Final Presentation
April 14, 2023
▪ The RoundUp
▪ Purebred Beef Unit
▪ Equine Unit
▪ Extensive Grazing Research Unit


▪ Bison Unit





▪ Commercial Beef Unit
▪ Dairy Unit
Final Presentation
April 14, 2023
▪ The RoundUp
▪ Purebred Beef Unit
▪ Equine Unit
▪ Extensive Grazing Research Unit
▪ Bison Unit
▪ Commercial Beef Unit
▪ Dairy Unit
Gabrielle Cheremshynski - Purebred SMF Unit General Manager
Elizabeth Lockhurst - Public Relations Coordinator
Annelies Valstar - Genetics Coordinator, Industry Contact Coordinator
Bailee Richardson - Health and Treatment Coordinator
Carter Wood - Marketing and Round Up Coordinator
Graham Barth - Finance Coordinator
Jaden Rigney - Genetics Coordinator, Industry Contact Coordinator
Kyleigh Magotiaux - Range and Forage Coordinator, Show Team Coordinator
Lexus Brietzke - Nutrition Coordinator, Records Coordinator
Novalee Pender - Health and Treatment Coordinator
Rylee Martin - Nutrition Coordinator, Records Coordinator
Victoria White - Mixed Farm Coordinator, Show Team Coordinator
William Bradford - Marketing Coordinator, Round Up Coordinator
“Our goal is to raise functional, high-quality cattle to suit the needs of both purebred and commercial breeders, while advancing student learning and management.”
Short-Term Goals
Have a strong team dynamic, with short and efficient meetings.
Strive to improve our open rate to get back into industry standard.
Long-Term Goals
Improve genetics within the herd.
Build the Lakeland brand by creating better relationships while representing the college to the best of our abilities.
Strengths
Team diversity
Work ethic
Hands on with cattle
Unit size
Opportunities
AI Program
Semen and embryo donations
Attending cattle shows
In person and online sale
Growth Rate
Bull calves average WW = 747 lbs
Heifer calves average WW = 678 lbs
Average dam weight is 1383 lbs.
Weakness
Scheduling conflict
Small herd size
Conception rate
Time restraints
Threats
Still in feed shortage
Public perception
Disease
Competition
Bulls are 54%, heifers are 49% of dams weight.
Industry standard is 43% of dams weight at weaning.
5-year average is bulls - 714 lbs and heifers – 660 lbs
Open Rate
37 Bred Cows
5 Bred Heifers
7 Open Females
Open Rate: 16%
Industry standard is 4%
5-year average is 13%
January 9 – March 12, 2023
Length of calving is 62 days
Industry standard is 63 days
5-year average is 70 days
Death Loss
6 deaths
Death loss 14%
Industry standard is 4%
Records Keeping
Health and Treatment
Treatments
2
Range and Forage
● Grazing budget: $8,145
● Opportunity to graze Dixon’s pasture for fire prevention and reducing tree expansion
● Resting LCP 21
● Attended Lloydminster Stockade RoundUp, Agribition and Heartland Bull Congress
● Purposes of attending the shows are for marketing, gaining experience and meeting mentors in the industry
● Show team expenses: $5,789.33
5 Navel Scours Pneumonia Other Page 4 of 63
During the whole school year our rations have been changing constantly to fit the needs of our cattle. Our sale animals were at the for front to ensure they were meeting their criteria to hit target weight come sale time. Throughout the school year we faced a challenge of potentially running out of silage. This is because most animal rations on campus include Corn silage specifically.
Through our feed management group, each team calculated their estimated silage usage, this showed us we needed to change rations to ensure that the College’s Dairy herd would have enough silage left to feed over the summer, as they feed 365 days of the year. This made costs of our rations increase, but it had to be done to ensure we do not run out of silage, before next harvest. Our contribution was to keep the ration for the sale animals the same as we had a target weight for them. We changed our Cow ration by substituting Corn Silage for Barley Silage. For our replacement heifers we cut out silage completely and fed a hay and grain ration.
Started organizing and planning new pasture and crop land signs for maintenance and service crews to easily identify the college land.
• College colours of green and yellow
• Large bold letters so easily visible from the road
• Reflective so can be seen in the dark
• Placed at gates for easy access.
• Had some priced out at $90 per sign.
Still looking for a company to produce the signs
Facebook:
@Lakeland College SMF Purebred Unit
Instagram:
@lakelandpurebredunit
Genetics
Bull Purchase
2023 Calving Season
- 44 Calves Total
- 22 A.I. Calves
- 8 Embryo Calves
- 14 Natural Calves
2023 Breeding Season
- 61 Animals Bred Total
- 15 Embryo Recipients
- 30 A.I. Cows separated into 3 groups of 10.
- 12 A.I. Replacement Heifers
- 4 Natural Bred Cows
- All Embryo and A.I. animals will be cleaned up by bull we bought.
