Beef Business September 2021

Beef Business ‘

Saskatchewan’s largest circulated industry magazine Saskatchewan`s Premiere Cattlecattle Industry Publication Saskatchewan's Premier Cattle Industry Publication September 2021

COMMERCIAL CATTLE EDITION A Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association Publication Publication Mail Agreement #40011906

Working for Producers

Courtesy of Staden Farms

Courtesy of Ian Thorleifson

Courtesy of Jody Scheirlinck

Courtesy of Tracy Lamb

Courtesy of Canadian Sheep Federation

canadaid.ca

WORKING TOWARDS TRACEABILITY TOGETHER CCIA CANADIAN CATTLE IDENTIFICATION AGENCY

Led by representation from 15 livestock organizations from across Canada, the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency, CCIA, is the responsible administrator for beef cattle, bison, sheep and pending regulation cervids and goats in Canada (with some exemptions in Quebec).

WHAT’S NEW IN THE WEBSTORE SHEARWELL RFID — An innovative steel wrap-around beef tag, the first of its kind. The microchip is overmolded in a plastic insert so readability and read range of the transponder are never compromised.

DESTRON DMR RFID — Upgraded version of the Destron eTag. Improvements include a fully molded outer tag housing for better durability and water resistance and an enhanced locking mechanism for greater retention.

FOR ALL THINGS TRACEABILITY canadaid.ca — your source for who we are and what

we do.

clts.canadaid.ca — Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS), is CCIA’s database where essential traceability information is captured and serves as the first line of defence in the event of a traceback. support.canadaid.ca — your “how to” destination. tags.canadaid.ca — tags and tag accessories when you need them, 24/7.

UHF | NEW POSSIBILITIES WE ARE ON THE MOVE We have had a longstanding goal of owning our own building consisting of both office and warehouse space under one roof in Calgary. The CCIA Board’s vision is now a reality offering the potential to increase our in-house services and become more self-reliant in order to better serve the industry as we move forward.

CCIA is exploring the introduction of Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) RFID tags into the existing system in a cost-efficient manner that augments the approved CCIA tag and supplies benefits of the technology to on-farm data collection. Data integrity is enhanced, and data capture is more efficient by pairing an UHF tag number with a CCIA tag number and storing the cross reference in the CLTS.

To get to know us better and learn more about how we are working towards traceability together, visit www.canadaid.ca | info@canadaid.ca | 1-877-909-2333

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CANADIAN CATTLE IDENTIFICATION AGENCY

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Contents INDUSTRY NEWS

A Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) Publication

6

Livestock Tax Deferral Provisions are in Effect

7

AgriRecovery: 2021 Canada–Saskatchewan Drought Response Initiative

10

Water Resources

12

Anatomy of an Investigation

16

Livestock Marketers of Saskatchewan Directory

Managing Editor: Kori Maki-Adair Tel: 403-680-5239 Email: kmaa@shaw.ca

MARKETS AND TRADE 18

Retail Meat Price Survey

20

Weekly Market Charts

22

Beef Cattle Market Outlook

24

Saskatchewan Feedlot Directory

26

TESA Winners Keep a Close Eye on the Land

29

Saskatchewan Celebrates More Than a Quarter Century of TESA

30

R-CALF Trying to Raise the Temperature on COOL

34

Lonepine Creek Ranchers Take Action

Advertising Sales Tel: 306-757-8523 Fax: 306-569-8799 Email: ssgacommunications@sasktel.net

FEATURES

SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION Active Missing Livestock Files

39

The Everbridge System of Instant Alerts

42

Pregnancy Detection

44

Improving the Nutritional Value of Straw and Chaff with NH3

48

High Nitrates a Concern in Stressed Forage Crops

50

Feed Management

ASSOCIATION NEWS, REPORTS AND EVENTS 52

SSGA President's Report

54

2021 Annual General Meeting Resolutions

57

In Memoriam

58

Director Profile: Steven Dempsey

59

Introducing Policy Intern Josee Monvoisin

60

Summer Advocacy Gallery

Subscriptions Box 4752, Evraz Place, Regina, SK S4P 3Y4 Tel: 306-757-8523 Fax: 306-569-8799 Email: ssga.admin@sasktel.net Subscription Rate: One year $26.50 (GST included) Published five times per year Design and Layout: Jackson Designs Candace Schwartz Tel: 306-772-0376 Email: cjacksondesigns@gmail.com Prairie Conservation Action Plan (PCAP) Manager: Carolyn Gaudet Box 4752, Evraz Place, Regina, SK S4P 3Y4 Tel: 306-352-0472 Fax: 306-569-8799 Email: pcap@sasktel.net

38

SSGA reserves the right to refuse advertising and edit manuscripts. Contents of Beef Business may be reproduced with written permission obtained from SSGA's General Manager, and with proper credit given to Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association. Articles submitted may not be the opinion of SSGA. SSGA assumes no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader from this publication based on any and all information provided.

Publications Mail Agreement #40011906 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses (covers only) to: Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association Box 4752, Evraz Place, Regina, SK S4P 3Y4

STEWARDSHIP 62

Saskatchewan Grassland Habitats Resound with Songbirds

64

Calling All Landowners of Native Grasslands!

66

Calendar

67

Advertiser Index

68

Business Directory

Cover photo courtesy of Gavelin Farms, Marla Gavelin from McCord, SK,

Contributors cycle This M a

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Ple as

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This magazine is printed on paper that is comprised of 50% recycled paper and 25% post-consumer waste.

It is acid-free, elemental chlorine-free and is FSC certified

Follow us on:

General Manager: Chad MacPherson Box 4752, Evraz Place, Regina, SK S4P 3Y4 Tel: 306-757-8523 Fax: 306-569-8799 Email: ssga@sasktel.net Website: www.skstockgrowers.com

fb.com/skstockgrowers

SEPTEMBER 2021

Beef Cattle Research Council Brittany Compton Kelcy Elford Murray Feist Don Ferguson Carolyn Gaudet Jeff Gaye Jordan Johnson

Maddy Lazurko Chad MacPherson Kori Maki-Adair Josee Monvoisin Travis Peardon Jason Pollock Garth Woods

@SK_StockGrowers

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 5

INDUSTRY NEWS Livestock Tax Deferral Provisions are in Effect Jeff Gaye

Federal Minister of Agriculture and AgriFood Marie-Claude Bibeau made the announcement in Winnipeg on July 22.

The Livestock Tax Deferral provision allows livestock producers in these regions, who reduced their breeding herds by at least 15 per cent because of drought or flooding, to defer a portion of their 2021 income from sales until the 2022 tax year. This enables them to offset a part of that sale income with the cost of acquiring new breeding animals, thus reducing their potential tax burden.

In operations where the breeding herd has been reduced by at least 15 per cent, but less than 30 per cent, 30 per cent of income from net sales can be deferred.

Where the breeding herd has been reduced by 30 per cent or more, 90 per cent of income from net sales can be deferred.

In eligible regions, income from livestock sales is deferred to the next tax year. If there are consecutive years of drought or excess moisture and flood conditions, producers may defer sales income to the first year in which the region is no longer prescribed.

The Saskatchewan government called for the measures on July 14.

Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) president Kelcy Elford says the relief is welcome, but there is room for the program to improve.

“The program is designed to defer income on the sale of breeding females only on a year-to-year basis,” he said. ”We would like it to be a multi-year deferral, so once the drought breaks you have some flexibility for buying back in. Otherwise everyone will be buying back in at the same time to avoid the taxman.”

The sudden surge of purchasing pressure can affect the availability, and the price, of replacement heifers and cows.

6

“We would also like to see all classes of cattle included—the revenue from yearling and calf sales is not currently eligible for the program,” Elford said.

“Producers that normally retain some or all of their calves might end up selling two calf crops in one year by selling their yearlings, along with this year’s calves, if they don’t have feed to winter their calves this year.

“It’s a case where what looks like a revenue source—selling calves and yearlings for cash—is actually a setback to the operation over time,” he said.

“Deferring the tax on those sales would more accurately reflect that.”

The federal agriculture minister advises the Minister of Finance to designate prescribed regions when forage yields are less than half of the long-term average as a result of drought or flooding in a particular year.

The affected area must have “recognized geo-political boundaries”—a rural

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Impacts on individual municipalities/ regions would not result in a designation.

