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Forages for all seasons 14 Annual clovers to the rescue 28 All in on year-round grazing 38

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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 Field Editor: Debbie Furber Box 1168, Tisdale, SK S0E 1T0 (306) 873-4360 Fax (306) 873-4360 Email: debbie.furber@fbcpublishing.com

Contents canadian cattlemen · APRIL 2017 · Volume 80, No. 4

 FO R AG E

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 Publisher: Lynda Tityk Email: lynda.tityk@fbcpublishing.com Editorial Director: Laura Rance Email: laura@fbcpublishing.com Production Director: Shawna Gibson Email: shawna@fbcpublishing.com Circulation Manager: Heather Anderson Email: heather@fbcpublishing.com President: Bob Willcox Glacier FarmMedia LP Email: bwillcox@farmmedia.com

target sustainable grazing  forage

FEATURES Drilling down on carbon sequestration. . . 10

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.

Forages for all seasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Target sustainable grazing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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

Sainfoin, alfalfa and grass mixtures being tested. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Cattlemen is published monthly by Glacier FarmMedia LP. Head office: Winnipeg, Manitoba. Printed by Transcontinental LGMC. Cattlemen is printed with linseed oil-based inks.

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Annual clovers to the rescue . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Sainfoin, alfalfa and grass mixtures being tested

24

All in on year-round grazing. . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

 FO R AG E

Verified Beef Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

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Gaining farmland advantage payments for ecoservices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Species at risk adds new emphasis to managing grassland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

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The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Canadian Cattlemen and Glacier FarmMedia LP attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists, Canadian Cattlemen and Glacier FarmMedia LP cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication. Use or non-use of any information is at the reader’s sole risk, and we assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader of this publication based on any and all information provided.

18

Annual clovers to the rescue

28

Congratulations!

To our April survey winner, Debbie Bauer, Maple Creek, Sask.

This month’s survey is on page 58.

Cover photo: Our photo supplied by the Richards family.

Comment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Newsmakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Our History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Research on the Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Vet Advice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Free Market Reflections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Straight from the Hip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Prime Cuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 CCA Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 News Roundup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Purely Purebred. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 The Markets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Market Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1 Sales and Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 C at t l e m e n · a p r i l 2 0 1 7

3

 COMMENT

By Gren Winslow

Ontario banks on branding

I

t was near the end of the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) meeting and Sylvain Charlebois, the wellknown food researcher from Dalhousie University was wrapping up his talk on changes in consumer buying habits.

One final questioner asked him if he had any suggestions for the best way to convince consumers of the value of beef in an era when so many are skeptical of advice from scientists, government or beef producers.

“I’m a big believer in branding,” replied Charlebois.

When trust is more fragile, he explained, people often seek out a brand.

That must have been music to the ears of the questioner, and every delegate in the hall. It also summed up all the reasons why BFO delegates had earlier resolved to once again put off agreeing to a $1.50 increase in the national checkoff until Ontario can lock up its share of the extra revenue.

To date, seven of nine provincial cattle organizations have passed resolutions in support of the increase, although only Nova Scotia is collecting the $2.50 levy and New Brunswick just signed the agreement with the checkoff agency last month. It’s worth noting 88 per cent of the money goes toward provincial initiatives in Nova Scotia and 90 per cent in New Brunswick.

Currently 33 cents of every $1 of national checkoff collected in Ontario goes to Canada Beef, 17 cents to the Beef Cattle Research Council and 50 cents back to Ontario to spend on projects that satisfy the national beef strategy.

Ontario is now the only major cattle province with a non-refundable provincial checkoff but BFO president Matt Bowman freely admits they will need more revenue if they are going to meet all the demands being placed on them, particularly when it comes to marketing. So they need a higher checkoff.

Leading Ontario’s push for branding is the highly successful Ontario Corn Fed Beef program operated by the Ontario Cattle Feeders Association. Working through partnerships with retailers, principally Loblaws, food distributors like Sysco, and most federally registered packers, the corn-fed brand has grown to the point where it accounted for 51 per cent of the federal slaughter in Ontario last year. If you looked at just fed slaughter, executive director Jim Clark says that figure would be even higher.

BFO helped fuel that growth, diverting $500,000 of producer money into the program in 2015 and another $420,000 last year. Their 2017 budget shaves that sup-

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port by $20,000 but opens up the purse strings for a new regional marketing initiative.

Producers have committed $600,000 over three years to increase the reach of additional beef value chains operating in the province. Consultant John Baker, who is heading up this effort, says the ultimate goal is to increase the consumption of Ontario beef by leveraging regional value chains that complement the work of the corn-fed beef strategy and the national beef strategy.

Baker is also involved in expanding the international market for corn-fed beef.

While corn-fed beef is well placed in the retail sector and sees plenty of opportunity with Ontario food service companies, Clark says exports are going to be key to growing their sales in the future. In co-operation with their industry partners they’ve made inroads into the east coast of the U.S., and opened channels into Japan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and China. They moved their first container into China in December and shipped 10 more loads since then.

The one hitch to this marketing strategy is the same one facing the entire beef industry in Canada. Where will the cattle come from to feed the demand they are creating?

Ontario beef cow numbers that have been in freefall since 2005, dropped three per cent in the past year to 275,100 head on January 1. Since 2010 the Ontario cow herd has declined 13 per cent.

Beef heifers for breeding were also down 4.6 per cent from last year.

By bringing in western calves the Ontario feedlots have managed to replace some of those numbers, particularly on the steers, to maintain fed slaughter at 530,000 to 560,000 head. That, of course, puts them in competition with Alberta and U.S. buyers for western calves.

Last year feeder exports to the U.S. dropped but offsetting that was a flip in the east-west spread that occurred late in 2016 and is still showing up this year.

Historically, the average price for fed cattle in Ontario is a few dollars over Alberta, but starting back in October the Ontario rail steer weekly price slipped an average $18 below Alberta. This has raised enough of a disruption that BFO and the cattle feeders, with some research help from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, are looking into the reasons behind this aberration.

Next year, who knows? It’s hard to lay out a sales plan for a brand when your supply line is up in the air.

It is easy to see why Ontario cattle feeders would love to see a turnaround in local cow numbers, but given the present evidence that seems unlikely. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 THE INDUST RY

NewsMakers Canadian Cattlemen’s Association president Dan Darling of Castleton, Ont., and vice-president David David HaywoodDan Darling Haywood-Farmer Farmer of Savona, B.C., were elected to a second one-year term at the association’s annual meeting in Ottawa last month. New board members include: Grant Huffman, B.C.; Roland Cailliau, Alta.; Lynn Grant, Sask., and Victor Oulton, N.S. Matt Bowman of Thornloe has been re-elected president of the Beef Farmers of Ontario along with vice-presMatt Bowman Joe Hill ident Joe Hill, a feedlot operator from Fergus. Joining them on the board is Craig McLaughlin from Renfrew County who replaces the retiring Gerald Rollins as one of the three cow-calf directors.

Saskatchewan representative Ryan Thompson has been elected chair of the National Cattle Feeders’ Association, replacing Larry Schweitzer, with Alberta officer-at-large Ryan Thompson Herb Groenenboom as vice-chair. Schweitzer stays on representing Manitoba with B.C.’s August Bremer, Quebec officer-at-large Michel Daigle, and Alberta’s John Schooten and James Bekkering replacing John Lawton.

Dr. Craig Dorin, managing partner of Veterinary Agri-Health Services in Airdrie was presented with the Veterinarian of the Year award at the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association’s Dr. Craig Dorin recent annual meeting.

A past president of the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners, Dorin has served on the Cattle Industry Council of the Alberta Beef Producers, as a member of the advisory board for the Alberta Beef Chair at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, and a director of the Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners. He is cur-

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bar as manager. The association welcomes new director Cam Clark in Zone 4. Brower was re-elected in Zone 2, Richard Williams in Zone 3, Ryan Copithorne in Zone 5 and Bill Hanson in Zone 10 along with Hargrave and Ronda Reesor as directors at large, rejoining directors Michael Munton (Zone 1), Toivo Miller (Zone 7), Joe Gardner (Zone 11) and Jenkins, Larry Delver and Neil Ward as directors at large.

rently an adjunct clinical instructor with the University of Calgary faculty of veterinary medicine, and a large animal veterinarian.

Dr. Blake Balog of Brooks, Alta., was named Young Veterinarian of the Year.

Ont. TESA winner — Chris Knight and family.

Chris Knight and family, and his brother Carl, owners of Clear Creek Farms near Highgate, are the 2017 winners of the Ontario Environmental Stewardship Award presented by Beef Farmers of Ontario. One of a diminishing number of cow-calf to finishing beef operations in this southwest corner of Chatham-Kent, the Knights run 65 Angus cows on intensively managed pastures. With support from conservation groups, the family has built a wetland complex, planted trees, fenced buffer strips on creek banks and planted tall prairie grasses to improve soil health in an area dominated by corn, soybeans and vegetables.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has hired Virgil Lowe to fill a new position as business manager of Verified Beef Production Plus program. Lowe grew up on a ranch and feedlot operaVirgil Lowe tion west of Nanton, Alta., and was a practicing lawyer with Dentons Canada LLP before his career path pulled him back to the beef industry. He has completed the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program in 2012, chaired the Young Cattlemen’s Council from 2011-13, co-chaired the inaugural Canadian Beef Industry Conference last summer and is the chair of this year’s conference slated for August 15-17 in Calgary.

Aaron Brower, a rancher from Aden, Alta., returns for a fourth year as president of the Western Stock Growers’ Association, with directorsat-large James Hargrave and James Jenkins returnAaron Brower ing as first and second-vice presidents, respectively, Phil Rowland as treasurer/past president and Lindsye Dun-

� Paul DeJong of Ventry Hill Farm from the Dundalk area in Grey County, Ont., is the winner of the 2017 Mapleseed Pasture Award.

DeJong raises 450-cow-calf pairs and 70 stockers per year on a 450 acre farm with 100 acres in pasture, plus 30 rented acres of pasture. Pasture is the main feed source for his herd so he strip grazes the pastures to maintain forage quality. He tries to pasture at least six month of the year. A waterline was installed to provide fresh water to each paddock.

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health has appointed Susan Blair as head of animal health in Canada. Blair joined Boehringer Ingelheim Canada in 2003 and was most recently named executive director, animal health, a position she held from 2010.

Submitted by Chris Mills: It was with regret that I heard of the death of Gordon Parke. He was one of the last of that generation of forward-thinking cattle producers who fought so Gordon Parke hard to develop effective organizations to represent beef cattle producers. Back in the late ’60s, Parke, along with Gerard Guichon and other B.C. ranchers, worked to establish the first provincial checkoff in Canada. The example set by B.C. was instrumental in getting other provinces to follow suit. As a member of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association board and ultimately as president, Parke was a major force in the fields of federal farm policy and trade issues. He was particularly interested in building relationships with beef producers in other countries and represented Canada at the first international gathering of beef producers held in Bermuda in the early ’70s.

There is no doubt those early relationships, especially in the U.S., helped in resolving the many trade battles that have afflicted our industry over the last 50 years. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 our histo ry

Ottawa Letter Canadian Cattlemen, June 1950

By Senator F.W. Gershaw

T

he venture of grazing cattle on the prairies of southern Alberta started in 1880 by a few enterprising cattlemen bringing in herds from Montana. These cattle were turned loose to rustle a living the year round without any provision for their food or shelter, beyond what nature afforded. This area has been the grazing ground of countless herds of buffalo in bygone days and the chinook winds made it possible for such animals to winter well usually.

The Oxley Ranch was founded in 1882. As the C.P.R. had not been constructed through the West, the manager, Mr. Craig, travelled over the U.S. roads to Silver Bow, Montana, and then by mail coach and four-hourse wagon to Willow Creek, the ranch headquarters. After many thrilling experiences with wild lawless men and with the elements, by January 1, 1883, he had purchased and gathered 3,500 head of cattle on the ranch. At this time there was prohibition on the Canadian side and there was less of the objectionable “wild and woolly” life than in the northern states where firewater was freely sold and where there were no N.W.M.P. The cattle purchased in the U.S were moved north to Alberta at the rate of 10 to 12 miles per day. Bedding grounds had to be located and calves born on the way were either carried on wagons or given to Indians along the trail.

At times, the great herds had to swim across the swiftly flowing streams. It was very difficult to get the leading animals to go

into the water, but once the leaders were in, the others would follow. The current would carry them long distances downstream.

The calves would struggle nobly to keep up, with only their heads in sight. When they climbed up the farther bank there was great excitement among the mothers and calves. A thousand mothers bawling for their young ones and thousands of young ones bawling for their mothers had, to say the least, a disquieting effect.

The life of the cowboys of the time seemed to conform to about one standard.

They would work desperately and dangerously, enduring all sorts of hardships for months. Then, being lonesome, they would

get into a town, have a few drinks, sit in on a poker game and be stony broke in a few days. Many kept up this way of life year after year. Others spent their hard-earned wages of $40 per month for equipment, e.g. spurs $15, lariat $15, saddle $85 and a sombrero with heavy silver cord, silk band, etc. $85 and $50 for a belt.

In 1984, it was thought that 4,000 more cattle should be bought for the Oxley Ranch as the profits would be much greater in proportion with 8,000 head than with the number then on the range. Although the directors included the Earl of Lanthom, a countess and Mr. Staveley Hill of London, yet the additional cattle were purchased on credit. The payments were not made on time and one creditor, Frank Farmers, left his home in Montana to come to Oxley Ranch for his money, when he was overtaken by a snowstorm and perished. This caused great indignation against the company.

As Mr. Craig records the history, there was constant quarrelling and bad feeling between the manager in Canada and the titled people in England who were the directors of the company. Debts were not paid promptly, wages were not forthcoming and much money was spent on court cases and interest rates, which were one per cent per month compounded monthly. The British investors found ranching a poor investment — in this case at least. c For more of the past from pages of our magazine see the History Section at www.canadiancattlemen.ca.

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 environ m e n t

By Debbie Furber

Drilling down R on carbon sequestration New 10-year study looks for a more accurate formula to calculate the carbon-swallowing value of native grass

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anchers in all three Prairie prov­ inces are taking part in a decadelong study to assess the cumulative effect of different grazing systems on car­ bon sequestration and other ecological benefits from a working ranch.

In each province, 10 pastures managed under adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) graz­ ing systems for at least 10 years will be paired with neighbouring pastures where cattle graze continuously or in rotations with only a few moves each growing season. A total of 60 tame and native pastures will be put under the look­ ing glass for a decade.

Continued on page 12

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Continued from page 10

AMP grazing is a term U.S. researchers use to identify what Canadian producers are more likely to think of as planned grazing, oftentimes involving higher stocking densities with faster moves through many more paddocks than traditional rotational grazing systems.

Participating producers need only manage their pastures as usual, while the research team does the work, explains Dr. Mark Boyce, a conservation biology and wildlife ecology scientist, who will be leading the project with Dr. Edward Bork, a rangeland scientist and Mattheis Chair in rangeland ecology and management, both professors at the University of Alberta.

This summer and next, the team will concentrate on drawing 45 one-metredeep soil core samples from each site and doing plot measurements, such as plant diversity and plant cover. Soil biology will be analyzed as well as the carbon dioxide flux between the soil and atmosphere. The work will draw to an end with modelling to predict the potential of AMP and continuous grazing to sequester carbon in the various soil, vegetative and climactic settings.

ALUS Canada will communicate the findings when they become available.

Funding from the Government of Canada for this project expires March 31, 2021.

Invited to be part of the scientific team are Steve Apfelbaum and Ry Thompson from the consulting firm Applied Ecological Services based in Wisconsin, and Dr. Richard Teague, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, who spoke about U.S. research on regenerative AMP grazing during the joint Western Canadian Holistic Management and Organics Alberta conferences at Lacombe, Alta.

The audience was treated to a screening of “The Luckiest Places on Earth,” a documentary showcasing the U.S. team’s project using the same study design on four Alberta ranches. Funded by Shell Oil Company, this project measured carbon storage among other ecological parameters and found AMP pastures had captured 0.75 to 2.5 tons of carbon per hectare per year more than the nearby continuously grazed pastures.

The documentary by Peter Byck, in collaboration with Arizona State University, features James Cross of Nanton, Tom and Margaret Towers of Red Deer, Tim Hoven of Eckville, and Blake Holtman of Taber.

Just click on the Alberta section of the map on the homepage at www.soilcarboncowboys.com to view it and then move the pointer to “Saskatchewan” to watch

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the original 2014 “Soil Carbon Cowboys” documentary with Neil Dennis in Saskatchewan, Gabe Brown in North Dakota, and Allen Williams in Mississippi.

Boyce’s research on six ranches located in the area southeast of Calgary to Taber, indicates native grasslands store carbon at a rate of 1.4 to 2.4 tonnes per hectare per year. A scenario using this storage rate and the current Alberta carbon price of $25 per tonne could translate to a $35 to $60 per hectare payment, encouraging farmers to maintain permanent grassland for its many important ecological values.

“There is evidence that carbon sequestration is best in grassland and we anticipate that better-managed grass will do this better than conventional management,” says Don Campbell, a rancher and longtime holistic management coach from Meadow Lake, Sask., representing producers on the project’s steering committee.

“… if government is taxing people for putting carbon into the air, then those with the ability to remove it should be paid.”

“It’s only right if government is taxing people for putting carbon into the air, then those with the ability to remove it should be paid. We feel that we have a real solution in agriculture because raising the organic matter in soil by one or two per cent can sequester lots of carbon,” Campbell explains.