LFE Best Answer 800H (9 Head)
S A V Bloodline 9578 (6 Head)
S A V Early Arrival 0903 (8 Head)
Brooking Sooner 0052 (8 Head)
Coleman Triumph 9145 (8 Head)
9 Mile Franchise 6305 (3 Head)
Lazy MC Pepper 170A x Lazy MC Edison 126E (4 Embryos)
JSTN 24D x W Sunrise Executive (6 Embryos)
Buford Elba 890Y x Brooking Trendspotter 6166 (1 Embryo)
Linz 9202 x Woodhill Revival H028 (3 Embryos)
IMP 219W x Buckle 92E (1 Embryo)
Thank you to the following sponsors for their support within our genetics program!
- Schaff Angus Valley
- Lazy MC Angus
- Bohrson Marketing
- Select Sires
- Canadian Sires
Round Up
Thank You Bull Buyers!
• *Orval Hays (4)
• Jesse Sonntag (2)
• *Nault Ranch (2)
• *Highland Feeders
• *Stalwick Livestock Ltd.
• *Bar J.L. Ranch and Farm Ltd.
• *Kelly Konieczny
• Eastligt Farms and Feedlot
Thank You Heifer Buyers!
• Bar 17 Little Valley Livestock
• *Northern Livestock Sales
• *Allandale Angus
• *Paige McDonald
(* - Represents repeat buyers.)
Purebred’s cost of production for 2022-2023 is $2.44/lb of calf weaned. The last years cost of production was $1.97/lb of calf weaned. The reason the cost of production was so much higher this year was due to the feed costs. We needed to supplement our silage by feeding hay to a large portion of our animals. This year’s hay costs were high, as well as the need for hay was high, making our feed bill climb quickly. For next year’s team we predict the cost of production to be lower than our current year.
New Holland Agriculture
Geoff Brown
Tracy Quinton
Austin Partington
Kris (Leroy) Lehmann
Kyle Hafner
Justin Kane
Jayden Cramer
April Warrilow
Jo Dickson
Amber Sayers
Ron Hoffman
Dr. Tim Goodbrand
Ryley Noble
Lakeland College Marketing Department
Denise Martin
Trisha Mechor
Sharon Reiter
Bevin Hamilton
Janet Kerr
Amy Stanley
Jolet Van Niekerk
Marisa Schuebel
Matt Rustemeier
Jessica Mommett
Dr. Rob Stables
Commercial Beef SMF Unit
Extensive Grazing SMF Unit
Bison SMF Unit
Dairy SMF Unit
Equine SMF Unit
Lazy MC Angus
Schaff Angus Valley
• Faculty Advisor – Ron Hoffman
• Faculty Advisor – Matt Rustemeier
• Equine Technician – Bailey Hlus
• General Manager – Scott Lane
• Public Relations – Cicely Switzer
• Public Relations – Ainsley Zayac
• Finance – Mikaela Postma
• Feed Management – Madalyn Fraser
• RoundUp – Ty Mitchell
• RoundUp – Jordan Elgersma
• Health – Courtney Hansen
• Mixed Farm – Emma-Jean Purvis
• Stable Management – Avery Schneider
• Range & Forage – Hayley Schmidt
• SOP’s – Nicole Runge
• AQHA Records & Reproduction – Sarah Folland
• Secretary – Shaylene Earl
• Our vision is to produce, select, and train quality quarter horses with excellent disposition and conformation in an economically sustainable format.
Strengths
• Work ethic & cohesion of team
• High engagement on social media/marketing
• Increases sale price on weanlings & geldings
Opportunities
• Industry connections with guest lecturers, breeders, and trainers
• Relationship with Hoffman’s Horse Products and Country Junction Feeds
• Cowboys & Cowhorses Competition
Weaknesses
• High input costs
• Conflict resolution
• High morbidity rate
Threats
• Injuries & health risks
• Market fluctuations
• Availability of geldings for sale within budgeted purchase price
✓ Body condition score of 6-6.5 by sale time
✓ Created a broodmare mating management plan
✓ Roped/tracked cattle off geldings
✓ Created proposal for new waterer at LC 11
✓ Outlined an evaluation system for herd improvement
✓ Developed long term relationships with industry partners
• Explore a different marketing channel for the yearlings
• Reduce breeding costs by purchasing a stallion
• Leave a timeline for next year’s team
• Explored other marketing strategies for weanlings
• No stud purchased
• Created a detailed timeline for next year’s team
Our breakeven is comprised of the cost of the purchase price, retainment cost, health, feed, recovering the cost of one cull gelding, and all other production costs, excluding opportunity costs. Our breakeven costs are higher than last year’s due to the amount of retained horses from last year and an upgraded nutrition program.
Gelding Breakeven Price = $7,321.86
The broodmare breakeven is calculated by adding breeding, feed, health, and all other production costs. This year the breakeven is very high because all the costs to breed 7 mares must be covered by only 2 foals.