A preliminary list of prescribed regions is usually completed in the early fall for those regions where it seems likely that the criteria will be met. A final list is usually made in December when complete forage yield information is available. This list includes the regions from the preliminary list.

This year’s early-designated areas cover a huge swath that includes virtually all of Northwestern Ontario, the southern half of the three Prairie provinces extending into the Peace Country in Alberta, and a big section of British Columbia’s interior including the Okanagan region.

Many of the regions in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia are designated for a second consecutive year. B

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municipality or a county, for example— and be large enough to have an impact on the industry.

1-800-661-7002 SEPTEMBER 2021

INDUSTRY NEWS AgriRecovery: 2021 Canada–Saskatchewan Drought Response Initiative The 2021 Canada-Saskatchewan Drought Response Initiative provides immediate relief to livestock producers. Producers do not have to be enrolled in any existing Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) programs to qualify for funding.

HOW THE INITIATIVE WORKS The Initiative will consist of two payments totaling up to $200 per head for cattle, with adjustments based on animal unit equivalents for other livestock. The minimum payment will be $500 for each payment. The maximum total payments will be $3,000,000 per operation.

Payment One Initial payment provides immediate funding support to livestock producers.

It is simple to apply for this first payment.

Apply for Payment One, anytime before January 31, 2022.

• $100 per eligible breeding female or animal unit equivalent owned inventory as of August 1, 2021.

To apply, you must:

1. Report total eligible female

Two. Application will be available starting November 1, 2021. Even when this second application window opens in November, producers can still apply for their initial/ first payment (i.e., Payment One).

• Up to $100 per eligible breeding

include Canadian-owned female beef and dairy cattle, bison, elk, sheep or goats that are bred or intended to be bred

o The number of open replacement females considered eligible livestock is up to 15 per cent of total bred females per species

2. Declare eligibility, as outlined in the Terms and Conditions

Payment Two A second application form is to be completed when applying for Payment

SEPTEMBER 2021

3. Declare eligibility, as outlined in the Terms and Conditions

female or animal unit equivalent owned inventory as of December 31, 2021

ELIGIBILITY

⋅ Head counts may have changed

• Must claim farm income and expenses for tax purposes in the province of Saskatchewan and be over the age of 18

since August. Payment Two will use updated reported numbers.

Payment One will remain based on August 1, 2021, reported inventory.

To apply, you must:

1. Report projected eligible female breeding stock inventories

o Eligible livestock for this Initiative include Canadian-owned female beef and dairy cattle, bison, elk, sheep or goats that are bred in 2021 or intended to be bred in 2022

o The number of open replacement females considered eligible livestock is up to 15 per cent of total bred females per species

breeding livestock inventory

o Eligible livestock for this Initiative

Two. SCIC may request receipts or supporting documentation for verification purposes

2. Complete the Extraordinary Cost Questionnaire

Producers

⋅ For applicants not required to

file income tax, producers need to demonstrate production and sale of agriculture commodities in Saskatchewan. Contact SCIC to discuss the required documentation.

• No minimum farm sales are required to apply for the 2021 CanadaSaskatchewan Drought Response Initiative Livestock

• Canadian-owned female beef and

dairy cattle, bison, elk, sheep or goats bred or intended to be bred

• This initiative will cover 70 per cent of

o Extraordinary cost details

are defined in the Terms and Conditions

o Extraordinary costs may

include: feed, transportation of feed, transportation of water, transportation of livestock, labour, temporary fencing, alternative grazing arrangements, the deficiency of the value of pasture production or winter feed production, or any other costs related to the 2021 drought

o Receipts are not required as part of the application for Payment

extraordinary cost per head ⋅ Animal unit equivalents:

For more information Initiative information, including Terms and Conditions and the application forms, can be found at www.scic.ca/2021-canadasaskatchewan-drought-responseinitiative. Producers with questions can call the drought response initiative’s dedicated toll-free line at 1-844-723-1211 or directly email skdri@scic.ca. continued on page 8

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 7

INDUSTRY NEWS AgriRecovery cont. from pg. 7 As part of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership agreement (CAP), a total of $297 million is being provided through AgriRecovery to the province’s livestock producers at a 60-40 federal-provincial cost-share.

Species

Contact SCIC

SCIC. Here at Every Turn

SCIC has 21 customer service offices throughout Saskatchewan. Contact information for each local office is available at www.scic.ca/contact-us/.

SCIC takes pride in the opportunity to offer a wide variety of insurance options to meet the everchanging needs of Saskatchewan producers and their operations. B

Animal Unit Equivalent

Extraordinary Expense per head

Beef, Dairy, Bison

1.0

$285

Elk

0.5

$143

Sheep, Goats

0.2

$57 Example $285 x 70% = $200

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Stock Cow & Bred Heifer Sale 1:00 pm

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20 Border Butte Angus Bull Sale 12:00 pm

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INDUSTRY NEWS Water Resources Kori Maki-Adair

Water exists above and below ground as a solid, liquid or vapour. It changes state through freezing, thawing, evaporation and condensation. All water is part of the hydrologic cycle, which includes evaporation into the atmosphere from bodies of water and land surfaces as well as through transpiration from plants and animals, including humans.

As a vapour, water can be transported by wind long distances before being precipitated as snow, rain or dew. Only a portion of that water evaporates or is transpired back into the atmosphere.

What remains, mostly from snowmelt and rain, is absorbed into the soil and streamflow. It’s called water yield, and Saskatchewan’s in particular, needs protection and enhancement—especially in the southwestern plains. The province is facing its sixth year of below-average precipitation, which results in criticallylow water yields and significantly-high soil and plant evapotranspiration. It’s a threefold drought: meteorological, hydrological and agricultural.

So, as we wait in good faith for the condensation stage of the hydrologic cycle, we can optimize our water resources by understanding them better.

The most effective way to do that is through sampling and testing. With those results, we’re able to make informed decisions and act on them, which can improve livestock health, growth and performance along with an operation’s profitability.

Water quality and supply can change rapidly. Without sufficient re-charge, volumes can decrease quickly through evaporation and from thirsty animals, as temperatures rise. Though cows, nursing cows, bred dry cows, heifers, bulls, growing cattle and finishing cattle have different water requirements, livestock water consumption is primarily determined by seasonal temperatures, moisture levels in feed and an animal’s stage in production.

10

When water volumes decline, the concentrations of any constituents, which may have been introduced by seasonal run-off, animal contact and sub-surface soil or water salinity, will increase (e.g., moulds, spores, mycotoxins, alkaloids, vitamins, minerals, heavy metals, pathogens, sulphates and/or nitrates). Since countless, uncontrollable risk factors may influence a water supply at any time, it’s a good practice to enter sampling and testing into your calendar to ensure it is completed summer and winter. Regular testing is considered a best practice for water management because it establishes a baseline for quality for each water source.

Thankfully, when water is intended for livestock consumption and a producer has a Saskatchewan-issued premises identification (PID) number, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture provides water screening and testing services at no charge through its 10 regional offices, the Agriculture Knowledge Centre and Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) offices.

September is a great time to test water that may be needed for livestock this winter. Here’s how to do it:

• Collect a representative sample

from each livestock water source on your property.

TIP: It’s best to gather water samples on the morning you plan to deliver them for testing. Remember to keep the samples cool. If you are unable to submit them for testing immediately, refrigerate, but do not freeze them.

• Use a clean, one-litre container for

each sample. Ensure the container is durable with a reliable seal.

TIP: Water testing offices tend to supply water sample containers, if you need them.

• Apply a label to each sample

container that includes your name,

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the date the sample was taken, water source type (e.g., stream, slough, well, pipeline, etc.), land location and name for the source (e.g., south pasture dugout).

• When you deliver your samples for

testing, be prepared to give your name, contact information, PID and any additional details you feel may be helpful for the testing process.

After you have submitted the samples, be patient for the process to be completed. Success happens when preparedness meets opportunity. Be certain you have enough time to test (and treat) a water source before it is needed for your animals.

Typically, livestock and feed extension specialists screen each water sample using hand-held, electrical conductivity meters to measure a sample’s conductivity. If conductivity is high, the water quality is poor. If conductivity is moderate, the office will send the sample to the Roy Romanow Lab in Regina for a full analysis.

