe-cooking instructions were on 17 per cent of roasts and 22 per cent of steaks, with descriptive cooking instructions, such as “oven roast,” on 27 per cent of roast packages and 25 per cent of steak packages.

Some stores had general signage about grades, although the relationship between the signage and products was sometimes unclear, therefore, grading information was recorded only if it appeared on the package. There was no grading information on 55 per cent of the roast packages, most frequently in Quebec and British Columbia. Grading information on roasts was most common in Alberta.

When grading information was on the package, it was most often for Canada AAA. The trend was similar for steaks, with no grading information on 56 per cent of the packages, most often in Quebec. When grading information appeared, it was mostly Canada AAA and most often in the West.

Claims and origin

Overall, 51 per cent of stores visited had Canadian beef signage and it was most prevalent in Alberta.

Forty-three per cent of roasts and 44 per cent of steaks were identified on the label as “Canadian” or by province. Considering the relatively small amount of imported beef

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used for retail steaks and roasts, Klassen says it is quite likely that the percentage of each originating in Canada fluctuates around double that amount.

Less than one per cent of roasts and less than one per cent of steaks were identified with U.S. origin and all were in Ontario stores.

Of all roasts, 55 per cent of the packages had no identified origin and two per cent had information that wasn’t clear. Of all steaks, 51 per cent of the packages had no identified origin and 3.8 per cent had information that couldn’t be classified.

Nearly 13 per cent of all steak packages promoted a Western Canada origin.

Traceability claims were the most common cattle-production attribute noted on packages, with nine per cent of roasts and eight per cent of steaks carrying this claim.

Less than two per cent of both steaks and roasts carried claims related to animal diets. The most common claim was for corn fed, followed by grass fed and then grain-fed beef. The claim of fed “no animal byproducts” was seen on 2.1 per cent of steak packages and 1.9 per cent of roasts.

Organic status was noted on 1.1 per cent of roasts and 0.9 per cent of steaks; “antibiotic free” on 2.6 per cent of roasts and 3.9 per cent of steaks; “hormone free” (a claim technically not permitted) on 0.5 per cent of roasts and 0.3 per cent of steaks; “no hormones added” on 2.7 per cent of roasts and 4.2 per cent of steaks; and “certified humane” on 1.9 per cent of roasts and none of the steaks in the stores surveyed.

PHOTO: Canada beef

Overall, 1.2 per cent of roasts and 1.3 per cent of steaks were identified as halal, while no roasts and 0.3 per cent of steaks were identified as kosher.

“While consumers may say they prefer these non-traditional product categories, the volumes of these types of product currently being sold at the retail level are limited,” Klassen says.

Klassen shares two standout points from the initial summary of this small part of the extensive dataset collected for the National Retail Meat Case Study.

“There are significant regional differences in beef product mix and merchandising approaches across Canada. While some of these differences may genuinely reflect regional differences in demand, there is certainly an opportunity to examine how products currently successful in selected retail banners and/or cities could be helpful to building volume and sales in other locations.

“The findings also support the opportunity for the industry to enhance communication to consumers through information on the package, recognizing that it is the only means of communicating with consumers that is present at both the point of purchase and on the product at the time of preparation in the home.”

The meat case study is part of the retail component of the CCA’s 2014-17 National Beef Quality Audit and was funded by the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, the Beef Cattle Research Council and National Checkoff. c

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 nutritio n

By Debbie Furber

Mycotoxins Know No Bounds

A

wesome turned awful as September rolled into October with its short wet days and longer wet nights downgrading many cereal crops to feed quality across the Prairies. To make matters worse, a lot of grain that did make it into the bin was infected with fusarium and to a lesser extent with ergot.

The fusarium family of fungi infects the seed of small-grain crops, corn and other grasses and causes a whitish-pinkish-orangish mould to grow on plants, producing a witch’s brew of mycotoxins, namely the Type B tricothecenes (T-2 toxins and deoxynivalenol, commonly called DON or vomitoxin), zearalenone and fumonisin. Claviceps purpurea is the fungus responsible for causing the black-purple ergot bodies in grain and grass heads that release toxic alkaloids.

Alltech mycotoxin expert Dr. Max Hawkins says DON has been the most prevalent mycotoxin so far in new-crop corn silage samples from Canada and right across North America for that matter. DON is also the No. 1 mycotoxin showing up in spring wheat, barley and triticale samples from Canada. There have been some high occurrences of ergot, but they tend to be somewhat more regionalized and particularly concerning in some samples of spring wheat from the southern prairies and U.S. northern plains.

Alltech’s 2016 harvest report on 100 totalmixed-ration samples from across the U.S. analyzed at the company’s ISO-accredited lab at Winchester, Kentucky, shows that less

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than two per cent of the samples are clean or contain only one mycotoxin. Nearly 18 per cent of the samples contain six to seven mycotoxins, 42 per cent contain four to five, and 35 per cent contain two or three.

As Hawkins says, mycotoxin issues aren’t limited to growing regions with contaminated crops. Mycotoxins move around just as quickly as grain travels down the road or across the rails.

Grass pastures, cereal swaths and standing corn for winter grazing, cured and ensiled grass and cereal forages, crop co-products (straw, distillers grains, grain screenings, oilseed meals) and commercial feeds — in short, pretty much any feedstuffs that comprise beef cattle rations are potential sources of mycotoxins. This can create quite a challenge given that the organisms can persist from pasture to wintering rations. The risk to livestock depends on the level of contamination in the soil, the harvesting date, feed type, source of purchased feeds, and even the age and breed of cattle.

Ruminants do have an advantage over monogastrics in that rumen microbes are capable of breaking down many mycotoxins to reduce and even void the toxic effects, depending on the mycotoxin.

However, some mycotoxins play off others to compound toxic effects. While mycotoxins present in single feed ingredients may be under the established tolerance level for beef cattle, combining the ingredients could be toxic. A typical example in cattle

rations is DON and fusaric acid. On their own, neither may be at a level of concern for beef cattle. Together, the risk equivalent factor (REQ) is 187.

REQ is Alltech’s calculation of risk for all of the mycotoxin present, not just the one or two that are highest, Hawkins explains. A REQ at 187 is high risk for mature cattle and higher risk yet for young and growing cattle.

Combinations of fungal moulds can also wreak havoc in stored feeds. For example, the mycotoxins produced by Penicillium fungi (blue to green mould), are efficiently broken down in the rumen and generally don’t cause problems for beef cattle unless they are present at very high levels, although they have been known to cause false positives for antibiotic residues in milk. When both Penicillium and fusarium are present in field crops, the overall mycotoxin levels in stored feeds tends to be high.

Mycotoxin poisoning at its worst in beef cattle can cause abortion storms and scours outbreaks. Usually, the symptoms of a steady low level of mycotoxins in feed are subtle, nibbling away at overall health and performance. Loose manure and a bloaty appearance are general signs. Feeders might become suspicious if the rate of gain isn’t up to par.

Cow-calf operators might see lower pregnancy rates or a decline in body condition.

Possible warning signs of DON toxicity include diarrhea, reduced feed intake and reduced weight gain. T-2 toxin manifests as gastroenteritis (inflammation of the

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nutrition

digestive tract), sometimes with intestinal hemorrhage and bloody manure. Zearalenone stimulates estrogen production and leads to reproductive problems that could include infertility, abortions, vaginitis, vaginal prolapse and enlarged mammary glands in young heifers. Fusaric acid may be the reason behind swelling of the lower legs, low blood pressure, lethargy and feed refusal.

Feed refusal and weight loss are typical signs of ergot alkaloids in the feed. Ergotism in cattle most often constricts blood flow to the extremities, resulting in lameness and sloughing of ears, tails and even hooves.

Some animals may show signs of the nervous form, such as excitability or convulsions. The estrogen in ergot bodies can cause abortions or disrupt the reproductive cycle.

Alltech’s mycotoxin strategy

Mycotoxins are most often associated with wet conditions at certain stages of crop growth. Some like it cool, others need heat to germinate. Fusarium is a heat-loving pathogen that can affect drought-stressed crops as well. This was the case during the widespread drought of 2012 in the U.S. when Alltech brought together a team to develop a strategy for managing contaminated feeds. The resulting mycotoxin management program was launched in March 2013.

It has since been put into operation at all of the company’s feed manufacturing and premix facilities.

The first step is a Mycotoxin 37+ analysis which can detect more than 37 myco-

toxins in raw feed ingredients, forages and mixed rations. Based on the results, the team assesses the risk to your animals and provides recommendations tailored to your operation.

Alltech’s regional representatives will visit farms to take strategic samples. “It’s easy to get a sample, but challenging to get a good sample representative of all feedstuffs in one pound of material,” explains Hawkins.

Not all calls are from producers experiencing problems. Some call because they’ve heard of issues in their area and want have an analysis done before any problems appear.

Alltech’s MIKO program evaluates feed and forage management using a systematic mycotoxin hazard analysis based on established HACCP principles for quality control.

It begins with a hazard analysis, determines critical control points, establishes critical limits, and then establishes monitoring procedures, corrective actions, checking procedures and the record-keeping system.

“From the results of all of the samples we receive, we create a database and issue full reports, starting with the harvest report, then again in late winter or early spring on how storage is affecting feeds, and at close-out in summer to evaluate the full effect over time from field through feeding. Then it’s time to clean things up and start again with the new crop,” Hawkins says.

The reports are available from your nearest Alltech representative, the mycotoxin hotline at 866-322-3484, the Calgary office at 403-735-3281, or the Guelph office at 519763-333. For more visit www.knowmycotoxins.com. c

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C a t t l e m e n · D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 6

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 researc h o n t h e r eco r d

By Reynold Bergen

Barley Variety and Silage Quality

B

arley silage is the main roughage fed in western Canadian feedlots, but few barley breeders try to improve its feed quality. Most breeders focus on improved grain yields, malting characteristics and better disease and lodging resistance, and pay little attention to feed quality traits like protein, starch, or neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content and digestibility (NDFD).

NDF is a measure of “structural carbohydrates,” the parts of the plant that hold it up. Cattle digest NDF slowly, so NDF contributes to gut fill and can limit feed intake, growth and efficiency. In a Beef Cluster-funded study published earlier this year, Dr. John McKinnon and colleagues compared 80 silage samples collected from farms from across Saskatchewan and Alberta, that had been produced from seven different barley varieties (Nair et al., Can. J. Anim. Sci. 96:598-608). In an upcoming paper, they compared three of the two-row varieties that had produced silage with similar protein, starch and NDF levels, but different NDFD, and their effects on feedlot performance and carcass traits.

What they did: Varieties previously shown to produce silage with high NDFD (CDC Cowboy, a general purpose variety with high forage yield), intermediate NDFD (CDC Copeland, a malting variety), and low NDFD (Xena, a general purpose feed variety) were grown at the University of Saskatchewan, managed the same, and silaged without an inoculant at mid-dough. The three silages were fed to 288 steers averaging 705 pounds in a small pen feeding trial (12 head per pen). Diets were identical except for the type of silage used. Steers were backgrounded for 68 days. At 850 pounds, the steers stepped up to a finishing diet over 12 days, then finished for 148 days and shipped at 1,378 pounds. Intakes, gains and conversions were measured throughout the feeding trial, and carcass weights and grades were collected at slaughter.

What they learned: Lab analyses indicated that these barleys didn’t ensile the same way as previously. This time, CDC Cowboy silage had more NDF and less starch and thus less energy than the CDC Copeland or Xena silages.

These differences were also evident in the analysis of backgrounding diets formulated with these silages.

Backgrounding steers fed CDC Cowboy silage grew more slowly, ate less and converted less efficiently than steers fed CDC Copeland or Xena silage. The higher NDF levels in the CDC Cowboy silage likely limited feed intake, dietary energy intake and growth.

Finishing steer performance was unaffected by barley variety, probably because there was so much less silage in the diet.

Over the entire feeding period, the variety of barley used to make the silage had no measurable effects on steer performance. The differences in growth performance seen in the 68-day backgrounding period were diluted by the lack of differences in the longer 148-day finishing period.

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Carcass lean yield and quality (marbling) grade were unaffected by the variety of barley used to make the silage, but steers fed CDC Cowboy silage had lighter carcasses (797 pounds) than those fed CDC Copeland (817 pounds) or Xena silage (811 pounds).

What it means: The varieties did not reproduce the silage quality observed in the earlier study. Previously, all three varieties had produced silage with similar protein, starch and NDF; the only thing that differed was NDFD. This would have suggested that silage made from CDC Cowboy (most digestible NDF) would produce better animal performance than CDC Copeland (intermediate NDFD) and Xena (lowest NDFD). In this study, silage made from CDC Cowboy actually had higher NDF than the silage made from CDC Copeland and Xena. As a result, steers fed silage made from CDC Cowboy had poorer performance (lower feed intake, energy intake, growth rate and feed efficiency) during the high-silage backgrounding period. This is probably a result of “genotype by environment interaction.” Different varieties of plants (or animals) perform differently in different growing conditions. Some thrive under optimal conditions and wilt under adverse conditions. Year-to-year variations in rainfall and temperature conditions, and soil type and fertility can influence how different barley varieties grow and mature, and the quality of the silage they produce.

While this study suggests that barley variety alone may not be a great predictor of animal performance, it certainly emphasizes the importance of feed testing. In winter feeding programs, forages with high NDF levels can prevent cows from consuming enough feed to maintain their body condition.

These results don’t mean that breeding barley for improved nutritional value is pointless. Remember that these barleys were not actually bred for low NDF or higher NDFD. Most of the feed and forage varieties on the market weren’t actually developed to be feed or forage varieties.

They were usually intended for the malt or human food market, but didn’t make the grade. Alberta Agriculture’s Lacombe Field Crop Development Centre’s barley-breeding program is one of the few trying to improve barley forage quality, thanks to beef industry checkoff funding.

Over time, these efforts may lead to varieties that produce superior feed quality in a variety of growing conditions.

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

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 identifi cat i o n

By Duane McCartney

The Eye in the Sky is Watching your Cows

I

n the mid-’70s, as a research scientist at the Melfort Research Station, I helped Saskatchewan Agriculture evaluate the first button-type electronic ear tags on our cows at the Pathlow pasture research project. At the time, I also had a big satellite remote sensing project to monitor pasture productivity. I would tell my colleagues that our goal was to develop a system whereby I could sit in my office back in Melfort and monitor and remotely move the cows to different paddocks. They all laughed, but now it is a reality!

There are all sorts of new precision technologies for managing grain farms, and now there are some exciting innovations on the horizon for managing grazing operations. Recently, Saskatoon was host to over 500 rangeland researchers and managers from 48 different countries at the International Rangeland Congress. The event featured over 500 presentations on all sorts of topics involving rangeland management. With the theme of “Managing the World’s Rangelands and Wild Lands in a HighTech World” it provided a forum for some very interesting capabilities of computers, cellphones, Internet and satellite remote sensing for enhanced rangeland management.

Of particular interest is work coming out of Australia where they have developed

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a system of managing their huge grazing leases remotely from their station or ranch office. Ed Charmley, former beef and pasture research scientist with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Nappan, Nova Scotia is now one of the lead scientists with the precision farming group at the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Lansdown Pasture Research Station in Queensland, Australia.

“We are working with partners in Queensland to develop technologies that can monitor their ranches. The Digital Homestead project is a one-stop-shop online dashboard or computer app to enable farmers to access information about their farms remotely via satellite and integrate it with information from outside the farm, all with the aim of improving their decisions. We can now do in-field weighing of livestock, monitor their body conditions remotely, find their locations and assess their grazing behaviour by using new solar-powered electronic collars,” explained Charmley.

These systems operate on the Cloud, meaning they are Internet based and accessible from anywhere via a login and password. The end goal is to increase the percentage of animals meeting market specifications and optimize their reproductive performance.

At remote weighing stations and watering sites cattle can be sorted or held in holding pens automatically to eventually be moved to other paddocks or held for transport.

Data on climate, soil, vegetation as well as animal behaviour will help farmers and land managers estimate which regions of their farms may be undergrazed or overgrazed.

“The information presented on their cellphone or laptop can be tailored to individual needs and preferences. The managers can see real-time information on their property and livestock at a glance. They can know where cattle are, explore trends in cattle weight, see how much water is in tanks and browse climate variables from on farm sensors,” said Charmley.