With the potential to increase soil organic matter, carbon storage year after year across Canada’s vast grazing and crop lands could be unlimited. This could create opportunities for payments from other countries as well for pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

“U.S. studies on native grasslands have shown that AMP grazing is very efficient, but we don’t know the extent here in our environment with our shorter growing season,” Boyce says. “We think that there is a role for the biological method of carbon sequestration and storage, and that appropriate grazing will increase the amount of carbon sequestered and stored in the soils.”

Bork says this new study, and similar

work by Teague’s group in the U.S. will start to bridge a big gap in the science between management effects on a landscape (ranch) scale and small-scale effects in individual plants seen in research.

A retrospective review of published research comparing continuous grazing to rotational grazing on rangeland over the past 60 years concluded rotational grazing isn’t superior to continuous grazing on rangeland. Rotational grazing has its place, purpose and benefits, but maybe isn’t as important in an agronomic sense as has been perceived and promoted because, overall, it didn’t improve either plant or animal production, according to the 2008 paper by Briske et al.

How is it then that producers, range managers and many other scientists have seen and continue to see beneficial results with rotational grazing at the ranch level?

Teague in a 2013 paper suggested “farmers and ranchers achieve superior results by the way they allocate resources, use different techniques, apply novel concepts and adaptively change elements to achieve outcomes that exceed the sum of parts involved. This is the art of farming.”

“Grazing and grasslands are complex systems on a large scale with added disturbances,” says Bork. “When disturbances occur — drought, frost or grasshoppers for example — producers adapt their management, often very quickly, to deal with it.”

On the other hand, experimental research by it’s very nature considers components singly and controls variables to the greatest extent possible to prove or disprove cause and effect one by one. These small-plot studies are completed in a very short time frame relative to the time it takes for animals to fully adapt to a new grazing regime and for its effects to become fully evident across the range.

Teague proposed an alternative approach by looking at ranches where AMP-style grazing practices have been in place for a long time to evaluate the cumulative effects of management on all ecological goods and services, forage production, pasture health, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas uptake.

Bork says, “We are interested in understanding where, when and how management affects these ecological goods and services. If AMP grazing does improve beef and plant production and does favour greenhouse gas reduction, then that adds value. In general, research to date on rotational grazing is quite clear that there are benefits, but at what scale isn’t so clear.” c

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 forage

By Debbie Furber

Shane and Arron Nerbas bale graze their herd through five-acre pods in winter to renovate lower-quality soils and reduce winter feed costs.

Forages for all seasons

T

he Nerbas family’s grazing program wouldn’t be the success it is without cattle that thrive in a forage-only system and the breeding program wouldn’t be the success it is without quality forage to optimize the cattle’s genetic potential.

Figuring out how to mesh everything together to support three families has been a work in progress as brothers Arron and Shane take over from their parents. Trying times for beef producers dating back to trade issues related to BSE in 2003, followed by repeated flooding of their most valuable haylands since 2006 made earning this year’s Manitoba Environmental Stewardship Award that much more special for the family.

Today, Arron and his wife Amber, along with Shane, and his wife Sacha, own and operate Nerbas Bros. Angus with their parents, Gene and Cynthia Nerbas, who are easing into retirement. The young up-

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and-coming fourth generation, Emerson, Hailey, Cash and Kane, is now in the wings.

The family runs 75 registered Angus cows alongside a 525-head commercial Angus herd on 5,500 acres of owned and rented pasture and hayland in the Assiniboine River Valley near Shellmouth in west-central Manitoba.

The terrain is perfect for raising cattle, varying from fertile lowlands to upland sand plains with everything in between including ample bush and hills for shelter and lots of natural freshwater sources.

The major production challenge has been coping with the loss of 1,100 acres of hayland through flooding, including 730 acres of high-quality tame forage that has reverted to native wetland grasses with little more than salvage value in years when it is usable for grazing or haying.

While they have no control over the

“ It’s important to have the right type of animal for your system, so we have to be really picky selecting genetics and replacement heifers we think will do well in our forage-only system.”

Continued on page 16

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fo r ag e

Off-site portable water troughs are supplied by solar- and wind-driven pumps and shallow-buried pipelines where feasible.

Continued from page 14

flooding, their experience in holistic management during the past 12 years has helped them adapt to whatever the weather and markets bring their way.

On the forage side, Arron talks about ways they have been working to increase the productivity of pastures on higher ground.

Winter bale grazing has been one of the most successful strategies for improving lower-quality soils and reducing winter feeding costs. The only aspect they didn’t like was regularly having to move the electric wire to control access to the bales, and always needing to put cows back on the right side of the wire.

The solution has been what they’ve coined as “pod grazing.” The pod is a tightly placed group of bales set on about five acres of land most in need of improvement within a larger existing paddock with permanent fencing. Each of the five or six pods needed for the winter is placed in its own paddock for hassle-free grazing and moving from one to the next. The pods are set up in fall and all 600 mature cows winter together from after weaning in early December into April when they start grazing stockpiled pastures.

The goal of the pod setup is to leave the area completely covered with residue to improve organic matter content and water retention. They estimate that this boosts forage production tenfold across the pod acres and, if properly managed with rotational grazing during the summer months, there shouldn’t be a need to pod that spot again for many years, if ever, Arron says.

Another approach to improving pas-

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ture productivity has been reintroducing legumes, such as alfalfa, clover, vetch and cicer milkvetch, to fix nitrogen, add diversity, and improve feed quality. Broadcasting seed and feeding seed in the mineral mix to let the cows do the planting have been somewhat successful in a patchy sort of way, so they are counting on their recently purchased Haybuster drill to give them an even catch.

Cicer milkvetch is turning out to be their preference as a pasture legume even though it’s not the cows’ first choice. Unlike alfalfa, it holds its leaves for late-season grazing and has the added advantage of being a super snow trap and a great deer decoy.

Overall, they estimate that forage production has doubled across their pastures since the early 2000s when they implemented a take-half-leave-half rotational grazing system allowing 90 days of rest before returning to a paddock. They now have approximately 100 permanent paddocks in place and use single-strand, high-tensile electric wire for cross-fencing as needed.

As the carrying capacity of the summer pastures increased, they began working to lengthen the grazing season with stockpiled forage. So far, they’ve added six weeks of grazing in fall and at least a month at the front end by starting in April, versus the traditional start at the end of May. Plenty of new green growth in the bottom of the tall stockpiled grass makes ideal calving grounds in May. Paddocks grazed before June 20 are then rested for stockpile grazing the next year. This year they have 1,400 acres of stockpiled forage to count on.

Each season begins with a grazing plan

mapped out for eight months, but they know from experience that they have to be prepared to adjust on the fly as each growing season unfolds. Heavy snow cover in this region most years is the biggest obstacle to extending the grazing season, while water quantity and quality for the cattle gives them quite a bit of flexibility.

They have worked with their local conservation district and tapped into resources available through the Environmental Farm Plan program to protect waterways, sloughs and dugouts from degradation. Riparian and other sensitive areas are fenced off for use in ways that limit grazing and loafing. Off-site watering during summer is provided with solar-powered portable water troughs and by shallow-buried pipeline where feasible.

It’s dicey in their area to rely on solar power alone to keep the stationary water troughs in commission, but the combination of solar and wind power has proven to be reliable.

Experience has also shown them that grazing the commercial herd in two groups rather than 525 pairs together is the best fit for their rotation.

“We could increase stocking density quickly with one large group, but we found it limits our flexibility to have cows grazing where we need them to be at certain times of the year, and having two herds gives us flexibility to run through the lowlands faster,”Arron says, adding that they’ve noticed that the cows seem much more relaxed and content grazing and moving in smaller groups than as one large group.

As for the flooded lowlands, he doubts that the tame species will ever regenerate from the seed bank because of the perpet-

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forage

ually saturated soil and the sod-forming nature of the wild wetland hay. Reseeding is just too risky because if new stands ever did become established, they could be lost again so quickly in the next flood.

“Considering the current state of the land, continual flooding and saturated soil, we feel letting the native grass come back is the best for the land and our operation with respect to erosion, leaching and riverbank stability,” he explains.

Never knowing from year to year what usable portion they might get makes planning and budgeting very difficult. Generally, they hope to graze or hay the lowlands whenever ground conditions allow cattle or equipment to be on the land without causing damage.

For summer grazing, they’ve found strip grazing with the use of temporary electric wire is the best approach to encourage the cows to consume this low-quality forage that’s not very palatable. Contrary to their usual practice, they don’t always leave half because the next flood could take that, too.

The farm was largely self-sufficient in hay production before the flooding years. Now, they budget to buy-in about 75 per cent of what they need and mix whatever they salvage from the lowland with the goodquality hay at a ratio of one to three bales, respectively, in their bale grazing setup for wintering the mature herd.

The bred heifers and yearling bulls, along with the heifer calves and bull calves selected as potential breeding stock from the current calf crop, are wintered with their contemporaries in pastures where hay is rolled out every four days or so. Calves not retained for their breeding program or sale as breeding stock are sold after weaning to local backgrounders, feedlots or through local auction markets.

The farm has been home to a commercial Angus herd since their grandparents’ time, with the registered herd growing from a pet project back in their 4-H days of the early ’90s.

The registered cow herd supplies bulls for the commercial program and they’ve totally eliminated buying-in bulls, or any cattle for that matter, since they began using artificial insemination on their registered cows in 2003. They now use some of their homegrown bulls from the AI program as herd sires for the registered cows as well.

“It’s important to have the right type of animal for your system, so we have to be really picky selecting genetics and replacement heifers we think will do well in our forage-only system,” Aaron explains.

The year 2003 also marked their first year selling bulls by private treaty on a firstcome basis directly from the farm. They’ve www.canadiancattlemen.ca

been building this end of their business by connecting with like-minded producers, through word of mouth and their repeatcustomer base, and actively showcasing farm life, their grazing program and their cattle on social media.

They now sell about 65 registered and commercial bulls annually, totalling more than 700 through the years. Five years ago they dipped into the female side selling 100 open replacement heifers a year and look forward to expanding this revenue stream.

“We are comfortable where we are now with the number of cattle and land base. Our goal is to continue on the path of regenerative management that will hopefully allow us to leave the land in better condition than when we started,” Arron says.

To learn more about their operation, visit www.nerbasbrosangus.com, nerbasbrosangus.blogspot.ca, and twitter.com/NerbasBrosAngus, where you’ll find the February 2017 pod-grazing time-lapse video, or call 204-773-6800. c

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C at t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7

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 cover • fo r ag e

By Heather Smith Thomas

target

Sustainable Grazing

G

arry Richards is seeing positive results from holistic management on the farm where he grew up near Bangor, Sask. He and his wife Lynn and three children are making it work with little outside input. “This farm was homesteaded in 1902 by my grandfather. My mother and father farmed here, then I went away to university and became a pharmacist. I was gone from the farm for about 15 years, then returned home with my wife Lynn near the end of 1999,” he says.

It was always a mixed farm, and then in the mid-1970s his father sold all the cattle and went into straight grain farming “Thus I didn’t grow up with any livestock, except a few horses,” adds Garry. “When my wife and I came back, we thought we would come home and see if there was a future in farming. We wanted to see if we could make a living without subsidizing the farm long-term with our off-farm income. I was a pharmacist and my wife a nurse, and it would have been fairly easy to work off the farm to generate income to help keep things going, but that wasn’t our goal,” says Richards.

“We grain farmed for two years and it was a difficult time; grain farming was barely break-even and there was a lot of pessimism.

Many people were saying we shouldn’t try to farm,” he says.

Continued on page 20

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Farming is a family affair for the Richards but the end goal is not just a good farm but a good life.

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fo r ag e

Total farm profits and the quality of their soil started increasing after they introduced cattle into the grain production cycle.

Continued from page 18

“But we continued on and decided to give it a try for a couple years — so in 2002 we bought some cow-calf pairs, to get into the cow business as well as grain farming.

Then in January 2003 we took a holistic management class,” he says.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT

Holistic management has been a big help in learning how to work toward improving land and pastures.

“The class we took in 2003 was wonderful. We didn’t have all the traditional paradigms to hold us back, because we hadn’t been back on the farm very long.”

“The cows we bought were all due to calve in January because that’s when most people calved at that time.” The typical thing to do was build a calving barn with a corral, and live with those cows while they calved.

“At that time we were pregnant with our first child and we were out there calving cows and taking the holistic management class. Lynn was about seven months pregnant and the challenges reinforced the fact that what we were trying to do was insane!

It was a lot of work, fighting nature. That winter it happened to be minus 40 C for a long time. So the holistic management course was very timely.”

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Another important event was listening to Gabe Brown speak at a local grazing conference in 2007. “In 2009 we planted our first cover crop cocktail. That was another big step for us. Today we continue to try different things every year in that mix. Some years we farm a little more grain, or a little less. The farm has become much more resilient, with a lot less risk,” says Richards.

“The components of holistic management are healthy land, healthy people, healthy profits, and we are starting to see some of these things become a bigger reality. I remember talking to Don Campbell about grass and he said that you manage for what you want, rather than what you have.

Keep doing the simple principles as they were meant to be done, and things will take care of themselves. Now we are seeing our land become healthier.”

“We are trying to quantify some of those things with numbers and soil testing and a bit of science. Some things are just subjective, however, regarding how the soil looks, whether it looks aggregated, with better water infiltration. We are starting to see some differences,” he says.

“We’ve been very wet here for a number of years and we can see how our land is soaking up the moisture better. Our grain crops are better. We don’t use fungicides,

and our crops are healthy. We don’t have to depend on chemicals as much,” he explains.

“We are starting to see increases in profit by using cattle in the grain production cycle — with some grazing days here and there, improving soil health, and we’re trying to extend our growing season. It’s easy to do this on perennial pasture, because it grows as soon as it can in the spring, and grows until it gets covered with snow, but on the grain fields and cultivated land it’s harder to do. We are able to extend things a bit, however, so we now have land that is photosynthesizing for more than 200 days a year now, whereas on a conventional grain crop it might only be green for 70 to 80 days,” he says.

“Our net profit on a per-acre or a per-cow basis has gotten bigger. We are also able to manage risk better, and the farm is much more resilient. We have many more options now, because some of the crops we seed can be combined or grazed, or we can make feed out of them.”

“We also have a choice, depending on markets. If the market for grain is good, we might be better off to combine that crop that year, with more net profit, and we’ll still have enough forage. That’s a great option, but sometimes weather makes it impossible to harvest it the way we want

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forage

to do it. If we have oats lying out there in a swath that can’t be harvested, my cows can graze it.”

“With some of our cows we also diversify, raising some grass-finished beef to sell.

That’s where our open heifers go; they make really good beef. This system suits the people who believe they don’t want any kind of antibiotics or hormones in the raising of their meat. We can assure them about the way it was grown, and the nutrition it’s been getting,” says Richards.

“When we took the holistic management class our goal was to mimic nature; we wanted the cows to calve in May/June and lick snow in winter. This was vastly different from how my father did it. When he had cattle, they put them in the barn every night.”

“I just said to him, ‘Let’s try it. Many people are doing this and it’s worked. If it doesn’t work, we’ll change.’ He was willing to go along with it, so that winter we had the cows out licking snow for water, doing more foraging on their own. A few weeks turned into months and at the end of winter he couldn’t believe how good those cows looked. I give him credit because he was open-minded enough to go along with our ideas and willing to change.”

“He stood back and watched as we moved the cows all the time, and had lots of grass, and were going into pastures four feet tall.

The cows were going in and tramping down and wasting all this grass that many people feel should be made into hay. He watched us doing this, and after a few years he could see that it works,” Richards says.

“Now with the cover crops, that’s another new thing, but we are seeing that the improved soil health is paying dividends in our grain crops. We are getting high yields and healthier crops, with less expense and more profit.”

they will perform. We know the cows, and let the system sort things out,” says Richards.

“The main trick is simply to cull hard and work toward the goal.”

The cow herd today is mainly Angus with some Tarentaise and Welsh Black and Galloway to add hybrid vigour. “That’s one of the few free things a breeder can utilize. We are trying to do a little crossbreeding and still maintain a large percentage of our own Black Angus genetics.”

FAMILY

Working the farm is a team effort and everyone is involved. Rebekah is 13, Evan is 12, and Caroline 10.

“At this point they are interested in the farm and all three say they want to farm, but we don’t know what they will actually end up doing. If they can see a farm holistically — healthy land, healthy people, healthy profits — they will have a good farm but, more importantly, a good life,” says Garry. c

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THE CATTLE

“Our first group of cows was a LimousinCharolais cross. They were the wrong kind for grass-based, low-input agriculture, but they did fairly well. I didn’t know anything about cattle, and still have a lot to learn, but we realized we needed to find the right type of cow to make this really work.”

“In the end we looked for some other genetics and started using some New Zealand grass-based stock, including some Angus and Devon. A grass-based ranch near here had a dispersal sale, and we bought some Black Angus from them. We started a purebred herd and continued on with it, using grass-based genetics. We produce most of our own bulls now, so we know how www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 Nutritio n

By John McKinnon

More Questions on Mineral Nutrition (Part 2)

W

ith this column, I want to continue our discussion on mineral feeding. Last month I addressed questions regarding the adequacy/availability of trace minerals naturally found in tame and native grasses and how effective they were in meeting requirements; the role of sulphur and molybdenum in copper deficiency, and the need to understand your mineral tag when purchasing the correct mineral for your situation. In this column, I want to address the need for year-round mineral feeding and management of the mineral feeder.

One of the more common questions I get involving mineral supplementation goes something like this: “Do I need to feed minerals year-round?” The simple answer is yes! While requirements for specific minerals will vary with stage of pregnancy, breeding status, age of the animal and body reserves, your cows still require appropriate supplementation throughout the year.