Weanling Breakeven Price = $7,733.35
Unit Net Profit with opportunity costs = $8,595
Total Opportunity Cost = $11,063
Unit Net Profit without opportunity costs = $19,658
We plan on having 6 geldings grazing on LC11 for about 83 days at $1.19/day, costing $592.62.
Two broodmares will be at the stallion’s location for roughly 35-40 days at an average of $10/day. The other four broodmares will be at another stallion’s location for roughly 120 days costing $3/day. Total costs for mare care would be $2,220.
The two broodmares will be put on the Clandonald pasture after they are bred, for roughly 121 days. The other four broodmares will join them later for about 38 days. The average cost per head per day would be $1.50. The total cost for the mares to graze on pasture would be $591.00.
Geldings are expected to be back on the dry lot August 25th. The broodmares are expected to be back roughly around October 20th .
• Sell weanlings on Facebook auction with a soft close
• Look at purchasing proven broodmares if unsuccessful this spring
• Consider fillies for colt starting
• New Holland Agriculture
• Ron Hoffman
• Matt Rustemeier
• Tracy Quinton
• Denise Martin
• Bailey Hlus & Farm Team
• Kris Lehmann
• Miller Quarter Horses
• Shady Willows Ranch
• Griffith Ranch
• Myterra Ranch
• East and West Ranching Company
• Clark Performance Horses
• Justin Potts
• Delaney Veterinary Services
• Weir Veterinary Services
• Vermilion Veterinary Services
• Bevin Hamilton
• Amy Stanley
• Jessica Emmot
• Janet Kerr
• Austin Partington
• Amber Sayers
• Nadine Farkash
• Country Junction Feeds
• Ryan Fleetwood
• Adam Thiessen
• Watson Cattle Co.
• Dean Kozak
• Stankievech Ranches
• Jill McLerie
• Richard Hollingworth
• Lorie Lefebvre
• Connie Kozyra
• Megan Dick
• Kertis Werklund
Makenna Martin – General Manager, Marketing and SOP Coordinator
Pyper Snow – Finance Coordinator and Secretary
Brant Bannerman – Records, Data and Mixed Farm Coordinator
Faith Peet – Animal Care and Health Coordinator
Josh Lehman – Research Liaison, Risk Management and Facilities Coordinator
Owen Kominko – Nutrition Coordinator
Christina Devos – Range and Forage Coordinator
Breanna Hill – Public Relations and Reproduction Coordinator
Marisa Schuebel – Faculty Advisor
The 2022
2023 extensive grazing research unit consists of eight students from Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. We work towards maintaining a sustainable and economically viable, extensive herd while exploring various cattle management practices and collaborating and assisting with the Lakeland College Research department on demos and trials. Our herd management vision for our unit is to achieve maximum grazing time while remaining extensive and low maintenance in our management while continuing to build a strong maternal cow herd that contains a large amount of background, performance and breed composition data.
• Purchase new Angus bull
• Begin planning demo in first semester
• Sell animals in the Round-Up Sale
• Bring more awareness to the value of RFI data on breeding stock
• Increase involvement with Research Department
• Explore crop stubble and residue grazing options for fall grazing
• Manage BCS on our cows and replacement heifers throughout our bale grazing
• Select our replacement heifers
• Buy a new angus bull for our herd
• Begin the Heifer Selection Trial
• Complete Fall Rye proposal
• Retag our herd
Strengths
• Diverse and strong team
• Elite and low maintenance cow herd
• Willingness to learn
Opportunities
• Donated corn from NorthStar Genetics
• Heifer Selection trial with Dr. Susan Markus
• Research Department funding for our field trip
• Fall Rye grazing opportunity
Weaknesses
• Time Management
• Lack of public exposure
• Communication
Threats
• Feed prices
• Bale grazing along the highway
• Low Corn yield on LC 2
Calving ease and grazing days are two new Key Performance Indicators we chose to add this year because we believe keeping records on this information is very important to our pasture calving operation, our hope is that records are kept up to date on this info in the future. The other four KPI’s are heavily recorded in industry and are referred to as GOLD due to their importance in the production of cow/calf operations.
Cows: 55 Head Bred Heifers: 7 Head
Heifer Calves: 12 Head Bulls: 2 Hereford bulls, 1 Angus bull
In September 2022, when the new SMF team took over we had 63 Cows, 16 Heifers, 33 Heifer Calves and 2 Hereford Bulls.
The Extensive Grazing Unit this year has faced a few challenges when it comes to the Feed & Nutrition aspect of things. We have had Issues with mineral consumption in our entire herd since around the middle of December. We have tried taking away salt, mixing salt with the mineral, and have tried a whole new mineral blend. On March 28th we purchased and placed a molasses lick tub to see if that will entice them more. We have taken blood samples to go to a lab and be tested and are waiting for the results now.