Using satellite technology, the Australian scientists have helped develop a prototype, animal-friendly virtual fencing (VF) system for cattle that can be used to confine animals without using fixed fences.

With virtual fencing, boundaries are drawn entirely by global positioning satellite (GPS) and exist only as a line on a computer.

No wires or fixed transmitters are used. The animals wear solar-powered collars containing software that identifies where they are and emit a sound when they approach the virtual fence. The sound replaces the visual

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identification

cue of a conventional electric fence that cows learn to avoid.

Cattle need to be trained to adapt to the virtual fences. When fully developed and commercialized this technology would be of great benefit to keeping cattle out of environmentally sensitive areas such as watersheds and areas with endangered species.

“I think at present the first application will be for smaller herds in more intensive systems where all animals can be VF collared, leading to better, cheaper equipment that can then be rolled out under more extensive systems,” says Charmley. “When you consider the cost of real fencing — and the fact these get destroyed in fires and floods in Australia — then the cost of equipping every animal, (even in large herds), looks a lot more attractive.”

Back in North America, Dean Anderson, a retired research animal scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Jornada Experimental Range station, developed a Global Navigation Satellite System-based Directional Virtual Fencing (DVF) system that could be used to hold or move or gather free-ranging cattle on open range. Anderson is continuing his involvement in virtual fencing research with a private company that expects to bring a commercial product to market in the near future.

“So you have the problem of non-uniform utilization of the landscape, with some places that are overutilized and other places that are underutilized,” says Anderson.

“We have used all sorts of methods to try to affect distribution including fencing, developing drinking water sites in a new location, putting supplemental feed in different locations, changing the times you put out feed, putting in artificial shade, so that animals would move to that location.

“You can see how, many times as a manager, you might actually know what to do to optimize your utilization, but economics and time prevent it from happening. Which means your cows are all in the wrong place.

“My concept of virtual fencing was to have a conventional wire perimeter fence around your property. But, internally, you don’t have fences. You program ‘electronic’ polygons, based upon the current year’s pattern of rainfall, pattern of poisonous weed growth, pattern of endangered species growth, and whatever other variables will affect your current year’s management decisions. Then you can use the virtual polygon to either include or exclude animals from areas on the landscape that you want to manage with scalpellike precision,” he says.

“If you need to move your herd to this www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Remote weigh stations transmit weights to a stockman’s computer via the Cloud.

‘better location,’ instead of having to build a fence or take the time and manpower to gather your cows, you would simply move the virtual fence.”

Previous research in Australia and New Mexico, has not determined what per cent of a herd needs to be fitted with an electronic collar for acceptable control in all landscapes or how best to generate and store power to keep the electronics working for a long time.

Though it will never completely replace conventional fencing, virtual fencing has the potential to manage free-ranging livestock over a landscape in real time.

“We know that electronics and satellite imagery are not infallible and need to be backed up by ‘eyes’ on the grounds,” adds Anderson.

At Thompson River University (TRU) in Kamloops, B.C., Dr. John Church, associate professor in natural resource science in partnership with researcher Glen Kathler from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) at Calgary, are using drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to track cattle. The drones are equipped with a thermal camera, and a new longer range passive ultra-high frequency (UHF) radiofrequency identification RFID reader. UHF cattle ear tags, several brands of which are available on the market, will be used with the drone program being developed by SAIT to locate and identify cattle on the range.

SAIT is developing a new directional antenna for a thermally equipped UAV so it can locate and monitor cattle fitted with UHF ear tags grazing B.C.’s forested range-

photo: CSIRO

lands from the air. The same UAV will be able to assess plant health and biomass on these range pastures with a near-infrared multi-spectral camera. The ultimate goal is to time the movement of the cattle to better manage the pastures while keeping tabs on cattle returning off of Crown range in the fall.

“My goal is to use thermal cameras in the drones to locate cattle from the air — even hidden beneath a forest canopy. In the future I see drones that will be able to target individual weeds and spray a treatment targeting each one, not an entire pasture.”

“The drones can also be used to herd cattle,” Church adds, “but for now, drones are better used for monitoring the herd than moving it.”

Eventually by using drones to follow RFID signals ranchers will be able to track down lost cattle and even discover whether an animal has been killed by a predator.

Back on the ground SAIT’s new prototype UHF-RFID tag system allows ranchers and feedlots to maintain timely, accurate data on a herd by reading whole groups of cattle in a matter of minutes as they pass through an archway, a significant improvement on previous low-frequency (LF) RFID tags that require cattle to be put through a chute and individually scanned. They can also be tracked as they are being transferred by placing UHF RFID readers on cattle liners, at auction marts, and upon arrival at packing plants, says Kathler. c Duane McCartney is a retired forage beef systems research scientist at Lacombe, Alta.

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identificat i o n

By Lee Hart

Mandatory premise ID on CFIA agenda It is one of the provisions included in planned amendments and regulations

Veronica McGuire, executive director of the CFIA’s regulatory and trade policy program.

O

ver the next couple of years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is moving to improve the effectiveness of Canada’s Livestock Traceability System by nailing down where all classes of livestock are produced, what type of animals they are and where they move.

In regulations now being developed, both premise identification and animal movement are expected to become mandatory in all provinces across Canada by 2018.

Along with animal identifications (those electronic ear tags) premise ID and livestock movement are considered the three pillars of an overall effective traceability system.

While animal identification has been mandatory for the main classes of cattle for several years, the other pillars had looser applications. Some provinces adopted premise ID and animal movement systems earlier and others are either at different stages or don’t have systems in place.

Under the proposed regulations now being considered, more species of animals will be covered by animal identification and all provinces will be required to have premise ID and animal movement systems in place.

CFIA is the national lead for the whole livestock traceability system, with other players responsible for making sure different components of the system are implemented.

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The national ear-tagging system, requiring electronic (RFID) tags in one ear of most classes of livestock, is administered nationally by the industry-led Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA). CCIA launched the identification program in 1998.

Premise ID and animal movement actually falls under the jurisdiction of each province. The new CFIA regulations will make it mandatory for each province to have a premise ID system in place and be active in getting all producers of livestock and poultry on board, says Veronica McGuire, executive director of the CFIA’s regulatory and trade policy program. She spoke at the first-ever Canadian Traceability Symposium recently held in Calgary. Along with producers, cattle feeders, packing plants and retailers it also brought together officials from the various federal and provincial regulatory agencies.

The provinces are at various stages of implementing premise ID systems. Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and P.E.I. all now have mandatory provincial premise ID programs, while the remaining provinces, for the time being, operate with voluntary reporting systems. On the animal movement front, B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan have systems in place — shipping manifests filled out when animals are moved — while the rest of the provinces from Manitoba east don’t.

In developing regulations, the CFIA has

already gone through an extensive consultation process with all sectors of the livestock industry. That input will lead to the development of draft regulations probably by mid-2017. The proposed regulations will then be reviewed further, and if all the political stars line up, the regulations could come into effect in 2018.

“The new regulations will amend and strengthen the whole traceability system,” says McGuire. Along with mandatory premise ID, “the proposals will include more classes of livestock and also call for reporting requirements for the domestic movement of animals.”

Beef and dairy cattle, along with bison were the first classes of livestock covered in the national identification program, since then sheep and pigs have been added. The coming CFIA amendments will cover goat, and farm-raised deer and elk. The regulations will also cover the domestic movement of animals to “improve timeliness of information and geographic precision,” says McGuire.

While a lot of feedback and consultation will help shape the coming regulations, she says the key as far as implementing an effective traceability program is proper communication with producers and others in the handling, feeding and processing sectors.

She says it will be important to explain the Continued on page 24

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i d e n t i f i cat i o n

Continued from page 22

The aim is to prevent events such as the 2001 U.K. foot-and-mouth outbreak that cost C$16 billion at the time Dr. Tony Britt former director of animal biosecurity and welfare in Victoria, Australia

need for the traceability system, and to also work with producers and others as they provide the information required. She says getting the industry to understand and buy into the system, is much more preferred than enforcement measures.

The importance of what was then Canada’s relatively new livestock traceability system really caught traction during the BSE crisis in 2003. Symposium speakers repeatedly emphasized the importance of having a complete national livestock traceability system in Canada, for several reasons. Food safety is an ongoing and increasing public or consumer concern — if there is a problem with a meat product at the retail level, for example, it is important to be able to trace it back to the processor, cattle feeder or farm of origin.

It is similar for animal health concerns.

The recent case of an Alberta-raised slaughter animal found to have TB at a U.S. packing plant, is a classic example. Being able to trace that animal back to its farm of origin was important in the investigation to

determine if other animals were infected. It becomes a huge concern to beef operations in a regional area, but doesn’t shut down the whole Canadian beef industry.

And having a functioning and effective traceability system is also important to maintaining and expanding international meat and livestock market access.

A disease outbreak can go from being minor to a disaster in short order, with devastating social and economic consequences, the symposium was reminded. Dr. Tony Britt, former director of animal biosecurity and welfare in Victoria, Australia pointed to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom in 2001. That started with sheep on one farm being fed some contaminated feedstuffs.

Sheep aren’t affected by foot-and-mouth disease but they are carriers. From that sheep operation it spread to another nearby farm where a single pig was infected and from there it eventually led to the slaughter of 6.5 million head of cattle, sheep and pigs with an estimated cost of 10 billion pounds (about C$16 billion) to the U.K. economy.

Australia calculated a “what-if” scenario for a similar disease outbreak on that con-

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identification

tinent, figuring it would cost about $50 billion today, and Britt guessed there would be a similar cost if an outbreak happened in Canada.

BROAD VALUE OF PREMISE ID

While no one is hoping for a disease outbreak, premise ID and tracking movement of animals are important tools in managing and controlling a disease outbreak or helping manage all species of animals during natural disasters, says Rick Frederickson, director of animal welfare and national traceability with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

Premise ID requires all landowners to register the legal description of all land where livestock is raised and also report the types and numbers of livestock being raised on that property. It isn’t a complicated or difficult process to get a premise ID number — it may take 10 minutes on appropriate computer websites.

And premise ID doesn’t just apply to commercial livestock producers, but all acreage owners and hobby farmers as well.

And the emphasis is on ALL species, ALL animals not just cattle, sheep and pigs, but

also all classes of poultry, commercially raised fish, horses, llamas, alpacas, rabbits, yaks and even pigeons, to name a few.

The idea behind this is to have a comprehensive record of what animals are out there, what property they are raised on, and how many there are. This isn’t about the government wanting to know your business.

Aside from managing disease outbreaks, premise ID is an invaluable tool in helping manage natural disasters.

“We’ve already seen the benefits of the system put into action here in Alberta during events of floods and fires,” says Frederickson. “When a natural disaster occurs we can go to the maps, go to the database and know where and how many livestock are in the path of this disaster and then send out alerts or warnings to these landowners.”

On the disease front, for example, if a case of avian flu was detected in a small flock of chickens, the premise ID database can be used to determine the location of properties around the infected flock that might be at risk, that need to be investigated or quarantined to ensure the disease doesn’t spread further.

The premise ID will help create a centralized database in each province so officials know what type and number of animals are on each property.

B.C., Alberta, and Saskatchewan each already have shipping manifest systems, which are filled out any time livestock are loaded into a truck or trailer and moved from the farm of origin to a different location. If not already included, these shipping manifests will be modified to accommodate the appropriate premise ID numbers. Under the proposed regulations all provinces will be required to have some type of system for recording livestock movement in place.

The role of premise ID and tracking movement of animals isn’t about invading people’s privacy, say officials, it’s about protecting livestock that might be in the path of a natural disaster, and protecting the whole animal industry in the event of a disease outbreak to minimize its impact on the rest of the industry. c Lee Hart is a longtime agricultural writer with Grainews and a contributor to Canadian Cattleman Magazine.

Merry

CHRISTMAS

From The Saretsky’s

TONY 403.391.3985 DAVID 403.896.9616 PHILIP 403.358.8612 www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 health

By Debbie Furber

It can take up to five years of testing and culling to eliminate Johne’s from a herd once the disease has been diagnosed.

When Johne’s Hits Home

D

r. Meaghan Crawford’s empathy for the family that discovered Johne’s disease in their young beef herd was evident as she spoke about her involvement with the case during her time as a veterinary student at Calgary.

A cow and two heifers showing severe weight loss and diarrhea were brought into the rural clinic where she was doing her fourth-year rotation in early 2015. Their body condition scores were three to four on a nine-point scale, and they had soft, watery feces without blood or mucus. Otherwise they were bright and responsive with normal temperatures, respiration and heart rates.

The cow and one heifer were found to be about six months pregnant and the other was open.

The family had purchased 300 females from three sources during the five years leading up to the case. The producer said he had noticed some thin cows and there had been some mortalities here and there over the years, but he hadn’t been overly concerned until these three animals rapidly went down-

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hill. He thought five others could potentially be affected in the same way.

One by one the veterinary team went through the possible-problem list. Stress and dietary issues were ruled out because even though multiple animals were observed to be ill, it was a small percentage of the herd.

None of the potential common problems, such as salmonella, bovine viral diarrhea, hardware disease or parasites, fit the case.

Crawford says Johne’s disease was a big suspect because it causes chronic diarrhea and loss of body condition without fever, going off feed or other signs of illness. Their research turned up one source herd that may have had a history of thin, poor-doing cows, but lingering questions remained because the three suspect animals were so young and so sick. Signs of Johne’s disease don’t usually start showing until animals are four to seven years of age and even then usually only pop up in one animal at a time… unless the infection is heavy. They feared this could be what the producer was facing.

Johne’s is caused by Mycobacterium avian

The lining of the ileum thickens.

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health

subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) bacteria spread in the manure, colostrum and milk of infected animals. Cattle almost always pick up the infection as calves, usually before six months of age, by consuming MAP bacteria in manure on the cow’s udder, bedding, feed, pasture and in water. Some calves and most mature animals are able to build immunity to MAP over time and don’t become permanently infected. If an animal can’t fight off the bacteria, it hides in the immune cells of the ileum (between the small and large intestine) from where it slowly does its damage by thickening the wall of the large intestine. Affected animals often have good appetites, but eventually start wasting as the intestine thickens to the point where it is unable to absorb protein.

An infected animal’s fate is sealed because there is no cure. The animal will either succumb to the disease or get culled for being a poor-doer or raising poor calves without a producer ever suspecting Johne’s disease. The greater concern is that infected animals shed MAP bacteria off and on throughout their lifetimes.

The nature of the disease with intermittent shedding and late onset of illness makes it very difficult to catch in the early stages, Crawford explains. Blood tests to detect antibodies to Johne’s disease, fecal samples to culture MAP bacteria, and fecal samples for PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to detect MAP DNA are accepted diagnostic tools. But producers aren’t likely to test seemingly healthy animals and fecal samples collected when animals aren’t shedding will give false negatives.

Blood tests were used to confirm Johne’s disease in the three suspect animals because the team needed a quick answer, whereas it can take as long as eight weeks to see positive results from fecal cultures.

“The blood test results came back with astounding numbers,” Crawford says. An antibody ratio above 0.7 relative to a positive control serum is considered positive and all three animals tested well above 2.0.

The gold standard is necropsy followed by microscopic evaluation, so the producer agreed to sacrifice the cow and open heifer.

Seeing the characteristic signs of Johne’s disease confirmed their worst fears. The large intestine was thick walled and ropey and the associated lymph nodes were enlarged. Tissue samples from the inflamed lining of the intestine and ileum from each animal came back positive for MAP with the pathology report classifying the infection as severe in all samples.

Fecal samples from 90 young cows were collected that summer for PCR analysis to get an idea of the infection rate at the herd level. www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Manure from four or five cows was pooled in each of 19 samples and 30 per cent of the samples came back positive. Individual fecal samples then had to be collected from each animal represented in each of the positive pooled samples to be tested to identify the positive individuals. Testing costs quickly start adding up.

Approximately 30 positive individuals were identified that summer. The producer chose to manage the positive animals separately, calve them out this spring and ship the cows directly to slaughter this fall. None of the female calves will be kept as replacements because of their potential to perpetuate the disease cycle.

Normal small bowel lining is smooth. Photo: UCVM

The latest round of testing was this spring when seven of the 16 pooled samples came back positive. Subsequently, 17 of the individuals represented in positive pooled samples were identified as positive or suspect.

The producer is committed to doing everything possible to eliminate Johne’s disease from the herd by continuing with the test-and-cull strategy and carefully managing positive animals to contain and reduce the spread of the bacteria.