Remember that in last month’s column I wrote that many minerals in forages are poorly absorbed by adult cattle. Failure to supplement at strategic times such as during the spring and/or summer or over the winter will simply deplete an animal’s reserves and lead to deficiency situations. For cows that have calved and are attempting to return to normal breeding status, such deficiencies can be difficult to correct and lead to reproductive issues such as delayed estrus and/or poor conception rates.

Short-term fixes such as supplying a mineral postcalving do not always work. A more realistic approach is to work with your feed company or nutritionist to develop an understanding of your forage base in terms of their macro (i.e. calcium, magnesium) and trace (i.e. copper, zinc, manganese) mineral content as well as soil molybdenum levels and water quality (i.e. sulphate levels). With this information you and your nutritionist can develop a mineral feeding program that meets the requirements of your cow herd 365 days a year! Such a program can include a mineral designed for early as well as late fall range conditions, a mid-gestation mineral for feeding over the winter and, finally, a pre/ post-calving mineral that may include a percentage of chelated trace minerals to ensure optimal reproductive performance.

Management of the mineral feeder is another area producers often have questions about.

One common complaint is: “I can’t get cows to eat mineral, or they eat it like candy and won’t stop!” Poor mineral consumption can in some cases be related to

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specific commercial mineral mixes. Some are less palatable than others, which can be related to a high phosphorus content, the presence or absence of specific flavou­ring agents or salt content.

Location of the feeder on pasture can also influence intake, depending on where it is situated in relation to salt blocks, water sources and supplemental feed. If the mineral is low in salt and located on the other side of the pasture from your salt blocks, consumption is likely to be poor.

How often do you refill your mineral feeder? It’s hard for cows to consume mineral consistently if your feeder is empty half of the summer.

As to the comment that cows won’t stop eating mineral, the first question that should come to your mind is: “When was the last time they had access to mineral?”

Cows that have not seen mineral for a prolonged period will likely overeat when they get fresh mineral and may take two or three weeks to get their fill. If you continue to have issues with over-consumption, my advice would be to provide a two- or three-week supply (based on the recommended daily per head intake found on the tag) in multiple feeders so that all cows have access. Regardless of how quickly the mineral disappears, do not refill the feeder until the two- or three-week period is up. In other words, limit feed to recommended intake levels.

Finally, let’s look at troubleshooting a mineral problem. First and foremost, don’t wait for a wreck to occur before seeking professional help. Once you start seeing issues with milk fever, lameness, retained placentas or open cows, it is too late. At this stage you are dealing with deficient cows and, as discussed above, it is difficult to identify and correct the issue in a short time frame.

Secondly, if you are seeing thin or open cows or infertile bulls, make sure it is a mineral problem and not just a lack of energy or protein. Confirmation of a deficiency is best achieved through a blood sample and/or liver biopsy taken by a veterinarian from suspect animals. Troubleshooting a program also involves knowledge of mineral intake at different stages of the production cycle, which implies keeping track of how much mineral is purchased and fed throughout the year. Such knowledge can lead to recommendations related to the placement/management of the mineral feeder, the need for salt supplementation and potential palatability issues. Working with your nutritionist will also help you evaluate if you are feeding the right mineral for your operation, taking into account forage species, soil molybdenum levels as well as water quality. c

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

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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3/15/2017 2:59:11 PM

 forage

By Duane McCartney

Sainfoin, alfalfa and grass mixtures being tested

A

sprinkling of a new sainfoin was enough to ignite renewed interest in high legume pastures across Alberta and British Columbia last year.

The case for high legume pastures was made long ago, both in research trials and in the field by experienced producers with the skill and nerve to turn up the alfalfa content of their grass pastures.

Higher yields, higher gains, better-conditioned cows, longer grazing seasons and more profit per acre is how Alberta forage and livestock specialist Grant Lastiwka sums up the most obvious benefits.

“High legume pastures also build soil quality and increase nitrogen content in the soil for use by the grass,” adds Lastiwka.

Added diversity is another selling point, always a welcome trait in pastures, particularly in times of drought. Carbon sequestration is also improved by mixing in some legume with your grasses.

The downside, of course, is bloat, or more accurately, the fear of bloat. And that is why the results of the new sainfoin developed in Lethbridge was pricking up ears at pasture tours last summer and forage meetings this

winter. Sainfoin is a non-bloating legume and when mixed in a sward with alfalfa and grass greatly reduces the risk to grazing cattle.

As long as a cow gets a mouthful of grass and sainfoin along with the alfalfa, bloat shouldn’t be a problem.

Ten forage research associations applied for some Growing Forward 2 money to test the productivity of such a mixture.

“Thirteen 10-acre sites were established in 2016 and 2017, all across Alberta and into the Peace Region of British Columbia,” says Lastiwka. “They were each seeded to make a stand mixture of AAC Mountainview sainfoin (20 per cent), alfalfa (40 per cent), and grass (40 per cent) for grazing in 2017. Although we seeded these percentages, if you have the choice, seed the sainfoin at rates at least equal to the alfalfa.”

This project focuses on AAC Mountainview sainfoin and alfalfa, but there are several other legumes such as newer cicer milkvetches, birdsfoot trefoil, yellowblossomed alfalfa, and clovers including alsike, red, kura, sweet, purple prairie that

provide good options or can be used in combination.

The alfalfa-sainfoin legume mixture was seeded with a drill at the low recommended rate for brown soil to keep costs down.

Grass was also seeded at low rates and both were seeded separately at right-cross angles to reduce competition and provide better ground cover.

Forage seed is not cheap. One way I learned to make the most of it when seeding rough bush pastures at the Melfort Research Station in Saskatchewan was to prepare a proper seedbed. Firmness is critical. For forage establishment, a footprint in the seedbed should be no deeper than 1/2 inch. That allows uniform, shallow coverage of the seed to prevent it from drying out. A seedbed can never be too firm before seeding. Soft seedbeds, on the other hand, are often the reason why a stand fails to establish. Seeds should be covered with 1/2 inch of soil.

“Control the weeds before you seed, especially if you are using a mixture of grasses and legumes,” adds Lastiwka.

“Make sure no residual herbicides were used in the past that will affect your new

Farmers assessed a few of the 13 sainfoin/alfalfa/grass plots last summer.

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C at t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

forage

crop. Watch closely throughout the growing season to ensure weeds are not choking out the forage seedlings as they try to establish.”

Legumes require inoculation with specific rhizobia bacteria in order to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. Both the inoculated seed and inoculant need to be stored in a cool place and out of sunlight prior to use.

Depending on the emergence of weeds, spring seeding can be an effective time to seed forages when soil temperatures are above 5 C. Very late fall seeding can also work when soil temperature is below 2 C so that germination does not occur until the following spring.

Depending on the year, it will take some time to get a successful establishment of the high legume forage stand.

Lastiwka advises keeping a close eye on the progress of the young stand, so you will be ready to control weeds with a quick graze, and if the stand doesn’t establish you will probably know why and can decide whether or not to reseed. Adequate soil moisture throughout the first year’s growth is extremely important for good establishment.

Once the plants are growing it is important that the canopy be open enough that the sunlight can continue to reach the rest of the plant. “They don’t last long without sunlight,” he says.

The results of the trials to date are mixed.

“The B.C. site was too wet and then snow fell so we hope it will be seeded this spring,” says Lastiwka. “One other site had poorer legume establishment. It was seeded very shallow but into a soft seedbed with a Barton opener air seeder that had a packer behind the shoot. The grass was put on afterwards using a Valmar harrow broadcast seeded at right angles. We feel the legumes were buried too deep once cross harrowed.”

“I was right there at the time and I didn’t catch it. We should have left the grass seeding for fall time or a few weeks later once we saw what was going to happen.”

“One site was infected with wire worms, two sites were dry and of them one did have a red proso millet greenfeed crop as competition.”

The best sites were at Consort, Barrhead and Longview. The latter two were both grazed by skilled managers to remove weeds or a low seeding rate of oat cover crop competition. Other sites were mowed or sprayed as means of weed control.

“The AAC Mountainview sainfoin caught every bit as well as alfalfa. We had potential for between two to three sainfoin plants per square foot and eight to nine alfalfa plants

and eight grass plants. It cost us about $125/ acre to establish the high legume pastures, although last year’s prices were at an all-time high for forage seed. This is a perennial crop that if seeded and managed right will have many years to spread this cost over.”

“We aren’t afraid to plant a crop of corn for grazing with its high seed cost each year.

That is because we know it can yield really well. Higher cost needs to be exceeded with even greater returns through higher animal

grazing days. This is the key for both of these crops to be a wise choice,” concludes Lastiwka.

As with all forage stand establishments, you really need to evaluate the success and productivity of the new forage stand three years and more after seeding. Time will tell on the success of the high legume pasture project. c Duane McCartney is a retired forage beef systems research scientist at Lacombe, Alta.

INNOVATION FILE:

Providing Pain Relief at the Time of Castration

“Our branding results were amazing.”

“Because we didn’t have to spend two days mothering up and making sure everything was up and going, right there it paid for itself. It kind of makes sense if you’re reducing stress that they’re going to give something back to you. Our weights are definitely up at weaning, so that could have been a factor there.”

Giles Ranch – Sue and Jason Giles (pictured), Del, Jean, M urry and Kerri.

Meloxicam Oral Solution provides at least 56 hours of pain relief for the humane treatment of calves at the time of castration.

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www.canadiancattlemen.ca

C at t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7 5924 Meloxicam Testimonial-Ad-Giles-CCM-FINAL.indd 1 Client: Solvet/AVL Project: Testimonial Ad

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 researc h o n t h e r eco r d

By Reynold Bergen

Water Fight

I

magine a scene from an old spaghetti western, where two ranches are battling for control over the only waterhole around. The hired guns squint at each other from behind the sagebrush, waiting for the chance to unleash a hail of bullets at their foe, until the Texas Rangers ride in to restore peace.

Just replace ranches with “delegates,” hired guns with “scientists,” sagebrush with “laptops,” bullets with “research papers,” and Texas Ranger with “Canadians,” and a very similar scenario recently took place at the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Livestock Environment Assessment and Performance (LEAP) partnership meetings in Rome. But the dispute was over water, and the stakes are very high for the beef industry.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Tim McAllister is one of Canada’s representatives to the LEAP partnership. Working with the University of Manitoba’s Getahun Legesse, they managed to get the main European researchers leading the two opposing sides of this global range war to discuss their differences. Their points of agreement and disagreement are laid out in an upcoming Journal of Animal Science review paper (Quantifying Water Use in Ruminant Production) that the Beef Cluster helped fund.

The “Water Footprint” and “Lifecycle Analysis” groups both agree that water is important. Starving to death can take months; dehydrating takes days. They agree that the world has a limited supply of fresh water, and that water pressures will become more intense as the world’s population grows. They even agree on some of the same numbers. But they strongly disagree over which numbers to use and how to use them.

The Water Footprint approach is relatively straightforward. It estimates how much surface (blue) water is used to water cattle, make fertilizer, irrigate pastures and crops, process beef, etc., how much rain (green) water falls on pasture and feed crops, and how much water is needed to dilute runoff from feed crops, pastures and cattle operations (grey water). Adding these blue, green and grey numbers for cattle produced throughout the world produces a global “water footprint” for beef. Because cattle are large, eat a lot, and live a long time, beef’s water footprint is larger than other plant and animal proteins.

In accounting terms, they focus on the “total expense” number.

The Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) approach focuses on the blue water that we deliberately choose to use to produce beef instead of some other food. Green water is discounted because rain falls on the land whether cattle or feed was raised there or not. Grey water is discounted because it is very difficult to estimate accurately. So an LCA water use number will obviously be a lot smaller than the water footprint, but that doesn’t mean an LCA

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C a t t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7

is simpler. The LCA approach also considers the region of the planet the beef is produced in. Although beef production uses a lot of water, beef production may be more sustainable than trying to grow food crops in a dry environment with poor soil and rough topography. In other cases, it may make more sense for a dry region to import its beef from an area of the world where water is more abundant. The LCA can inform these assessments by also considering the impacts of beef (or other food production choices) on biodiversity, carbon sequestration, culture, etc.

In accounting terms, an LCA goes through the expense column line by line; it focuses on how much water is used at each point in the production chain.

Efforts to use water more efficiently in beef production need to consider where the water is used throughout the system. For example, for every litre or gallon of water beef cattle drink, another 100 are needed to grow their feed. So genetic selection for animals that drink less will have a lot less impact on water use than selecting and managing beef cattle for improved feed efficiency, selecting and managing feed and forage crops for improved water use efficiency, or reducing water loss in irrigation systems.

What it means: These two sides haven’t settled their differences yet. But having them in the same room and co-authoring a major report like this is significant. As the world’s population grows and resources become scarcer, we can expect these environmental issues to become more frequent and intense. The discussions and reports that come out of groups like LEAP can influence government policy and public opinion for a very long time.

Remember “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” the FAO’s 2006 report that led to media stories saying that beef is worse for the environment than SUVs? This perception wasn’t dispelled by the FAO’s more balanced followup 2013 report (Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock).

This could happen again with the LEAP’s water report, unless efforts like this are made to ensure that LEAP discussions take place in a calm, rational manner to inform effective, long-term industry solutions, meaningful government policy and accurate public perceptions.

The Beef Research Cluster is funded by the Canadian Beef Cattle 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 science director of the Beef Cattle Research Council.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 forage

By Debbie Furber

Annual clovers to the rescue

A

nnual clover may be just the remedy if your pastures and hayland are looking a little under the weather this spring.

Performance Seed, a newly established forage seed company at Lethbridge, Alta., is introducing two new low no-bloat annual clover varieties that show good potential as stand-alone crops or in blends for grazing, hay, silage or cover crops. Both are from the wholesale forage seed breeding company, Grassland Oregon, at Salem, Oregon.

Annual clovers offer the same nitrogenfixing and feed-quality benefits as perennial legumes. The added advantage in some grazing and cropping scenarios is that Mother Nature kills annual clovers each winter, eliminating the need for tillage or herbicide applications to get the job done, says Performance Seeds representative Darrell Holyk.

When properly inoculated, nodules on the roots fix nitrogen from air in the soil to supply the plants’ requirements for growth.

The nitrogen from plant biomass remaining after harvest or grazing is released into the soil as the plant material decays.

Both of these annual clover varieties have long, strong tap roots capable of breaking through hardpan layers to tap into nutrients deeper in the soil and create channels for air and water infiltration. The tap roots break way for the plants’ own root systems and those of companion crops to expand, versus some perennial clovers that form masses of shallow roots that rob topsoil moisture from reaching other plant roots below.

Frosty

The Berseem variety, Frosty, is noted for its compatibility with alfalfa because of its similar structure and growth habit, but more so because it is not affected by the natural substances alfalfa releases to inhibit growth of nearby plants (alleleopathy).

These traits make Frosty a nice choice for boosting current-year yield potential when planted into patchy or thin alfalfa and mixed-forage stands. It’s also popular south of the border as a nurse crop to establish new alfalfa fields.

Holyk suggests Performa LeguMax as an option for longer-term rejuvenation. It

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The Berseem variety Frosty is not inhibited by alfalfa making it a good choice to boost patchy stands.

Both varieties use strong tap roots to reach nutrients deep in the soil while nodules fix nitrogen.

is a blend of perennial legumes including mountainview sainfoin (45 per cent), cicer milkvetch (20 per cent) and alfalfa (five per cent), with Frosty making up the remaining 15 per cent to protect the young perennials.

For annual hay, silage or swath grazing, he recommends sowing Frosty at five to seven pounds per acre with your choice of cereal, but reducing the seeding rate of the cereal by 25 to 30 per cent so that the canopy doesn’t shade the clover too much. Harvest at the best time for the cereal crop.

Performa annual forage mix is the company’s blend of annual grasses, brassicas

and legumes (Frosty, Fixation and hairy vetch) that fits into a season-long rotational grazing system. It can be planted with 30 pounds per acre of an annual cereal and forage peas added at 10 pounds per acre if you like.

The suggested seeding rate for planting Frosty as a monoculture is 15 pounds per acre if putting it into the ground with a drill and 25 pounds per acre if broadcasting.

This crop does best on loamy and silty soils with pH ranging from 5.2 to 7.8.

The window to get the crop in the ground is fairly wide, from April 15 to May 15 in

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forage

southern Prairie regions, allowing flexibility to give waterlogged soils time to dry. Sow early on the moisture, or hold off for spring rains. Once established, it is moderately tolerant of waterlogged field conditions.

FIXatioN

Fixation is a Balansa variety. Balansa clovers are said to be the most versatile of the annual clovers because they perform well in all types of soils from heavy clay to sandy, through a wide pH range from 4.5 to 8.5, tolerate moderate salinity, and withstand waterlogged soils and short periods of flooding.

Fixation is suggested as a good choice for intensive grazing systems because of its quick growth in spring and early summer.

Well-established plants recover quite rapidly compared to other clovers because of its cluster of multi-branched stems growing out and then upward from the rosette. It is a prolific seed producer and should be managed to prevent seed set before a killing frost.

This variety specifically has been observed to be quite tolerant to cold, Holyk says. Its ability to withstand late-spring and earlyfall frost likely varies depending on its stage of growth, field and moisture conditions, and whether there is a snow covering for insulation.

With its big, branchy growth habit, yields were usually, but not always, higher than Frosty clover in a two-cut haying system in the northern U.S.

Uses are the same as for Frosty clover, with the addition of being an excellent forage choice to smother weeds when grown as a monoculture cover crop.