When the results are available, a livestock and feed extension specialist will contact you to review the details. They will provide you with assistance to update your water management plan or to create one. Their support and recommendations could include:

• Diluting minerals in a water supply; • Addressing dietary needs to handle specific minerals found in a water supply;

• Installing a water treatment system; • Making use of the Farm and Ranch

Water Infrastructure Program (FRWIP) to help fund pasture pipelines, wells or dugouts; or

• Sourcing the right solution to protect

a water supply by preventing livestock from entering it (e.g., access ramps, nose pumps, gravity flow reservoirs, solar pumping stations and windmills).

Since each watering site is unique, they will discuss each option in detail with

SEPTEMBER 2021

you to help you determine the best match for the unique characteristics of your water sources.

For more information about sampling and testing your water for livestock use, please contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre toll-free at 1-866-457-2377 or visit saskatchewan.ca and enter “regional offices” into the search bar. B

WATER TESTING OFFICES Ministry of Agriculture Regional Offices and Map saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculturenatural-resources-and-industry/ agribusiness-farmers-and-ranchers/ agriculture-regional-offices Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation Offices scic.ca/contact-us REFERENCES Now is the Time to Test Your Livestock Water Sources saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculturenatural-resources-and-industry/ agribusiness-farmers-and-ranchers/ sask-ag-now/livestock-and-feed/testlivestock-water-sources What You Need to Know About Water Quality Going into Spring saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculturenatural-resources-and-industry/ agribusiness-farmers-and-ranchers/ sask-ag-now/agriview/agriviewspring-2021/spring-water-quality Livestock Water Quality saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculturenatural-resources-and-industry/ agribusiness-farmers-and-ranchers/ livestock/livestock-and-water-quality/ livestock-water-quality

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INDUSTRY NEWS Anatomy of an Investigation Don Ferguson CD, RVT, Executive Director Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan

What really goes into animal protection work?

The Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan (APSS) exists to ensure the humane treatment of animals in the province. Animal ownership, be it pets or livestock, is regulated by the Animal Protection Act 2018, and APSS is responsible for education about, and enforcement of, animal welfare legislation.

APSS staff are known as Animal Protection Officers (APOs) and their number-one priority is to ensure animals are free from distress and are being cared for appropriately.

All cases are investigated, but not all require intervention. Where animal care requirements are not met, it is the goal of APOs to work with owners to correct the problem. Some investigations result in charges being laid or animals being removed. These cases generally occur only after attempts to correct the situation have failed. This article overviews the process APOs go through when responding to a report of an animal in distress.

The public is encouraged to contact APSS if they suspect an animal is being mistreated or neglected. The caller’s identity is always confidential. Complaints are forwarded to the APO covering the area who may ask for more details to help determine what course of action is appropriate. Depending on the nature of the complaint, the APO may contact additional sources for more information.

Complaints are classified as either Priority 1 or 2, depending on their apparent severity and the urgency of the required response. If the circumstances involve something outside our mandate, such as animal control or wildlife issues, calls are referred to the appropriate agency.

12

The next step is for the APO to do a site visit and attempt to speak with the owner or person in charge of the animal(s) to explain the reason for the visit and to ask questions to better assess the situation. The officer requests the owner to accompany him/her to view the animal(s) where they use their knowledge and experience to determine if the complaint is founded, and most importantly, what steps are needed to respond to the condition of the animal(s).

If the complaint is unfounded, the officer informs the owner there is no problem and leaves the property. If the complaint is founded, meaning the animal(s) are found to be in distress, the APO will provide educational advice and guidance to the owner or person in charge of the animal(s), to correct the situation.

In most founded cases, the officer informs the owner of the nature of the problem and advises the corrective action that must be taken. When a situation is more serious and needs to be rectified immediately, the officer will give a verbal warning or Corrective Action Order to the owner. This will detail what needs to be done and when, within a reasonable time period, to relieve the animal(s) of distress.

The officer will check back within the allotted time period to ensure the owner has complied. In some cases, the officer may determine the animal(s) must be seen immediately by a veterinarian.

Usually, the officer advises the owner to call a veterinarian of his/her choice. However, if the owner cannot be located or refuses to comply, our officer will call a veterinarian directly.

If attempts to improve the treatment of the animal(s) are unsuccessful and/or the condition of the animal(s) is in jeopardy, the APO will take the animal(s) into protective custody, also known as seizing

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the animal(s). This is typically done under the Animal Protection Act search warrant.

A registered veterinarian often attends with the officer. Animals are removed to relieve them from their distress and are provided with the proper food, water, shelter and veterinary care.

Seizing animals can be as simple as taking a dog or cat to the nearest animal shelter or, in the case of large animals or large numbers of animals, may involve detailed planning and coordination with other agencies, veterinarians and caretakers.

To illustrate the process more simply, imagine a scenario where cattle are seen out grazing stubble in the fall. A passerby may observe the cattle have very little feed, be concerned for their welfare and make a call to APSS. When the investigating APO arrives on-site, he/ she may discover the cattle have good quality free choice hay available within the yard where it is not readily visible from the road. The cattle are observed to be in good body condition, and they have the freedom to graze as they choose while coming back to the yard for hay and water at any time.

In this instance, the complaint would be considered unfounded and nothing further would be required from the producer. If the complainant left contact information, he/she would receive a follow up call indicating the animals are not in distress and do have access to adequate feed and water.

In an alternate version of this scenario, the APO arrives on site and finds the cattle in poor body condition. They are being given supplemental feed, but the quality appears quite poor. There is evidence that a few animals may have died. continued on page 14

SEPTEMBER 2021

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SEPTEMBER 2021

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 13

INDUSTRY NEWS Anatomy of cont. from pg. 12 In this instance, the APO on site would explain the nature of the problem and advise the owner to test their feed and have rations developed by a consultant to ensure the nutrient requirements of their animals are being met. The APO in this version would issue a Corrective Action Order with these directions and a time period by which to complete them.

In this scenario, when the APO follows up on the Corrective Action Order, the conditions are found unchanged; cattle are still in a poor body condition and there are now more deceased animals. The APO would provide the owner with his Charter Rights and Adult Caution, and inform the owner that APSS would be taking the cattle into protective custody. At that

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point, arrangements would be made for transportation of the cattle, and the cattle would be delivered to a caretaker where they would be provided with sufficient food, water and veterinary care.

In this version, the owner fails to reclaim the cattle and pay the expenses associated with the seizure. Subsequently, the cattle would be sold. The owner would be charged under the Animal Protection Act for allowing animals to be in distress and failing to comply with a Corrective Action Order.

The Animal Protection Act prohibits anyone from allowing an animal to be in distress.

Cases of animal cruelty or neglect reflect badly on all livestock and pet owners.

There really is no such thing as a typical investigation for APOs as there are a wide range of factors to consider. Even the period of time for investigations varies greatly, with full resolution taking a few days, a few months or even years.

Investigations are only concluded when the APO is satisfied the conditions have improved, and he/she is confident the animal(s) are being cared for appropriately. All conditions may not be met right away, but as long as the officer is seeing real improvement in the welfare of the animals, he/she will work with the owner to improve conditions.

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14© 2021|CNH©BEEF BUSINESS | www.skstockgrowers.com Industrial America LLC. All rights reserved. New Holland is a trademark registered in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates.

SEPTEMBER 2021

306-532-4809 |

shophighplains@me.com

LIVESTOCK MARKETERS OF SASKATCHEWAN 306-933-4404 | office@agribiz.ca | livestockmarketers.ca Alphabetical

BY LOCATION Kelvington Livestock

Contact: Clint Peterson Box 640 KELVINGTON, SK, S0A 1W0 Ph: 306-327-4642 kelvstockyards@sasktel.net www.kelvingtonstockyards.com Northern Livestock Sales – Lloydminster Auction Market Contact: Brent Brooks Box 930 LLOYDMINSTER, SK, S9V 1C4 Ph: 306-240-5340 brent.mlstockyards@sasktel.net www.northernlivestocksales.ca Mankota Stockmen’s Weigh Co. Ltd. Auction Market Contact: Chris Williamson Box 248 MANKOTA, SK, S0H 2W0 Ph: 306-478-2229 mankotastockmens@sasktel.net www.mankotastockmens.com Cowtown Livestock Exchange Auction Market Contact: Tyler Cronkhite Box 730 MAPLE CREEK, SK, S0N 1N0 Ph: 306-662-2648 cowtow.ls@sasktel.net cowtownlivestockexchange. homesteadcloud.com Meadow Lake Stockyards Ltd. Auction Market Contact: Brent Brooks Box 130 MEADOW LAKE, SK, S9X 1Y1 Ph: 306-240-5340 brent.mlstockyards@sasktel.net