“Unfortunately, the damage has already been done and the producer might be looking at eventually culling half the herd,” Crawford says. “Aside from how heartbreaking the case is, the discussion currently is about how remarkable the infection rate is in these young cows, which is unheard of to those familiar with this case.”

Her take-home message is that Johne’s disease, once considered a dairy disease, is most definitely a beef cattle disease, too. Alberta

statistics show that approximately 14 per cent of the province’s beef herd and 50 per cent of the dairy herds have tested positive for Johne’s, but she suspects the prevalence is higher than most people think.

“Johne’s disease is known as an ‘iceberg’ disease because for every sick animal there will be several infected animals that don’t show signs.

It’s this subclinical population that causes the most loss for producers because those animals will spread the bacteria and may birth smaller calves that gain weight more slowly,” Crawford explains.

The first step for producers is to learn about Johne’s disease because prevention doesn’t cost a thing and is far easier than management after the fact.

If you are going to buy cows, pairs or heifers, ask questions, be selective in your choices and buy from reputable sources, Crawford advises. Purchase colostrum only from herds that are negative for Johne’s disease and manufacturers of commercial colostrum that use a method to kill MAP bacteria.

Never sell cattle suspected or confirmed positive for Johne’s disease through any channel that could end with them being breeding animals in another herd.

Remember, infection starts with the calf.

Vigilant management at calving time will not only reduce the risk of calves picking up MAP bacteria, but will help control many other calfhood diseases.

It’s important to realize that eradicating this disease from a herd is at minimum a five-year project that requires a close working relationship with your veterinarian and a good understanding of the disease. Some progress can be made to minimize losses by early detection and shipping thin cows and those with diarrhea, but much more rapid progress is made by full-herd fecal testing.

This can easily be done at pregnancy-testing time by the veterinarian, a registered veterinary technician, or by the producer. The fecal test is the most useful test for surveillance because it is the most accurate for detecting early infections, while blood tests are useful to confirm the disease in animals already showing signs.

In the event of a positive test result, your veterinarian will be able to help with a risk assessment and deciding on a management strategy that’s suitable for your operation.

For more information, visit the Beef Cattle Research Council web page at www.beef research.ca/research-topic.cfm/johnes-disease-51, where there are also links to fact

sheets on recent research and to the Canadian Johne’s Disease Initiative website, www. animalhealth.ca/CJDI/. c

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 Nutritio n

By John McKinnon

Concerns with Feeding Off-Grade Grain

I

n the September issue of Cattleman, the title of my column was “Another Crazy Year for Growing Hay.” In that column I looked at some of the trials and tribulations that hay producers faced this past summer. Looking at this year’s harvest, you can’t blame grain producers for thinking that a similar dark cloud hangs over their heads! Not only has harvest dragged on longer than normal, but wet growing and harvest conditions, particularly in Western Canada, have combined to downgrade much of the crop. While no one wants to see a sector of the industry face undue hardship, there is no doubt that these conditions have resulted in a significant feed grain supply, particularly off-grade grain and, as a result, lower feed grain prices.

For cattle feeders lower feed prices are welcome, particularly after the negative margins of the last 12 months or so. However, there are a number of challenges when it comes to incorporating off-grade feed grains into a cattle feeding program. These challenges fall under three broad categories including issues with reduced feeding value; feeding management; and with mycotoxins.

From a feeding perspective, the concern with lightweight grain is that the kernel has not filled and thus its starch/energy content is reduced. For example, normal feed wheat has a test weight of 60 pounds per bushel.

In terms of net energy content, wheat has an average value of 2.2 and 1.59 Mcal per kilogram of dry matter (DM) for maintenance (NEm) and gain (NEg), respectively. Its NEg value is approximately eight per cent higher than that of barley and two per cent lower than corn grain. Feed wheat typically weighs in at less than 60 pounds (i.e. 50 to 56 pounds or less) with an energy value similar to or slightly higher than barley grain, depending on the reason for downgrading. Most feedlots consider normal barley to weigh in at 48 pounds or more. While lightweight barley is typically purchased at a discount relative to the value of normal barley, performance is not adversely affected, until bushel weight drops below 44 pounds.

Similar comments apply to corn. For example, research at the University of Nebraska has shown that there was no difference in performance of cattle fed 46-pound versus 56-pound corn.

Feed wheat offers particular challenges when it comes to feeding management. At 60 to 65 per cent starch, wheat is intermediate to barley (55 to 60 per cent) and corn (65 to 70 per cent). However, of the three, wheat has the fastest rate of rumen starch fermentation. This characteristic has important implications for feeding management as its high starch content and rapid fermentation can predispose cattle to rumen acidosis (i.e. gain overload).

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Too much wheat, too quickly will result in rapid production and accumulation of acid in the rumen. This drops rumen pH and leads to acidosis which can range in severity from acute to sub-acute. Symptoms of subacute acidosis include erratic feed intake, reduced gains, poor conversions, lameness and liver abscesses. To minimize these issues, many nutritionists recommend blending wheat into the ration and have an upper limit on the amount fed, typically 50 per cent of the grain portion of the ration.

In a finishing diet, this means a maximum of 40 to 45 per cent wheat (DM basis). Wheat should also be introduced in steps, replacing barley (or corn) at 10 per cent increments (DM basis). At each step, cattle should be given two to three days to adapt, after which, if they are eating normally, it is safe to move to the next step.

Properly adapted wheat-fed cattle will have superior feed conversions relative to barley-fed cattle, and if wheat is priced competitively, lower feed costs.

From the phone calls that I have received, the biggest issue with this year’s grain crop is mycotoxins, particularly with fusarium-contaminated grain. Fusarium infection of wheat results in shrunken, off-colour kernels, known as fusarium damaged kernels (FDK) or more commonly “tombstones.” In corn, it is sometimes referred to as pink ear rot. Fusarium-damaged kernels can be contaminated with a number of mycotoxins including deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol, T-2 and HT-2 toxins. While space limits the discussion of these mycotoxins, producers should be aware that toxins such as T-2 and HT-2 are extremely toxic in very small amounts. DON, while not as toxic to cattle as T-2 or HT-2 toxins, will likely be the most common mycotoxin encountered in fusarium-contaminated grain. Reduced feed intake, poor growth and immune function are the major issues one can encounter when feeding DONcontaminated grain.

Feeding mouldy grain, particularly that infected with fusarium, is tricky as the presence of the fungus does not necessarily mean mycotoxins are present, and when mycotoxins are present, it is also possible to have more than one type contaminating the grain.

As well, while there are guidelines as to the maximum inclusion level of these various mycotoxins in the ration, there is no clear consensus as to what level can be safely fed. For all these reasons, if you are planning on using fusarium-contaminated grain, you would be well advised to have representative samples tested for mycotoxins by a qualified laboratory. As well, working with a nutritionist experienced with these and other off-quality grains will be critical to feeding cattle safely and efficiently. c

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

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

STEAKING OUT THE CONSUMER Options & Opportunities

Alberta Beef Industry Conference February 15-17, 2017 at the Sheraton Red Deer Hotel

Speaker highlights include:

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE February 15th, 2017 10:00am – 3:30pm

Animal Welfare in Canadian Feedlots

10:00am – 12:00pm Holistic Management 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Uncovering Your Personal Brand

6:00pm

El Noche de Havana Opening Dinner

February 16th, 2017 8:30am

Welcome

8:45am

Changing Minds: How to Turn Negative Perceptions Into Positive Ones

9:45am

Lessons Learned Through Advocacy

10:45am

Survey says ... BEEF! What consumers are thinking now?

11:15am

Behind the Brand ~ Canada Beef

11:45pm

The Real Beef ~ Panel Discussion

2:00pm

Global Beef Market Outlook

2:45pm

Tell Me a Story: The Power of Storytelling in Marketing

4:00pm

Reception

5:30pm

Dave Hemstad

6:15pm

Taste of Alberta Dinner & Live Auction

9:30pm

Billy Bob’s after party featuring Wooden Nickel

February 17th, 2017 8:30am

2017/18 Weather Forecast

Terry O’Reilly | Host CBC’s Under the Influence

10:00am

Global Economic Outlook

Richard Brown | Director, GIRA

10:45am

North American Cattle Market Outlook

11:30am

Emissions Pricing in North America and Impacts on Agriculture

Brian Perillat | Manager & Senior Analyst Canfax Duane Lenz | General Manager, Cattle - Fax David Carriere | President, Centennial Foodservice

(Subject to change)

Art Douglas | Creighton University Mike Beretta | CEO & President, Beretta Farms – One Earth Farms Dina Ignjatovic | Economist, Agriculture Services, TD Bank Doug Lacombe | President, & Founder, Communicatto Jennifer Winter | Director, Energy & Environmental Policy, U of C For more information and to register visit:

www.abiconference.ca Exhibitor space and sponsorship available

Attend Alberta’s Premiere Beef Industry Event Workshops | Tradeshow | Education Sessions Networking | Social Functions

 policy

By Charlie Gracey

An industry in Crisis Is there a way back? Cow-calf producers hold the key

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 F e e d e r st e e r ca lf p r i c es $300.00

Q4 W. Canada $/cwt

$250.00 $200.00 $150.00 $100.00 $50.00

prices producers apparently decided that they were better off selling a high proportion of their heifers instead of expanding their herds. Prices were, after all the best they had seen in a decade.

But 2011 and 2012 were merely prologues of what was to come. In 2013 a new record fourth-quarter average price of $163 per cwt reinforced the view that they were better off again to cash in on heifer sales and once again any latent plans to expand the herd were put on hold.

Then along came 2014 and the average price of steer calves shot up to $282 per cwt and the previous record was utterly smashed by $120 per cwt on weaned calves, or something like $600 per head. Two related thoughts must have entered the minds of many cow-calf producers at that time. One, such prices could not possibly last, followed quickly by the related thought that one might as well cash in while they lasted.

Even as cattle-feeding losses began to pile up replacement prices remained very strong throughout 2015, due primarily to tight supplies that were made tighter still by continuing export demand from U.S. cattle feeders.

So, despite four successive years of strong and rising replacement prices the beef cow herd continued to shrink and the best that can be said is that numbers appear now to have stabilized.

2016

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cattle-feeding industry that by year-end will have lost an estimated billion dollars since August 2015 plus a cow-calf sector that has lost more than one million cows and over 20,000 producers in the past decade strongly suggests an industry in crisis.

Cattle feeders might be excused if they are not quite as optimistic about the state of affairs in the industry as some industry spokespersons appear to be. According to data from Canfax cattle-feeding losses since August of 2015 have been extremely large and painful, averaging about $18 per cwt (live wt. basis).

On the one million steers and heifers marketed in the last five months of 2015 and weighing an average of 1,450 lbs. this works out to a loss of $260 million last year. Continuing losses in 2016 up to October averaged about $21 per cwt and were expected to continue at that rate to year-end, adding another $760 million in the red. So by year-end the cattle-feeding industry will have absorbed a total loss of roughly one billion dollars — a huge destruction of capital for this industry.

Broadly speaking the losses in 2015 may be attributed mainly to the record prices paid for feeder cattle, and, to be fair, much of this total loss was largely preordained the day the cattle were placed on feed. The losses in 2016 were compounded by sustained declines in the market price of fed cattle approximately $50 per cwt when you average it from the short-lived peak of $200 per cwt in May and June of 2015 to October 2016 of $132 per cwt.

This sheds some light on the collective decision by cow-calf producers not to expand their herds just yet. The July 1 beef cow inventory increased less than 0.5 per cent, by a mere 12,000 head, over the year previous. Since Statistics Canada often revises its numbers this increase must be regarded as negligible.

The decline in the national beef cow herd has primarily been the result of a mass exodus of producers while those remaining held their herds nearly static. This exodus is worrisome.

It primarily began in the fall of 2011, and continued in 2012, when the price of steer calves in the fourth quarter climbed to $156 per cwt, a price not seen since the previous record year in 2000. After a decade of low

In 2016 feeder calf prices have more or less been in a steady and sometimes rapid decline, retreating nearly $100 per cwt and just beginning to approach a break-even price for the cattle feeder.

It is difficult to imagine how cow-calf producers will be persuaded to expand their herds under conditions of rapidly falling prices when rapidly rising prices over the past three years failed to elicit any response.

So a closer look at cow herd statistics is in order.

Between 2006 and 2016 the beef cow herd declined by 27 per cent and, since the average herd size increased only slightly from 61 to 63 head, it is certain that the number of beef cow herds has declined at least 30 per cent from 83,000 to about 62,000 in 2016. That’s a loss of 21,000 herds. This rather huge exodus of entire beef cow herds from the industry has received surprisingly little comment despite the irrefutable fact that the commercial beef cow herd is the essential foundation of the entire industry.

Thus, if the industry is not doomed to become a permanently shrunken industry there needs to be some serious thought given to measures that might stimulate herd expansion or, at the very least, quell the current long-term decline.

Since most herds are sized to the carrying capacity of the farm or ranch on which they are located the exodus of producers is more

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troubling than the decline in cow numbers.

Until the land owned by exiting producers is bought or rented by a new or expanding producer that production base is lost to the indusry. So it comes to this: if a way can’t be found to use the land withdrawn from cow-calf production the national herd cannot expand significantly.

A smaller production base also means we cannot fully exploit the increased market access for Canadian beef that has recently been achieved with so much effort. To fully enjoy the benefits of the “Canadian beef advantage” we require adequate supplies to meet the growing export demand for our product. The reality, however, is that no increase in salable beef supplies can be expected before 2020.

Is there a way back?

One factor frequently mentioned to explain this herd attrition is the steadily advancing age of cow-calf producers. This is caused, obviously, by the entry of insufficient younger producers to stabilize and even reduce the average age. This creates some unique problems for the industry, and possibly some real opportunities.

On the downside the advancing age of producers means fewer may be inclined to do all the things necessary to optimize the output of their cow herd and new industry initiatives such as “sustainable beef ” and “verified beef production” that require more intensive management and documentation of the practices involved. These procedures that range all the way from prudent sire selection to procedures involving vaccinations, implanting (or the lack of), pregnancy testing and health surveillance generally involve more intensive individual animal management.

The necessity of these tasks undoubtedly figures into the decision of some to exit the industry. Undoubtedly there have been other provocations, as well; the cost and inconvenience of national ID, for example, which to date has failed to deliver the promised direct benefits associated with information. I do not question the necessity of a national identification program. The failure has been in using it to deliver tangible benefits back to the producers who bear the cost of the program.

In the last decade we have lost at least 20,000 producers, which severely restricts the future potential of the industry. While diminished in number these aging cow-calf producers do own grazing lands and still maintain the necessary fencing and provide the basics necessary to maintain our current commercial cow herd. However, they www.canadiancattlemen.ca

may be less inclined to carry out the more intensive practices mentioned above.

Earlier I noted that the industry has just come through a period where cow-calf returns were exceptionally high and feedlot returns disastrously low. The industry has been through cycles before where one sector enjoyed success while the other languished.

Is this the only way a modern industry can function?

The question is whether the industry can find a way to work around these boom-and-bust cycles by establishing a closer working relationship between the cow-calf and feedlot sector

I believe we have reached a point where feedlot operators could consider a more proactive role, offering a mutually beneficial agreement with some of these cow-calf operations. This could range from some advice on breeding or animal health practices, and maybe even some assistance, in exchange for an informal or formal undertaking that the feedlot would purchase the weaned calves.

This could be a mutually beneficial arrangement. It would allow the aging herd owner to remain fully current on all of the procedures now recommended, and hopefully allow him or her to continue in the business for a few more years. Ideally, it might excite some interest as well in the next generation to continue in this vein while maintaining ownership of an appreciat-

ing land base. For the feedlot operator the advantage of a reliable supply of cattle bred and backgrounded to his needs are obvious.

They could also share the savings in marketing and transportation costs.

Ideas like this would surely need some fleshing out but it strikes me some sort of co-operation will be needed if we are to halt this continual erosion of the industry.

Two obvious hurdles are the likely reluctance of cow-calf producers to share their decision-making autonomy with anyone and the fact feedlot operators may not have much interest in the output of small herds.

The first difficulty might be addressed by some sort of contractual arrangement where the cattle would be placed on feed at an agreed break-even price for the weaned calf that specifies the sharing of profits and losses. The second will take more ingenuity. The average western herd has 70 cows (50 in the East) producing an average 30 steers a year and, in a static herd, about 18 heifers, and yet the majority of cows is in smaller herds.