Smaller seed size allows for a low seeding rate of five pounds per acre when planting with a drill or eight pounds per acre for broadcasting. In mixes, plan for three and five pounds per acre, respectively.

Performance Seed works with Verdesian Life Sciences in Cary, North Carolina, to supply appropriate inoculants and/or seed coatings for its perennial and annual legumes, cool- and warm-season grasses, and forage brassicas.

For more information or to receive a catalogue by mail call 1-888-808-2898. c

CANADIAN SHORTHORN ASSOCIATION www.canadiancattlemen.ca

C at t l e m e n ¡ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

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 sustaina b i l i ty

By Debbie Furber

Gaining farmland advantage payments for ecoservices

R

eturning from college to the fam­ ily ranch was something of a reality check for Dave Zehnder.

The open spaces, wildlife and other farm families that he had taken for granted as part of everyday life were being lost to recreational and urban developments in the scenic valley surrounding his home­ town of Invermere, B.C. Lessons from his livestock production eco­ nomics classes kept ringing in his head. “If my job is to maximize returns from the assets we have, I should be looking at a condo develop­ ment or golf course. My inconvenient truth is that I shouldn’t be farming at all.”

On the other hand he knew that other values from their land base and manage­ ment could contribute to the ecosystem while still producing food.

Only five per cent of the land in B.C. is privately owned, primarily by farmers and largely in the valley bottoms where streams flow and wildlife roam. The combination of income from producing food and provid­ ing ecosystem services, such as improved water quality and important wildlife habi­ tat, could improve the economics of run­ ning farms and encourage farmers to stay.

Zehnder was aware payment for ecosys­ tem services (PES) had existed for many years in his parents’ home country of Switz­ erland and other European countries, as well as the U.S., Australia, China and Costa

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Rica. And he believed the people of British Columbia would be willing to pay farmers for ecosystem services if they understood the value they provided to the community.

Initial attempts working with the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association to sell the concept of a PES-type program to the provincial government led to a dead end.

“If farmers wanted to pursue this, we would have to do something on our own, not funded by the provincial or federal governments.”

“We would need to start small and find other funding sources to prove the concept,” remembers Zehnder. Drawing on a U.S. idea where communities collected special taxes to support conservation on private agriculture land, he and a group he was part of pitched the idea to their local government. With sup­ port from local politicians, the question was put to ratepayers in a referendum that went in favour of paying a special tax of $25 per parcel annually to support local conservation projects on private land.

In 2009, he started a project on the family ranch as a way to demonstrate the process by providing one ecosystem service. A small lake and stream in the watershed that sup­ plies Lake Invermere were fenced off and they invested in a portable solar-powered watering system to supply the cattle. Scien­ tists and experts monitored the project for three years, laying the foundation for a basic verification model for the fledgling program.

Since then, he’s noticed a gradual shift in attitudes across Canada toward supporting conservation, and today there is a national working group made up of people from ALUS, SODCAP in Saskatchewan, and Farmland Advantage attempting to keep this momentum moving.

Enhancing Natural Values

Farmland Advantage is a five-year research and development project that was formal­ ized last year. The goal is to establish a full, long-term PES program across the province.

The 11-step framework that forms the basis of the work plan has been in full swing since funding for the first year was secured from the Columbia Trust Fund and the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program.

“The focus is on making sure our model is solid to show proof of concept, so we don’t want to spread ourselves too thin right out of the starting gate,” says Zehnder, who is leading the project.

The plan is to start small, setting up ripar­ ian health demonstration sites on farms of all types, then evaluate the results and make improvements to their model before they open it up.

They drew on earlier work done for the original Ecosystem Services Initiative, a three-year research and demonstration project on 30 farms and ranches in B.C. and Alberta that funded ecoservices related

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sustainability

to water quality and quantity, biodiversity, species at risk and carbon sequestration.

From that project Zehnder learned you can’t offer a one-size-fits-all type of program. Every region and every farm is different. It’s a matter of matching the needs of both when it comes to ecoservices.

They also needed a way to monitor and verify their results to the community. In the end they adopted the methodology used by Alberta’s Cows and Fish to assess riparian health.

“A PES program has to work both ways,” he says, “so we also need a way to capture the costs and benefits on the farm side. As farmers running a business we are concerned about the ongoing cost because we don’t want to add another unpaid job. We need to be aware of how the cost-benefit shakes out for us. By calculating the benefits to the public and the bottom line for producers, the project will be able to determine a fair price to pay producers,” Zehnder explains.

The Farmland Advantage model has evolved in sync with the long-established Environmental Farm Plan (EFP). Provincial EFP advisers help producers develop an action plan and apply for cost-shared funding to implement appropriate beneficial management practices (BMP). The PES program then kicks in with funding to cover the farmer’s ongoing costs, including labour, to maintain the BMP. Zehnder says farmers favour adding PES programming as an extension to their EFP. They already know and trust their EFP advisers, and this way they have one contact for both programs.

Farmland Advantage trained some EFP advisers last year to get this strategy started, but it is the advisers who sign up the farmers, monitor the sites and collect economic data for the cost-benefit analysis.

Dave Zehnder

The British Columbia Agriculture Council (BCAC), which administers the EFP program, is seen as the logical overseer of a long-term PES program. It is an industry association representing more than 14,000 farmers and ranchers and 30 farm-sector associations.

The fundraising strategy for the long term is to establish multiple sources contributing to a common pot. The initial plan is to approach conservation/mitigation organizations, corporate sponsors and all three levels of government. A third-party survey indicated good support for local lev-

ies to support local or regional farm-based conservation. The bonus is the educational value to local people who support the ecosystem on agricultural lands.

Farmland Advantage is led by a provincial working group drawn from government, the wildlife federation, conservation organizations and the BCAC as the farmer representative. With advice from various experts, the group has identified three southern regions with important watersheds that would benefit most from a PES program: Kootenays, Lower Mainland, and Okanagan.

Local regional groups decided to target riparian conservation and enhancement and species at risk habitat on 60 demonstration sites in the three regions.

They rated farm sites according to their potential to deliver ecoservices and offered five-year, fee-for-service contracts to take actions (beyond routine management practices) to conserve or enhance riparian areas.

The annual payment was set at an arbitrary amount for now, but eventually will be set by monitored results, plus a financial and environmental economic analysis.

“We had an amazingly good response from farmers,” says Zehnder. “They get it.

They’re interested in it and they do what they commit to do.”

Naming the project Farmland Advantage was the first step in rebranding the concept.

Feedback indicated the old name, Ecosystem Services Initiative, didn’t resonate with farmers, funders, the public or government.

A newsletter, brochures, posters and yearone report are available on the website: www.FarmlandAdvantage.com. c

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C at t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7

31

From the makers of

and

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PARASITE CONTROL. 1 INJECTION • 2 PHASES •

EXTENDED RELEASE COVERING UP TO 150 DAYS 1

LONGRANGE® (eprinomectin) is a revolutionary extended-release dewormer that provides improved average daily gain (ADG) compared to conventional dewormers.

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For treatment and control of the most common internal and external parasites in cattle, LONGRANGE has been shown to be effective at eliminating roundworms and lungworms initially as well as 100 to150 days after treatment due to the second phase of activity.

LONGRANGE vs. Conventional Dewormers 0.28 lbs./day more Average Daily Gain (ADG) in lbs.

2.5

Difference ADG 0.24*

2.25

Difference ADG 0.40

Difference ADG 0.30*

Treatment in the spring with LONGRANGE for parasite control leads to better ADG. In a stocker trial with 15,000+ enrolled head, cattle treated with LONGRANGE gained an average 0.28 lbs./day more than those treated with conventional dewormers. That equals 28 lbs. over 100 days.†

2.33 2.14

2

1.93

1.75 1.5

Difference ADG 0.28*

2

1.93

1.84

2.07 1.79

1.69

1.25

Injectable

Conventional Dewormers

Pour-on

Combinations

LONGRANGE

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*Statistically significant (P<0.01)

Conventional Dewormers Injectable • formulations of doramectin or ivermectin Pour-on • formulations of ivermectin

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1

First phase of effectiveness

LONGRANGE is indicated for the treatment and control of the following internal and external parasites of cattle:

GASTROINTESTINAL ROUNDWORMS

Second phase of effectiveness

Due to the pharmacokinetic properties of LONGRANGE, a second phase of activity has been shown to be effective at eliminating the following parasites at these times after treatment:

Bunostomum phlebotomum

Adults and L4

GASTROINTESTINAL ROUNDWORMS

Cooperia oncophora

Adults and L4

Bunostomum phlebotomum

120 days

Cooperia punctata

Adults and L4

Cooperia oncophora

120 days

Cooperia surnabada

Adults and L4

Cooperia punctata

120 days

Cooperia spp.

Inhibited L4

Oesophagostomum radiatum

120 days

Haemonchus placei

Adults

Ostertagia lyrata

120 days

Oesophagostomum radiatum

Adults and L4

Ostertagia ostertagi

120 days

Ostertagia lyrata

Adults

Trichostrongylus axei

100 days

Ostertagia ostertagi

Adults and L4

Ostertagia spp.

Inhibited L4

LUNGWORMS

Trichostrongylus axei

Adults and L4

Dictyocaulus viviparus

Trichostrongylus colubriformis

Adults

DOSAGE/ADMINISTRATION1

An easy-to-administer single subcutaneous injection.

LUNGWORMS Dictyocaulus viviparus

150 days

Adults

GRUBS Hypoderma bovis

MITES Sarcoptes scabiei var. bovis

PACKAGING: LONGRANGE is available in two ready-to-use glass

bottle sizes. The 250 mL and 500 mL bottles contain sufficient solution to treat 50 and 100 head of 250 kg (550-lb.) cattle, respectively.

The 250 mL and 500 mL bottles are supplied in a removable plastic protector with convenient integrated hanging hook.

WARNING: Treated cattle must not be slaughtered for use in food for at least 120 days after the latest treatment with this drug. Do not use in dairy cattle 20 months of age or older, including dry dairy cows.

LONGRANGE should be given only by subcutaneous injection in front of the shoulder at a dose of 1 mg eprinomectin per kg body weight (1 mL per 50 kg body weight or 1 mL/110 lbs.).

Each mL of LONGRANGE contains 50 mg of eprinomectin.

• Animals should be appropriately restrained to achieve the proper route of administration.

• Inject under the loose skin in front of the shoulder using a 16- or 18-gauge, ½-inch to ¾-inch needle.

• Divide doses greater than 10 mL between two injection sites to reduce occasional discomfort or injection site reaction.

• Use only polypropylene syringes or automatic polypropylene dosing equipment.

STORAGE: • Store at room temperature between 15-30 ˚C, with excursions up to 40 ˚C permitted as long as they do not exceed 48 hours.

• Protect from light.

Based on the Canadian LONGRANGE label.

Data on file at Merial. † 28 lbs. = 12.72 kg.

1 2

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Talk to your veterinarian about turning out with LONGRANGE for season-long peace of mind.

 managem e n t

By Duane McCartney

Species at risk adds new emphasis to managing grasslands

T

he management of species at risk on pasture, rangelands and wild lands is an issue of considerable interest to most cattle producers. As a result it was highlighted at a workshop jointly sponsored by Environment and Climate Change Canada during the International Rangeland Congress in Saskatoon last summer.

Several provincial environmental farm plans and producer-run projects under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) initiative were looked at to see how ranchers are protecting species habitat and themselves with conservation/ management agreements and incentive payments for ecological services.

Ecosystem ranch consultant Peggy Strankman co-ordinated the workshop.

“Producers generally want to do the right thing but not at the cost of putting their business and family in jeopardy,” she says.

“Voluntary approaches are more acceptable

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C at t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7

than regulatory and often the management changes come at a minimal cost.”

“Producers need some level of compensation and recognition for what they are doing to enhance the ecosystems on their ranch. Producers say small ranches and farms need to be recognized, not just the big ones. They also say it is refreshing to hear about incentives for good land stewardship and not just more legislation.”

“Good stewardship has retained habitat for species and they are still here.”

The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association’s SARPAL project develops beneficial management practices (BMPs) for some 60 Prairie species. BMPs in turn can be included in environmental farm plans, or verification programs to demonstrate proper land stewardship to gain incentive payments or reduce the risk of losing access to the land or legal liability under the federal Species at Risk Act (www.canadianfga.com/).

The Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corpo-

ration, a non-profit Crown corporation, has been funding provincial conservation programs for more than 30 years. Since 2000 it has been signing long-term conservation agreements with producers to maintain native grassland habitat for nine species that are at risk in Manitoba. The corporation’s partners include provincial and federal government departments, agriculture industry organizations, conservation districts and universities in Canada and the U.S. The goal is to help save native range while enhancing the producer’s bottom line. The majority of native grasslands in Manitoba would qualify for conservation under this program, which is focused on multi-species outcomes (www.mhhc.mb.ca).

In March Manitoba Beef Producers asked the corporation to deliver a new SARPAL program for producers (see page 49).

Simply Ag Solutions Inc. in Saskatchewan is conducting workshops on best management practices for approximately 16 species at risk.

They help producers conduct a self-assessment of their land and develop a detailed stewardship action plan based on the species living on the ranch, their location, the type of habitat and the producer’s grazing plan to protect these areas. Once an action plan is approved, producers can recover the full cost of labour and materials needed to implement it. The overall goal is to protect species at risk, their habitat, and maintain biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem on the ranch. Simply Ag promotes the view that species at risk are a benefit to agriculture and recognizes producers who sign onto its program as true environmental stewards (simplyag.ca/).

The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) promotes habitat conservation through the South of the Divide Conservation Action Program Inc., another SARPAL initiative. Producers are encouraged to manage habitat for species at risk through results-based conservation agreements, habitat management agreements, habitat restoration, grass banking, niche product branding and term conservation easements. The focus is on implementing best management practices for multiple species. An economic component measures costs in excess of what is normally spent on normal agricultural operations. The province offers some environmental stewardship funding to implement BMPs to protect wildlife habitat and the SSGA is looking into setting up a foundation to cover some of these extra costs (www.sodcap.com).

The Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Agency encourages producers to fill out an

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

management

EFP to prepare for the day when stores and restaurants start asking for verification of stewardship practices that address the needs of species at risk (www.albertaefp.com).

The Alberta Conservation Association, Government of Alberta, and the Prairie Conservation Forum operate the MULTISAR habitat stewardship program promoting land management decisions that improve habitat. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Alberta Beef Producers, and Alberta’s Cows and Fish have partnered with MULTISAR on a SARPAL multi-species project that supports rangeland sustainability, wild species conservation and recovery of species at risk in ways that also benefit farmers and ranchers. The project calls on producers to manage species at risk on a whole farm or ranch basis (www. ab-conservation.com).

In British Columbia, Farmland Advantadge is a producer-driven organization promoting payment for ecological services when producers implement best management practices to enhance habitat management. The organization helps farmers identify the natural areas on their farms or

ranch that can be protected and develop recommendations and plans to preserve them. Farmland Advantage pools funds from multiple sources, to cover a portion of the costs involved. Currently the group has developed various demonstration sites on 60 ranches and farms in the three regions.

Environmental farm plan advisers are heavily involved with the program.

Grass mapping

Mapping of Canada’s range and forage lands by satellite has always been a goal of mine but it’s extremely difficult. Unlike crops, which show up as different colours in near infra-red spectrum, forages don’t, at least not yet. Emily Lindsay, an MSc student in the department of geography and environmental studies at Carleton University, is working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to find a methodology for distinguishing between rangeland and forage land cover classes in the Prairie provinces using satellite data.

If successful, this process will complement Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s annual crop inventory and hopefully monitor changes in ecologically important areas

across the Prairies. These results would be useful when developing regional policies by identifying areas in need of ecological services.

Getting more information into the hands of the grass farmers and ranchers was a theme running through all the presentations at this workshop. Many organizations have effective websites highlighting their projects and best management practices.

Www.Foragebeef.ca contains numerous scientific papers and fact sheets outlining best management practices that enhance wildlife habitat. This includes a new publication from Ontario: Farming with grassland birds… A guide to making your hay and pasture bird friendly by Jack Kyle, former Ontario pasture extension specialist, and Ronald Reid.

The obvious conclusion from this workshop is that Canadian grass farmers and ranchers are making every effort to be good stewards of the range and pasturelands entrusted to them. c Duane McCartney is a retired forage beef systems research scientist at Lacombe, Alta.

AUG 15 - 17, 2017 AT THE BMO CENTRE ON STAMPEDE PARK, CALGARY, AB

Sharing

Common Ground

Register at www.canadian beefindustry conference.com

WITH KEYNOTE SPEAKER JON MONTGOMERY Interactive workshops, a tradeshow, market outlooks, and presentations PLUS excellent networking opportunities including a golf tournament and tour @CDNBeefConf

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Images courtesy of Canadian Cattlemen’s • The Beef Magazine

C at t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7

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 vet aDvi c e

Danger Stalks Spring Pasture

E

very spring and summer, livestock producers incur losses as a result of poisonous plants. Acute deaths often go undiagnosed. The more than 200 poisonous species of plants on Canadian range cause chronic illness and debilitation, decreased weight gain, abortion, birth defects, poor reproductive performance, and photosensitization.

Some poisonous plants are nutritious when eaten in small amounts, dangerous only when consumed in large quantities, or consumed during certain times of year. Conditions like overgrazing, trucking, trailing, corralling, or introduction onto new range trigger changes in grazing patterns and, ultimately, to the ingestion of poisonous plants.

Signs of toxicity are typically dose-related so clinical signs vary between individual animals in a herd and between ages. Knowing when useful forages become poisonous is an important element of range management.

The definitive diagnosis of plant poisonings is often difficult. Helpful information covers: • Familiarity with the types of poisonous plants growing in a specific area.