Gibson Livestock Contact: Chad Eaton Box 1384 MOOSE JAW, SK, S6H 4R3 Ph: 306-692-9668 gibsonlivestock@sasktel.net www.gibsonlivestock.ca

Heartland Livestock Services Contact: Stewart Stone Suite 210- 4401 Albert Street REGINA, SK, S4S 6B6 Ph: 306-566-4303 stewart.stone@hls.ca www.hls.ca

JGL Livestock Order Buyer/Assembly Station Contact: Bill Jameson RR 280 Hwy #1 West, Box 40 MOOSE JAW, SK S6H 4N7 Ph: 306-692-4911 office@jglcattle.com www.jglcattle.com

Miller Livestock Order/Buy Co. Ltd. Order Buyer Contact: Deryl Miller Box 60 SASKATOON, SK, S7K 3K1 Ph: 306-382-3277 millerlivestock@sasktel.net www.millerlivestock.ca

Johnstone Auction Mart Ltd. Auction Market Contact: Scott & Wayne Johnstone Box 818 MOOSE JAW, SK S6H 4P5 Ph: 306-693-4715 info@johnstoneauction.ca www.johnstoneauction.ca

Saskatoon Livestock Sales Auction Market Contact: Pat Tellier Box 60 SASKATOON, SK, S7K 3K1 Ph: 306-382-8088 admin@saskatoonlivestocksales.com www.saskatoonlivestocksales.com

Prairie Livestock Order Buyer/Assembly Station Contact: Dion Huel Box 964 MOOSOMIN, SK, S0G 3N0 Ph: 306-435-3327 office@prairielivestock.ca www.prairielivestock.ca

Spiritwood Stockyards (1984) Ltd. Auction Market Contact: Justin Kahl Box 160 SPIRITWOOD, SK, S0J 2M0 Ph: 306-883-2168 SSY@sasktel.net www.spiritwoodstockyards.ca

Northern Livestock Sales Prince Albert Auction Market Contact: Brent Brooks Box 186, South Elevator Road PRINCE ALBERT, SK S6V 5R5 Ph: 306-240-5340 brent.mlstockyards@sasktel.net www.northernlivestocksales.ca

Holdstock Livestock Order Buyer/Assembly Station Contact: Roger Holdstock Box 564 WEYBURN, SK, S4H 2K7 Ph: 306-842-3144 jholdstock@sasktel.net Weyburn Livestock Exchange Auction Market Contact: Roy Rutledge Box 1504 WEYBURN, SK, S4H 3N8 Ph: 306-842-4574 wle@weyburnlivestock.com www.weyburnlivestock.com

Adele Buentter | Bay 6A 3602 Taylor St E | Saskatoon, SK S7H 5H9 16

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SEPTEMBER 2021

TOP-NOTCH SILAGE FOR 39 YEARS. When every new season matters more than the last, you need silage corn that yields. Count on DEKALB® Silage Ready™ corn hybrids from Bayer for feed with high digestibility, energy content and tonnage potential to maximize your herd’s productivity. The lineup features a fit for every field, on every farm to help ensure feed needs are met. Get the performance – and whole farm profitability – you demand.

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Bayer is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Bayer products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Bayer’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. These products have been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from these products can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for these products. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship.

ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® 2 Technology contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate. Glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Insect control technology provided by Vip3A is utilized under license from Syngenta Crop Protection AG. Bayer, Bayer Cross, DEKALB and Design®, DEKALB ®, RIB Complete ®, Roundup Ready 2 Technology and Design™, Roundup Ready®, SmartStax®, Trecepta® and VT Double PRO ® are trademarks of Bayer Group. Agrisure Viptera® is a registered trademark of a Syngenta group company. LibertyLink® and the Water Droplet Design are trademarks of BASF. Used under license. Herculex® is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Used under license. ©2021 Bayer Group. All rights reserved.

MARKETS AND TRADE RETAIL MEAT PRICE SURVEY as of September 2, 2021 ($/lb)

Ground beef - lean Cross rib roast Outside round roast Inside round roast

SUPERSTORE

SOBEYS

CO-OP

SAVE-ON-FOODS

$4.98

$6.00

$6.00

$5.00

*

$10.01

$6.50

*

$8.47

*

$7.50

$9.50

*

$11.01

$8.00

$11.00

Ribeye steak

$17.69

$25.04

$14.52

$21.05

Round steak

$9.98

$10.81

*

$10.00

Sirloin steak

$8.98

$10.01

$5.00

$8.50

T-bone steak

$17.24

*

$10.01

$19.05

Tenderloin

$27.67

$33.06

$28.05

$34.05

*These items were not in the display case on this date.

RUMEN PH LEVELS OVER TIME

RUMEN PH

7

FORAGE DIGESTING RANGE

6

CONCENTRATE DIGESTING RANGE SUB-ACUTE ACIDOSIS RANGE

5 7am

18

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CLINICAL ACIDOSIS RANGE 10am

1pm

4pm

7pm

SEPTEMBER 2021

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MARKETS AND TRADE SK Weekly Average Price Heifers 500-600 lbs

210

SK Weekly Average Price Steers 500-600 lbs

205

185

2021

180 175

Wk 52

Wk 49

Wk 46

Wk 43

Wk 40

Wk 37

Wk 34

Wk 31

Wk 28

Wk 25

Wk 22

Wk 19

Wk 16

Wk 13

Wk 7

Wk 10

Wk 4

165

Wk 1

170

2019 2020 2021

Wk 1 Wk 4 Wk 7 Wk 10 Wk 13 Wk 16 Wk 19 Wk 22 Wk 25 Wk 28 Wk 31 Wk 34 Wk 37 Wk 40 Wk 43 Wk 46 Wk 49 Wk 52

2020

190

245 240 235 230 225 220 215 210 205 200

Source: CanFax

150

2020

140 130

2021

120 110 Wk 1 Wk 4 Wk 7 Wk 10 Wk 13 Wk 16 Wk 19 Wk 22 Wk 25 Wk 28 Wk 31 Wk 34 Wk 37 Wk 40 Wk 43 Wk 46 Wk 49 Wk 52

100 Source: CanFax

110.00 105.00 100.00 95.00 90.00 85.00 80.00 75.00 70.00 65.00

2019 2020 2021

Wk 11 Wk 44 Wk 77 Wk 10 10 Wk 13 13 Wk 16 16 Wk 19 19 Wk 22 22 Wk 25 25 Wk 28 28 Wk 31 31 Wk 34 34 Wk 37 37 Wk 40 40 Wk 43 43 Wk 46 46 Wk 49 49 Wk 52 52

2019

160

Price per per hundred hundred weight weight Price

Price per hundred weight

170

Weekly Canadian Dollar Weekly Canadian Dollar 2020

Source: CanFax

0.80

2021

0.78 0.76

5 yr avg 20162020

0.74 0.72 0.70

440.00

Price per tonne

0.82

CDN $ - US terms

Source: CanFax

Lethbridge Barley Price

0.84

2019

390.00 2020

340.00 290.00

2021

240.00

Wk 52

Wk 49

Wk 46

Wk 43

Wk 40

Wk 37

Wk 34

Wk 31

Wk 28

Wk 25

Wk 22

Wk 19

Wk 16

Wk 13

Wk 10

Wk 7

Wk 4

190.00 Wk 1

0.68

Source: CanFax

Alberta Weekly D1 & D2 Cows

AB Fed Steer Prices

Source: Bank of Canada

Wk 1 Wk 4 Wk 7 Wk 10 Wk 13 Wk 16 Wk 19 Wk 22 Wk 25 Wk 28 Wk 31 Wk 34 Wk 37 Wk 40 Wk 43 Wk 46 Wk 49 Wk 52

Price per hundred weight

195

Price per hundred weight

2019

200

Source: CanFax

For more information visit www.canfax.ca

20

| ©BEEF BUSINESS | www.skstockgrowers.com

SEPTEMBER 2021

MARKETS AND TRADE Beef Cattle Market Outlook Kori Maki-Adair

Drought has affected our soil, water sources, crops, grasslands, feed supplies, market prices, ag programs and politics. It has hit our pocket books hard. Thankfully, like all things in life, drought and cattle are on a cycle.