Another problem with this approach is that at various times either the cow-calf producer or the feedlot operator would be reluctant to commit to a contractual agreement when, in the case of the cow-calf operator, weaned calf prices were very high or, in the case of feedlot operators, very low.

Still it should be apparent that the ultimate returns to the entire sector are expressed as the final market price and, to date at least, one sector benefits at the expense of the other, as has been so very recently demonstrated. The question is whether the industry can find a way to work around these boom-and-bust cycles by establishing a closer working relationship and information exchange between the cow-calf and feedlot sectors.

Such arrangements have been made very successfully within the pork industry but neither of the problems noted above are apparent in that sector where contract pricing is well established and herd size is not remotely a problem where a small breeding herd of 100 sows will produce over 2,000 weaned pigs per year.

It is not my purpose, or within my competence, to outline how these arrangements might be made. What I am sure of is that the status quo hasn’t worked out very well over the last few decades and a continued decline in the number of cow-calf producers, if not somehow reversed, will continue to blight the prospects of the entire industry. c Charlie Gracey is an industry analyst living in Ontario.

C a t t l e m e n · D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 6

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 vet aDvi c e

Bovine TB: An Old Disease, A Modern Enigma

T

he TB investigation in southeastern Alberta continues to unfold.

The riddle of where it came from and finding ways to deal with the relative “stranger at our door” is unnerving.

When the views of an anxious livestock industry, a federal regulatory agency, and a probing public collide, the task of disease control approaches unmanageable. Add the lack of human and physical resources created by the never-ending cycle of government fiscal acrobatics: the task becomes herculean.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient disease and remains important in humans and animals worldwide. The human tubercle bacillus infects an estimated two billion persons or approximately one-third of the world’s population, and it is estimated that 1.5 to two million people die from human tuberculosis annually.

The bovine strain (Mycobacterium bovis) is but one species transmitted to humans from animals. M. bovis accounts for only a small percentage of reported cases of TB in humans.

At one time, TB’s presence in Canadian cattle reached an estimated prevalence of four per cent of the national herd. The first major thrust in reducing the threat of bovine TB transmission to humans started with the inception of Canada’s meat inspection system in 1907. The Canadian tuberculosis eradication program was established in 1923. Sweeping advances in eliminating the threat of bovine TB in humans started through the late 1930s and 1940s with the advent of milk pasteurization. The milestone achievement of 0.11 per cent prevalence (statistical freedom) was achieved in 1961, by which time 50 million tests had been applied with 400,000 reactors slaughtered at the cost of $15,000,000 in indemnity.

The depopulation of TB-exposed animals became an important element in the Canadian eradication program beginning in 1978. Between 1979 and 1984, Agriculture Canada reviewed and redesigned the surveillance program, shifting away from test and slaughter to herd depopulation.

The cornerstone of this new policy was the complete depopulation of all infected or exposed animals, with compensation paid to the owners.

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Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious disease of both animals and humans. Prior to the advent of eradication measures, bovine TB existed as a major disease of man and domestic animals. M. bovis persists in humans, causing pulmonary and extrapulmonary disease. Unlike transmission of M. bovis from cattle to humans, the role of human-to-human airborne transmission in the spread of M. bovis is controversial. The predominant view has been that human-tohuman transmission is rare. Wild animals (bison, elk, deer, badgers , feral swine, opossum) may be important reservoirs of infection for domestic food-producing animals.

In Canada, bovine TB is a reportable disease under the Health of Animals Act, and all cases must be reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). CFIA leads and directs investigations of TB in animals.

Re-emergence of an old disease like TB raises many questions. The very nature of the disease, makes “getting it right” difficult. Although bovine TB has been a part of Canadian disease control endeavours for 93 years, its re-emergence in a southern Alberta cattle herd has stymied many in the ranching industry. Beyond the glut of questions about where it came from and how many herds are involved are concerns about the huge economic consequence that lay in the wake.

For a century we have understood that systems need to be developed in parallel with scientific skills to monitor, diagnose and maintain disease surveillance programs.

Ongoing adjustments in how disease is controlled are necessary, yet the USDA announcement in late September, that a case of bovine TB in a cow from Alberta had been detected through routine post-mortem inspection at slaughter caught many flat footed.

It seems Canada no longer possesses the veterinary manpower to initiate an effective disease control response. A fact that frustrated owners of the 36 herds quarantined (at the time of writing). The ability to test, conduct investigations and oversee disposal activity appeared delayed or protracted.

The short supply of tuberculin also forced delays in conducting tests.

The tuberculin skin test, considered antiquated after nearly a century, remains the primary screening test for bovine TB,

something that must change in light of technology advances in both Europe and North America. The ability to conduct blood tests or chute-side diagnostics must become a research priority.

Reports indicate that transmission of TB occurred within the index herd. Perhaps another five animals have been detected with TB-like lesions. The bacteria causing TB can lie dormant and undetected in an infected animal for years. The presence of in-herd transmission opens the question of, what other infection might exist in contact herds associated with the index herd, especially within a community pasture setting? The biosecurity lapses connected with community grazing arrangements have always been a concern as it relates to infectious disease.

The industry needs to address options.

Detailed genotyping (molecular fingerprinting, spoligotyping) of M. bovis isolates identified in the investigation raises other questions. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported the strain of Mycobacterium bovis found in southeastern Alberta is “closely related” to a strain originating from cattle in central Mexico in 1997. The “how” and “why” remain unanswered.

Some concern has been expressed about the presence of large numbers of elk in and around land grazed by quarantined herds.

No evidence to date suggests that elk are involved or affected by the presence of M. bovis, but potential involvement represents an unfortunate risk at this time.

The human factor in all this is truly an unwelcome element in the entire episode.

Timing for the many ranchers involved could not be worse. Marketing calves has been suspended. Many involved are not prepared to feed calves that must remain on ranches. Disaster relief is never quick, or substantive enough.

Effective disease control requires diligence, communication and common sense.

May these prevail? 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

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 Free Mar k et R e flect i o n s

By Steve Dittmer

Canadian cattlemen and Trump

W

e put on our most entertaining presidential campaign ever down here for Canadian cattlemen. Now, it’s on to a whole new reality on both sides of the border. What can Canadians expect from President Trump?

There is definite good news. Three times before in American history, an administration has applied a free market, supply-side approach to our economy: cutting tax rates, cutting regulation, cutting spending and encouraging trade with the co-operation of Congress. Presidents William G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge did it postFirst World War in the early 1920s; President John F. Kennedy set it in motion and President Lyndon Johnson carried it out in the 1960s; President Ronald Reagan did it in the 1980s.

The result each time: an economic boom that lasted for many years. Reagan’s boom that began with economic conditions much worse than President Trump will face, lasted well into the 1990s because President Bill Clinton was smart enough to leave the economy alone.

So we know supply-side economics works and we have three examples of the country trying Keynesian economics, that is, controlling the economy through government spending: Presidents Herbert Hoover/Franklin Roosevelt (Great Depression), Presidents Nixon/Ford/Carter in the 1970s and President Obama.

All demonstrated that Keynesian policy does not work. Relevant here, many believe passage of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 was a key factor in the length and depth of the Great Depression. Raising tariffs on 20,000 imports, it cut imports by half and countries worldwide retaliated.

Strengthening the good news, House Republicans have been working for years on a tax reform package very similar to what Trump outlined during the campaign, so quick action should be possible. That would mean cutting the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35 per cent (the world’s highest) to 15 per cent for corporations of all sizes; cutting individual income

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tax rates significantly while simplifying (with fewer brackets) and streamlining (with fewer deductions); allowing immediate expensing of business investment instead of long-term depreciation; elimination of the death tax and allowing repatriation at 10 per cent of literally trillions earned by American companies overseas parked there to avoid the 35 per cent tax.

Beyond tax reform is the elimination of a long list of regulations implemented by presidential executive orders and overreaching federal agencies. Trump has promised to concentrate on opening up energy production, certain to include getting rid of regulations that handicap fracking, the development of energy on federal lands, and the power and coal industries, and approving the Keystone XL pipeline.

While some of this is competitive to Canadian energy interests, some of the economic growth in the U.S. should also raise demand for Canadian energy and agricultural minerals. The pipelines should certainly cut the cost of exporting Canadian energy.

Another likely move is the early repeal of Obamacare, which has not done what it promised for citizens, damaged the healthcare industry in America and been a drag on business growth and expansion.

If Trump can get these moves through Congress, the U.S. economy could, relatively quickly, see some significant growth from what still feels like a recession. A strong economy with companies being able to make money, expand and invest, create jobs and pay better wages, should make the U.S. a better customer for Canadian cattle, calves and beef, giving your whole production chain a boost. Longer term, the U.S. economy lifting the world economy should help create demand for Canadian beef and grains in markets around the world.

The uncertainty centres mainly around trade: NAFTA and the possible failure for TPP. Multiple moving parts began moving on the trade front right after the election: • The White House, after claiming they had the votes for TPP, supposedly threw in the towel.

• The week after the election the agriculture

industry started reaching out to the Congressional leadership and Trump transition team to explain that dumping TPP and wrecking NAFTA would be terrible for the agriculture sector, which voted heavily for Trump.

• The auto industry will certainly join in on NAFTA. It has constructed complex supply chains among the three countries, based not just on labour costs but on Free Trade Agreements Mexico has with the EU covering freight costs, margins on small cars. Auto companies have some complaints about TPP but the negotiation, especially those involving Japan, covered how to balance tariffs in worldwide supply chains.

• Much of the economy depends on trade and, hopefully, many industries will apply pressure to Congress and/or Trump’s team in the lame duck congressional session.

• Trump claimed to be a free trader but wrecking trade agreements does not follow. Derailing TPP would play into the hands of China, allowing it to dominate the Pacific region economically and diplomatically.

• Trump’s blue-collar Rust Belt supporters want jobs. They care more about that bottom line than how it is accomplished but they never called for a trade war that could severely damage present jobs much less ruin the chances for new ones.

Early in the Trump transition, a leaked memo indicated the transition team was thinking of reviving COOL as part of its plan to renegotiate NAFTA. No such move had been broached with the Trump Agricultural Advisory Committee which immediately responded that COOL was not to be considered. It had already been litigated, repealed, and was dead. Politico’s Morning Agriculture reported a Trump surrogate attended R-CALF’s annual convention in August. That would explain a heap. c Steve Dittmer is the CEO of Agribusiness Freedom Foundation, a non-profit group promoting free market principles throughout the food chain. He can be reached at steve@agfreedom.ag.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

How to prepare for more environmental scrutiny Water quality and soil health expected to be main targets

Canada’s beef producers can be proud of their environmental track record, particularly recent efforts to build sustainability into the beef brand. But industry feedback also suggests that back on the farm, producers want to make sure programs don’t overpromise, and that what is promised to meet rising expectations can be implemented.

The anchor for the environmental side of the new Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) program is the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP).

Ontario’s Environmental Farm Plan program celebrated its 25th anniversary recently. That’s a tribute to the province’s foresight and recognition of the importance of environmental care in building public trust. It’s also an opportunity for all of Canada to learn about program effectiveness going forward.

What we learned

Here’s what might be useful from the Ontario experience in building the Canadawide template under VBP+, according to Dan Ferguson. He’s a beef producer, Ontario provincial VBP+ co-ordinator and involved in the national rollout of VBP+.

Producer benefits. The Ontario EFP program brought many producers to a greater understanding of their environmental impact on their own properties and on society in general, says Ferguson.

The risk assessment on farm and action

While not mandatory, cattle operations with environmental farm plans are well on their way to meet the stewardship outcomes of VBP+.

plans works well and establishes a priority for driving farm improvements. Workshops kept producers abreast of initiatives and program criteria.

Collectively this dramatically improved land management and conservation. And the public gets a better understanding of farming’s proactive stance and can judge for themselves the track record.

Public views of EFP. Mostly the public can only feel good about the progress under EFPs, says Ferguson. “The key is to get messages into a format that consumers can see and understand. Having a plan that shows our best practices and highlights our diligence and ingenuity is a great step forward in social conscience.”

Most effective actions. The most significant actions under EFP were in terms of water quality and soil health. That included

everything from farm well management to riparian areas to managing manure, controlling run-off, pasture management and cattle watering systems.

As well, producers got a much better understanding of indirect risks such as management of pesticides, petroleum and fertilizers.

EFP and VBP+. More producers these days understand VBP’s food safety origins.

The enhanced version now provides a onestop shop for proof of involvement in all aspects of sustainable production including environment, says Ferguson.

One clear message is producers want a way to reach consumers with effective messaging about the things they are doing for the benefit of all of society.

National progress

There is progress nationally.

New research on the beef industry’s environmental footprint will help anchor messaging and programming. A benchmark of farms fed into the recent environmental life cycle analysis released in October 2016. And there is continual progress under VBP+ in accommodating the differences in the EFP programs in provinces across Canada.

Producers can expect that the added module for land management and conservation is built clearly on the solid foundation of environmental farm plans. Ferguson believes the Ontario experience can be a valuable part of that.

B U I L D I N G T R U S T T H R O U G H S U S TA I N A B L E B E E F P R O D U C T I O N

 straigh t f ro m t h e h i p

By Brenda Schoepp

The Value of Beef

B

eef remains the most valuable protein in the world. Surprisingly, the approximately 128 billion pounds now produced globally each year could supply each person on earth with 18 pounds. The imbalance in income and the lack of distribution in some places along with the massive per capita consumption in beef-producing countries like Argentina and the United States, keeps a wide spread between those who can access beef and those who cannot.

In the last 40 years, or the time span that I have been involved in the beef industry, global beef production has gone from approximately 95 billion pounds to the highest historical levels of 2014 when we stretched well over 131 billion pounds. Although beef consumption in that 40-year time span has increased slightly in some developing countries from a little over four kg per capita to seven kg per capita, the global average of 10 kg per capita has not changed. This tells us that despite more beef an increase in consumption in developing countries has been offset in developed countries by per capita consumption decreases. There also remains an uneven ability to access or afford the product.

There is also a disconnect with the largest producers of cattle and the largest producers of beef. As cattle vary in breed, size, and purpose and in diet, the higher producing countries of cattle are not necessarily the largest contributors of beef. India remains the world’s largest producer of cattle followed by Brazil and China. Collectively they own 64 per cent of the global bovine population. The world’s largest producers of beef, however, are the United States, Brazil and the EU. These three produce nearly half the beef on earth.

More than 98 per cent of the global population of cattle does not reside in Canada, yet Canada is the sixth-largest exporter of beef and is expecting to hold just over four per cent of the export trade through 2016.

India, Brazil, Australia and the United States control 68 per cent of the world beef export trade with India in the lead.

In terms of value, the retail price of beef varies wildly from place to place. Based on a kg of round in Canadian dollars the Swiss pay the most at $62.05/kg followed by Norway at $37.55, then Iceland at $31.18/kg, Italy $30.84, Hong Kong $27.96 and South Korea $26.64.

Those big traders like India price a kg of round at $5.84/kg, Brazil $9.64 and China at $13.37. In many countries beef is priced under $5/kg but few can afford it, or access it. A kilogram of beef in one-third of reporting countries costs the equivalent of a month’s wages.

Regardless of where you go in the world, with the exception of specific religious beliefs, beef is desired and seen as a high-value food. What is it that makes it so spe-

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cial and why should we strive to ensure that every person has the opportunity to consume beef?

Nutritionally beef is a superior product, specifically when it comes to fetal development, the development of young and growing children and maintaining health in the elderly. High in vitamin B12, zinc and iron, beef is considered a superfood for the brain.

One of the most powerful advocates for beef is Dr. Sangita Sharma PhD, endowed chair in Aboriginal health, professor in Aboriginal and global health, at the University of Alberta, who promotes beef in diets around the world because of the huge impact it has, particularly on the fetus and the young child.

She gives us some examples to fully appreciate the nutrient density of beef. When it comes to iron, 75 gm of beef is equivalent to 3.5 cups of spinach and for zinc 75 gm of beef matches four cans of tuna and for the brainy B12 one would have to consume 2.5 chicken breasts to meet the equivalent of 75 gm of beef. Beef is not only easy to prepare but so little is required because of its nutrient density. The vitamin B12 found in beef is especially important for fighting fatigue, depression, neuropathy and confusion. After the age of 60 years an adult has to be supplemented with B12.