Our Bale grazing project this year came with many hiccups but was overall a great success. We tried many different systems, 21-day feeds, 14-day feeds, 7-day feeds, and 4-day feeds. We found that the 4-day feeds left the perfect amount of residue. We later found that the amount of competition with the 4-day feeds was too high, and our heifers were losing BCS. We started shredding every day again on March 20th to reduce the amount of competition and allow our heifers to gain weight back before calving.
Below is a Bale Grazing Calculator I made using excel. All cells are linked so if you are extending your feeding period by 2 days it will automatically tell you how much your cost will increase, and how many more bales you need to feed. With this calculator it is based on intake of % of body weight.
A key topic on mixed farm this semester was the purchasing and seeding of Fall Rye, we created a plan to be put into effect this fall.
Fall Rye Pricing (AgZone, Glendon, AB)
• Grazing budget $22,500
• Will be shredding bales on LCP 24 through calving to improve this pasture.
• We will be grazing LCP 23 and 22. We will also be grazing LCP 27 with one of our breeding groups
• January 12th: Cows and bred heifers were preg-checked and given Ivomec. The heifer calves also received their vaccines of Bovi-Shield Gold and Ultrabac 7/ Somubac
• March 6th: Bred heifers received their first shot of Scourguard 4KC
• April 3rd: Bred heifers received booster of Scourguard 4KC and cows received their annual dose. They both were given Ultrabac 7/ Somubac as well.
• 349 K was found with severe pinkeye and the best option decided was to sell her
• 315 H was treated for lameness with Metacam and Oxyvet
This year our team sold our steer calves on January 12th and our heifer calves on January 22nd. We sold in total 31 steer calves to JGL Enterprises in a private treaty and 20 heifer calves to the Commercial SMF beef unit here on campus, the total for sales on our calf crop is $74,575.52. In addition to our calf crop, our unit also sold 7 open animals at the NCL in Vermilion, 5 bred heifers in an online Facebook auction and 1 heifer calf to the NCL in Vermilion.
Labour - Has increased this year as the Alberta average is higher than what was used last year.
Parentage Testing - Not needed for next year's team. The Who's Your Daddy Trial is over, and we have distinct breeding groups.
Equipment Rent - A new account for this year. The budget was calculated on industry averages and hours of use for our herd.
This is the data taken on our heifers for the Heifer selection trial with Dr Susan Markus. Please note these numbers are not the results, but rather a sampling of the data to date. We sadly don’t have the results as the trial will wrap up in May.
https://issuu.com/lakelandcw/docs/winterswathing_project
This is the link to the updated swath grazing trial results for the trial conducted by Dr. Obi Durunna.
This semester our team bought a new bull. We bought 60K from allandale angus. We chose him because we liked the way he looked, and we thought he would be a good fit for our herd. We will be using him in the upcoming breeding season. We will have 2 breeding groups this breeding season. We will have an Angus breeding group with 30 cows. Sired by our new angus bull 60K. Our second breeding group will be a Hereford breeding group with 45 cows. This one will be sired by our 3-year-old Hereford, 177H, and our 7-year-old Hereford, 6060D
Above is a graph of our Instagram reach for the year. It shows that we have reached 724 accounts since September, and the creation of our account.
Above are the graphs from our Facebook statistics. It shows that we reached 10,053 accounts this year and received 53 likes on our page.
• Engravable tags for replacement heifers
• Sell bred heifers in the Round Up Sale
• Buy a new Hereford bull
• Continue working closely with the Research Department
• Marisa Scheubel
• Kyle Hafner
• Kris (Leroy) Lehmann
• New Holland Agriculture
• Geoff Brown
• Carien Vandenburg
• Obioha Durunna
• Susan Markus
• Justin Kane
• JGL Enterprises
• NorthStar Genetics
• Farm Staff
• Research Department
• April Warrilow
• Other SMF units
• Ag Faculty
• Tracy Quinton
• Denise Martin
• Justin Dorey - Irish Creek Bison
• Carter Balan
• Justin Hozack
• Allandale Angus
• Alberta Agriculture
• Solvet
• Union Forage
• EH Farms
• Shilo Cattle Co.
• Lorraine Miller
• Highway 21 Feeders
• Veteran Hutterite Colony
• Ashlee Laing- Secretary, Finance Coordinator, Marketing Coordinator
• Bailey Ferguson- Leader, SOP Coordinator, Public Relations
• Benjamin Schmalzbauer- Range and Forage Coordinator, Nutrition Coordinator, Research Coordinator
• Bryson Andres- Facilities Coordinator, Records & Data Coordinator
• Michael Pyra- Herd Health Coordinator, Reproduction Coordinator, Animal Care Coordinator
• Gerald Hauer- Staff Advisor
"Our unit strives to sustainably raise a high-quality bison cow-calf herd in an extensive, low stress and healthy environment. We acknowledge the cultural significance of the bison to the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit groups. We plan to contribute data and knowledge through research and education while promoting the industry and species conservation."