Brian Perillat Manager and Senior Analyst Canfax

Rick Wright Owner/Operator Rick Wright Cattle Consulting

To understand where we are in the current cycle, we connected with Brian Perillat, Manager and Senior Analyst at Canfax— a division of Canadian Cattlemen’s Association that collects and maintains a detailed set of market prices for national cattle and beef market fundamentals.

Canfax provides custom data services and up-to-the-minute, unbiased, expert analysis of markets and trends to its worldwide membership.

We also reached out to Rick Wright, owner and operator of Rick Wright Cattle Consulting based in Virden, Manitoba.

Inducted to the Livestock Marketer’s Hall of Fame for his work on improving the livestock marketing industry on both the provincial and national levels, Rick Wright does a number of public presentations each year on livestock marketing, competitive price discovery, livestock production and handling, and future pricing fundamentals. He also writes The Bottom Line, a popular column on livestock marketing in the Cattle Country newspaper.

Beef Business: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us about how the drought may be influencing our markets. First off, what are your thoughts on calf prices for fall run 2021?

22

Brian Perillat: We’ve seen concerns about market pressure in relation to the drought.

There are larger volumes of calves coming to town due to the shortage of feed.

Prices are holding close to last year and 2019. We will see some pressure, but it’s hard to know how much. We are currently around $2.20 per pound for calves, but it’s possible the market could push more to $2.00 per pound. Hopefully, that $2.00 floor still holds as it has the last few years.

There is general optimism for calf prices.

Cattle futures are extremely strong in the current market place. Of course, calf prices are off from what we would have had without the drought. There are opportunities out there and for more money to flow through the supply chain to producers. Besides last year when we got up over $400 per hundredweight, wholesale beef prices are record high.

Rick Wright: Despite the high feed costs, I expect the fall calf prices to be strong.

The long-term, fed-cattle futures support the higher feed costs on the lighter weight feeder cattle. Ontario and the cornbelt in U.S. have large crops to harvest and will have adequate feed supplies.

This means Ontario and Quebec will be looking for feeder cattle. The good corn crop in United States will slow down the imports of U.S. calves into Canada and will stimulate some north/south export business on some classes of cattle.

With the drought in Canada, there is a good possibility that producers will sell more calves this fall than normal. This will create a shortage in the supply of market cattle for the spring. Cattle feeders could be forced to purchase more fall cattle to make sure that they have the inventory for spring. This will create more competition in the fall run, the supply demand fundamentals should kick-in during the spring.

Beef Business: How do you think the drought is impacting cow herd sizes?

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Brian Perillat: A harder culling rate— some heifers that were being retained and intended for breeding will go to feed yards, which will lead to a smaller Western Canadian herd. United States is also experiencing higher beef cow cull rates. How large of a cull has yet to be determined. Heifers and yearlings have been sold, cows will come later. Canada’s cattle herd is the smallest in 30 years.

With lack of rain, grain and forage supplies, we could see a cull rate approach 20 per cent, but that doesn’t mean the cow herd will shrink by that much overall as the cull rate is typically around 10 to 12 per cent.

Rick Wright: In the past, droughts were more regional. You could always find feed somewhere else to buy or the cows would move to another area and stay in production. This year, it is all of Western Canada. There is no extra feed to buy or demand for cows. Many good cows are going to the packers.

In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, we could realistically lose 20 per cent or more of our cowherd. Combining that with very few replacement heifers being bred, will result in a long rebuilding cycle.

The other factor is that many of the producers are being forced to sell on a somewhat depressed market; if they choose to buy back in, it will be on a higher market. Many of those producers are 50 years and older and may choose not to get back into the production business. The younger producers that are just getting started, and are forced to sell, may not have enough equity in their herd to get out of debt. Refinancing to get back in could be difficult.

Beef Business: How do you think that will affect hook space?

Brian Perillat: The large supplies of fed cattle should tighten up later this fall.

We’re in a strong market place heading

SEPTEMBER 2021

MARKETS AND TRADE

into fall run. For the most part, our feedlot and packing sectors have been performing very well. Through-put has been excellent at the main Western Canadian plants. We’re still cleaning up some of the backlog from COVID from feeders from the 2019 calf crop, but the cattle numbers are moving. Hook space will be limited this fall, but we should be okay for it.

We may need to rely a bit on U.S. plants.

We’ve seen some bigger volumes of cull cows, but it isn’t extreme. Market prices have been under pressure, but we’re not flooding domestic packers. We expect domestic packers to have a fed cattle focus, and more cows could move south.

Rick Wright: Packers are making huge profits harvesting fed cattle compared to the cow harvest. The supply of cows due to the drought is well above average, so supply is outlasting demand. It is too expensive to feed the cows, so the cows will keep coming and the market will stay under pressure for most of the fall. In recent weeks, the export market for live cows has put a floor price under the cows.

Beef Business: What are your projections for feed grain prices?

Rick Wright: Traditionally, feed grain prices drop when the new crop harvest starts, but this year, predicted crop yields would suggest that prices might stay strong. A change in weather conditions would turn some crops into

SEPTEMBER 2021

feed grains. Hay will remain strong throughout the winter.

Brian Perillat: Basically, with this drought and continued lack of rain, it’s going to hit our crops. Feed grains and barley were headed overseas, which put pressure on domestic supplies. It’s hard to know where the barley and grain prices are going to go. The average price for importing U.S. corn for feeders is around $350 to $360 per tonne. Hopefully, there’s a ceiling with harvest coming through and corn arriving in large train loads; that could cap the barley prices, which hit over $9 a bushel.

These high grain costs are limiting the high prices of calves. It’s about leverage.

Producers aren’t getting the dollar that’s going through retail. We’ve been through many cattle cycles before—this drives at lower supply, shackle space, a shrinking herd, and then, the producer gets those dollars back.

Beef Business: What is your bottomline advice to beef producers in these challenging times?

Brian Perillat: In the broader scope, supply and demand dynamics are incredibly strong. We’ve got the global middle class growing fast. Consumers continue to pay for beef despite the fact that consumption has, at times, been restricted a little bit due to supplies.

We’ve tested demand in 2014 and 2015, and tested it again last year; beef is still the number-one expenditure for meat.

Even as prices go up, and despite all the challenges and stories out there, the consumer pocket book is still buying beef.

Asia, the Middle East and North Africa are relying on beef imports, so that’s driving demand too, and it looks like those trends will continue. Beef prices are exploding.

Cut-out price is $330 per hundredweight.

As we look forward, supplies are going to get tighter, but demand is expected to continue to be strong, so prices will also continue to be high for beef. Cattle futures are projecting much higher prices next year.

Feed prices are through the roof, so we have to determine different rations that will work. We have to manage our costs to prevent panic-selling. A sharp pencil is important to figure that out.

Rick Wright: For those producers that find a way to hang on to their cows, I really feel that there are some big paydays ahead in the cow calf business. With the contraction of the national cowherd, combined with strong export and domestic demand, the future of the beef industry looks bright. Long-term futures look very bullish for the protein markets.

We need to get this drought behind us with a good crop next year and then the future will look very bright.

I was told a long time ago: “Hang to the cow’s tail and she will pull you through the tough times.” Those words of wisdom could turn out to be very true. B

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 23

SASKATCHEWAN FEEDLOT DIRECTORY Alphabetical BY LOCATION Shur-Livestock Exporting & Trucking Lot Capacity 800 Contact: Norm Shurygalo Box 308 BIENFAIT, SK S0C 0M0 Ph: (306) 388-2329 Cell: (306) 421-3482 Email: shur01@sasktel.net P Cross Ranch Contact: Garrett Poletz Box 1834 BIGGAR, SK S0L 2M0 Cell (306) 948-8057 Email: pcrossranch@outlook.com Flotre Feeders Lot Capacity 1,000 Contact: George Flotre Box 21 BULYEA, SK S0G 0L0 Ph: (306) 725-4510 Cell: (306) 725-8292 Email: gjflotre@gmail.com

L-7 Feeders Lot Capacity 2,500 Contact: Chad & Crystal Ross Box 1087 ESTEVAN, SK S4A 2H7 Cell: (306) 421-6346 Email: chadross@xplornet.ca Red Coat Cattle Feeders Inc. Lot Capacity 18,500 Contact: Kevin Antworth Box 86 HAZENMORE, SK S0N 1C0 Ph: (306) 264-3844 Email: info@rccf.ca Tee Two Land & Cattle Co. Lot Capacity 2,500 Contact: Duane Thompson Box 285 KELLIHER, SK S0A 1V0 Cell (306) 795-7277 Email: teetwo@xplornet.com