A lack of iron results in poor growth and can be the culprit behind impaired development and chronic fatigue. It is especially important for girls and women as they deplete iron through menstruation. Zinc contributes to a healthy birth weight and is needed for the body to heal itself.

With the average consumption globally at 10 kg per capita for those with access to affordable beef, we have a long stretch ahead of us to ensure the dietary needs of the masses are met. Too many go without the privilege of ever tasting beef let alone having it in their diets.

The results as we know are heartbreaking with maternal issues plaguing many countries and children eating carbohydrate-based meals with little protein substitution.

The protein-deprived body makes for a weak baby, a listless mother, an academic-struggling teen or an angry man. The nutrient density in beef makes it part of the hunger solution.

Closer to home Dr. Sharma asks the simple question regarding domestic sales and consumption: why is beef not labelled with its nutritional values? Good question.

If the consequence of a society of privilege is choice, an informative nutritional label can help parents make the right choices for their unborn and newborn children, for themselves and their aging parents so they may fully appreciate the value of beef. c Contact Brenda through her website: www.brendaschoepp.com.

All rights reserved. Brenda Schoepp 2016

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 animal ca r e

By Debbie Furber

Grounds for a failed feedlot audit Canadian feedlot animal care assessment — Part 7

A

nimal neglect generally brings to mind images of pets and farm animals lacking adequate feed, water and shelter. While these are serious acts of neglect, so too is trying too hard to keep failing animals alive.

The Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program places “failing to euthanize a distressed animal in a timely manner” at the top of the list of egregious acts of neglect that are grounds for automatic failure of the animal care audit.

Failing to euthanize emaciated chronically diseased or injured animals and ineffective euthanasia are also grounds for audit failure regardless of how well a feedlot scores on all other aspects of the audit.

Having a written protocol for euthanasia and salvage slaughter will help make the decisions easier.

The auditor will verify that your protocol includes the requirement to euthanize animals in a timely manner, meaning without delay unless otherwise recommended by your feedlot veterinarian, animals that: • Are severely injured or non-ambulatory and unable to recover, or cannot be salvage slaughtered in a humane manner without delay, for example a broken leg or jaw.

• Are non-ambulatory and emaciated (body condition score less than two out of five).

• Have severe pain, distress or continuous

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weight loss and are unlikely to recover after all courses of treatment, for example, necrotic club foot with open infected wound or chronic respiratory disease with mouth breathing and emaciation.

• Have no prospect for improvement after two days of intensive care.

The euthanasia protocol must include requirements that non-ambulatory cattle must not be dragged or forced to move before euthanasia or emergency slaughter, and not moved until confirmed dead. Information should be provided on correct placement and direction of the gunshot or captive bolt as illustrated in the Beef Code of Practice, how to confirm insensibility and death (inability to raise head, widely dilated pupils, no blink when eyeball is touched, no respiration or heartbeat); and what to do if the first shot doesn’t render the animal insensible.

Effective euthanasia is when an animal is rendered dead immediately after the first shot. Acceptable devices include a penetrating captive bolt with a secondary kill step, 22 Magnum, shotgun and high-powered rifle. If death cannot be confirmed, a second shot must be immediately delivered to render the animal dead. Ineffective euthanasia is when an animal is not rendered dead after three shots with or without a secondary kill step or administration of euthanasia drugs by a licensed veterinarian.

Effective stunning for salvage slaughter requires that an animal be rendered insensible by gunshot or captive bolt and then rendered dead with a secondary kill step, such as jugular/carotid exsanguination, conducted by a licensed veterinarian or mobile butcher. Ineffective stunning occurs when an animal is not rendered insensible after the gunshot and dead after the secondary kill step.

Other egregious acts of neglect that result in automatic audit failure include failing to provide daily feed to cattle; provide timely assistance to a heifer known to be calving; assist a distressed newborn calf; immediately assist and provide medical care to a non-ambulatory animal; provide free-choice access to water to cattle in feeding pens; and provide water to nonambulatory animals.

Among the wilful acts of abuse listed as grounds for automatic failure are: • Dragging conscious animals by any part of the body except when a non-ambulatory animal must be moved from a lifethreatening situation.

• Slamming gates against cattle unless for human safety.

• Deliberate application of prods to sensitive areas (face, udder, testicles, vulva, bum).

• Maliciously hitting animals anywhere on the body with a closed fist, foot, handling equipment, or other hard objects.

• Deliberately driving cattle by any means to cause them to bunch up on top of one another.

• Abdominal surgery (rumen fistula, C-section, spaying) and rectal/vaginal/ uterine prolapse replacements with sutures or amputations performed without anesthetic or analgesia by unqualified, untrained persons.

• Euthanasia by means other than approved guns or euthanasia drugs given by a licensed veterinarian.

• Shipping cattle unfit for transport as per Canadian livestock transport regulations.

If a wilful act of neglect or abuse is witnessed, the auditor must immediately stop the situation if it is safely possible to do so, and report the incident to the feedlot guide, feedlot owner and manager.

This ends our series on the new Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program. Contact your provincial cattle feeder association for the link to all program documents on the National Cattle Feeders Association’s website, or contact the NCFA, 403-769-1519, info@cattlefeeders.ca. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 prime cuts

By Steve Kay

Trump threatens NAFTA and more

T

he integration of North America’s cattle/beef sector is one of the outstanding success stories of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which took effect at the start of 1994. The sectors in all three countries have thrived under NAFTA, with all classes of cattle entering the U.S. and beef flowing in all directions.

Trade data reveal just how important this integrated trade is. The U.S. imported 1.15 million feeder cattle from Mexico in 2015.

This was up 3.5 per cent on 2014. Imports are down this year but totalled 712,740 head to the end of October. The U.S. imported 830,000 head of several classes of Canadian cattle in 2015, down 33 per cent on 2014.

Imports by the end of October were down slightly from last year at 654,284 head. The U.S. exports few cattle but Canada and Mexico are the top two destinations.

The beef trade is even more dynamic in terms of two-way movement between all three countries. Canada is the U.S.’s fourthlargest export market in terms of volume and second-largest in terms of value. Volume in 2015 was 324 million pounds (carcass weight basis) valued at US$925 million.

Conversely, the U.S. in 2015 imported 628 million pounds of Canadian beef. The total value of Canadian cattle and beef exports

to the U.S. in 2015 was C$3.714 billion, the largest value since 2002.

Mexico is just as important a market for U.S. beef exports, as it is second in volume and third in value. It took 363 million pounds in 2015 worth US$852 million.

Perhaps surprisingly, Mexico exported 372 million pounds of beef to the U.S. last year, slightly exceeding imports of U.S. beef.

That volume was up 26 per cent on the year before.

However, this long-established multibillion dollar North American trade and other trade with Mexico are now under a dark cloud because of Donald Trump’s shock victory in the U.S. presidential election. While campaigning, Trump vowed to put heavy tariffs on imports (such as a 35 per cent tariff on vehicles made in Mexico), the erection of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and to renegotiate or leave NAFTA. Another vow is to remove illegal immigrants from the U.S. and severely restrict new immigrants.

One can only hope that as president, he softens his stance on these and other vows.

But these are his campaign promises, so there are legitimate concerns throughout the U.S. beef industry and all of agriculture.

Both use immigrants from many countries as a vital part of their workforce, from the

ranch or farm to the food processing plant.

Beef processors just before the election told me their biggest issue is a shortage of skilled workers.

As if this wasn’t worrying enough, Trump’s election is likely a fatal blow to the U.S. joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He adamantly opposes the TPP and there’s little likelihood Congress will pass it in its lame-duck session. Ironically, many Republican lawmakers support the TPP. But who can imagine them voting for it when their president-elect so opposes it?

Joining the TPP is crucial for the U.S. meat industry and all of agriculture. More than 50 per cent of U.S. farm products by value would enter Japan duty-free if the U.S. voted to join the TPP. Japan would reduce its 38.5 per cent tariff on fresh, chilled and frozen U.S. beef by 77 per cent over 15 years.

The U.S. beef industry is losing US$400,000 per day without the TPP. Australian beef already enjoys a lower tariff and Canadian beef soon will. Yet the U.S. industry might have to live with this competitive disadvantage for at least four more years. c A North American view of the meat industry.

Steve Kay is publisher and editor of Cattle Buyers Weekly.

– Jen G., Standard, Alberta, AWC Delegate

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C a t t l e m e n · D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 6 39

Advancing Women Conference WEST 2017 / Canadian Cattlemen / 7” x 3.357”

 CCA repo rts

By Dan Darling

Trade front and centre

T

he Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) has long understood the important role of trade and market access in securing longterm competitiveness for the beef industry. We have expended much time and money over many years to ensure trade pacts produce meaningful results for beef producers and enable trade to flow unimpeded. As important as securing the right terms in agreements are the ongoing advocacy and relationship building activities we undertake to maximize opportunities around the world for Canadian beef and beef products and to ward off the creation of new barriers.

The latest focus of such efforts is a strategy to deal with the unresolved technical barriers in the European Union that if left unresolved can significantly undermine the potential for Canadian beef exports under the ComprehensiveEconomic and Trade Agreement (CETA). I have personally discussed CETA with International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland on numerous occasions and am confident that the minister fully appreciates the desire of the Canadian beef industry to gain true meaningful access to the EU. As part of our effort, CCA was represented by foreign trade vice-chair Doug Sawyer in Brussels last month just prior to Canada signing the agreement to highlight the immense potential of CETA for the Canadian beef sector but also to emphasize the need to resolve the outstanding technical barriers. CCA representatives in Uruguay for the World Meat Congress also had opportunity to discuss the technical issues with European industry counterparts attending the meeting there.

The nature of the unresolved issues in CETA involves the approval of important anti-microbial treatments used in Canadian packing facilities. The Canadian Meat Council, representing federally inspected packers is taking the lead on preparing the dossiers to submit to the European Food Safety Authority to demonstrate the efficacy of citric acid and peroxyacetic acid in reducing bacteria such as E. coli in red meat processing.

In mid-November, following discussion by the CCA foreign trade committee, I had the opportunity to present the CCA’s view on CETA to the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on International Trade. The CCA is supporting the implementation of the CETA and passage of legislation to do so, but we have three conditions.

First, we will expect a commitment from the Government of Canada to develop and fully fund a comprehensive strategy utilizing technical, advocacy and political skills to achieve the elimination of the remaining nontariff barriers to Canadian beef.

Second, we expect that any EU beef or veal imported into Canada is in full compliance with Canadian food safety requirements.

Third, we expect that the beef sector will be afforded

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C a t t l e m e n · D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 6

the same consideration as other sectors in terms of Government of Canada investment into both beef processing and beef producer operations to help us comply with the complexities of the EU market.

I am pleased to see that Japan ratified the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in November. As a result of this, coupled with the uncertainty in the U.S. over the future of the TPP, CCA is seeking a renewed focus on a Canada-Japan bilateral agreement that could embrace the important details that were negotiated for market access in the TPP. The CCA supports forward-thinking trade pacts like the TPP which ensure Canadian beef producers can compete fairly in a global marketplace, create jobs for Canadians and contribute to the economic growth and long-term prosperity of the country. Ensuring meaningful trade was the reason CCA past president Dave Solverson travelled to Beijing as part of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay’s trade mission to China. Importers and exporters he met with in Beijing expressed a keen interest in boosting supplies of Canadian beef under the staged agreement Canada has with China. Industry feels the bone-in access will be a big improvement and will lead to more commercially viable trade. There seemed to be a desire to progress to chilled beef as well. We will continue to work toward creating more opportunities for beef exports to China.

In the U.S., president-elect Donald Trump will need to address his campaign promises to renegotiate and improve existing trade agreements. However, there is no need to worry about those agreements being “torn up” — what’s more likely is they are renegotiated. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signaled that he is interested in renegotiating NAFTA. While the mechanism to do this has yet to be decided, there are ample opportunities to negotiate through existing working groups and initiatives (such as the U.S. Regulatory Co-operation Council, of which CCA is a member) that are set up for precisely that purpose.

The CCA will be prepared to continue its excellent working relationships with our U.S. counterparts and looks forward to getting to know the people who will be taking up roles in the Trump administration. The Obama administration will continue into mid-January until the inauguration of Trump on Friday, January 20, 2017. In the meantime, Trump will be selecting his advisers and naming his cabinet in a transition process that will continue well into the spring and summer of 2017.

The CCA will work closely with Canadian government officials and the embassy in Washington, D.C. to continue to ensure the interests of Canadian beef producers are well represented.

And on that note, I would like to take this time to wish you and your family a very happy and joyful holiday season and peace in the new year. c

Dan Darling is president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Tips and tricks to extend the grazing season

By Trudy Kelly Forsythe

Extending the grazing season reduces costs and increases profits, so it makes sense that more and more cattle producers are adopting the practice.

There are a number of extended grazing methods they can consider including swath-, stockpiled- and bale grazing.

Remember, in all grazing situations, it is important to check the cows’ condition every two to three days.

and move bales during the winter. “Bale grazing on pasture during the winter months is very low cost and puts lots of nutrients back into the soil,” says Gerald Bos of Bos Family Farms in Rapid City, Manitoba.

Tips:

SWATH GRAZING Swath grazing allows cattle to graze annual cereals in the swath during the winter. The typical swath, or windrow, is four feet wide and two feet thick.

Tips: Use annual crops, such as late-maturing barley, oats, corn and triticale, for swath grazing as they are more economical than traditional winter feeding systems because they yield the most forage.

Time seeding to ensure that small grains are harvested or swathed just before the killing frost, between late milk and hard dough stages, to maximize forage yield and quality. Seed early for higher yield.

Allocate cattle enough swath area to clean up in two to three days.

Provide a bedded area for the cows to reduce residual wastage in the swaths do to cow dung.

STOCKPILED GRAZING Stockpiled grazing allows cattle to feed on the regrowth on fields that were left specifically for grazing in the fall and

CANADIAN FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION www.canadianfga.ca Ph: 506-260-0872

Photo: Beef Cattle Research Council

early winter. The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) says perennial pastures that include 40 to 50 per cent alfalfa are typically the most economical; meadow brome pastures with high levels of alfalfa are the most optimal for grazing.

Tips: Graze in the fall before the alfalfa leaves fall off the plants.

Determine the date in the summer when the animals are removed from the pasture so it can re-grow for stockpiled use in the fall and winter. Mid-July is a good time to start the rest period on meadow brome pastures.

Limit livestock to two to three days of forage at one time.

BALE GRAZING Bale grazing allows cattle to graze on bales left on pastures and in hayfields earlier in the season. This extends the grazing season and eliminates the need to stack

Calve in sync with Mother Nature so you can bale graze lower-quality forages during the second trimester and in coldest months.

Use electric fencing so cattle can be rotated to new sets of bales every two to five days.

The best option for bale placement is on seeded perennial fields.

Bale grazing on native prairie sites is generally not recommended because native grass species do not respond as well to elevated soil nutrient levels and tame species may invade.

Do not place bales in drainage areas because of manure and urine concentrations around the bales.

MORE INFORMATION For more information on extending your grazing season visit www. beefresearch.ca/research-topic.cfm/ extended-grazing-45 and check out the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry series of producer interviews on how they manage risk in extending the grazing season at www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOUwfF0 1x2YVXr2cBui0KgskBRwZsKwMr.

 TH E IN DUSTRY

NewsRoundup environment A year of firsts for ALUS

A celebration at Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in recognition of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation’s $5 million contribution to the ALUS (alternative land use services) program in support of conservation and agriculture across Canada marked the formal relaunch of ALUS as “ALUS Canada — a Weston Family Initiative” and debut of the New Acre Project.

The Weston family also donated 10,000 prizes to accompany two inaugural awards. Gerry Taillieu, manager of Tomahawk Cattle Ranch west of Edmonton, is the recipient of ALUS Canada’s Producer Innovation Award for outstanding commitment to leadership in farm stewardship producing ecosystem services. The Weston Family Ecosystem Innovation Award went to Dr. Andrew MacDougall, University of Guelph, for his pollinators and biodiversity research.

The special occasion highlights a string of ALUS successes in recent months including an Alberta Emerald Foundation Shared Footprint Award, a Clean 50 Award, and the first ALUS program in Quebec.

Gerry Taillieu of Tomahawk Cattle Ranch received the ALUS Canada’s Producer Innovation Award.