• Expand our network within the bison industry
• Establish a strong foundation for the future SMF students
• Prepare for a successful breeding & calving season
Long-Term Goals
• Run a successful and profitable bison operation
• Establish our herd criteria
• Successfully manage and graze our pastures
• Maintain/Increase our unit size
• Attend CBA and BPA conventions to attend the speaker sessions and expand the students' knowledge
• Purchase breeding bulls to replace the 3 bulls still on a lease donation
• Continue to expand the students’ and SMF’s network
• Keep some of the herd’s heifer calves back to select as replacements
• Communication/Decision Making
• Variety of Experience
• Industry Interest
• Herd Size
• Low Number of Schools with Bison in Canada
• Industry Support
• Increased Meat Demand
• Increased Advocacy
• New SMF Unit
• Multiple Roles
• Budget
• Part Time On Campus Advisor
• Inflation
• Biosecurity
• Supply & Demand
• Public Perception of Bison Meat
• Growth Rate - Heifers: 400lbs at 8 months, Bulls: 450lbs at 8 months
• Open Rate - Aim for 10% at pregnancy check
• Length of Calving - No new calves past June 15
• Death Loss - <4% loss
• 159 Bred cows
• 35 Heifers
• 6 Breeding bulls
• 3 Reserved bulls
• 3 Donated breeding bulls
• 206 Total animals
• Prior to bringing our animals to the new college land, we had to ensure that the two herds were used to the ration that we would be feeding them to avoid any upsets.
• The herd at Bar J.L. Enterprises were being fed straw and green feed which is the same ration we would be starting them on with the addition of hay.
• The herd at Pilatus Ranches were being fed a silage-based diet so Steven did the ration transition for us before the animals were moved.
• After the herd arrived at the college land, they were fed 4 different rations
• We have a 5.3% death loss in our cow herd this year from injury and old age. 2.9% of these were from before we brought our herd home and 2.4% were on the new college land.
• Our whole herd has been vaccinated with Ultra Bac 7 for clostridial diseases and Ivermectin to deworm.
• Last Year
o Our animals were custom grazed by the two custom feeders that our herds were at for the past two years
▪ Pilatus ranches
▪ Bar J.L. Enterprises
o Grazed from June 1st – November 1st
• This Year
o Our herd will be grazing all together on the new college land
o We are aiming for a minimum of 6 months of grazing on our pastures
• We plan to start Grazing on April 1, 2023, but will supplement feed until April 30, 2023
• We will be practicing a rotational grazing plan with should allow us to have enough forage to graze until November 30, 2023, with will be the end of the grazing season
• We are currently looking at the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) Program to help us with some of our grazing expenses.
o We would like to purchase a solar waterer to bring clean water to the animals as well as we would like to perform soil samples to better care for the land
Income:
Cull Sales – We preg checked our herd this year and culled all our open cows, we are hoping to have less culls for next year's team to sell
Expenses:
Grazing Budget - This includes supplies and an increase in pasture rates (about 1.60/head/day).
Straw - The difference in straw is due to a straw-based diet while custom feeding in Mannville. Now that animals are on the new land, we have decided to decrease the amount of straw in our new rations
Greenfeed - The difference in greenfeed is due to the increased amount of greenfeed in our new rations.
Hay - The difference is due to an increase in hay in our new rations.
Mineral - The difference is due to the mineral from custom feeding being included in the feed, once animals arrived on the new land, we started to feed salt and mineral. However, they did not eat much for a while resulting in not substantial amounts needing to be purchased. Our plan is to feed more mineral and salt in the next year.
Yardage - The difference is due to custom feeding for the first year of operation, within the next year we will be breaking down yardage into three categories (equipment rental, labour, and utilities)
Marketing – The difference is due to our custom feeders marketing our animals, within the next year we will be looking at different ways to promote our animals
• Our cost of production breaks down the various expenses that go into raising our animals as well as how much each animal makes when it is sold.
• We are currently working to get a new hydraulic squeeze for the bison handling system on the new land
o We compared 3 of the top squeeze brands in the bison industry (Berlinic, Hi-Hog, and Morand)
• At preg-checking, we had an 13.3% open rate for our whole herd and culled any open cows
• This year we kept 35 of our 2021 heifers as replacements
o We kept 25 heifers to replace the cows we culled, and kept an extra 10 heifers so next years SMF has animals that will be producing
• We would like to send a big thank you to Bar J.L. Enterprises, Irish Creek Bison, Liberty Run Ranch and Pilatus Ranches for donating a total of 7 breeding bulls for the past 3 years. These bulls have greatly helped with the success of our herd
• Both halves of our herd were feed free choice mineral when they were at the two custom feeders.
• When we brought both of our herds to the new college land, the herd barely touched the mineral tubs.
• We then added barley grain on top of the tubs, the bison eat the grain and loose salt but left the mineral alone.
• On March 9th we began mixing loose salt in with some of the mineral.
o They slowly would pick away at the mineral
• On March 14th we began seeing animals eating the recommended amount of mineral.