• Understanding conditions under which livestock may be poisoned.

• Knowledge of local soil deficiencies or excesses, which may complicate plant toxicities or confuse interpretation of clinical signs.

• Knowledge of syndromes associated with each species of poisonous plant in the area.

• Understanding the times through the grazing season problems might arise.

• A detailed history of the animal(s): age, breed, etc.

• A record of management changes already instituted or planned.

• Clinical examination of affected animals or necropsy of mortalities.

Common causes of acute poisoning:

Western water wemlock (Cicuta douglasii) Common names include: beaver-poison, children’s-bane, snakeweed and musquashpoison. Water hemlock is the most poisonous plant in North America. It is toxic to all livestock and humans. Most livestock losses occur

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in the spring when the toxin is present in all parts of the plant. By late summer, the toxin is confined to the roots that can be pulled out from moist soil and eaten by a grazing animal. Western water hemlock grows in wet areas like springs or stream edges. It can be confused with wild carrot, wild parsnip or wild ginseng, non-poisonous members of fleshy root plants.

All plants from the genus Cicuta contain cicutoxin. Roots maintain toxicity even after drying.

Water hemlock is a large native biennial with the umbrella-shaped clusters of small white flowers typical of the carrot family.

Correct identification is important, both to reduce the risk of livestock consuming it, and to minimize tedious removal of patches of similar-looking but innocuous species. The following AAFRD reference is an excellent source of information: • Stock-poisoning Plants of Western Canada — Ropin’ The Web (www1.foragebeef.ca/.../ frg33/$FILE/rangepoisonousplants</…).

When cut vertically, chambers in the stem base and in the thicker roots exude yellowish, aromatic, and extremely poisonous oil. The odour has been described similar to raw parsnip or parsley. Symptoms of poisoning appear rapidly, usually within 30 minutes after ingestion. The first symptom is excessive salivation and frothing. Frothing is followed by tremors, uneasiness, and violent convulsions.

Severe abdominal pain and colic is common.

Between convulsive seizures animals become recumbent. Due to the rapid onset of symptoms, treatment is usually unsuccessful. It only takes a piece of the root the size of a walnut to kill a 1,200-pound cow or horse.

Seaside arrow-grass (Triglochin palustre) Arrow-grass is the second most troublesome plant in Alberta. It is an erect, grass-like plant, with a spike-like flower stalk. It grows in salt marshes and alkaline sloughs, where it is underwater for part or all of the growing season. It can be found singly or in patches and emits a pleasant aromatic smell when bruised.

Young leaves are the most toxic, and as little as two kilograms of plant material is fatal if eaten over a short time. Arrow-grass starts to grow earlier in the spring than pasture grasses, and stock hunting for green plants may graze

it. Animals may seek the high salt content of arrow-grass if deprived of salt through the grazing season. The toxic ingredient is cyanide (prussic acid), a deadly poison. Cyanide ions interfere with cellular respiration resulting in the body’s tissues being unable to use oxygen.

Other cyanogenic species include sorghum, chokecherry, pin cherry, wild black cherry.

Rupturing plant cells by cutting, wilting, freezing, drought, crushing, trampling, chewing or chopping induces cyanide formation.

Once consumed, cyanide rapidly enters the blood stream. Poisoned animals are often found dead. Clinical signs, when observed, occur in swift succession — rapid and laboured breathing, excitement, generalized muscle tremors, staggering, and collapse. The mucous membranes are usually bright pink, and the blood a bright cherry red.

Two forms of chronic cyanide poisoning in domestic animals exist: hypothyroidism due to disruption of iodide uptake by thyroid cells; and chronic cyanide induced neuropathy (progressive paralysis) with bladder problems.

Death camas (many varieties) Death camas is a small perennial herb with grass-like leaves. The many flowers are small, and creamy yellow-coloured. The plant grows from a small bulb, resembling an onion. It starts growing early in the spring, before most grasses. It may be grazed in early spring and cause severe losses when stock hunt for new growth. Death camas contains toxic steroidal alkaloids.

Most cases of livestock poisoning from plants can be prevented. While on the move, animals tend to eat any green plant along the trail and may graze poisonous plants. Scarcity of palatable forage, lack of water, or lack of salt may cause animals to graze material that might otherwise be rejected. Grazing too early in the spring, before forage species produce ample growth also increases the likelihood of poisoning. 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

The many benefits of advanced grazing principles

By Trudy Kelly Forsythe

Researchers are finding a wider value for the use of forages and improved grazing management as ruminants have a great potential to reduce many negative impacts of agriculture. One such practice is adaptive multi-paddock grazing, a practice that uses high-density mob grazing with shorter grazing periods and longer recovery periods.

“Adaptive multi-paddock grazing is basically rotational grazing but with extra benefits,” says Dr. Richard Teague, a range ecologist with Texas A&M AgriLife Research. “Animals have better performance, soil health is markedly improved facilitating improved forage production.”

The actual lengths of the shorter grazing periods and longer recovery periods can’t be formulated in advance as weather is always changing and decisions have to be made as conditions change. That’s what makes the adaptive part of the practice critical.

“You have to look at what’s happening, particularly with the plants,” says Teague.

“You adapt based on what the plant is doing. You need to keep the plants in the vegetative phase without going into the reproductive phase and you need to leave enough so they grow quickly but don’t grow to the reproductive phase before you graze again.”

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

To do that, Teague says producers need to develop a grazing plan for normal conditions, but be ready to adapt if conditions change. “For example, if it’s wet and the plants grow more quickly than anticipated they can’t stick to the original plan,” says Teague. “They may need to only graze a portion of the land area and make hay or silage from the rest so they are always grazing in a good vegetative state.”

one per cent to 10 to 12 per cent in

BACKED BY RESEARCH

insects that create good soil structure

Teague’s research has involved working with producers in Saskatchewan and North Dakota who do not use inorganics and pesticide inputs because they negatively affect soil microorganisms that determine 90 per cent of how ecosystems function. If the function of the soil micro-organisms is impaired, for example, it damages soil structure that affects infiltration rate, and water holding capacity as well as soil fertility all of which affects productivity.

“One of major things for healthier microbiology is to have multiple species in a pasture,” says Teague. “This increases the number of bacterial and fungal species in the soil which adds resilience, productivity and functionality to the soil.”

Over a decade, producers in Saskatchewan and North Dakota increased organic matter from less than

an area with 16 inches of rainfall. This resulted in infiltration rates increasing from less than one inch per hour to over eight inches per hour with dramatic improvement in productivity.

Teague stresses that to see improvement on infiltration, it’s important not to use chemicals or pesticides because they kill beneficial fungi, microorganisms and and allow for better infiltration.

These researchers are also looking at larger regional ramifications, including mitigating flooding; providing better, and longer, water storage; and improving watershed function. “Research in a north Texas watershed indicated 46 per cent less runoff with good improved soil health provided by good multipaddock grazing management, as well as improved soil nutrient and water retention,” says Teague.

HEAR TEAGUE SPEAK Teague will speak more about advanced grazing practices and their impact on soil health, carbon storage and producer profitability at the Canadian Forage and

Grassland

Association’s

annual

conference in Guelph, Ontario, Nov. 14 to 16.

 grazing

By Heather Smith Thomas

All in on year-round grazing

S

tephen Hughes’ family has operated the Chinook Ranch near Longview, Alta., since the late 1940s. It consists of 5,000 acres, roughly half in Crown lands, and most of it in tall grass prairie to carry 500 cows yearround plus 500 yearlings in the summer.

It was a traditional operation, raising hay to carry the cows through the winter until about 20 years ago when Hughes began grazing cattle through the winter with hay as needed and various forms of protein supplementation, depending on the age of the cattle.

“The calves we keep are fed hay and pellets, but they are out on pasture rather than being confined in pens. They are healthier, and get part of their diet from grazing.”

“The key to all of our winter grazing is protein supplementation,” says Hughes.

Cattle on dry forages need adequate protein, to utilize forage and ferment it in the rumen.

“Microbes in the rumen must have protein to do their job and it must be a compatible protein for the bugs that digest the so-called low-quality roughage. There is nothing low-quality about it, except to a nutritionist who says it’s low on protein and energy.”

Cattle do very well on this forage because with protein supplement the rumen microbes can break it down and convert it to energy.

“Buffalo survived here during winter without inputs, so we’ve gone that direction with our cattle. Range management and grass is our main focus since we are not doing any farming or haying. This has improved our grass management and increased the cattle numbers we carry in summer. Our ranch management is now very simple,” says Hughes.

The cattle are rotated around to different grazing areas every two to five days, using portable electric fencing. Solar panels generate the power to pump water for the cattle from underground springs. The short rotations have improved the range condition.

Healthier grass means more cattle can be run, with less input costs.

In 2003 the Chinook Ranch received the Alberta Beef Producers Environmen-

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tal Stewardship Award for commitment to sustainability.

In 2011 the 2,600 acres owned by the family were preserved by the Nature Conservancy of Canada to keep the grazing and wildlife habitat from being broken up by future development, as had already happened with some neighbouring ranches.

GRAZING INSTEAD OF HAYING

Shifting to a grazing operation had the added benefit of reducing input costs.

“We cut out a lot of machinery,” says Hughes. “We don’t do any haying now, but I rent a farm nearby and have that hay put up with custom work.”

Aside from providing feed for the calves and calving heifers, the hay provides a backup supply for the cows should the weather turn really ugly.

Initially, when he moved to winter grazing, he bought hay, but he feels more secure renting the hay land. “We are taking the risk of putting up bad feed, depending on the weather, but it’s always the same amount

of money spent, to rent the farm and have the hay put up “ “I’d rather take a climatic risk than a price risk. We did put up a lot less this past year because of the dry spring, but we do have access to the grazing aftermath so it still works out,” says Hughes.

Aside from all that, grazing appeals to Stephen’s sense of environmental responsibility.

“I was involved with the McDonald’s Verified Sustainable Beef pilot project and I look forward to seeing where the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is headed,” he adds.

“People need to remember that grass evolved under grazing. To maintain it, you do need to graze it. We’ve learned a lot about the science. The old idea that breaking the land was improving it was incorrect. Luckily, most of our place was saved from cropping due to its topography; not much of it got farmed in earlier times. Now you’d never convince me to break up native grass. The older I get, the more I embrace the environmental aspect of what we do, and promoting that. We are providing a very healthy, responsible food source.”

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

grazing SUMMER GRASS MANAGEMENT

One thing he learned during the BSE crisis has indirectly made him a better grass manager.

“We were trying to survive, economically, and started bringing in yearlings for the summer to eat the extra grass, since we were no longer haying. I learned along the way that this is what it takes to make a better winter grass supply for my cows,” he says.

Now they almost double their numbers during the summer, for about 100 days, and this allows them to keep the grass grazed down when it is growing fast. The extra yearlings consume all that growth.

The yearlings are gone by the end of August, so they don’t have an impact on the winter feed supply, but they do leave all the pastures in a more vegetative state, with green regrowth going into winter. The yearlings pay for the custom haying, and leave the home place in a better stage of growth, with more protein in the immature grasses.

“It’s management-intense during summer, with a lot of work on grazing and rotating pastures. This makes winter pretty simple, if the weather is not too tough. All

we have to do is worry about keeping protein and mineral available to the cattle, and plowing through whatever drifts appear,” says Hughes.

WILDLIFE HABITAT

The ranch also provides a habitat for moose, elk, whitetail deer, mule deer, cougars, coyotes, black bear and grizzlies. One year a cow moose had her calf right with the calving cows.

“I was out there on foot, and had my camera,” recalls Hughes. “I thought it would make an interesting picture so I tried to sneak up closer to her, through the trees.

When she saw me, however, she charged right at me. I ran back into the poplars and she quit and went back to her calf. Twenty minutes later I saw a set of twin moose calves, and got a photo of them, but I made sure their mother wasn’t there! Both of those cows calved right in the cow herd, and I wasn’t sure whether it was because of the cows or in spite of the cows. The moose had probably spent most of the winter there, and weren’t going to move just because the cows came. The cows were there for about five days and the moose just stayed put, and calved with the cows.” c

“ People need to remember that grass evolved under grazing.”

Stephen Hughes Chinook Ranch

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39

 Free Mar k et R e flect i o n s

By Steve Dittmer

This BAT will smack trade

A

s if trade relations with the States under a new president weren’t uncertain enough for Canadians, the tax reform plan the Republicans introduced suddenly shows up with a nasty, anti-import provision in it.

Suddenly, because in all the discussions over the last couple of years regarding big tax reform proposal — long before anyone knew Trump would be president — no one mentioned a border adjustment tax (BAT).

We had heard House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), who developed much of the plan when he was chairman of the Ways and Means and Budget Committees, discuss proposals several times. No mention of a BAT, however.

We’d also heard Rep. Kevin Brady, present chairman of the Ways and Means Committee discuss the tax proposal. But no mention of a BAT. So what is a BAT? In the present proposal, it would be a 20 per cent tax, the same thing as a tariff, on all goods imported into the U.S. That would mean parts, sub-assemblies, finished goods or raw material for further manufacture would face a 20 per cent tax at the border. And companies would not be allowed to deduct the cost of such goods from their taxes as expenses, as opposed to such goods or raw materials sourced domestically. A double whammy.

By contrast, goods exported would not be taxed.

As one can imagine, companies from retailers to manufacturers to food retailers and processors down here are livid.

Where did this come from?

The main elements of the tax reform proposal are cuts in the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent, cuts in personal income tax rates and capital gains, expensing of capital investment in the year spent and a 10 per cent repatriation tax on money held overseas.

In American politics, the left (Democrats) rarely brings up the cost of any program they favour. It is something that “needs to be done.” But if it is something the right is proposing (Republicans), suddenly, cost is a big issue. How are we going to pay for this program?

For the left, cutting tax rates always induces panic that the government will run out of money. Never mind that every time major tax rate cuts have been tried, the result has been increased revenues to the government and an economic boom. The administrations and Congresses of Presidents Harding and Coolidge first proved it in the early 1920s; Presidents Kennedy and Johnson demonstrated it again in the 1960s and President Reagan proved it again in the 1980s, with that boom extending well into the 1990s. It takes a year or two but suddenly the government starts receiving revenue well above projections.

Of course, to those favouring free markets, adding this anti-trade clause to tax reform is a slap in the face, on

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top of protectionist trade proposals that already threaten to derail major contributions to the American economy.

So what is the likelihood of a BAT surviving in the final tax reform bill?

There are some folks suggesting the BAT was added as a political chip to be sacrificed later or to point to as a “we tried but it didn’t survive” show of bipartisanship.

Interestingly enough, President Trump has not committed himself on a BAT one way or another. One thing has been plain about Trump’s governing style right away.

He likes to bring CEOs and company reps into the White House to hear what they have to say. It is probable that more company, union and trade association people have been to the White House in Trump’s first 100 days than in all eight years of President Obama’s administration.

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.

So what is a BAT? In the present proposal, it would be a 20 per cent tax, the same thing as a tariff, on all goods imported into the U.S. Many of those guests have filled Trump’s ears with complaints about projected protectionist trade policies and the damage that wrecking NAFTA would do to our economy. That’s not to say the labour unions haven’t been getting their licks in, too. But let’s face it, roughly 30 per cent of America’s GDP derives from trade. Some 41 million jobs derive from trade (Business Roundtable). If Trump is listening, he would be daft to ignore all the input he is getting from people in the real business world versus ivory tower academics.

The White House battle over trade has been characterized as a civil war, with advisers lined up on both sides.

Agricultural groups have defended trade.

Private with their criticism until recently, Republican members of Congress have begun speaking out against Trump’s protectionism, as they realized the threats to their state economies.

Trump has used executive power to begin eliminating regulations that have severely hampered profits and jobs in manufacturing, mining, agriculture and energy.

Tax reform, before BAT came up, had been promised to make profitability easier in the U.S. A BAT and inserting tariffs in trade agreements seem to run extremely counter to creating jobs and profits.

Hopefully, President Trump will come around. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 straigh t f ro m t h e h i p

By Brenda Schoepp

Weighing in on a Free Trade Agreement with China

C

anada’s trade has doubled in the past decade and much of that has been to China, our secondlargest trading partner. On March 4 the Canadian government opened public consultations for a possible Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries and this platform will stay open until June 2, 2017.

Glen Hodgson, senior fellow with the Conference Board of Canada, reminds us that although China’s growth has slowed and its population is aging, there are still 400 million persons in its middle class that will want to spend money. With the average annual income now approaching US$8,600, consumers will have discretionary funds (the average Chinese spends US$7 per day in total). The economic footing of the country is still out of balance as it is plagued with housing, financial and currency woes, but there is an assumption of maturity in these areas.

To compete globally, Canada needs access to China and that requires the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers that make trade so difficult. It also requires a new transparency that is unprecedented and relationship building that Canadians have long been criticized to be slow at understanding. When I checked in with a Canadian colleague who is a senior executive living in China, he mused that the three foundational pieces in an FTA would be transparency, reciprocity and enforceability. He also reminded me that there has to be a clear understanding of Chinese culture and value systems. A trade agreement will not trump family honour.

Fair enough. The trade question is not of China’s morals but of our readiness. A study by Aimia Inc. revealed that in asking 348 Canadian businesses with exportable products and employees of 50 or more, very few were export-ready. In fact, 46 per cent felt they could not identify a market, 63 per cent did not know what steps to take and 24 per cent did not even know where to start.

The obvious urgency in providing capital to scale up is therefore not a solution in itself.

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Rather we need a plan that encompasses all the segments of successful trade.