More than 720 farmers and ranchers are now earning income from ALUS projects they designed to suit the needs of their operations and produce ecosystem services from approximately 18,000 acres across the three prairie provinces, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. Plans already in motion call for an expansion

into Nova Scotia and additional Ontario and Alberta communities in 2017.

ALUS Canada partners with local organizations, such as municipal governments, farm and conservation groups with the capacity and passion to bring people together to strike a partnership advisory committee (PAC) and admin-

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NEWS ROUNDUP

ister the program locally. It’s up to each PAC to approve project applications and establish payment amounts for project developments and the ecosystem services each provides.

“I think the acceptance of ALUS and its expansion is because of how ALUS is structured. The decisions are made by local communities and people living and working on the land,” says Taillieu, a member of ALUS Parkland’s PAC since its inception in 2012 as a partnership between ALUS and Parkland County.

He recalls being in the midst of fencing off access to a creek when he first heard about ALUS. The idea of doing more of what he wanted to do and getting paid for it sounded like something right up his

alley. The more he learned, the more he appreciated the positives ALUS offers.

“ALUS helps producers take the desire to look after their land and put it into action with no caveat on the land. The landowner always has control and can opt out if circumstances change,” he explains.

Taillieu’s desire to improve the ranch’s grass and water resources stems back to 2001 when he became manager. Incremental yet significant changes to facilitate practices such as rotational grazing, bale grazing, and off-site watering have increased grass production an estimated fourfold, benefitted animal health, improved weaning weights and boosted overall productivity. The large volume of clean water from a new well and three miles of pasture pipeline installed this year was

beyond his expectations, making expansion of the system a priority in the coming years.

His first ALUS project to finish fencing cattle out of the creek in 2012 was the first for ALUS Parkland as well. This year they took on three other projects to total 226 acres now dedicated to providing ecosystem services. Fencing off a natural pond and the manmade pond built when they excluded the creek was followed by installing a fence around a swampy area thick with spruce and willow to create wildlife habitat and then an additional 120 acres of soft lowland that rarely drains sufficiently for hay or grazing.

The common denominator is that all of the acres are marginal for ranching purposes.

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Continued on page 44

News Roundup STAMPEDE

By Jerry Palen

“Well, Mr. ‘It’s not blowing that hard,’ what about this?”

Continued from page 43

“ALUS targets marginal land. Our productive crops and forage lands are already good, so we don’t want to change those.

The only requirement is that the land has to be bonafide agricultural land that is part of an active farming or ranching operation,” he adds.

While Taillieu is truly honoured to have been selected for the award, he says he is certainly not unique. Lots of people are doing good things. ALUS just helps them along with projects that help clean the air and water, improve biodiversity and create wildlife habitat.

Alberta rancher Daryl Watt is the proud sponsor of the first acre of the New Acre Project. As PAC chair for ALUS Vermilion River and reeve of the partnering County of Vermilion River, he says the Weston donation puts ALUS on solid footing to be able to realize the long-held vision of offering this opportunity to all Canadians as a way to give back to the land and realize a stacked set of benefits for the environment and for agriculture.

Visit www.alus.ca for more information.

The 2017

environment

National EFP being considered

Is a National Environmental Farm Plan achievable? Representatives from all provincial EFP programs and major commodity groups attending the National Environmental Farm Plan Summit to discuss the possibilities believe that where there is a will there is a way.

The November summit in Ottawa closed with strong willingness to move ahead and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and Alberta Wheat Commission volunteering to spearhead the formation of a steering committee to flesh out the concept, reports CFA president Ron Bonnett.

The steering committee will identify considerations that need to be addressed, such as how to develop a unified national program, the types of issues that should be included, and connecting with retailers to make sure the outcome will be acceptable. One of the first orders of business will be to set out a communication strategy to inform producer groups and others involved on progress as this moves along.

Bonnett, who runs a grain, forage and

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N EWS ROUNDUP

cow-calf operation with his wife near Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., recounts the success of provincial EFP programs in Canada dating back to the first pilot program in Ontario in 1993. It started as a way to get out in front of a new government farmers feared would impose environmental regulations. The industry-led approach to developing EFPs has been to provide education and a process that enables producers of all agricultural commodities to voluntarily assess the environmental risks on their operations, identify areas that need to be addressed and outline action plans for improvements with cost-share programs available to implement projects.

The EFP idea spread rather quickly to other provinces with each adapting it to suit unique environmental challenges across diverse agricultural landscapes.

Bonnett says inconsistencies among the provincial EFP programs is one reason behind the interest in developing a national program, but at the same time producers have seen increasing pressure from society for transparency and accountability that go beyond environmental standards. Major retailers are now asking for additional information such as carbon footprints and animal welfare practices.

“The key in all of this seems to be sustainability and public trust.

The challenge for a national program is how to identify what is sustainable and what’s not sustainable to put together an expanded program to address all of the public trust issues. The goal would be to have one common product for domestic and international mar-

1280 ACRE BLOCK of RANCH & FARM LAND FOR SALE NEAR TRANSCANADA HWYS SASK Excellent farm and ranch land 15 minutes north of Parkbeg off the TransCanada Highway. These two sections are in one block with 3 quarters of native grass, 3 quarters of tame hay & grass and currently 2 quarters of lentil stubble. We currently carry 150 cow/ calf pairs that enjoy rotational grazing with several cross fences, 4 good dugouts and natural flowing well.

Mollard and Co. has identified 100,000 yds of gravel on the property suitable for roads and ashfault.

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kets instead of producers having to deal with doing different types of plans for everyone who wants one,” Bonnett explains.

The overarching question of the summit was how a national plan could serve producers as both a stand-alone EFP program with national indicators integrated into regionally based programs and/or integrated into a broader format to address a range of emerging issues.

Attendees heard about unique features of existing provincial EFP programs, such as Quebec’s on-farm verification, Alberta’s protection of species at risk, Prince Edward Island’s online delivery format, British Columbia’s EFP brand, and Ontario’s Sustainable Farm and Food Plan. They also gained insights on identifying risks and accounting for practices to address those risks from commodity groups involved in sustainability initiatives, including the potato, dairy and beef industries; the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops; and the Alberta Farm Sustainability Extension Working Group, as well as complimentary tools such as 4R nutrient management and the Canadian field print calculator.

“We don’t want to duplicate what commodity groups are already doing. The idea is to slot what is already being done into a national framework so that producers will be able to demonstrate that they are doing the right things and communicate this with the public.

I think, once again, we have to respond by getting out in front of these issues, and if we approach this in steps there’s a good chance it will happen,” Bonnett says, adding that he foresees another gathering within the year to move forward with a plan for concrete steps.

Farmers complain quite often about two things: they don’t have enough time or enough money. We have all seen the little phrases that in one form or another brag that farmers work long hours for little pay. It frustrates me to see these memes shared on social media as the message it sends to potential new producers is not very enticing. It makes it sound like it’s okay to farm and not make any money, and implies that this is acceptable and the norm. In their place I would like to share a couple of phrases that I think should be promoted to new and old farmers. Let’s lose the negative attitudes and start thinking positively about our industry.

One of the most memorable phrases that I picked up at the Ranching for Profit school that I attended many years ago was “The most common way to make more money on the farm is to stop doing things.”

We are trained on the farm as kids that the way to make more money is to work harder and do more. This is not always true.

Dave Pratt taught me at this school that the gross margin analysis is one of the most important tools that any farm can have. It is more important than your tractor; it is a powerful tool that allows you to look at your business and find out where it is profitable and where it is not.

It breaks up my operation into profit centres. Because of this I

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Radish to the rescue 10 Winter graze cows on ryegrass 26

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N EWS ROUNDUP

am able to see which production practices are working and which ones are not. If a production practice is not profitable, either you fix it or you get rid of it. If two of your profit centres are making money and one is not, stop working on the losing one. This will give you more time to work on the profit centres that are making money.

Thus solving both issues of time and money.

Last month I wrote in more detail on the gross margin analysis. I would recommend going back to read it if you happened to miss it.

Another phrase that I regularly use came from a book written by Stan Parsons, “If you want to be a cowboy, get a Job.” This is quite a good book in that it describes the importance of running your farm or ranch like a business. It refers to the farmers who love the production side of farming but neglect the business side. The human resources, economics and finance sides of your business are so much more important. If you just want to deal with production practices, you should go work for someone else.

We need to stop making excuses as to why our farms are not profitable and take charge of our own businesses. As farmers and ranchers, we are not running non-profit organizations and we should not be expecting the government to step in every time something goes wrong. Farmers have so many grants available, as well as discounts through our government subsidies. We are so fortunate in our part of the world that we have programs in place to provide crop insurance and drought insurance. Farmers in many countries are not nearly as fortunate.

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“We take pride in knowing we would feel safe consuming any of the crops we sell. If we would not use it ourselves it does not go to market.”

– Katelyn Duncan, Saskatchewan

“The natural environment is critical to farmers – we depend on soil and water for the production of food. But we also live on our farms, so it’s essential that we act as responsible stewards.”

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– Doug Chorney, Manitoba

“The welfare of my animals is one of my highest priorities. If I don’t give my cows a high quality of life they won’t grow up to be great cows.”

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Young farmers: the future of Canada’s agriculture sector

Safe food; animal welfare; sustainability; people care deeply about these things when they make food choices. And all of us in the agriculture industry care deeply about them too. But sometimes the general public doesn’t see it that way. Why? Because, for the most part, we’re not telling them our story and, too often, someone outside the industry is.

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STAMPEDE

By Jerry Palen

News Roundup Continued from page 47

Make Your Decisions Profitable

I am constantly debating with people on my farm Facebook page regarding different issues in agriculture. Too often we are complaining about issues that we have no control over. It’s always the consumers’ fault, another county’s fault, the government’s fault, or it is the weather.

Let’s focus on issues that we can control. You are the manager of your business so if your business is not making a profit, then you are the only one who can fix it.

Determine the profitability of each profit centre and then weigh the risk factors.

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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 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!

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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

# of head

If not an owner/operator of a farm, are you:

 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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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

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Regular Columns Straight from the Hip Prime Cuts CCA Reports

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

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News Roundup Purely Purebred 3

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The Markets 1 Market Talk Sales and Events Special features Calving Issue (Jan.) Custom Feedlot Guide (Sep.) Stock Buyers’ Guide (Aug.) Animal Health Special (Sep.) Beef Watch (May & Nov.)

Comment 5 4 3 2 1 Newsmakers Letters Our History Nutrition Vet Advice Research Free Market Reflections What would you like to see? __________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ 1666 dublin Avenue How much time do you and your family spend reading Canadian Cattlemen?  Under 2 hours  Over 2 hours

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NEWS ROUNDUP

Another quote that I really like is, “You are one decision away from a whole different life.” If a profit centre only makes money every one out of three years, maybe you should be switching to another profit centre. It’s your farm and knowing your numbers makes those decisions easy.

I am regularly criticized for my custom grazing and feeding profit centres. The argument quite often goes something like this: “Well, if you owned the cows, you would not make the same money.” That is exactly right. My margin is better custom grazing than it would be owning cattle. I have determined that for my farm, in my area, with my advantages and my disadvantages, it is more profitable to not own the cows.

That does not mean it will work for you in your area, on your farm, with your advantages and disadvantages. I choose the custom grazing and feeding profit centres.

If the markets were to change, and the margins were to improve in the cow/calf sector, I might buy cows again as I like to keep my options open.

What if everyone in my area went into

HOG HITH

FARM & RANCH EQUIPMENT Ltd

E OU TST

1974

RA ANDING B

♦

ND

2016

custom grazing? The supply would be high and the demand for this service would go down. To compete, I would need to lower my rates.

If the grazing margin and feeding margin decreases, then what happens to the margin of the cow/calf profit centre? It improves.

Then I might switch over to owning cows again. I choose the profit centres I do because I manage my business. Not every farm can do the same things and have the same margins. Our market values are different.

You are the manager of your business and it is up to you to manage. Worry about what you can control.

I apologize if I have offended anyone with these comments but I too become offended by all the negative comments I often hear about farmers and farming.

If you are working too hard for too little pay, maybe you should stop doing the things you are doing? 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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49

 NEWS ABOUT YOU

By Mike Millar

PurelyPurebred

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

 A smokey Charolais cross steer, Ozzie, was slapped Grand Champion Steer at the Queen’s Guineas youth steer show at the Royal Winter Fair. Ozzie was exhibited by Scott Barfett, Wallacetown, Ont..

Grand Champion Bull honours went to SOS CHUCKWAGON 54C, exhibited by Springside Farms, Airdrie, Alta.

Grand Champion Female was WSS ANNABELLE 355A, with calf at side, exhibited by Rollin’ Acres of Mulmur, Ont.

 The 2016 National Charolais Show was a resounding success at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, Ont. The Ontario Charolais Association (OCA) hosted 46 breeders that exhibited 105+ animals. Cattle were sorted November 4

by Kasey Phillips, Waskatenau, Alta., and sparks flew at the National Charolais Sale that averaged $9,400. Compliments to the OCA for filling the house and organizing a first-class video sale.

Dudgeon-Snobelen Land & Cattle, Ripley, Ont., was named Premier Breeder. Premier Exhibitor honours went to Rollin’ Acres, Mulmur, Ont. The Don Turnbull Achievement Trophy recipient as chosen by their peers was presented to Sunrise Charolais, Stayner, Ont., for best exemplifying Don Turnbull’s integrity, animal husbandry and dedication to the Charolais breed.

Daily Hersdman honours went to Bridor Charolais, Mount Forest, Ont. Save the date October 25-28, 2017, for the next National Charolais Show hosted by the Manitoba Charolais Association at Ag Ex in Brandon, Man.

 Katie Elmhurst of Indian River, Ont., took the Charles John Watson V Memorial Award at the 2016 Masterfeeds National Junior Beef Heifer Show at the Royal Winter Fair with a Simmental heifer. Madison Saunders of Grey County exhibited a Charolais heifer calf and received Reserve Champion honours.

This award is presented to the top female that is bred and owned by a 4-H member, in memory of Charles John Watson, Wat-Cha Farms, Mount Forest, Ont. Watson was a major supporter of many junior shows, and the one that he held closest to him was the junior show at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Both of his children exhibited at this show for many years, which he felt was the highest accomplishment they could achieve during their years in 4-H.  Angus cattle swept the Masterfeeds Supreme Beef Championship winning both the female and bull banners. Peter Frijters of Premier Livestock, Milverton, Ont., experienced a “three-peat” when his bull, OHL Check Book 0187C, took home the banner in 2016. His females took home Masterfeeds Supreme Beef Championship banners in 2015 and 2014. The bull is jointly owned by Premier Livestock, Hasson Livestock and Clearview Farms. Silver Springs Princess 138C, owned by Reidholm Angus and the RK Cattle Company of Moorefield, Ont., took the Supreme Beef Female banner. Both Check Book and Silver Springs Princess were named champions in the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society Challenge Cup.  During the Royal Agricultural Fair the Canadian Angus Association presented its Partner of the Year Award to Longo Brothers Fruit Markets, a family-owned Canadian food retailer that started as a small fruit market store on Yonge Street in Toronto in 1956.

They were selected to receive the award based on their efforts to promote authentic Angus Continued on page 52

50

C a t t l e m e n · D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 6

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 In Limousin news, four-year-old purebred Limousin female, Greenwood Pld Zoom Bloom, with heifer calf Greenwood Daisy PYN 42D at side, swept the overall Supreme Female titles at both the Brandon Ag Ex in Brandon, Man., and the JTL Industries Stockade Roundup in Lloyd­minster, Sask. The Limousin breed has had a fantastic fall show season with its National Show being held at the Brandon Ag Ex and a record number of entries at the 2016 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, making it the largest Limousin show in Canada and, likely, North America this year!

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Exchange Rates and Their Effect on Canadian Exports

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51

PU R E LY PU R E B R E D

Continued from page 50

beef and their founders’ values of honesty, trustworthiness and mutual respect. Through the years the family has maintained a commitment to providing customers with the best fresh food experience possible.  Cattlemen Bob Switzer of Sandy Bar Angus and John Wilmott were inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame at a ceremony during the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Bob Switzer Toronto last month.