Bar JB Ranch Ltd. Lot Capacity 6,000 Contact: Eric Buyer Box 40 CARNDUFF, SK S0C 0S0 Ph: (306) 717-8905 Website: www.barjbranchltd.com

Pound-Maker Agventures Ltd. Lot Capacity 28,500 Contact: Brad Welter Box 519 LANIGAN, SK S0N 1C0 Ph: (306) 365-4281 Email: pma@pound-maker.ca Website: www.pound-maker.ca

Ceylon Gap Feeders Inc. Lot Capacity 20,000 Contact: Luis Medina Cortez Box 128 CEYLON, SK S0C 0T0 Ph: (306) 454-2250 Email: luis@ceylongapfeeders.com Facebook: Ceylon Gap Feeders

Sunny Slope Cattle Ltd. Lot Capacity 2,500 Contact: Don Bowyer Box 1744 MAPLE CREEK, SK S0N 1N0 Ph: (306) 662-2901 Cell: (306) 741-4375 Email: don@sunnyslopecattle.com Website: sunnyslopecattle.com

Living Sky Beef Lot Capacity 1,500 Contact: Ryan Thompson Box 263 CEYLON, SK S0C 0T0 Ph: (306) 815-7401

Hi-Lite Custom Feedlot Lot Capacity 5,000 Contact: Dan and Jeff Stevenson 6-4, R.R. 1 MELFORT, SK S0E 1A0 Ph: (306) 752-3665 Email: danny.hi.lite@yourlink.ca

Duckworth Ranches Inc. Lot Capacity 2,500 Contact: Gerry Duckworth Box 37 COURVAL, SK S0H 1A0 Cell: (306) 630-8760 Burntout Creek Ranch Lot Capacity 4,000 Contact: Jordan Kowal Box 36 CROOKED RIVER, SK S0E 0R0 Cell: (306) 873-0129 Email: jordanfkowal@gmail.com

24

Dietrich Farms Ltd. Lot Capacity 2,200 Contact: Jim Dietrich Box 68 MENDHAM, SK S0N 1P0 Ph: (306) 628-4249 Cell: (306) 628-7170 email: jdietrich@sasktel.net

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Smith Ranch Lot Capacity 1,500 Contact: Terry Smith Box 64 MENDHAM, SK S0N 1P0 Cell: (306) 628-7742 Email: terrysmith7742@gmail.com 20/20 Ranching Contact: Ryan Vandenhurk PO Box 300 MIDALE, SK Cell (306) 421-0825 Email: 2020ranching@gmail.com Buffalo Plains Cattle Co. Lot Capacity 25,000 Contact: Phil Lynn Box 674 MOOSE JAW, SK S6H 4P4 Ph: (306) 624-2381 M & T Feedlot Lot Capacity 3,500 Contact: Greg Thompson Box 336 MOOSE JAW, SK S6H 4N9 Ph: (306) 694-5314 Cell: (306) 631-7413 Top Gun Feeders Lot Capacity 10,000 Contact: Derek Lawton MOOSE JAW, SK Ph: (780) 712-0763 Email: derek@titanlivestock.com Excellerator Genetics Lot Capacity 4,000 Contact: Ron Dietrich Box 116 MOOSOMIN, SK S0G 3N0 Ph: (306) 435-9381 Email: excellerator@sasktel.net Website: www.excelleratorgenetics.com Westwood Land & Cattle Co. Lot Capacity 10,000 Contact: Kevin Woods Box 6 MOOSOMIN, SK S0G 3N0 Ph: (306) 435-2102 Cell: (306) 435-7313 or (306) 435-3711 Bluestone Stock Farms Lot Capacity 500 Contact: Jason & Karla Hicks Box 265 MORTLACH, SK S0H 3E0 Ph: (306) 355-2265 Cell: (306) 630-7466 Email: bluestone@sasktel.net Website: www.bluestonestockfarms.com

SEPTEMBER 2021

Schlamp Cattle Contact: Kyle Schlamp PO Box 123 MOSSBANK, SK Ph (306) 354-7278 Email: schlampcattle@yahoo.com NBI Feedyards Inc. Lot Capacity 10,000 Contact: Kees Kokke Box 9 PEEBLES, SK S0G 3V0 Ph: (306) 697-1510 7L Feeders Ltd. Lot Capacity 10,000 Contact: Kelly Friesen, Danny Reimer & Brandon Reimer Box 790 PORCUPINE PLAIN, SK S0E 1H0 Cell: (306) 813-7033 Email: 7LFeeders@gmail.com Bezan Land & Livestock Ltd. Custom Grazing & Feeding Lot Capacity 1,200 Contact: Layton Bezan Box 1726 REGINA, SK S4P 3C6 Cell: (306) 537-8898

Birch Island Land & Cattle Lot Capacity 8,000 Contact: Ben Stuart Box 122 RHEIN, SK S0A 3K0 Ph: (780) 888-7303 Email: birchislandsk@gmail.com Star City Colony Lot Capacity 2,000 Contact: Andrew Tschetter STAR CITY, SK Cell (306) 921-7789 Email: handyandyranch@gmail.com

Primrose Livestock Ltd. Lot Capacity 17,000 Contact: Steve Primrose Box 2117 SWIFT CURRENT, SK S9H 4V1 Cell: (403) 382-9998 Willow Park Ranch Lot Capacity 2,000 Contact: Josh Wurz Box 70 TESSIER, SK S0L 3G0 Ph: (306) 237-9510 Cell: (306) 220-0400

Hagerty Livestock Contact: Larry Hagerty PO Box 11 STONY BEACH, SK Ph 3063452523 Email: lhagerty@yourlink.ca

TD3L Hull Ranch Lot Capacity 2,000 Contact: Terry & Debbie Hull Levi Hull Box 160 WILLOWBROOK, SK S0A 4P0 Ph: (306) 782-7295 Cell: (306) 641-6270 Email: td.hull@yourlink.ca

Namaka Farms Contact: Stuart Thiessen Box 2409, STRATHMORE, AB | OUTLOOK, SK Ph: (403) 934-6122 Email: nfi@namakafarms.com

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FEATURE TESA Winners Keep a Close Eye on the Land Jeff Gaye

everything in between, and it has survived. In that sense, it’s a tough, resilient landscape. But it’s the grass itself, with its deep root systems, that literally holds the land together.

With a topsoil layer that runs 14 or 15 feet deep, the unbroken land can be susceptible to catastrophic damage if it is overgrazed, especially during a dry cycle.

When the rain comes back, those root systems have to be intact.

Ed and Charlotte Bothner, winners of the 26th TESA award

While visiting Ed and Charlotte Bothner’s ranch near Kyle this summer, I couldn’t keep myself from admiring the broad, beautiful prairie landscape. But whenever we got out of the truck, Ed and Charlotte were looking down at the ground.

obtained the land from the government in a long-term lease arrangement in 1902.

The Bothners are the 26th recipients of The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA).

Their 9,000-acre operation includes a large tract of native grass prairie, and they take their responsibilities to the land seriously.

Ed says there’s a symbiosis between preserving the natural grassland and grazing cattle, but the balance requires careful attention. Both the land and the cattle can benefit if the land is respected.

“The main philosophy is that you have to work together. We don’t want to short one for the other,” he said.

When out on the grass, Ed and Charlotte keep an eye out for what’s living and growing there—whether it’s indigenous plants, introduced or invasive plants, or animal wildlife right down to the bugs and spiders.

It’s all connected and it all matters, Ed says.

“It’s the stewardship of the land and the husbandry of the cattle,” he said.

“And they all have to balance out in the economics of the whole thing.”

Their operation is a mix of pasture and crops, some owned and some leased. The Bothners are the second family to occupy the land, having acquired it from the Knight family in the 1990s. The Knights

26

In addition to the unbroken native prairie, the Bothners have seeded much of the cropland to tame grasses.

This year’s drought has added to the pressures on the operation. Normally, Ed says, they like to have a third to a half of the year’s feed requirements in hand as they go into the winter. The rest can be made up through grazing (about a third) and by growing or buying any needed feed after the spring.

Grazing won’t make up the one-third of the animals’ requirement this year. “We’ll be purchasing some pellets and hay to make up the rest,” Ed said. “We don’t want to ever leave the grass in bad shape.”