The report from the Advisory Council on Economic Growth, commonly referred to as the Barton Report, was released to the public in February of this year and addresses much of the readiness issues we have. Recognizing the lack of export savvy in some regions and the abundant resources that would allow for further development, the report calls on agfood to be the template for Canada’s economic growth and prosperity with a strong focus on value-added products and technologies, knowledge and data, to position Canada as a global trading hub.

To get there the report acknowledges that most Canadians do not understand trade and this conversation needs to take place. The improvement in infrastructure from intelligent systems to improved air transport is as critical as those deep relationships that are required to make a deal. Canada’s broken rail system and bottlenecks need to be addressed to accommodate the speed of commerce.

That trading hub would include improved trade with our current partners and enhanced trade with strong economies in which we do not have a strong presence, such as China. Why? Although China has quadrupled their trade activity in the past 21 years, Canada’s share in that action is down by approximately 25 per cent and we have been scooped by Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Iceland, Costa Rica, Peru, Singapore and South Korea who all have FTAs with China.

As for the harmonization of regulation and standards in a FTA, I offer a word of caution as Canada’s food safety and processing standards are some of the highest in the world. What level of quality do we expect in return for our clean food? How firm will we be on issues like toxic metals? And the issue of purity is always one that comes to mind in everything from pharma to construction.

We have plenty of potential to put a dent in the Chinese cupboard with Canadian food and that will create work for Canadians. With the cost of manufacturing in

China at 40 per cent of that in Canada, it will be tough to compete. We, however, do not need to make widgets. The job opportunities will reside in agriculture and food processing, which is the nation’s largest manufacturing employer and the greatest contributor to GDP. There will be jobs in infrastructure, improved physical movement of goods, manufacturing and transportation, science and technology (including genomics), construction and in services.

One thing is for certain, we can expect this deal to be long-term just like the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) that we signed with China which came into effect in 2014. This agreement has a 31-year lifespan that protects Chinese investment in Canada. And, China, as an ancient society, likes to set the rules. They created the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, competing directly with the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank. China is also creating Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnerships (RCEP) and is talking with India and East Asia. Canada’s challenge is to stay in the loop with the speed of progress that China is experiencing with other countries.

According to the Chinese press, the plan is to aggressively seek FTAs with other countries including Canada. Discussions have already begun between the two countries with the first meeting held in Beijing on February 20-22 of this year to look at the feasibility of a CanadaChina free trade agreement. As agriculture and agri-food are top priorities for both countries, it is important to weigh in on the discussion.

• Canada-China Free Trade Agreement consultation: www.international.gc.ca/ CanadaChinatrade

• Advisory Council on Economic Growth: www.budget.gc.ca/aceg-ccce/pdf/tradecommerce-eng.pdf. c

Contact Brenda through her website: www.brendaschoepp.com. All rights reserved.

Brenda Schoepp 2017

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

New herd health program drives next generation progress Saskatchewan vet group launches innovative producer project

Dr. Sam Wauer is a proud player in what he believes is the next generation of beef cowcalf herd health care in the industry.

As a graduate of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Wauer joined the South West Animal Health Centre in Swift Current, Sask., a couple of years ago. That group has seven large animal vets on staff and a strong beef cow-calf clientele stretching across a large swath of productive prairie landscape.

By any definition it is a progressive, modern practice. “Yet what we were finding was that the way in which traditional veterinary services were offered was falling short of where these producers wanted to go to expand their operation,” says Wauer.

Brainstorming ideas on how they could change to meet those needs, the vet group started an entirely new herd health program based on what producers had identified as their needs.

“It wasn’t necessarily about reinventing the wheel because a lot of the services we offer under herd health are traditional vet services,” says Wauer. But it was a new delivery model built around proactive, preventative health measures.

How it works

Today, 11 clients with approximately 4,000 breeding animals are enrolled in the project pilot phase.

There are six modules to the program: Nutrition, biosecurity, parasite monitoring,

Communications, billing

Dr. Sam Wauer: “More formal platform, better vet-client relationship.”

reproduction and pregnancy checking. The sixth is record-keeping with a goal of moving producers to a specialized electronic custom record-keeping service offered by the clinic.

Each herd gets five on-farm visits annually. Four are designed around the times a vet would normally be there such as semen testing or preg checking. One visit is a preweaning calf crop exam. This year plans are for vets to visit during branding.

A fifth visit is a wild card choice of the producer. “That could be anything from a disease outbreak to staff training, whatever the producer chooses,” says Wauer.

Communication is key. One vet is assigned to each client so that nothing falls through the cracks. The seven vets then schedule a joint weekly meeting. “Each of our vets has a different background and skillset so it is really value to have the opportunity to share ideas on each of the issues in each of the herds,” says Wauer.

Both vets and producers learn from this experience. Necropsies give solid information. The record-keeping package allows producers to track information on mobile devices. And it allows vets to access those records remotely from the clinic.

Access to all records allows vets to identify opportunities for individual producers but also the entire group. This year they identified a copper deficiency across most herds.

For all of this, producers are charged a per-animal fee based on cow numbers at pregnancy checking. Mileage is included as well as discounts for diagnostics. Emergencies are additional.

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“We want to be able to facilitate the rate of progress for producers to reach their goals.

But also to affect the uptake of programs like VBP and accelerate how our beef industry is going to evolve.”

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 prime cuts

By Steve Kay

Salute the brave new owners

E

ntering the beef processing business is full of risk. Just ask those who have tried and failed over the past 25 years. So it’s worth saluting the owners of two new beef processing companies that have started operations at almost opposite ends of North America.

I’m referring to Harmony Beef, which began operations February 27 in the former Rancher’s Beef plant at Balzac, just north of Calgary, and to the One World Beef plant that started operations November 28 last year in a plant in Brawley, Calif. (20 miles from the Mexican border).

The two plants have similar histories.

Both were started by cattle producers and/ or cattle feeders but ultimately foundered.

Another similarity is that the two new owners bring name recognition and wide experience to their ownership. Harmony Beef is the brainchild of veteran U.S. industry executive Rich Vesta. He owns and operates it with his sons Christopher and Jeremy. Canadian Cattlemen has covered the development of the plant in great detail so I won’t repeat that.

What I would add is that Vesta, who started his meat career as a retail butcher, has a superb grasp of what makes a beef processing plant work and how to mar-

ket beef successfully. He is very much a “people person” and will get the best out of those who are staffing the plant. His attention to detail means the plant will produce extremely high-quality beef for carefully targeted markets, something Cargill and JBS cannot do.

One World Beef, which is operating the plant as OWB Packers, has a remarkably similar focus. CEO and part-owner Eric Brandt is the son of prominent Imperial Valley cattle feeder Bill Brandt, one of the original eight owners of the plant. The Brandt family has fed cattle and grown crops and vegetables in the valley since the 1930s.

Eric Brandt had previously worked in the plant for four years. He started One World in 2013 as a meat sales and marketing agent. It was distributing, top-quality beef products to high-end restaurants, chefs and meat purveyors across the globe.

It began by selling beef under the Brandt Beef — The True Natural brand and also imported Wagyu beef from Japan under the Kagoshima brand. It still does this.

The Brawley plant’s closure in 2015 was a crushing blow to the community, as it suffered a 28 per cent unemployment rate.

So the original owners were determined to get it reopened. Eric Brandt proved to be the person to do this. Like Harmony Beef,

One World spent millions of dollars to refurbish the plant.

Brandt describes One World Beef as a craft processor, making the equivalent of an estate wine. It produces “natural” beef (no use of antibiotics or implants) under the Brandt Beef — The True Natural brand and beef under the Brawley Beef brand. All cattle for both brands come from Brandt Cattle Company’s massive feedlot a few miles away. The company has two other brand programs.

One is Imperial Valley Ranches beef, from cattle offered by other cattle feeders in the valley. This beef is also “natural.” Another is Baja Beef. Under this program, the company imports two sub-primal cuts from Mexico’s largest beef processor, Grupo Viz, and further processes them into cuts.

A unique aspect of the plant is that it operates as a toll processor, slaughtering and fabricating all types of cattle for producers for a fee. It will process any kind of cattle as long as they are from reputable suppliers, says Brandt. In turn, it will produce whatever customers want. That, hopefully, is a recipe for success for both plants and their brave new owners. c A North American view of the meat industry.

Steve Kay is publisher and editor of Cattle Buyers Weekly.

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By Dan Darling

A successful annual meeting

T

he Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) enjoyed a hectic and successful annual general meeting in Ottawa March 8-10. I am always impressed by the quality and breadth of work produced by CCA staff, work which is, of course, central to the discussions that occur at the committee meeting level, and followed by the debates at the board of directors table for direction setting. The thoroughness of this work, along with the professionalism displayed as it is being communicated to members, is good reason for guests and observers in attendance to have confidence in what CCA is achieving on behalf of Canada’s beef producers. I certainly have a high degree of confidence in the direction the association is moving and the ongoing work in support of that, and I am looking forward to serving a second, one-year term along with vicepresident David Haywood-Farmer.

Building positive relationships with key influencers is a core element of CCA’s work. It was evident at the CCA’s annual MP reception that we continue to excel in this regard. The reception was a huge success, attracting one of the largest crowds at our events ever. I would like to thank our sponsors the Canadian Meat Council, Beer Canada and Spirits Canada for helping to ensure once again a successful event with the winning combination of Canadian beef, beer and whisky. Our appreciation also goes out to MP Mike Bossio, who delivered remarks on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay at the reception.

The pursuit of trade opportunities, particularly in the wake of the U.S. national election, was a key topic at the AGM. The CCA is concerned that the growing anti-trade rhetoric is extremely dangerous to the long-term viability of market-based trade and global economic growth.

A fundamental goal of the CCA is to support policies that call for the removal of unnecessary barriers to trade.

For many years, the CCA has built relationships with its international counterparts and governments to advocate for the elimination of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), signed by 12 countries in February 2016, represented a new era of multi-lateral trade that could bring together consumers and producers from a diverse section of Pacific-Rim cultures and nations by establishing a stronger relationship based on sound science and market demand. Most importantly, TPP set a new and high-level precedent for market access for the trade in beef and will serve as an example for other countries to follow.

The CCA travelled to Chile, where trade ministers were meeting March 14-15 to discuss continuing efforts that will lead to implementation of the benefits of the TPP agreement, to emphasize the importance of the

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TPP and international market access to the livelihood of Canadian beef producers.

On March 14, International Trade Minister FrançoisPhilippe Champagne stated in a speech that Canada was going into the meeting organized by the Government of Chile with an open mind and a constructive attitude.

During the meeting the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the founding principles of the TPP and shared opinions and views about how best to carry the vision forward. Minister Champagne later stated that: “What is paramount for me as international trade minister is to make sure that Canadian producers, consumers and workers have preferential market access to the very important economies in Asia Pacific.”

CCA’s ability to progress difficult and complicated files and achieve positive results is well known. The latest example occurred in late February when the Government of Canada published amendments in Canada Gazette II permitting irradiation of raw fresh and frozen ground beef. The move gives Canadian consumers the same choice as U.S. consumers, who have been able to purchase irradiated ground beef for more than a decade.

The availability of irradiated ground beef in Canada will take time to establish and will depend on consumer demand for this type of product. Nonetheless the approval marks the successful conclusion of an approval process initiated by the CCA nearly 20 years ago.

Strategic partnerships that support the beef industry come in many forms. In March, I was pleased to see McDonald’s Canada become a Foundation Partner of CCA’s youth mentorship program, the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Program (CYL). McDonald’s joins founding partners Cargill, UFA and MNP in ensuring that the CYL program continues to develop young members of the beef industry. McDonald’s has been a positive force in the Canadian beef industry through its initiatives involved in the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and the Verified Sustainable Beef Pilot Project.

McDonald’s also sources 100 per cent of its beef from Canadian ranchers.

On March 8, McDonald’s released an International Women’s Day initiative on social media, and pledged $1 for every share of the video that day, up to $10,000, to youth initiatives in the Canadian agriculture industry.

The goal was more than achieved, and we thank McDonald’s for their support.

Finally, we have reached out to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and state organizations letting them know that our thoughts and prayers are with the farm families impacted by the devastating wildfires in the states of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. We encourage our membership to help out with the relief efforts underway in the impacted states in whatever way they can. c

Dan Darling is president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association

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 TH E IN DUST RY

NewsRoundup association

NCFA focused on competitiveness

The National Cattle Feeders’ Association shifted gears midway through last year from getting its Canadian Feedlot Animal Assessment rolling to delving into competitiveness issues addressed in its study, Competitiveness of the Canadian Cattle Feeding Sector: Regulatory and Policy Issues, Costs and Opportunities.

“That will be a focus this year,” says NCFA chair Ryan Thompson. “We have made the federal government aware of it and other national organizations are also aware of and using it. It’s a public document on our website for anyone who wants the information.”

A feature of this report is the detailed economic analyses by RIAS Inc. for each priority issue to ensure the numbers stand up under the scrutiny of government officials, he adds. RIAS Inc. is an independent firm that uses the globally accepted methodology for preparing economic impact statements required by the federal government and some provincial governments when assessing the administrative and compliance burden caused by regulations.

The study was led by Noblepath Strategic Consulting and began with a focus-group meeting in each province from British Columbia through Quebec during the summer of 2015. In total, 50 people representing provincial associations, feeders, the cow-calf sector and service providers (vets, feedlot, truckers) attended the meetings. They identified the most problematic and costly federal/provincial regulations and policies and fully described how they had an impact on their day-to-day operations. The NCFA board later whittled the list down to six top issues for a complete economic analysis.

Following is a snapshot of potential annual gains the feedlot sector could expect if each of these issues were resolved.

1. Labour: $266,134,000 2. Drug harmonization: $85,356,000 plus another $62,282,000 if market access barriers were removed.

3. Traceability: $68,546,000 4. Export impediments: $5,343,000 5. Transportation regulations : $4,500,000 6. Inspection practices: $178,000

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NCFA’s Casey Vanderploeg, Andre Roy, Ryan Thompson, and John Shooten in Ottawa.

The full report describes these issues in detail as well as the potential annual gains to Canada’s GDP in terms of labour income and job numbers. Annexed documents include the issues raised in each province and more details on the eight frequently mentioned issues that didn’t make the top six: crops research, large-animal vet shortages, financing, packer barriers, environmental plan requirements for waste and water management, animal husbandry, access to imported calves, feed and feed processing.

“Competitiveness is one where we felt we could take the lead because, in reality, any issue affecting cattle feeders affects the whole industry. We support the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association however we can on national policy issues that affect the entire industry, but try not to overlap with what they are doing,” Thompson says, giving the trade file as an example.

“The CCA does a fantastic job on international trade and is well set up to do this, so there’s no need for us to stick our toe in.”

The NCFA also works with provincial feeder associations on issues they have identified in their jurisdictions that affect cattle feeders across the country.

The Exercise Beef workshop in Alberta last year, for example, came out of the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association’s initiative to develop a feedlot emergency preparedness template for its members.Thompson says it was a very successful and very useful exercise involving the whole gamut of people from all sectors, related services, and the CFIA. They worked through all sorts of scenarios to identify gaps should foot-and-mouth disease be diagnosed in Canada. The plan is to continue to have discussions and follow up with the next steps, ultimately laying out a step-by-step guide for how this emergency would be handled.

Some of the proposed changes to the livestock transportation regulations recently Gazetted for comment are concerning from the animal welfare standpoint, particularly the requirement for rest, feed and water

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

NEWS ROUNDUP

stops every 36 hours instead of the current 48 with a four-hour leeway.

“It appears to be not as much researchbased as public-perception based. Of course we want to have the public’s confidence, but to just say shortening the time is better for animal welfare is unfair. Every time animals have to be loaded on and off a truck adds stress and time to the trip. We are loading these trucks based on square footage and animal size with bedding and drivers say the animals do lay down when they stop for their own rest breaks,” Thompson explains.

The labour-shortage issue will be ongoing and NCFA will continue to work handin-hand with packers on this one because if packers don’t have enough labour to realize full value from the carcass, feeders won’t be getting full value for their animals. Changes to the temporary foreign worker program since the report was released have only halted further damage and the NCFA stands with all of agriculture and agri-food in support of the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Workforce Action Plan’s roadmap to address critical labour shortages.

As for new projects waiting in the wings, Thompson says this will be a year to take

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

a pause and look at how the association could increase its budget to keep up with the increase in activity, not only as far as pro­jects go, but in its lobbying efforts as well.

“We have really increased our presence in Ottawa and as a national lobby organization have seen big value in improving relationships in Ottawa, so we want to make sure our focus is where it needs to be.”

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Beef producers in southwestern Manitoba are front and centre in a project exploring ways to preserve or create important habitat for bird species at risk.

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“We couldn’t be more pleased to be asked Continued on page 50

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News Roundup Continued from page 49

by MBP to deliver this program with producers,” says Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corp. CEO Tim Sopuck. “MBP’s cow-calf producers own, manage and conserve more habitat in agro Manitoba than any other organization. SARPAL gives us a chance to try out different ways to connect with producers, find out what works, what doesn’t, and learn from each other.”

The project offers cost-shared funding for beneficial management practices (BMPs) and management services to help producers implement grazing and grassland management strategies shown to be effective for conserving habitat for grassland birds, while having potential to improve pasture and cattle productivity.

Suggestions include but aren’t limited to installing fencing and/or watering systems to improve cattle distribution, establishing complementary pastures to alleviate pres-

sure on grassland pastures, establishing native grass stands, and managing shrub encroachment on grasslands.

MBP president Ben Fox says producers across the province know the importance of well-managed pastureland to their businesses and for biodiversity, including supporting wildlife and species at risk. This project is an opportunity to show how beef production is part of the solution to supporting and protecting species at risk.