• This year we successful raised and sold:
o Cull Cows - $1.10/lb * 26 cows
o 2021 Bulls - $1.90/lb * 5 bulls
o 2021 Heifers - $1.70/lb * 10 heifers
o 2022 Bulls - $1.80/lb * 74 bulls
o 2022 Heifers - $1.30/lb * 72 heifers
• From September 16, 2022, our Facebook page gained:
o 159 Followers
o 39 Posts
o 736 Total likes
• From October 8, 2022, our Instagram page gained:
o 147 Followers
o 33 Posts
o 1,230 Total likes
@lakeland_smf_bison
• Armin and Rita Mueller and family
• Bar J.L. Enterprises
• Pilatus Ranches
• New Holland Agriculture
• Gerald Hauer
• Marisa Schuebel
• Nadine Farkash
• Jessica Emmott
• Amy Stanley
• Tracy Quinton
• Kris (Leroy) Lehmann
• Farm Team
• Rikki Ducharme
• Janet Kerr
• Bevin Hamilton
• Geoff Brown
• Tracy Quinton
• Denise Martin
• Trisha Mechor
• Lee Arthur
• Dr. Goodbrand and the Vermilion Vet Clinic
• Jack Auction Group
• Dr. Lewis
• Murray Feist
• Irish Creek Bison
• Liberty Run Ranch
• Canadian Bison Association
• Rangeland Bison & Elk
• Roaming K Bison
• Nilsson Bros. Inc
• Andres Truck & Trailer
• Eastland Transport
• Everest Trucking Ltd
Herbet Wegner General Manager
Drake Rennie Marketing Analyst
Jolee Shand Reproduction Coordinator
Kaitlyn Carriere Public Relations Coordinator
Nikolas Lamont Mixed Farm Coordinator
Avery Lacusta Risk Management Coordinator, RoundUp Coordinator
Mara Reimer Nutrition Coordinator
Reid Regehr Nutrition Coordinator
Grace Christensen Finacial Coordinator
Cody Tataryn Range and Forage Coordinator
Brooke Van De Voorde Team Secretary
Hayden Ludlage Treatments Coordinator
Reese Harsany Health Coordinator
Zane King Research Coordinator
Rayleen Lundquist Records and Reporting/Herdtrax
Nakysta Van Hacke Records and Reporting/Herdtrax
Austin Avramenko Facilities Coordinator
Bevin Hamilton Faculty Advisor
Kyle Hafner Farm Team Advisor
The 2022-2023 Commercial Beef Unit is in its 11th year as a part of the StudentManaged Farm. Our team consists of 17 members, spanning all the way from Ontario to Alberta. Our team has been working hard from the start and thoroughly enjoyed this time together!
Mission Statement
“Strivingtoraisequalitybeefthrougheducationalopportunitiesandhands-on experience,whilecreatingrelationshipswithinindustry”
Teamsize
Widerangeofexperienceandknowledge
Networkwithpeopleofindustry
Timerestraints
Competitionofresources
Economiesofscalewithinourherd Opportunities
WorkingwithotherSMFunits
Networkwithpeopleofindustry
Handsonlearning
Long-term:
Inflationprices
Fatcattleprices
Feedshortage
Threats
-Increasefollowersonsocialmediaplatforms
-Improvetheherdperformance
-Ensurecattlehaveadequatepasturefornextyear
Short-term:
-SelltheheifersforahigherpriceatAgribition
-CreateexpectationsforanewbullbyendofDecember
-Improveourknowledgeofourherd
Completed Recommendations from Last Year's Commercial Beef Unit:
- GotoAgribition
- Sellcullbullsinthefall
- ContinuediscussionpostsonFacebook
- Lookintobringinghorsestofallround-up
- Exploreprivatesalesofcalves
- Weighheiferseveryotherweektoensurepropergains
- UtilizeHerdtraxtothefullestandinputalltreatmentandvaccinations
- Keepcowsonstubbleaslateaspossible
- Sortthroughtheherdbeforebringingthemhome
Thisyearwedecidedtosell2pensof5replacementheiferswhichwasagreatsuccess!Pen 1brought$2,300andPen2bringing$2,325.TheseheifershadavaccinehistoryofBovi ShieldGoldOneShot,Ultrabac7Somubac,andIvermectininSeptember2022andthese heifershadbeenpalpatedpriortothesaleforreproductivesoundness.TheCommercial BeefUnitisveryhappywithhowthesalewent.
Feed/Bedding Expenses – Increased due to increase in feed this year and estimated increase for next year.
Pasture Rent – increased due to increase in rent this year and to account for any aftermath grazing.
Farm Supplies and Materials/Miscellaneous Expenses –
Combined with $500 of miscellaneous expenses budget form last year, the other $500 going towards an increase in livestock purchases budget for next year.