Over centuries, the prairie grass has seen cycles of flood and drought and

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Ed tells of an extreme weather event five or six years ago where they got about 30 inches of rain. The water overflowed their dugouts, which were not far from a deep coulee. The rushing water eroded the soil in cuts that were 15 feet deep, and one was a quarter mile long.

“I brought my son out and he said, ‘look at this. This all slopes to the coulee.’ He said if this was allowed to happen, it would be gone in 20 years,” Ed said.

“That made it more personal to me when he said that. So I think we do have a responsibility to be caretakers of the land, and good stewards.”

“It’s important to me that it’s preserved, and for many reasons. It’s for wildlife. It’s for the fact that this land is very fragile in certain situations. If it hasn’t got a root structure, it just crumbles,” he said.

“There’s always going to be some erosion to the coulees if it’s cultivated.

All the silt off this land would end up in Lake Diefenbaker, and I don’t think that is where it should be. I’d sooner see it up here.”

Ed worked with Tom Harrison, former Executive Director of South of the Divide Conservation Action Program Inc. (SODCAP Inc.), now Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation’s Program Manager, to devise a strategy to maintain water resources while protecting the soil from erosion, and at the same time, optimizing the pasture for grazing.

SEPTEMBER 2021

FEATURE Part of the plan was creating rock dams to trap water during dry spells and to prevent excessive runoff when there’s a lot of rain.

“We had to haul rock for quite a ways, because there’s no rock here. There are no rock piles, and very few rocks other than down on the coulees, which are hard to get at,” Ed said.

“We fixed it up and it worked out really well,” he said, “and then we did some cross-fencing.”

The cross-fencing is important to the Bothners’ balance of land stewardship and animal husbandry. To protect against overgrazing, but with few water sources, Ed says it’s key to understand cattle behaviour and to keep the animals moving.

The fencing keeps the cattle in their pasture, and it keeps them off of the other fields that need a rest from being grazed.

Naturally, the cattle will want to stay close to their water source. Ed has his dugouts fenced to keep the animals out of the water, and uses solar-powered pumps to keep the troughs full.

“The water is a big attraction for them, so we use lick tubs and salt to move them away. Cattle will move a mile or better when the calves are big enough, but not when they’re young,” Ed said. “So that’s just knowing the habits of the cattle.

“In the early mornings or in the evenings, they’ll move away from the water and find grass, if you have something that will draw them to those places. They’ll move away from water to find molasses lick tubs, for example, or salt. And after they know there’s good grass there, they’ll come back.”

The ranch’s Class 2 soil is coveted by crop farmers. Even some ranchers have felt the local land which includes the Matador pasture, would better sustain cattle, if it were seeded with plants like crested wheat and alfalfa.

SEPTEMBER 2021

But Ed remembers talking to Dr. Jim Romo, now Emeritus Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at University of Saskatchewan, about any possible benefit to breaking the sod.

“We were standing in a field next to mine, a crested wheat field seeded maybe 10 or 15 years prior, and it was getting so it wasn’t at its prime,” he said. “I noticed there were some native plants starting to come back into it—some of them were desirable plants and some of them not so desirable—but I asked him, how would this be, if they broke this and seeded again to crested wheat?”

“He said if they break it, they get a blast of nitrogen and for a few years, they have a better crop. And then after that, it’s back to what it is now.”

Romo told Ed that about 50 years ago, there were two schools of thought on the subject—break the land and seed it or leave it as it was—and it came down to a battle of personalities. The scientist with the stronger personality won out, and the land was broken and forever changed.

“Someone pointed to what looked like dried paint. It was lichen. And Trevor Lennox from Swift Current Research and Development Centre said he had been on one of these years before, and he asked what the lichen was good for, and they told him, ‘nothing. It just grows here.’

“Trevor looked at it and he said we’re finding out now that it fixes nitrogen in the soil. You know, in the last 10 years they discovered this. We don’t know what’s out there to be discovered. We don’t begin to know what we don’t know.”

And of course the grassland feeds more than beef cattle. It is home to dozens of wildlife species, including many considered to be at risk. If the land is broken for crops, another chunk of disappearing habitat will be destroyed.

Ed says an important part of our history— human history as well as natural history— would be destroyed along with it. continued on page 28

“I see that in other cases, where somebody pushes an agenda just because it’s theirs,” Ed said. “But if there’s any doubt at all about the improvements of this land or doing things like that to this type of land, I think they should fall on the side of caution to begin with. And that was one example I’ve seen of why we should stay there and why we should give it a second thought.”

We are still learning about the complexity of the native prairie ecosystem and the role different organisms play in it, he said.

He remembers another recent story from not long ago.

“We were on a grass study or just a field day, and several people from the Department of Agriculture were along,” he said. “And there were interested parties, some from SODCAP and all that, and we were looking at the ground and identifying different plants.

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 27

FEATURE TESA Winners cont. from pg. 27 Much of that history is tied to the noweradicated migratory bison herds. A First Nations medicine wheel is on the property, and teepee rings are not uncommon. These hearken back to the days when Indigenous people would depend on the bison to provide them with food clothing, and materials for shelter and tools.

Even remaining vestiges of natural history echo the time of the great bison herds.

“There are little cowbirds, little homely cowbirds that lay their eggs in other birds’ nests so that the other birds raise them.

And the reason they’ve evolved to do that was they had to follow the migrating bison herd, so they couldn’t stay around to raise young.

“How long would it have taken for that to evolve? Centuries,” he said. “So to understand that, and to take children out and let them see this, these are things that the kids will remember. And we have to do that.

so. Grazing is important to the health of the native grass, but a herd of 300 cattle can’t replicate the effects of millions of migrating bison—either for grazing or for replenishing the land.

Keeping the remaining native ecosystem healthy requires balance and careful management.

And that’s why Ed and Charlotte were studying the plants on the ground the day I visited, while I was gazing into the deep coulees and watching deer bounding across the horizon.

“One thing is to just be observant,” Ed said. “There’s an old poker player who ranched in our country, and in relation to this, he said ‘don’t overplay a weak hand.’

And I thought that’s something that can be applied to how you use your grass too.

Evidence of prairie falcons nesting in a coulee cliffside cave

cows and next thing you know, they have no grass, they have no feed. And they’ve got a family to support; probably the banker as well. There’s a lot of danger, a lot of pitfalls in overstretching yourself.

“There are a lot of young guys—and not just young guys—but they buy a ranch and they think that there’s lots of grass on it. Well, they go and double the number of

“The big thing is just try not to overuse the land,” he said. “Try to always leave some grass there.”B

“Can you think of the people that lived here, in this harsh climate? You turn a plow loose, you’re tearing up a lot of history.”

2021 SUMMER FIELD DAY

Ed bristles a bit at the suggestion that it’s all “just grass.”

“I have neighbours that don’t give it near the respect that they would their cropland,” he said. “But one thing about the native grass, and I’ve seen it, is it rejuvenates itself. It has a tremendous ability to recover.”

To recover from natural cycles, that is.

Breaking it up is another matter.

“I haven’t seen anything that was totally destroyed, I don’t want to see it either. I guess ‘destroyed’ as far as the native grass is concerned is just plowing it up and growing something else. This land is as pristine as it was 150 years ago.”

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It’s nice to think the land has an infinite capacity to provide, but it just isn’t 28

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SEPTEMBER 2021

FEATURE Saskatchewan Celebrates More Than a Quarter Century of TESA Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) congratulates Ed and Charlotte Bothner on earning The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA) 2021 for the Province of Saskatchewan.

“This is the 26th year that we have recognized the stewardship and the leadership of Saskatchewan ranchers through the TESA award—one year longer than TESA at the national level,” said SSGA President Kelcy Elford. “No one knows better than we do that the natural environment is our environment, and producers like the Bothners represent our industry very well.”

Canadian Cattlemen’s Association Executive Vice-President Dennis Laycraft said, “The stewardship award is an effort to bring greater attention to the remarkable work that’s being done

across the country. As we move into a greater discussion about sustainability, it just continues to emphasize that cattle are part of the solution—whether it’s protecting endangered species or whether it’s looking at the environmental solutions.”