Bob Switzer along with his wife Gail run Sandy Bar Angus in Aneroid, Sask. Switzer and the Sandy Bar name have become synonymous with promoting world class Canadian genetics around the world. He has judged many cattle shows in Canada and marketed cattle internationally to Ireland, England, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Japan, China, Russia, New Zealand and Kazakhstan. Bob and Gail are also well known for their annual Short Grass Bull & Female sale, which has been running for 38 years. He has been an unabashed advocate of agriculture for Saskatchewan and Canada along with being a mentor and industry leader, in part as a founding director with Red Coat Cattle Feeders, a 20,000head feedlot that is keeping local cattle, grain and people in the region. As well, being part of Prairie Heritage Beef, Sandy Bar, along with 13 other family ranches, is able to promote a uniquely branded beef program in to select retail chains in British Columbia and Ontario.

John Willmott is a past president of the Canadian Angus Association and Canada’s Farm Progress Show, but he is probably best known for his involvement in building CanaJohn Willmott dian Western Agribition (CWA) into a world-class cattle show and an international marketplace for Canadian livestock genetics. Willmott was a respected cattle judge in Canada and internationally, and a strong proponent of using the show ring as a marketing tool for beef cattle.

This naturally led him to become involved in helping to build a fledgling cattle show in Regina into the best beef show possible.

His involvement included taking trips to Ottawa to solicit federal support for Agribition. Willmott has been on the board for 29

52

years in many different roles and promoted the venue at livestock shows in Scotland, New Zealand, Mexico, Australia, the United States and across Canada.

They follow a long line of livestock inductees into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. Other inductees you will remember are: Jonathan Fox – 1973; Bob Gordon – 1995; Dr. Robert Church – 1991; Charles Gracey – 2001; Doug Blair – 2003; Dr. David Chalack – 2011; Walt Browarny – 2014.  Cattlemen Young Leaders: Kylie McRae Mentor: Darren Bevans, general manager, Deseret Ranches of Alberta Ltd., Raymond, Alta.

McRae’s roots began on a mixed farm near HanKylie McRae ley, Sask., which recently received a Centennial Farm Family Award.

She developed a keen interest in the environment around her, which led her to pursue an environmental studies degree from the University of Saskatchewan. In her career with Ducks Unlimited Canada in southeast Saskatchewan, she enjoys working to create and enhance waterfowl habitat in co-operation with producers.

McRae is immersed in primary production agriculture alongside Darren Ippolito and his family, at Moose Creek Red Angus, Kisbey, Sask., where they raise purebred and commercial cattle. Moose Creek was recognized in the McDonald’s Verified Sustainable Beef Program. McRae believes in promoting the sustainability of the beef industry, as it is a natural fit and a story that needs to be told.

Her interest in the CYL program is to further her involvement in these initiatives both at the Canadian and global scales.

Mel Hermanson Mentor: Graeme Finn, cow-calf producer, Madden, Alta.

Hermanson was raised on a third-generation beef and sheep operation in the Mel Hermanson Avon Valley, Western Australia. She completed her bachelor of agribusiness specializing in farm management in 2007 from the Muresk campus at Curtin University in Western Australia. While completing her degree she worked for a 5,000-head capacity feedlot that operates a cow-calf herd, backgrounding operation and crops 5,000 acres in the Wheat Belt of WA. During her five years with Kylagh

C a t t l e m e n · D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 6

Cattle Company she progressed from summer student to cattle manager, feed manager and grazing/background manager. In 2010, Hermanson came to Canada through Agriventure exchange to work at Yester Years Ranch near Empress, Alta.

During this time she met her husband and they decided to make Alberta their home.

Currently she works as a commercial and agricultural account manager for Chinook Financial in Hussar, Alta., and at home on her husband’s family farm where they run a small beef herd and cropping operation.

Mona Howe Mentor: Brenna Grant, Canfax Research Services Howe is a cattle producer and fourth-generation rancher who grew up on a large cattle ranch Mona Howe in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan. She and her husband Brad, along with their children Georgia and Hayes, own and operate a 400-head Black Angus cow-calf ranch near Leader, Sask., between the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan rivers. They have a small purebred herd to supply their own commercial herd bulls and sell a few bulls to neighbouring ranches. They raise and market their purebred cattle in conjunction with Howe’s family, as part of Battle Creek Angus. Howe has had a keen interest in the cattle industry for as long as she can remember, beginning with her daily involvement in the family’s ranch work and 4-H. c STAMPEDE

By Jerry Palen

“Nothing’s ever easy.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 Market Su mma ry

By Debbie McMillin

TheMarkets Fed Cattle An up-move in the futures and tighter near-term supplies pushed up fed cattle prices over the past two weeks. Since mid-October fed steers have gained more than $12 to average $142.44/cwt by the third week of November. The basis is still strong at -3.43/cwt, which compares to last year when it was closer to -9.

The November 1 Alberta/Sask­atch­ ewan cattle-on-feed count was the lowest on record for November at 741,853 head, down 15 per cent from a year ago.

This was partly due to higher marketings in October. Steer slaughter is up seven per cent on the year at 1,308,581 head and heifer kill up four per cent to 667,368 head. Exports are still ahead of last year at 265,155 head, 49 per cent more than 2015, and increasing. Export shipments the past six weeks were more than 20,000 head ahead of last year.

Smaller placements also contributed to the lower inventories, with October placements down one per cent at 299,972 head. U.S. October placements were also down to a four-year low. Steer carcass weights have finally dropped below year-ago levels to 933 pounds, which indicates feedlots are current.

This is down three pounds from last year but the annual average is still running 29 pounds above the 918 pounds set last year at this time.

Feeder Cattle A welcome spell of unseasonably warm weather across the Prairies allowed many farmers to wrap up harvest and focus on their own calf crop plus assess feed supplies to see if they should buy some calves before the end of the year.

Alberta 550-pound feeder steers hit a fall low of $168.11 in the week ending October 21, and then quickly rebounded by $17 to average $185.41/cwt in midNovember. Strength in the technical market, coupled with the falling price throughout the fall, had buyers reset-

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ting break-even levels. Although prices are still not in a comfortable hedging range, they seemed to be low enough to get buyers to step up. Heifers were selling 15 per cent back from steers (or about $27 on 550 wt.) versus the 11 per cent spread we saw last year at this time.

This seems to have encouraged some cow-calf producers to retain heifers into the new year to breed or sell on an expected higher market next spring.

While the yearling run has slowed, some older calves and late yearlings are trading at improved levels from the fall lows. From $151.93/cwt in late October 850-pound steers jumped about $12 to $164.39 over the next two weeks and have held near there to press time. The 850-pound feeder basis is still stronger than normal at -6.97/cwt, compared to the five-year average of -21.48/cwt.

Feeder exports through the first 10 months of the year are down 39 per cent at 172,882 head.

Non-Fed Cattle With fed cattle current packers have taken more interest in non-fed cattle in recent weeks to keep chain speeds up.

After D1,2 cows hit a three-year low of $81.64 just two weeks ago, prices clawed back to average $82.75/cwt by the end of our reporting period. Cow slaughter increased as well. In the most recent two-week period, over 19,000 cows were slaughtered, the largest two-week volume since 2014. Total cow slaughter to date is up 10 per cent from a year ago at 321,790 head. Cow exports are two per cent smaller at 173,585 head. Bull prices are still under pressure on light volumes. The average bull price in the third week of November was $99.75/ cwt, $25.20/cwt lower than a year ago.

Bull slaughter dropped in recent weeks but year-to-date it is up 25 per cent at 11,315 head. Bull exports are down by 31 per cent on the year at 47,238 head. c Debbie McMillin is a market analyst who ranches at Hanna, Alta.

 DEB ’S OUTLOOK Fed Cattle Fed cattle supplies are expected to tighten toward the end of 2016. At the same time the demand for higher-priced middle meats will increase as buyers look towards holiday season sales.

Expect fed cattle prices to move higher in the coming weeks. A potential limiting factor will be the strength and direction of the technical market.

Feeder Cattle While hedging profits remains difficult, break-even levels are edging closer and feedlots are placing cattle in anticipation of a rising fed market ahead as feeder volumes taper off toward year-end. Eastern demand for Western feeder cattle picked up recently and exports are rising, lending support for expected fully steady to higher prices in the feeder market as we start 2017.

Non-Fed Cattle Non-fed volumes should taper off in the final weeks of 2016 as most calves are weaned, cows pregnancy checked and culling decisions made. Some will be kept over as producers with ample forage supplies wait to see if prices follow the normal uptrend into the new year. Seasonally, cow prices should rise above the recent lows.

More markets 

C a t t l e m e n · D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 6 53

M A R K ETS

Break-even Prices on A-Grade Steers

Market Prices

210

340

190

310 280

170

250

150

220

130 110

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

160

210

160

190

140

170

120

150

100

130 110

Steer Calves

190

ALBERTA

(500-600 lb.)

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

80

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

Canfax weighted average price on A-Grade steers

Break-even price for steers on date sold

2016 2015

2017 2016

November 2016 prices* Alberta Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $160.33/cwt Barley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.77/bu.

Barley silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.13/ton Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58.07/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.25/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134.96/cwt Break-even (April 2017) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131.62/cwt Ontario Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $165.72/cwt Corn silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.16/ton Grain corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.77/bu.

Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75.29/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108.53/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123.84/cwt Break-even (May 2017) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142.84/cwt *Mid-month to mid-month prices Breakevens East: end wt 1,450, 183 days West end wt 1,325 lb., 125 days

60

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

Ontario

Alberta

2016 2015

2016 2015

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

Market Summary (to November 5, 2016) 2016

2015

Total Canadian federally inspected slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,252,684. . . . . . . . . . 2,119,756 Average steer carcass weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 918 lb.. . . . . . . . . . . . 888 lb.

Total U.S. slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,006,000. . . . . . . . 24,741,000

Trade Summary Exports 2016 2015 Fed cattle to U.S. (to October 29). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257,341.. . . . . . . . . . . 174,266 Feeder cattle and calves to U.S. (to October 29). . . . . . . . . . . . . 169,665.. . . . . . . . . . . 278,791 Dressed beef to U.S. (to September). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447.54 mil.lbs.. . . . 384.00 mil.lbs Total dressed beef (to September). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582.59 mil.lbs.. . . . . 521.07 mil.lbs IMPORTS 2016 2015 Slaughter cattle from U.S. (to September) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 *Dressed beef from U.S. (to September) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180.55 mil.lbs. . . . . . 197.08 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Australia (to September) . . . . . . . . . 54.50 mil.lbs. . . . . . . 75.96 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from New Zealand (to September) . . . . . . 37.23 mil.lbs. . . . . . .38.86 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Uruguay (to September) . . . . . . . . . . 26.60 mil.lbs. . . . . . .26.23 mil.lbs Canadian Grades (to November 19, 2016) % of A grades +59% 54-58% AAA 17.4 23.1 AA 18.2 8.9 A 0.2 1.2 Prime 0.2 0.6 Total 32.8 37.0

EAST WEST

Total graded 505,334 1,826,659

Yield – 53% Total 22.9 63.4 3.8 30.9 0.0 1.4 1.6 2.4 28.3 Total A grade 98.1%

Total ungraded 22,347 7,511

% carcass basis 81.6% 89.0% Only federally inspected plants

54

C a t t l e m e n · D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 6

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 market ta l k

By Jerry Klassen

Low Prices Slowing Expansion Activity

C

attle producers have endured one of the most volatile price swings in history. Throughout 2014 and for the first half of 2015, fed and feeder cattle markets were trending higher. However, the fed market started to turn lower in June 2015 and only recently appears to be forming a bottom-like pattern. Feeder cattle held up fairly well last fall only to come under pressure late in December 2015 and continue to trend lower into the summer months. Then in September and October, Canadian feeder cattle prices took another dive and only started to stabilize during the last half of November.

Over the past year, the market has gone from historical highs down to six-year lows. I’ve received many calls from cow-calf producers asking how this will influence the cattle cycle and if I’ve altered my projections for 2017.

Beef production has been exceeding expectations. Upward revisions have been noted on each USDA report since midsummer. During September and October of 2016, weekly beef production was exceeding 500 million pounds. I’ve attached the quarterly beef production projections. Notice the sharp year-over-year increases each quarter. Even more surprising are the numbers for 2017. Beef production will reach 26.16 billion pounds, up from 25.05 billon pounds in 2016. The market is functioning to encourage demand and discourage production.

Given the increase in supply, average prices during 2017 will be lower than in 2016. I have to include that the U.S weekly hog slaughter was reaching record highs in early November adding to the burdensome supply environment.

The U.S. beef cow slaughter from January through September was 1.860 million head, up 200,000 head from year-ago levels. We’ve seen more cows move into the slaughter mix through October and November, which will cause these numbers to further exceed year-ago levels during the final quarter. The 2016 beef cow slaughter is expected to finish near 2.5 million head; next year, the beef cow slaughter has potential to finish near 3.0 million head.

Once the cow slaughter hovers around 3.0 million head per year, one can say the industry is clearly moving into the contraction phase. On the attached chart, I’m forecasting the 2018 cow slaughter to finish near 3.5 million head.

The commercial heifer slaughter from January through September was 5.688 million head, up 126,000 from last year. This isn’t surprising given the larger overall calf crops but this may suggest that retention levels have tapered off. During 2014, U.S. producers held back nearly 500,000 heifers for breeding which was followed by an additional 200,000 heifers in 2015. We can definitely say that growth has slowed in 2016. Heifers kept back for breeding as of January 1, 2017, are only expected to show a year-over-year increase of 100,000 head. During 2017, we will likely see a decrease in heifer retention thereby showing a year-over-year decline on the January 1, 2018 inventory report.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

u.s. quarterly beef production (million pounds) Quarter

2013

2014

2015

Estimated 2016

Estimated 2017

1

6,172

5,868

5,664

5,935

6,140

2

6,517

6,183

5,857

6,187

6,600

3

6,608

6,179

6,068

6,462

6.730

4

6,420

6,021

6,109

6,465

6,690

TOTAL

25,717

24,251

23,698

25,049

26,160

 u. s. co m m e rc i a l b e e f cow s laughter 000’s of head 4,000 3,750 3,500 3,250 3,000 2,750 2,500 2,250 2,000 1,750 1,500

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016 est

2017 est

2018 est

How will this affect the calf crop projections? We know U.S. producers are slowing expansion this year and will likely halt expansion activity in 2017. The 2015 calf crop was estimated at 34.3 million head, and the 2016 number will likely come in near 35.1 million head. However, for 2017, I’m expecting only a modest year-over-year increase with the calf crop reaching 35.5 million head. During 2018, the calf crop will likely start to decline as the cow slaughter continues to increase.