Heifer sales – based on selling 20 head at live future price for Oct 2023
*Miscellaneous Income includes show income, rebates and CRSB payments, Cargill/CCIA payments and any rental income from clubs
1. UseHerdtraxforhealthrecordkeeping
2. Moreteambondingactivitiesinsecondsemester
3. Usebreakevenstohelpmakeallmarketingdecisions
4. Maintainindustryrelationshipswithbuyersandeveryonethatsupportsourunit
5. Useinternasalvaccineatcalfprocessingtodecreasecalfillnesses-PI3
6. VLOGtoengageandeducateourFacebookfollowersonwhatwedoandwhy
7. GotoAgribitionwithmoreheiferstomarkettodecreaseourCOP
8. Continuewithdatadrivenreplacementheiferselection
NewHollandAgriculture
GeoffBrown
KyleHafner
GraceDolman
EverestTrucking
VermilionVetClinic
LakelandCollegeMarketingTeam
CarsonSidener
BevinHamilton
AlFlexTags
ShaneAdamson(JGL)
AustinPartington
AmyStanley
NadineFarkash
JustinKane
TracyQuinton
JimPulyk JanetKerr
LakelandCollegeBookstore
Law’sBrothersAuctioneers
NorthCentralLivestock AgFaculty
NorthernLivestockSales
DevynInch
Dr.TimGoodbrand
Kris(Leroy)Lehmann
MoreThanJustFeed
FarmTeam
KarlinRennie
MikeReis-HorseshoeRanching
JohnBuckley
TroyDrake
CLRanches
GraemeFinn
TrishaMechor
DeniseMartin
SharonRieter
CanadianWesternAgribition
RyleyNoble
LindseyEverest
OtherSMFteams
LeewoodRanches
JimPulyk
MelissaDowning
BarrAg
ThorlaksonFeedYards
General Manager
Scott Standeaven
Finance Coordinators
Colin Balme
Koen Baerends
Herd Health Co-Coordinators
Kyle van Dijk
Alies Huizing
Reproduction (Breeding) Coordinators
Phillip Reutter
Naomi Hegg
Transition Cow Co-coordinators
Lukas Ijzerman
Madison Pirch
Public Relations Coordinator
Tara Kroeker
Technology Coordinator (Parlour, VMS and Herd Navigator)
Chloe Knorr
Research Coordinator
Simone Husiman
Calf Health Coordinator
Manpreet Singh Sandhu
Records & Secretary
Fatima Akther
SMF Advisors
Jolet van Niekerk
Amber Sayers
Hoof Health Coordinator
Reinier van der Steege
Close up Dry and Lactating Feed Management Coordinator
Andrew Mason
Reproduction (Genetics) Coordinator
Emily Ward
Heifer and Far-off Dry Feed Management, Range & Forage Coordinator
Jesse Bloom
Calf Feed Management Coordinator
Arpan Redhu
Mixed Farm Coordinator
Hunter Tataryn
Technology Coordinator (Feeding, Ventilation and Manure Systems)
Brie Corley
Data Analyst Coordinator
Keith Wuerstl
Production Coordinator
Onkar Singh LNU
Udder Health Coordinator
Sam Cuff
Farm Team
Amber Sayers - Dairy Barn Manager
Tiffany Belbeck - Dairy Herdsperson
Madison Smith - Dairy Herdsperson
“We strive to produce quality milk and raise healthy animals, focusing on production and efficiency, while gaining skills and knowledge to be used in the dairy industry”
Accomplished
❖ Milk Quality Improvements
❖ Improved BCS on heifers and cows coming in from the dry lot
❖ Community Involvement Initiatives
Ongoing
❖ Dry cow care
❖ Increasing heat detection/conception rates in our cows
❖ Neonatal study results
❖ Transition cow health improvement (RP’s, Metritis, and Ketosis)
❖ Corn silage trials for improved feed quality
❖ Diversify Herd Genetics (embryo's & buying different genetics)
❖ Non-Lactating Inventory Plan
March 31st, 2023 Herd Inventory
Calves (0-3 months)
March 9th, 2023 AVG DHI Test of Entire Milking Herd (VMS & Parlour)
Strengths
Strong, diversified team
Conception rate/heat detection in heifers
Milk Quality
Technology for learning opportunities
Opportunities
New pasture access
WestGen Endowment Fund
Genetic improvement/diversity
Feed quality improvement with new corn varieties
Weaknesses
Conception rate/heat detection in our cows
Transition cow issues
Communication
Location
Threats
Biosecurity
Inflation
Activism
Silage inventory management
❖ 2 of 7 in the Vermilion Region (28.5%)
❖ 88 of 273 in Alberta (32.2%)
❖ 854 of 2700 in Ontario and West (31.6%)
❖ 1755 of 5635 in Canada (31.1%)
A.F: As fed
ADG: Average daily gain
BF: Butterfat component in milk
BCS: Body condition score
Calf: Bovine that is newborn to 3 months of age
C.E.C.: Cation Exchange Capacity
Conception Rate: Cows confirmed pregnant out of total cows bred
Culls: Animals that will be leaving/left the herd
D.I.M.: Days in Milk
Dry Cow: Cow that is not producing milk
Elevate: Genomic testing program
EX: Excellent Classification Score (90+)
Fresh Cow: Bovine that has calved up to 21 days after calving
GP: Good Plus Classification Score (80-84)
Heifer: Bovine that is 3 months to 12 months of age
Heat Detection Rate: Number of cows bred out of total cow eligible
Ketosis: Metabolic disease that occurs during the transition phase
KPI: Key performance indicator
Metritis: inflammation of the uterus generally caused by a bacterial infection.