SARPAL is a fairly new model for working with producers on voluntary stewardship initiatives by connecting with existing regional groups. It was rolled out by Environment Canada as part of the 2014 $252 million Conservation Action Plan, with the SARPAL component providing $6.2 million nationwide over five years.

An important feature of SARPAL is that it’s not a set-aside program. It focuses on actively farmed land that encompasses habitat identified as critical for one or more species at risk listed under the federal act.

Areas of interest in southwestern Manitoba include Broomhill/Poverty Plains, Pierson/Lyleton Grasslands, Coulter/Blind Souris River Valley, West Oak Lake/Bel-

leview, and the Pipestone/Maple Lake region.

Key birds of interest include Sprague’s pipit, ferruginous hawk, chestnut-collared longspur, loggerhead shrike, baird’s sparrow and the burrowing owl.

The MBP project is open until March 31, 2019, but the voluntary commitment is a 10-year agreement. Information on grassland health and bird use will be collected at the beginning of the project to assess the impact of management changes over time.

The contact for this project is Carol Graham at MHHC’s Reston office, 204-821-4943.

The West Souris River and the Turtle River conservation districts will be assisting MHHC with on-the-ground delivery and received SARPAL support for related projects. The West Souris River group’s grassland birds project, which is mapping, surveying and implementing bird-specific BMPs, already has a lot of interest from producers. In the Turtle Mountain district, artificial nests will be installed to protect burrowing owls from digging predators, conduct research and raise awareness of this species.

A fourth SARPAL project carried out by Manitoba Agriculture will add a species-

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NEWS ROUNDUP

at-risk component to the Environmental Farm Plan Program booklet.

associations ACFA in levy land

A mix of old and new sprinkled with unknowns marks Martin Zuidhof’s second year as chair of the ACFA. A priority internal project already underway this year involves working with a consultant to put a new strategic plan in place to ensure the association stays on track providing services of value to its members, and yet remains nimble in its ability to address issues as they arise during changing times with new governments and policies topped off by an array of consumer wants.

“The first five-year strategic plan nearing its end has been very valuable,” Zuidhof says.

“We review it a couple of times a year, looking at our progress in the priority areas and what needs attention. New board members can see what we’ve been doing and what’s coming up, so it pretty much spells out what our organization is about.”

Complementing this effort is the awareness strategy with a strong communications and digital media component delivered through social media. It is already driving the public to blog articles on the website for an inside look at feedlot operations and issues.

A second priority is ACFA’s commitment to work with Alberta Beef Producers on developing a single plan for governing and funding Alberta’s beef industry and a

resolution to that effect was passed at the ACFA’s AGM. “A return to a simple, mandatory, nonrefundable checkoff — the old 1969 model that implemented the original research and market development levy — is not an option for ACFA unless there’s agreement to protect producer choice, such as a directional levy,” Zuidhof explains.

The crippling $3 per animal unit (head tax) levy and special tax on farmland imposed last year by Lethbridge County for the upkeep of rural roads and bridges are disconcerting on many levels and a very dangerous precedent.

“Feedlots are open to a reasonable and equitable tax for road improvements and Continued on page 52

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News Roundup Continued from page 51

long-term solutions,” he says, “but not this kind of runaway tax grab for a quick fix.”

The new taxes put an unprecedented tax strain on feedlots and the county’s intention of increasing the head tax year by year has potential to put feedlots out of business, in turn having negative ramifications for packers upstream and cow-calf producers downstream, according to an independent study by economists at the University of Calgary and University of Alberta School of Public Policy.

Some feedlots have taken the county to court with proceedings getting underway earlier this year and the municipal tax issue will remain at the forefront of ACFA’s advocacy efforts. The association presented an initial paper to the county, followed up with several submissions to the provincial government, and has been working with the wider agriculture community to provide addi-

tional input to the university economists to fully measure the impact, look at how other jurisdictions deal with the issue of maintaining market transportation networks, and present reasonable alternatives.

Two meetings have been held with the provincial ministers of agriculture and municipal affairs and a new working group has been established to find a solution that would work for Alberta’s municipalities and cattle feeders.

The new carbon tax swiftly imposed province-wide in January is another serious concern that takes from the bottom line and threatens the competitiveness of the feedlot sector. Fuel used by producers in their farming operations isn’t subject to the carbon tax; however, it will be passed down to primary producers in the prices they pay for all purchased goods and services and the prices packers pay for calves to recoup the cost of the tax to their businesses, Zuidhof explains.

ACFA is a member of the intensive livestock working group established several years back that will be commissioning a study on the full impact of the carbon tax on these sectors.

The issue at centre stage this time last year was the province’s Bill 6 Enhanced Protection

for Farm and Ranch Workers’ Act and organizing the Ag Coalition to address the urgent need for all sectors to come together with government toward solutions that would make sense for agricultural operations.

The two technical working groups on employment standards and labour relations finalized their recommendations early this March and reports from the four occupational health and safety technical working groups were expected shortly. The regulatory amendments will be based on the recommendations and the public’s feedback during the comment periods.

ACFA fully supports the efforts by the Ag Coalition to create a Farm and Ranch Safety Association and, as a proactive strategy, it has developed a Feedlot Farm Safety Program for its own members.

Nick Schefter, senior safety co-ordinator with the private firm Critical Hazard HSE Ltd., a company with working knowledge of occupational health and safety (OH&S) requirements, worked with four feedlots to develop a safety program that is consistent with the provincial OH&S code. It was rolled out to members in early February offering a hazard assessment, a health and

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NEWS ROUN DUP

safety program tailored to the operation, and an eight-hour training session delivered right at the feedlot.

management

The salesman By Steve Kenyon

For years I have been teaching at schools and presenting at conferences and seminars. I’m not sure how that ever happened but I love the educational side of my business.

I teach about many different parts of my business. This includes grazing, fencing, economics, winter grazing, human resources, water systems and numerous other topics.

Throughout my travels, I have been asked many times to be a salesman. I’ve been approached to sell fencing equipment, water systems, supplements, and livestock supplies, just to name a few. Right from the start, I have always promised myself that I would never sell any products associated with my teaching.

I could very easily be a salesman but there is one big reason why I don’t. Trust. Every relationship is based on trust. If I am recommending to producers to set up a grazing cell to improve their grazing management and then I turn around and offer to sell them the electric fence, how much trust is left?

If you have ever heard me speak, you have probably heard me say that what I am selling does not come in a box, a bag or a bottle. I am selling ideas. I am selling management. I am selling my mistakes.

Continued on page 54

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UCVM Beef Cattle Conference @UCVMbeef

• Body Condition Scoring and Applied Pathology • Identifying the Challenges When Raising Beef Cattle with Restrictions on the Use of Antimicrobials • Improving Diagnostics and Treatments • The Future of Beef Production without Metaphylaxis and Growth Promotants

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C at t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7 Canadian Cattlemen Ad v1 / 7”x5”

53

News Roundup Continued from page 53

Our industry is full of symptom solvers and Band-Aid fixes. If agriculture has a symptom, you can bet someone has come up with a quick fix to cover up the symptoms. I believe what we really need is longterm solutions to the problems.

We need to do our own research and be able to sift through the piles and piles of marketing and see what the real product is and does.

Do we really need this? Does it actually follow through with its claims? And the big one for me, what else does it do? Don’t get me wrong. There are good products out there that are very beneficial and may work great for your operation, but there are also a lot of symptom solvers that are a waste of money.

There are lots of companies that make similar products, even the products that I like and recommend to people. And every salesman will tell you theirs is better.

The brand of electric fencer, for example, does not matter if you don’t understand the basic grazing concepts.

New products or fads come along every year and producers are excited about trying new technologies and products, trying to get that quick fix or that magic bullet. The majority of the time, that quick fix can’t replace good management.

I have found that managing the business side of my farm will usually get me a lot further ahead than buying into the newest fad.

Running a gross margin analysis will show me how well that fad will work on my farm pretty quick.

Working with nature will be less costly than fighting against it year after year.

You will never catch me selling fencing equipment or water systems, so please, don’t ask. The information I am selling is far too valuable to jeopardize the message because of a lack of trust.

Sustainable management is key to the survival of our industry, our way of life and our planet. To quote a great mentor of mine, Allan Savory, “Ultimately, the only wealth that can sustain any community, economy or nation, is derived from the photosynthetic processgreen plants growing on regenerating soil.”

That’s what I’m selling — a sustainable future in agriculture. If we don’t buy into it as an industry very soon, I’m afraid it will cost us dearly. 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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55

 NEWS ABOUT YOU

By Mike Millar

Suggestions are always welcome. My phone number is 306-251-0011

PurelyPurebred n The Crossroads Beef Expo in Oyen, Alta., saw Angus, Charolais, Limousin and Simmental all barbecue up their best for the people’s choice Steak Challenge! Limousin beef took top honours.

bull Sale results 97th pride of the prairies bull sale — March 6 (Lloydminster)

Number of lots sold

n The Canadian Limousin Association has congratulated Limousin producer Brad MacIntyre of Lucknow, Ont., for being one of the two recipients of the Big Gully Farm Beef Cattle Learning Award. MacIntyre will utilize the award to undertake study and certification in advanced bovine reproductive techniques.

The Leachman family of Big Gully Farm presented the awards to two young cattle enthusiasts. Dana Kerner of Weiser, Idaho, was the other winner. Her family runs a commercial herd but she has her own herd of registered Hereford cattle. She will take a four-month trip to Dublin, Ireland, to learn about Irish beef production systems.

2016

n The 15th Annual Canadian Junior Limousin Association (CJLA) Impact Show and 48th Canadian Limousin Association Annual General Meeting will be held in Portage la Prairie, Man., July 27-30, 2017. Registration for the CJLA Impact Show is now open. Visit www.limousin.com for details. n The Canadian Limousin Association board of directors recently voted to have all homozygous and heterozygous horned/polled and coat colour test results shown publicly on DigitalBeef if the testing is done by the CLA service provider, Delta Genomics in Edmonton. Previously members had to sign a form allowing their results to be shown publicly. n The Canadian Junior Hereford Association is busy preparing for Bonanza 2017 in Abbotsford, B.C., during Hereford Week in Canada, July 17 to 21. The juniors will be showcasing their cattle and leadership skills with competitions, shows and meetings.

For more information visit www.hereford. ca/4_bonanza.php. The CHA annual meeting will be held on July 20.

The Canadian Hereford Association and its supporting members are entering their fifth year of Residual Feed Intake (RFI) testing Hereford bulls at Cattleland Feedyards and Olds College. The CHA now offers an RFI

56

C at t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7

Email: mike.millar@ fbcpublishing.com

Average price

Breed

2017

2016

2017

20

29

Black Angus

$5,770

$4,822

43

40

Black Angus pen sale

4,712

3,810

6

10

Red Angus

4,883

3,330

9

9

Red Angus pen sale

4,450

4,100

6

2

Charolais

4,983

5,750

13

18

Charolais pen sale

4,561

4,166

1

2

Horned Hereford

5,000

4,500

1

1

Polled Hereford

5,750

6,000

17

10

Polled Hereford pen sale

3,888

3,630

2

—

Limousin

3,500

—

5

2

Simmental

3,940

3,125

3

5

Simmental pen sale

4,833

4,120

126

128

TOTAL

$4,719

$4,118

calgary bull sale — March 2

Number of lots sold

Breed

2016

2017

4

2

Angus

102

112

Hereford

106

114

TOTAL

EPD based on real GrowSafe feeding data collected in Canada. If you are interested in more information on RFI visit www.hereford.ca. n The newly elected directors of the Red Angus Promotion Society for 2017 are president Brent Troyer of Holstein, Ont., vicepresident Randy McGowan of Killam, Alta., Red Roundup chair Cole Goad, finance chair Nick Van Gaalen, sponsorship chair Scott Hougham, promotion and advertising chair Lynn Stone, and directors at large Stacey Mathon and Clarke Ward. The annual Red Roundup is set for October 20-21. n The Ontario Angus Association has named Enright Farms of Renfrew as their Premier Breeder of the Year and its Commercial

Average price

2016

2017

$6,950

$5,125

8,772

7,471

$8,703

$7,429

Breeder of the Year award went to Bruce Palmeeter of Tweed. n This year’s Canadian Junior Angus Association scholarships were presented at the recent Guiding Outstanding Angus Leaders (GOAL) Conference. Macy Liebreich of Radville, Sask., received $5,000 for placing first in the Canadian Angus Foundation Legacy Scholarship program, $3,000 was awarded to secondplace finalist Robert McKinlay of Ravenna, Ont., and $2,000 to Cayley Peltzer of Rosemary, Alta. Ella Wood of Clyde River, P.E.I., and Wade Olynyk of Goodeve, Sask., were the runners up, each receiving $500. All five finalists are pursuing further education that will allow them to continue their involvement not only in the agriculture industry, but also in

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PURELY PUREBRED

the purebred Angus business. Naomi Best of Harding, Man., won a $3,000 heifer voucher. n Cattlemen’s Young Leaders: Ryan Scorgie Mentor: Hon. Ed Fast, former minister of international trade for Canada and currently opposition critic for the environment and climate Ryan Scorgie change Scorgie grew up on a large family farm outside of Beaverlodge, Alta., that for the last n Twelve Canadian Angus youth are headed to Edinburgh, Scotland, this June for the World Angus Forum thanks to the Canadian Angus Foundation. The winners were announced at the twelfth annual Guiding Outstanding Angus Leaders (GOAL) Conference in Edmonton. The twelve will go over in three teams to compete in the agri-skills competition.

Team Canada, Aspire: Meghan McGillivray, Kamloops, B.C.; Cole Dodgson, Sangudo, Alta.; Macy Liebreich, Radville, Sask; Kelly Somerville, Mountain, Ont. Team Canada, Believe: Robert C. McHaffie Junior Ambassador Michaela Chalmers, Oro-Medonte, Ont.; Travis Hunter, Didsbury, Alta.; Wade Olynyk, Goodeve, Sask.; Kelsey Ribey, Paisley, Ont. Team Canada, Courage: Katie Wright, Melfort, Sask.; Maguire Blair, Drake, Sask.; Bailey Dietrich, Forestburg, Alta.; Raina Syrnyk of Ethelbert, Man. The 2017 WAF youth program will include a trip to the Royal Highland Show, stock judging, attendance at the Forum Conference, agri-skills competitions and activities, farm visits, tours with the WAF delegates, a visit to Scotbeef and the competition finale.

Meghan McGillivray is taking a bachelor of science majoring in physiology at McGill University in Montreal and is the B.C. director on the Canadian Junior Angus Association board.

Cole Dodgson is completing the animal science technology program at Lakeland College in Vermilion, where he is the Purebred Show Team Lead for Lakeland College Farm.

Macy Liebreich is taking a bachelor of commerce at the University of British Columbia. Her family operates Merit Cattle Co. Kelly Somerville is in her final year of www.canadiancattlemen.ca

100 years has run a commercial cow-calf and grain operation. Scorgie moved to B.C. in 2001 for education and has made it his home for the past 15 years. He now owns and operates a law firm in Kamloops and along with his partner operates a 50-cow commercial herd. He advises clients in the agriculture industry on succession planning, business development, real estate transactions/development and commercial finance. He is currently the president of the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce.

After high school he obtained a tourism management degree from Thompson Rivthe bachelor of agriculture honours program at the University of Guelph, majoring in animal science. She is a director of the Ontario Angus Association.

Michaela Chalmers is taking the University of Guelph animal biology program working toward an honors bachelor of science. She is a former president of the Ontario Junior Angus Association and current CJAA Robert C. McHaffie Junior Ambassador.

Travis Hunter studied power engineering technology at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and works at Bow Valley Genetics Ltd. as a herdsman.

Wade Olynyk is a first-year animal science technology student at Lakeland College in Vermilion and served in several positions with 4-H and the CJAA as its Saskatchewan director.

Kelsey Ribey is a bachelor of nursing student at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology/Georgian College in Barrie, Ont. She has served on the Ontario Junior Angus Association board.

Katie Wright is a licensed practical nurse in Prince Albert, Sask., and has held several positions on the Saskatchewan Junior Angus Association board.

Maguire Blair received the 2016 Canadian Angus Foundation Junior Stockman of the Year award. He is attending Lakeland College in Vermilion majoring in animal science technology.

Bailey Dietrich is a welding apprentice at Lakeland College and has been involved in the Alberta Junior Angus Association.

Raina Syrnyk is president of the Canadian Junior Angus Association and in the fourth year of a commerce degree majoring in finance and accounting, at the University of Manitoba.

ers University (TRU) while working as a raft guide and later completed a law degree at UBC and has worked with First Nation communities on tourism and business development.

Scorgie now teaches classes at TRU for the business and tourism faculties and provides seminars on estate and succession planning, and business development to clients and community groups. He is still involved with 4-H, judging and presenting to various 4-H groups. c Continued on page 58

Meghan McGillivray

Cole Dodgson

Macy Liebreich

Kelly Sommerville

Michaela Chalmers

Travis Hunter

Wade Olynyk

Kelsey Ribey

Katie Wright

Maguire Blair

Bailey Dietrich

Raina Syrnyk

C a t t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7 57

PU R E LY PU R E B R E D

Continued from page 57

Sales results

11th Annual Chapman Cattle Company Forage-Developed Angus Bull Sale Feb. 23, Stettler, Alta.

85 Forage-developed 2-yr.-old Angus bulls, av. $6,894 Belvin Angus 5th Annual Bull Sale Mar. 7, Innisfail, Alta.

68 Bulls, av. $8,055 10 Heifers, av. $4,400 Mar Mac Farms and Guests Bull Sale

March 8, 2017, near Brandon, Man.