Canadian cow-calf producers making longer-term plans should look to expand their herds in the latter half of 2017. Producers have to be contrarian to be successful and when the cow slaughter increases sharply, this is the time to buy cows, bred heifers or cow-calf pairs. While most producers want to expand when prices are near historical highs, this is not the opportune time. I think some producers can remember when I was advising herd expansion 2009 to 2011. 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 a t t l e m e n · D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 6

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Title

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Page

ANIMAL HEALTH

The AMR dilemma: Part 3 Turning the tide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . 30 Storage and care of vaccines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 46 Antibiotic alternative approved for sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . . 47 Pneumonia: The disease that won’t go away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . . 10 Not all lameness is footrot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 16 Intranasal vaccines get around maternal antibodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . . 19 Potential new causes of pinkeye uncovered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 24 The benefits of palpating heifers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 26 Don’t fret too much over sand cracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 28 Implants done right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept . . . . . . . . . 32 What do coffee and doughnuts have in common with beef . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 38 Steer clear of fatigued cattle syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 42 Immunostimulant Zelnate cleared for Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 54 Practical ways to reduce our use of antibiotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 42 For the love of animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 36 Added pain relief for C-sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 63 When Johne’s hits home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . 26

ANIMAL Care

Canada sets the bar for feedlot animal care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 10 The feedlot audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . . . 22 A feedlot’s commmitment to animal care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 28 Animal health management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . . . 35 Auditing facilities and cattle handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . 28 Feeding and pen environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . 38 Transportation practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov . . . . . . . . . 58 Grounds for a failed feedlot audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . . 38

ASSOCIATIONS

Onward and upward for the CFGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 54 Saskatchewan adds its support to National Checkoff increase . . . . . . . . . Mar.. . . . . . . . . 63 Manitoba Beef Producers agree to raise National checkoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar.. . . . . . . . 66 Beef Farmers of Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 50 Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . 52 National Cattle Feeders’ Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 54 Western Stock Growers’ Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 56 Alberta Forage industry network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 58 Ryan Hurlburt wins LMAC auctioneering championship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . . 37 Water, predators and treaties top concerns in B.C.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . 38 SSGA elects another Jahnke as president . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . . 4 Cattlemen’s Foundation expands its reach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 58

BREEDING

Getting first-calf heifers rebred on time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb.. . . . . . . . . . 20

CALVING

Get ready for calving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . . 10 Care of syringes and needles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 22 Seek help if you suspect a uterine torsion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . . 38 Monitor the suckle reflex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 40

economics/Sustainability

4-H club video contest promotes sustainable beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 50 Going national with verified sustainable beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar.. . . . . . . . . . 18 Canadian Centre for Food Integrity kicks off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 43 Sustainable beef within our grasp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . . 8 The long road to building public trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . 20 Ranchers tell their story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 38 Helping consumers make an informed choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . 40 The economics behind bale grazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . 26

ENVIRONMENT/Wildlife/WELFARE

PAACO certifies new Canadian feedlot audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . . 49 SSGA wildlife habitat conservation project funded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . 50 Beef lowers its environmental cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . . 52 Ranching for beef and species at risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . . 12 A full-time commitment to stewardship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 14 Ambassadors for Greater Sage Grouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . 40 High-energy berries and bears go together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 60 The case for carbon storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . 10 Veal code of practice out for comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . 61 A year of firsts for ALUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . . 42 National EFP being considered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . 44

EQUIPMENT/facilities

From the bottom up this barn has it all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . 14

Feed/FEEDING

Not your average creep feeder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 30 Consider more than cost when switching winter rations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 69 With corn feeding, success starts with the planter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . 10

56

C at t l e m e n · D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6

Title

Issue

Page

Does feed efficiency affect fertility? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . 28 Some thoughts on backgrounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . 32 Western Feedlots is gone, what now? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . 54 Get the most from weathered feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 64

Forage

Big on brassicas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . . 10 Making hay of environmental goods and services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . . 49 Stocking rates key to climate change adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . . 52 Forage breeding faces funding challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 56 Learning to grow more grass in Saskatchewan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . 10 Obnoxious Absinth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . 12 What perennial forage should I seed this year? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . 17 Points to remember when seeding forages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 20 Less stress and more hay in a day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . 24 Forage advocates gather in Saskatchewan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 56 New Zealand through the eye of a pasture manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 10 Cut later to feed more cows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . 24

Free Market Reflections

Marketing misperceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 44 Landmark antimicrobial study should redirect resistance hunt . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . 32 Health battles heating up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 36 Too far out? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . 30 Can a president sink NAFTA? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 33 Cattle industry concerns shared by many in the U.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 44 A frustrating campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 32 Cutting your nose off to spite your face . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 46 Pollan is crusading again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . 52 Canadian cattlemen and Trump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . . 34

gRAZING

Stewards of the land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . 24 Be prepared for calls if you winter graze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 40 Seeing the ranch as a classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 28 Spring is almost here: What to plant? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 34 We harvest weeds! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 12 Patch burning pastures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . . 18 The pros and cons of grazing cover crops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . 24 Be a soil farmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . 24 When to move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . . . . . . . . . 26 Back to bale grazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . 26 Beating back burdock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . 32

History

The packer’s dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . . . 8 100 Mile House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Retirement of Wilbur McKenzie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . . 10 Alberta’s horn penalty and fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The menace of the antelope hunter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . . 8 Ottawa Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . . . 8 Twenty-five years in the saddle with Hereford cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . . 7 Greatest Canadian bred mare of all time: Part I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . . . 8 Greatest Canadian bred mare of all time: Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . . 8 Calgary’s 1950 bull sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . . 8 Duke and Duchess of Windsor visit their E.P. Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . . 8 Edwin Aubrey Cartwright of the D Ranch: Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . . 10

HOLISTIC RANCHING

Creating success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 28 Goal setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . 38 Financial planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 48 A planned grazing Q & A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 26 Happy trails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . 35

IDENTIFICATION

BIO goes mobile with Go360 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . . 58 Tag losses higher on cows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . 48 Rustlers take more than your cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 18 Branding is back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 22 BIXS can track carcass data: Just the cost is unknown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . 30 e-Manifests hit the road in Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . 59 Mandatory premise ID on CFIA agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . . 22 The eye in the sky is watching your cows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . 20

Management

Set up a proactive cash flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 36 The first sign of expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb.. . . . . . . . . 36 Cattle price insurance premiums reflect risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar.. . . . . . . . . . 72 Barley fundamentals looking forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 65 Conventional beef is more efficient, yet still high quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . . 16 We’re hiring — five steps to get it right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . 38

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 2016 index

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Page

Pounds pay for preconditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . 20 Four keys to successful preconditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 22 Has cattle industry productivity improved in recent years? . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 18 What’s the margin? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 40 Learn when to stop doing things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . 46

Marketing

Yield is down, fat is up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . . 55 Canadian dollar update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . 65 Beef demand looking forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . . 81 Assessing the first quarter — inventories disappointing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . 42 Fed cattle market outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 53 The real cost of fat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . 28 Feeder cattle look to go lower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . 49 Looking out for No. 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 12 The price for serving alternative markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 14 Beef industry appears to be stalled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 19 Sharing the grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 29 Calf price insurance: the tale of two years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 32 AgriClear adds to its services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . 43 Understanding markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 53 Feedlot margin outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . . 67 Direct marketing grass-fed beef is a family business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 12 Feed barley update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . 49 Delay selling feeders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . 67 Simple risk managment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . 73 Low prices slowing expansion activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 55

Meat/packers

Urgent: more temporary foreign workers needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 46 Sobeys locks in Atlantic Beef for P.E.I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 50 Opportunities in the meat case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . . 12

Nutrition

Sound advice from a new generation of agrologists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 26 Mouldy hay and grain — what are your options? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . . 18 Cost per pound of gain or cost plus — is there a right answer? . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . . 22 Silage — the forage of choice for cattle feeders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . 18 Chasing carcass quality — not as easy as it looks! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 13 ‘I am not eating there anymore’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . . 14 Some thoughts on China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 18 Another crazy year for growing hay! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 40 Understanding your protein supplement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 23 The latest on the nutrient requirements for beef cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . 19 Attention to detail pays dividends when feeding cattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . 23 Mycotoxins know no bounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . . 16 Concerns with feeding off-grade grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . 28

POLICY

Government responds to COOL report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 48 Positive signs on trade front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . 44 Dan Darling heads up the CCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . . 32 It’s been an honour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 62 The way forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . 35 Pressing issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . 40 Support for Canadian beef producers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . 36 Reasons for optimism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . 34 First Canadian Beef Industry Conference brought the industry together . . . Sept. . . . . . . . . 52 National levy is paying off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 59 Age verification is getting old . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 24 Transport rules need to remain science based . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . 36 More market access for Canadian beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 48 MPs hear about GMO technology in the beef industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 59 Preparing for climate change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 56 An industry in crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . 30 Trade front and centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . 40

PRIME CUTS

Is COOL dead yet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 42 Market volatility will continue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . 46 COOL’s repeal might increase exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 59 Grading above the norm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 45 Weak exports are a concern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 39 What to do about wacky markets? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . . 33 Marketing challenges continue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 37 Consumers’ food spending switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 49 Septtember spells serious slump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 29 Declining margins slow expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 44 Cattle feeders’ woes continue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 44 Trump threatens NAFTA and more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . . 39 www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Title

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RESEARCH

The environmental hoofprint of Canada’s beef industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 44 Designer genes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . . 19 Beef: A nutritious part of a sustainable diet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 58 Dry-chilling (and two other things) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . 31 Winter cow transport assessed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . 28 Intranasal vaccination could protect young calves from BRD . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . 45 Bov-innovation: Putting theory into practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . . 21 Can we rate the beef value of beer barley with one test? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . 26 Toe tip necrosis syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 24 High pressure processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 36 Upgrading grading research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 16 $1.7 million for Olds College research centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . 40 Antibiotic alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 36 Barley research gets a boost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 50 Non-0157 Stec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 42 Barley variety and silage quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 18

SEEDSTOCK

Passion makes it possible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 16 An international Hereford tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . 20 Champions by design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . . 16 Richardson Ranch at the end of the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 28 Breeding no-nonsense cattle for any environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 20 Getting the genetics right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . 14 Benchmark brings feed efficiency home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . . 18

STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP

Simple science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 46 A balanced approach to corporate social responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . 42 Demonstrated trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 60 A vulnerable world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . 36 The consequences of a society of privilege is choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . 30 Farming is our future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . 34 Our legacy is not dependent on our accomplishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 50 You know you are an entrepreneur when... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 35 Breeding for methane suppression and feed efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . 38 Ending antimicrobial resistance with a SNAPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 54 The value of beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . 36

TRADE

A trade update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . 28 Exporters remain active as CETA delay overhangs Paris show . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 28

TRansport

Cull cow transport study offers some surprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . . 10

Verified Beef production I think… maybe… No, I’m sure that’s it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. . . . . . . . . . 45 Doing tough things well defines a champion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . . 41 VBP+ and protecting our ability to farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . 45 Engagement announcement: Data and sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr . . . . . . . . . . 37 Insider tips for loading cattle effectively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . . 37 A fresh vision for growth from grass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . . 31 VBP+ launch: New tools for a new era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . . 35 Inside the new VBP+ audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 46 Key animal health lessons from VBP+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . . 33 Find the power in precision feeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . . 47 A new era of antimicrobial responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 43 How to prepare for more environmental scrutiny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec . . . . . . . . . . 35

Vet Advice

Search for simplicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan . . . . . . . . . . 18 Doin’ what needs doin’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . . 40 Rethinking strategic deworming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar.. . . . . . . . . 26 Grazing management: The essence of ranching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apr. . . . . . . . . . . 4 Exploring the theory that not all pathogens are bad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May . . . . . . . . 38 Emergency response is about learning the right things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June. . . . . . . . 32 Fighting AMR, a true test of human resilience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. . . . . . . . . 36 Did we walk away from anaplasmosis too soon? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sept. . . . . . . . 48 Atypical interstitial pneumonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 3 . . . . . . . 34 One health: Recreating the future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct. 24 . . . . . 40 Ingenuity and persistence not always enough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nov. . . . . . . . . 46 Bovine TB: An old disease, a modern enigma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec. . . . . . . . . 32

Youth

Jumping in with eyes wide open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. . . . . . . . . 26 Finding inspiration from within the farm community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mar. . . . . . . . . . 24

C at t l e m e n · D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6

57

 GOINGS ON

Sales&Events March

Events January 2017 5-6

S askatchewan Young Ag Entrepreneurs Conference, Saskatoon Inn and Conference Centre, Saskatoon, Sask.

21 Farm Smart and Beef Symposium, Rozanski Hall, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont. 24-26 Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference, Evraz Place, Regina, Sask.

30-Feb. 1 Year Round Grazing Workshop, New Liskeard, Ont.

February 2-3

anitoba Beef Producers annual M meeting, Victoria Inn, Brandon, Man. 7 BIO annual meeting, Elora, Ont. 15-16 Lloydminster Exhibition Agri-Visions, Lloydminster, Sask.

15-17 Alberta Beef Industry Conference, Sheraton Red Deer Hotel, Red Deer, Alta.

21 Cattlemen’s College, International Plaza Hotel, Toronto, Ont. 22-23 Beef Farmers of Ontario annual meeting, International Plaza Hotel, Toronto, Ont.

21

awes Ranch 34th Annual Bull Sale, R at the ranch, Strome, Alta.

Benlock Farms Bull Sale, at the farm, Grandora, Sask.

Stewart Cattle Co. Annual Black Angus Bull Sale, at Neepawa Ag-Plex, Neepawa, Man.

21-22 Livestock Care Conference, Best Western Plus Denham Inn, Leduc, Alta.

23

November

23

Sales

March

1-4

J TL Industries Stockade Roundup, Exhibition Grounds, Lloydminster, Alta.

December 12

S toughton Farms Ltd. Complete Herd Dispersal, Lloydminster, Sask.

13 Bonchuk Farms Female Production Sale, Heartland Livestock, Virden, Man. 17-18 Guilford Hereford Ranch Complete Hereford & Angus Dispersal, Swift Current, Sask.

19 LLB Angus — Angus Opportunity Sale, Erskine, Alta.

29 Rainalta Complete Simmental & Charolais Herd Dispersal, Brooks, Alta.

January 2017 28

28  ADVERTIS ER I ND EX

.C. Quantock “Canada’s Bulls” Bull M Sale, at the Lloydminster Exhibition Grounds, Lloydminster, Alta.

Lazy S Ranch Bull Power Sale, at the ranch, Mayerthorpe, Alta.

February Page 4 Hill 70 Quantock Ranch “Barn Burnin’” Advancing Women Conference 39 Bull Sale, at the ranch, Lloydminster, Alta.

Airdrie Trailer Sales 49 Alberta Beef Industry 29 10 Anchor D Ranch Simmentals Bayer Health Care 11 “Genetic Edge” Bull Sale, at the ranch, Belvin Angus IBC Rimbey, Alta.

Boehringer Ingelheim 35 16 Nordal Limousin & Angus, at Saskatoon Canadian Angus Assoc.

48 Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, Sask.

Canadian Charolais Assoc.

OBC Canadian Forage & Grassland Assoc.

41 Canadian Hereford Assoc.

48 Canadian Limousin Assoc.

48 Canadian Shorthorn Assoc.

43 Canadian Simmental Assoc.

48 L I V E S T O C K C A R E 48 Canadian Speckle Park L I V E S T O C K C A R E 47 Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum 49 Cattlemen’s Financial Corp.

Farm Credit Canada 15 Help Line & Resource Team Gilbrea Consulting Ltd. 48 Help livestock Team To Lreport care Grant Devine 45 I V ELine S &TResource O C K concerns C A R E To report livestock care concerns Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd. CALL Help Line &51Resource Team 49 Hi-Hog Farm & Ranch CALL 7 Hill 70 Quantock Ranch Lazy S Ranch 23 afac.ab.ca Supported by Alberta’s Livestock Industry Help Line & Resource Team Lemken Canada Inc. 9 afac.ab.ca Supported by Alberta’s Livestock Industry To report livestock care concerns Masterfeeds LP 17 M.C. Quantock Livestock IFC, 3 CALL Merck Animal Health 5, 19 afac.ab.ca Supported by Alberta’s Livestock Industry Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference 47 Stockmen’s Financial Limited 25 afac.ab.ca Supported by Alberta’s Livestock Industry Tru-Test Inc. 45

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4 4 5-6 10 14 25

algary Bull Sale, at Century Downs, C Calgary, Alta.

Davidson Gelbvieh & Lonesome Dove Ranch 28th Annual Bull Sale, at the ranch, Ponteix, Sask.

High Country Bull Sale, at the ag grounds, Pincher Creek, Alta.

Pride of the Prairies Bull Show & Sale, Exhibition Grounds, Lloydminster, Alta.

A. Sparrow Farms Annual Bull Sale, at the farm, Vanscoy, Sask.

Harvie Ranching Bull Sale, at the ranch, Olds, Alta.

Shiloh Cattle Company Annual Bull & Replacement Heifer Sale, at the ranch, Craigmyle, Alta. c

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

Your contact is Mike Millar at 306-251-0011 or mike.millar@fbcpublishing.com

STAMPEDE

By Jerry Palen

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

L I V E S T O C K

C A R E

To report livestock care concerns CALL

1-800-506-2273

1-800-506-2273

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C a t t l e m e n · D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 6

“My guess is you just thought you saw something.”

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Join us on March 7, 2017 for our fifth annual

ANGUS*BULL*SALE 1:30PM • AT THE FARM • INNISFAIL, AB

You are invited to a complimentary prime rib dinner before the sale at noon.

Featuring sons from our most proven herd bulls and donor females!

Catalog and videos will be posted on our website www.belvinangus.com

Gavin & Mabel Hamilton • Colton • Quinn PHONE 403.224.2353 EMAIL belvinangus@xplornet.com WEB www.belvinangus.com

P.O. Box 6134, Innisfail, Alberta T4G 1S8 GAVIN’S CELL 403.556.5246 COLTON’S CELL 403.507.5416 BRENDYN ELLIOT 250.449.5071