Milk Fever: Metabolic disorder caused by insufficient calcium
Milk Deductions: Cost associated with milk sales
O.M: Organic Matter
Peak Milk: Amount of milk produced per day at the highest point in a cows lactation
PMR: Partial mixed ration
Retained Placenta: Retention of fetal membranes that cause infection after calving
SMF: Student Managed Farm
Silage: Fermented feed
SCC: Somatic cell count
TMR: Total mixed ration
VG: Very Good Classification Score (85-89)
VMS: Voluntary milking system
Voluntary Waiting Period: Time before a cow is eligible to be bred
YTD: Year to date
*Dairy Direct Payment Program. Government compensation for markets lost due to Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
**Labour will be assigned for the final presentation using industry averages from the Alberta Dairy Cost Study. Labour is difficult to measure accurately because there are many students working in the barn.
*** Unanticipated by previous SMF Team
6.48$/head/day
Barenbrug Grass Mix
Reasoning
Armory Tall fescue Hardy, drought tolerant, good stockpile in the fall
Arsenal Meadow Brome High producing, good late spring growth
Artillery Smooth Brome early growing, provides early green material
Intermediate Wheatgrass Hardy, grows later, good summer growth
Hakari Alaska Brome Quick establishing, provides quick cover, long lived
Deerhaven Vanilla Victor – GP-83-3YR – HOCANF12838785
Deerhaven Final Velvet – GP-82-3YR – HOCANF12838797
Deerhaven Pepsi Brewmaster – VG-88-4YR – HOCANF11988653
Deerhaven Katnip Viper – VG-88-5YR - HOCANF11988633
Deerhaven Maze McCutchen – EX-90-3E – HOCANF11088624
Jolet van Niekerk Jessica Emmott New Holland Agriculture
Amber Sayers Austin Partington Holstein Canada
Tiffany Belbeck
Bevin Hamilton Alberta Milk
Madison Smith Nadine Farkash NutriSource
Frederike de Putter Gerald Hauer MS Schippers
Geoff Brown Marisa Schuebel Lactanet
Marketing Team Matt Rustemeier Crestomere Holsteins
Farm Team Ron Hoffman Mosnang Holsteins
Facilities Team Carien Vandenberg WestGen
Janet Kerr Janet Nowosad BC Holstein News
Denise Martin
Darla Stepanick
Tracy Quinton
Kris (Leroy) Lehmann
Agrai-Dairy Mart (Delaval) Penner Farm Service (Lely) Chinook Farm Innovations
Silverfern Hoof Trimming Dairy Lane Systems Glenda Mutire
Amy Stanley John Mulcair
Groovin’ Gord
Pauline van Biert
Leduc Farm Animal Hospital Wendon Holsteins
Thank you to the following who have supported the Lakeland College Animal Science Program and our students:
Rancier Farms
Willow Way Clydesdales
Vermeer Dairy
Trouw Nutrition – Sherwood Park
Elk Island National Park
Chartier – Beaumont
Quarter Cuts Ltd.
Kent McAllister
Mixburn Colony
Homegrown – La Corey
Colin and Mary Balan
Mitch Campbell
Lewis Farms
Nonay Dairy
Mama Sheila’s Farm Store
Darren Frank
Brian Chrisp
Vince Murray
John Buckley
Casey Morey
Brian Koberstein
Ryan Fleetwood
Melissa Downing
VBP+
Detimdale Holsteins
Darren Hipkin
Bob Reck
Jeremy ten Hegge
Garry Vanderpost
Morgan Hobin
Deseret Ranches
Frank Robinson
Adam Thiessen
Kirstin Smith
Bernie Grumpelt
Country Junction Feeds
Hamiota Feedlot Ltd.
Klassen Agriventures
T Bar Cattle Co.
JNR Farms
Highland Feeders
Lazy E Bar Ranching
Shelter Valley Land and Cattle
Poundmaker Feedlot
VeeTee Feeders
Red Coat Cattle Feeders
Liberty Run Ranch
Webster Farms
Hale Farms Ltd.
Bruce Farms
MCF Feedyards Brooks
Rimrock Feeders
Highway 21 Feeders
Double RN Ranching
Schmidt Livestock Barrhead
Feedlot Health Management Services
Fort Feeders
Buffalo Plains Co.