Red Angus bulls, av. $5,777 Black Angus bulls, av. $5,119 Simmental bulls, av. $5,746 Bred commercial females, av. $ 1,912 Open commercial females, av. $ 1280

n The Red Angus Promotion Society has named WRAZ Red Angus, operated by Phil and Lana Birnie and family of Wawota, Sask., as its Premier Breeder of the Year.

Marvin and Tara Garnier along with Marvin’s brother Robert, girlfriend Andrea and their parents Larry and Lorna of Clandonald, Alta., were named the society’s Commercial Breeder of the Year.

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!

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

58

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

 I no longer take an active part in farming

 c) 45 to 54

C at t l e m e n · a p r i l 2 0 1 7

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?

5

4

5

4

3

2

1

News Roundup Purely Purebred 3

2

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

Winnipeg, Man. R3H 0H1

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 Market Su mma ry

By Debbie McMillin

TheMarkets Fed Cattle A strong cash market over the past few weeks driven by higher beef prices and the resulting buyer interest pushed fed cattle prices to levels not seen since last March. Fed steers at $167.52/cwt were up seven per cent from the start of February and just a dollar under the same week last year.

Interest has been strong on both sides of the border with noticeably higher numbers of fed cattle heading to the U.S. The fed steer basis, averaged -4.96/cwt in mid-March, is narrow when compared to a year ago when it was closer to -11.50/cwt.

The Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle on feed report for March 1 listed 871,956 head on feed, down six per cent from last March. While the onfeed numbers were down, placements during the month of February were up seven per cent at 148,536 head, just shy of 10,000 head more than the same month last year.

Slaughter statistics held some interest as steer slaughter is running about the same as last year at 236,212 head to date, but the heifer kill is up eight per cent at 146,806 head. Interest from U.S. buyers picked up in mid-March; however, fed exports by March 4 were down nine percent from last year at 495,45 head.

Feeder Cattle Demand for feeder cattle has been solid through the first quarter. In March prices of all classes of feeder cattle from feedlot replacements to grass cattle posted increases. Warmer temperatures and good moisture conditions with spring right around the corner pushed lighter grasser-type feeders up $7.27 from the start of the month, to $213.13/cwt at the close of our reporting period. While 550-lb. feeders have gained seven per cent since the start of the year, they are still down $41.25/cwt compared to a year

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ago. Heavier feeders also picked up some strength during March, gaining $3.63/cwt in the past three weeks to average $165.13/cwt. While 850lb. feeder steer prices increased, the feeder basis weakened to -8.73/cwt from -3.81/cwt at the start of March.

March tends to be a wide basis month for feeder cattle. Last year the average feeder basis in the third week of March was -18.71/cwt. Feeder exports have been slow even with a weaker Canadian dollar. During the first two months of 2017, feeder cattle exports totalled 17,810, a drop of 27 per cent from a year ago.

Non-Fed Cattle D1,2 cow prices have a strong seasonal pattern which generally includes a rally through the first quarter. In 2017 prices declined at the start of the year and only started to pick up some ground in March with the rise in the price of lean ground beef and shrinking numbers of cows coming to market as the calving season got underway.

By mid-March average D1,2 cows were bringing $100.90/cwt, $3.20 better than at the start of the month, and a full 24 per cent improvement over the lows set last fall. Butcher bull prices strengthened in the past few weeks, up $12/cwt from the start of March to average $122.20/cwt by the third week of the month, a $20 increase from the start of the year, but still $9/cwt lower than the same week last year.

Cow slaughter to March 11 was up nine per cent from a year ago at 100,771 head and bull slaughter was 23 per cent larger at 2,869 head. Exports of non-fed cattle were lower than a year ago with cow exports totalling 34,292 head, down 22 per cent, and bulls 9,023 head, down 19 per cent. c Debbie McMillin is a market analyst who ranches at Hanna, Alta.

 DE B’S OUTLOOK Fed Cattle Fed cattle fundamentals are positive over the next couple of weeks. Supplies should tighten as the yearlings finish up and the calves start to become market ready. Beef demand will strengthen with barbeque season around the corner and buyers will be filling orders for ribs and loins. Expect the spring high over the next 30 days.

Feeder Cattle Grass cattle demand will heat up as the grass starts to green and buyers assess their inventories. Near-term supplies will be smaller and demand for feedlot and pasture cattle will be strong. While the basis has widened it’s still narrower than a year ago which will limit exports and the upside price potential of additional export buyers. Good quality lighter weight cattle will benefit while heavier cattle face a more sideways market in the coming weeks as they will finish at a time when the fed market is usually sluggish.

Non-Fed Cattle Strong demand for cows and bulls will continue in the coming weeks as buyers gear up for barbeque season and the summer burger demand. At the same time, calving season has cattle producers busy and most culls have already been sold. D1,2 cow prices usually peak in the second quarter so expect prices to gain some steam in the coming weeks.

More markets 

C a t t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7 59

M A R K ETS

Break-even Prices on A-Grade Steers

340

210 ALBERTA

190

(500-600 lb.)

250

150

220

130

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

210

ONTARIO

190

160

150

100

130

80

Canfax weighted average price on A-Grade steers

Break-even price for steers on date sold

2017 2016

2017 2016

March 2017 prices* Alberta Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $161.43/cwt Barley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.57/bu.

Barley silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.63/ton Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.34/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84.61/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161.38/cwt Break-even (August 2017) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131.25/cwt Ontario Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $170.10/cwt Corn silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.60/ton Grain corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.70/bu.

Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74.37/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107.79/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147.61/cwt Break-even (September 2017) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145.17/cwt *Mid-month to mid-month prices Breakevens East: end wt 1,450, 183 days West end wt 1,325 lb., 125 days

D1,2 Cows

140 120

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

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

160

170

110

Steer Calves

310 280

170

110

Market Prices

60

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

Ontario

Alberta

2017 2016

2017 2016

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

Market Summary (to March 11, 2017) 2017

2016

Total Canadian federally inspected slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485,658. . . . . . . . . . . 466,097 Average steer carcass weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915 lb.. . . . . . . . . . . . 939 lb.

Total U.S. slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,388,000. . . . . . . . . 6,097,000

Trade Summary Exports 2017 2016 Fed cattle to U.S. (to March 4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,545.. . . . . . . . . . . 54,699 Feeder cattle and calves to U.S. (to March 4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,810.. . . . . . . . . . . .24,507 Dressed beef to U.S. (to January) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a Total dressed beef (to January). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a IMPORTS 2017 2016 Slaughter cattle from U.S. (to January) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a *Dressed beef from U.S. (to January) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a *Dressed beef from Australia (to January) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a *Dressed beef from New Zealand (to January) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a *Dressed beef from Uruguay (to January) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a Canadian Grades (to March 11, 2017) % of A grades +59% 54-58% AAA 0.1 0.5 AA 16.9 24.4 A 18.0 9.4 Prime 1.2 0.2 Total 34.5 36.2

EAST WEST

Total graded 118,380 356,834

Yield â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 53% Total 1.5 2.1 22.8 64.1 4.0 31.4 0.1 1.5 28.4 Total A grade 99.1%

Total ungraded 6,206 4,238

% carcass basis 82.1% 84.5% Only federally inspected plants

60

C at t l e m e n ¡ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 market ta l k

By Jerry Klassen

The Fall Feeder Outlook

F

eeder cattle prices have been percolating higher since November 2016 and I’ve received many inquiries regarding the price outlook for the fall of 2017. The U.S. cattle herd is moving through an aggressive expansionary phase while the Canadian cattle inventory has remained relatively stagnant.

The year-over-year increase in feeder cattle numbers south of the border has tempered Canadian exports. At the same time, finishing feedlots have experienced favourable margins over the past couple of months. The Canadian dollar has weakened and it appears that the market fundamentals suggest further deterioration. Feed grain prices remain under pressure and supplies will remain burdensome into the new crop year. I’ve changed my outlook on the feeder cattle market since last fall and thought I’d update readers on the changing perspective.

To start off, looking at the numbers can be intimidating but keep in mind there are many factors influencing the feeder market besides overall supplies. The 2016 U.S. calf crop was estimated at 39.4 million head, up nearly one million head from 2015; U.S. beef cows that have calved as of January 1 were also up one million head over year-ago levels, coming in at 31.2 million. The U.S. cow herd is relatively young and there is no signal that producers are pulling in the reins on expansion.

The 2016 Canadian calf crop came in at 4.350 million head, up a meager 23,000 head from the 2015 crop of 4.327 million head. Beef cows that have calved numbers were relatively the same as last year and heifers for beef cow replacement numbers were actually down two per cent from year-ago levels as of January 1. We’re not seeing the expansionary activity in Canada. During 2016, we saw a sharp yearover-year decline in feeder cattle exports to the U.S. and this trend will likely continue in 2017.

In Alberta and Saskatchewan, we’ve seen a massive consolidation in the finishing feedlot sector. A number of small, medium and larger operations are no longer in business while some feedlots have been taken over by larger operators. When an industry moves through a massive consolidation due to low margins, there is a serious effect on the market for feeder cattle. One can only look at the grain industry as an example to understand the consequences. For years, finishing feedlots experienced a very tight or even negative margin structure. While 2014 and first half of 2015 were more profitable, the latter half of 2015 and all of 2016 were quite devastating to say the least. We’ve now seen a quick turnaround in margins since December, but feedlots are extremely cautious to bid up the price of feeders. The price outlook for fed cattle is rather negative with the building U.S. supplies in the third and fourth quarters. Basis levels are rather strong for fed cattle and some producers are questioning whether the futures market is even relevant. At the time of writing this article, the cash and futures are too far out of line with delivery close at hand.

On the flip side, the world and Canada will remain awash with feed grains in the upcoming crop year barring any adverse weather in a major producing region of the Northern Hemisphere. If trend yields materialize in the U.S., the decrease in corn production will not be significant, even if acres drop by 3 to 4 million. The market could become quite volatile during the summer but the rallies wouldn’t be significant to www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

1

6,172

5,868

5,664

5,935

6,085 6,605

2

6,517

6,183

5,857

6,187

3

6,608

6,179

6,068

6,468

6.910

4

6,420

6,021

6,109

6,623

6,650

TOTAL

25,717

24,251

23,698

25,213

26,250

Source: USDA; 2017 estimated

 M a n i to ba Cat t l e P r ices 280 260

800- to 900-lb. steers monthly average

240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100

Jan.

Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

2015

2016

2017 est.

change the feeding margin structure. The Canadian dollar has become less relevant with the limited trade due to year-over-year increases in the U.S. calf crop. In any case, U.S. crude oil inventories are sharply above year-ago levels, and this will not change over the course of the summer.

The U.S. Federal Reserve will increase their lending rate while the Bank of Canada is not set to move any time soon. Currencies tend to trend for long periods of time; the Canadian dollar may have short-term bouts of strength but the trend is lower.

The result of all this uncertainty has potential to result in a rather stagnant outlook for replacement cattle. The hesitation of feedlots to bid aggressively for replacements, given the outlook for lower fed cattle prices in the latter half of the year, will limit further upside. At the same time, the burdensome feed grain situation, along with limited export demand for feeders, will keep the market controlled by domestic fundamentals. I’ve attached a chart with my projection for 800- to 900-lb. steers monthly average for 2017. We may see minor slippage during the fall period but not wild swings as in past years. c Jerry Klassen manages the Canadian office of Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA Grains and Produits Ltd., and is president and founder of Resilient Capital specializing in proprietary commodity futures trading and market analysis. He owns farmland in Manitoba and Saskatchewan but grew up on a mixed farm feedlot operation in southern Alberta.

He can be reached at 204-504-8339.

C at t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7

61

 GOINGS ON

Sales&Events Events

National Junior Show Showdown 2017, Lloydminster, Sask.

April

12-13 Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef semi-annual meeting, Guelph, Ont.

May

11-14 LMAC 38th Annual Meeting and Convention, at Perlich Bros. Auction Mart, Lethbridge, Alta.

25-27 British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting, Coast Kamloops Hotel and Convention Centre, Kamloops, B.C.

June

1 Carcass 101, Olds, Alta.

8-11 Canadian Angus Association National Convention, Brandon, Man. 9-10 Canadian Charolais Association annual general meeting, Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon, Sask.

19-20 T Bar C 10th Annual Golf Tournament, Saskatoon, Sask.

21-26 World Angus Forum, Edinburgh, Scotland 22-23 UCVM Beef Cattle Conference, “Raising Healthy Beef Cattle in a Changing World,” Spyhill Campus, Calgary, Alta.

27-29 Canadian Limousin Association annual meeting, Portage la Prairie, Man.

July

7-16 Calgary Stampede, Calgary, Alta.

18-20 Ag in Motion Outdoor Farm Show, Langham, Sask.

20-22 Canadian Junior Angus Association

August 2-6

anadian Charolais Youth Association C Conference and Show, Barrie, Ont. 4-6 Manitoba Youth Beef Roundup, Neepawa, Man. 15-17 Canadian Beef Industry Conference, BMO Conference Centre, Calgary, Alta.

September 5-7

eef Farmers of Ontario Cow-Calf B Roadshow, New Liskeard, Ont. 12-14 Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, Woodstock, Ont.

November 1-4

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

December 5-7

estern Canada Conference on Soil W Health, Radisson Hotel Edmonton South, Edmonton, Alta.

April 10 11

J ustamere Farms 22nd Annual Bull Sale, at the farm, Lloydminster, Sask.

Moose Creek Red Angus Yearling Sale, Kisbey, Sask.

Rodgers Red Angus 44th Annual Performance Bull Sale, Perlich Bros.

Auction Market, Lethbridge Alta.

M CO G

IN

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62

C at t l e m e n · A P R I L 2 0 1 7

nderson Cattle Company Inc., A at the farm, Swan River, Man. 12 Flying K Ranch Annual Bull Sale, at the ranch, Swift Current, Sask.

13 South View Ranch 17th Annual Bull Sale, Ceylon, Sask.

14 Delorme Ranch Your Choice Bull and Heifer Sale, Cowtown Livestock, Maple Creek, Sask.

15 Cornerstone Charolais and Red Angus Bull Sale, at Whitewood Auction Mart, Whitewood, Sask.

15 Short Grass 39th Annual Bull and Female Sale, at the ranch, Aneroid, Sask.

N/A Four West Cattle Company, sRed Angus Bulls for Sale, Private Treaty, Drumheller, 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

 ADVE RTI S E R IN D EX

Sales 10

12

membersgetmore.ca

Page 54 Advanced Agri-Direct 17 Ag Growth International Airdrie Trailer Sales 55 Alberta Vet Labs 25 Beef Cattle Research Council 35 11, 43 Boehringer Ingelheim 9 Brett Young Seeds Ltd. Canadian Angus Assoc.

54 Canadian Charolais Assoc.

OBC Canadian Forage & Grassland Assoc. 37, 44 Canadian Galloway Assoc.

23 Canadian Hereford Assoc.

IFC 54 Canadian Limousin Assoc.

Canadian Shorthorn Assoc.

29 Canadian Simmental Assoc.

54 Canadian Speckle Park 54 54 Canadian Welsh Black Society Case-IH 5 Gemstone Cattle Co. 53 Genex Cooperative, Inc. 51 Greener Pastures 49 55 Hi-Hog Farm & Ranch Honda 13 19 John Deere Kubota Canada Ltd. 27 Lift Off Tri-Haul Ltd. 54 31 Masterfeeds LP 21, 32, 33, IBC Merial Canada Inc. 54 North American Lincoln Red Real Industries 8 Tru-Test Inc. 49 53 University of Calgary 15 Vetoquinol 7 Zoetis Canada Inc.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Turn out with LONGRANGE ® for season-long

PEACE OF MIND. 1 INJECTION • 2 PHASES • EXTENDED RELEASE COVERING UP TO 150 DAYS 1

Treatment in the spring with LONGRANGE for parasite control leads to better average daily gain (ADG).

LONGRANGE vs. Conventional Dewormers 0.28 lbs./day more

In a stocker trial with 15,000+ enrolled head, cattle treated with LONGRANGE gained an average 0.28 lbs./day more than those treated with conventional dewormers. That equals 28 lbs. over 100 days.*

2.5

Treat your cattle this spring.

Talk to your veterinarian about LONGRANGE.

Average Daily Gain (ADG) in lbs.

Difference ADG 0.24*

2.25

Difference ADG 0.40

Difference ADG 0.30*

2.33 2.14

2

1.93

1.75 1.5

Difference ADG 0.28*

1.93

1.84

2.07 1.79

1.69

1.25

Injectable

Conventional Dewormers

Pour-on

Combinations

LONGRANGE

Entire Study

*Statistically significant (P<0.01)

Conventional Dewormers Combinations • moxidectin + fenbendazole • ivermectin + fenbendazole • doramectin + fenbendazole • doramectin + fenbendazole + ivermectin • albendazole + ivermectin

1 Based on the Canadian LONGRANGE label.

2 Data on file at Merial. * 28 lbs. = 12.72 kg.

Merial is now part of Boehringer Ingelheim. ®LONGRANGE and the Cattle Head Logo are registered trademarks of Merial. ©2017 Merial Canada Inc. All rights reserved. LAGE-17-5560-LONGRG-AD-E

Available in 500 mL and 250 mL bottles.

Administer subcutaneously at 1 mL/50 kg.

Injectable • formulations of doramectin or ivermectin Pour-on • formulations of ivermectin

2

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Use Charolais.

From birth To weaning

Increase your bottom line Charolais sired calves are born to perform!

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