2021 – Ed & Charlotte Bothner, Beechy, SK 2019 – Randy & Terry Stokke, Govenlock, SK 2018 – Blain & Naomi Hjertaas, Redvers, SK 2017 – Mark & Laura Hoimyr, Gladmar, SK 2016 – Miles & Sheri Anderson, Fir Mountain, SK 2015 – Jason & Karla Hicks, Mortlach, SK 2014 – Michael & Tammy Burgess, Big Beaver, SK 2013 – Allen & Lillian Patkau, Hanley, SK 2012 – Diamond J Ranch, Makwa, SK 2011 – Brian & Glenys Weedon, Swift Current, SK 2010 – Glen, Dawn & Lee Ekert, Wapella, SK 2009 – Daryk & Bonnie Simonson, Dinsmore, SK 2008 – B-C Ranch, Meadow Lake, SK 2007 – Mark Johanson & Deb Haupstein, Stockholm, SK

2006 – Ray & Noelene, Angus & Darlene McDougald, Maple Creek, SK 2005 – Emile & Sandra Carles, Trent & Janelle Lebreich, Radville, SK 2004 – Ted & Olive Perrin, Beechy, SK 2003 – Raymond & Donna Prefontaine, Lisieux, SK 2002 – Murray & Selena McGillivray, Radville, SK 2001 – Henry & Bill Seidlitz, Bethune, SK 2000 – Joan & Jason Jackson, Cabri, SK 1999 – Eric & Anne Lawrence, Maple Creek, SK 1998 – Tom & Lois Wood, Glaslyn, SK 1997 – Chomistek Farms, Emile & Angela Chomistek, Gull Lake, SK 1996 – Jim & Louise Ostrander, Hallonquist, SK 1995 – Ron & Roberta Wolfater, Cypress Hills, SK

The Saskatchewan beef sector has established itself as a leader in caring for the environment. Since its inception, Saskatchewan TESA recipients have also won the national TESA award eight times. B

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FEATURE R-CALF Trying to Raise the Temperature on COOL Jeff Gaye

Despite the history of WTO rulings against COOL, Bullard says he is confident a measure can be adopted that is WTOcompliant. And, he says, the WTO is not the same organization it was from 2008 to 2015.

Is there a prospect that U.S. will reintroduce mandatory Country Of Origin Labelling (COOL) laws?

COOL was fiercely contested by beef industry organizations on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, and by the Mexican beef industry, the last time it was introduced in 2008. Canada and Mexico eventually won several rounds at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and U.S. repealed the law in December 2015, just as Canadian retaliatory tariffs were about to kick in.

One of the loudest proponents of COOL legislation, Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), passed a motion at its recent convention “reaffirming the immediate need” for a return to mandatory COOL policies. The convention in Rapid City, South Dakota, was attended by 400 delegates from 20 states.

R-CALF Chief Executive Officer Bill Bullard said the measure is necessary to stimulate domestic demand for U.S. beef.

“Only with country of origin labelling can the demand for U.S. cattle be initiated by consumers, and indirectly by producers, through advertising and promotion,” Bullard said. “Right now, without country of origin labelling, the meat packers and importers can unilaterally decide from what country they will source the beef to satisfy the American consumer’s appetite for beef. We must restore, immediately, competition at the grocery store level so American consumers can begin to initiate demand signals for U.S. cattle.”

COOL opponents, meanwhile, insist the North American beef industry benefits from open borders and an integrated market. The WTO decisions repeatedly found that COOL’s requirement for non-U.S. beef to be separated from American cattle at every stage, and the resulting paperwork, constituted unfair discrimination against Canadian and Mexican product.

30

Bill Bullard Chief Executive Officer R-CALF

Colin Woodall Chief Executive Officer NCBA

One of the feared consequences of COOL to the U.S. market was that with fewer animals to fill packing capacity, packing plants would close. This would result in fewer plants competing to buy cattle and a drop in prices.

Some plants did indeed close, with owners citing that very reason.

Bullard doesn’t accept the argument.

“United States is now experiencing a situation where the packers are telling domestic producers that they don’t have enough capacity to timely harvest domestic cattle,” he said. “U.S. cattle producers are being deprived timely access to the market, while at the same time, the meat packers are importing tens of thousands of cattle from Canada, so that was a hollow argument.”

“R-CALF doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” Woodall said.

Bullard says U.S. producers have the ability to increase production to fill packing capacity. “It’s a Catch-22 situation that benefits the packers by limiting the potential growth of the United States cattle industry, by instead relying upon beef that is of lower cost and undifferentiated in the domestic market,” he said.

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“The World Trade Organization has been significantly transformed and is not the same organization that it was back then,” he said. “And, I question whether the WTO would make the same ruling today as it made back then, particularly given the resurgence in the understanding that we must preserve, protect and build our domestic supply chains if our nation is to remain strong.”

Colin Woodall is the chief executive officer of National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), a U.S. beef industry organization that has opposed COOL measures. His assessment of the R-CALF position is blunt.

“R-CALF doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” Woodall said.

“R-CALF is an anomaly. They are a very small minority. And really, they don’t have any influence in the cattle industry,” he said. “They like to yell a lot, but they’re not influential.”

Woodall said the last COOL experiment did not increase U.S. consumers’ demand for all-American beef the way R-CALF expects it will, if COOL is re-implemented.

“We have to look at this from the perspective of what does the consumer want, and also to remember that mandatory COOL, as it was, was the law of the land for six and a half years,” he said. “And, in that six and a half years, we did not see any change in consumer behaviour just because of that label; so, there is no demand for it, especially in a mandatory fashion.

“We want to make sure that anything that is an origin label is voluntary and can be continued on page 32 SEPTEMBER 2021

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FEATURE COOL cont. from pg. 30 used if somebody wants it and sees value; but, not to be forced upon the whole industry.”

The U.S. government and beef industry are defining how beef processed in the country will be labelled. It is currently labelled “Product of USA,” which Bullard says is misleading. Woodall says NCBA favours a “Processed in USA” label, which would be more accurate.

“And that’s why we are having this discussion of changing that label from saying “Product of United States” to “Processed in United States,” he said. “ I think if you make that change, [R-CALF’s] argument immediately becomes moot.

“At the same time,” he said, “we have to keep in mind that the label they’re talking

about is a voluntary label today. And we are supportive of keeping that voluntary.

“There is no scenario where NCBA supports the return of a mandatory COOL because it does not have value. Voluntary programs can have value depending upon how they’re constructed, but the key to that is they need to remain voluntary.”

Meanwhile, Canada is watching. Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) Executive Vice-President Dennis Laycraft says Canada’s WTO-granted permission to retaliate against COOL remains in effect.

“We were granted the right to retaliate, if they kept the measure in place or if they brought the measure back. And we’ve maintained that right of retaliation,” Laycraft said.

If United States wanted to contest that right, Laycraft says the onus would be on them to bring their case.

“What is different now, if they were to bring back a mandatory or a de facto mandatory COOL, and the government of Canada’s position is to retaliate, U.S. would have to take us to the WTO. So, from a legal point of view, things are very different from when we were fighting the case many years ago.

“But we have a lot of support south of the border,” Laycraft added.

“And it’s interesting, their own U.S. Department of Agriculture economic analysis of COOL found very, very little consumer benefit. But, they estimated that over a calculated 10-year period,

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SEPTEMBER 2021

FEATURE it would cost U.S. industry eight billion dollars in lost income."

Woodall isn’t so sure U.S. wants to reopen the COOL can of worms.

Bullard believes the current Administration in U.S. has some appetite for a new mandatory COOL law.

“The Secretary of Agriculture has said that he is going to review country of origin labelling. But in most of the comments he has made, they are always surrounding the fact that he is well aware of the outcome of the WTO case,” he said.

“We know the Administration was appalled by the current policy of allowing imported product to be repackaged and fixed with a Product of USA label,” he said.

“And in fact, an executive order was issued by the President recently that called for a review of the use of the Product of USA label. And the Secretary of Agriculture has announced they will do a top-down review of USDA policies relative to Product of USA labelling, and the use of that label.

“So, there is an intense focus on the part of the Administration seeking reforms in current labelling policy,” Bullard said.

SEPTEMBER 2021

“He understands that retaliation is still a possibility, in that anything that is done has to be WTO-compliant. We know that is front and centre in the discussions that he is having at USDA.” Laycraft says it’s time to put the issue to rest and get on with increasing the income of cattle producers on both sides of the border.

“R-CALF is always stuck on trying to bring a case against Canada or bring a case against someone else,” he said. “It’s a very long process. And, you know, I think most producers on both sides of the border don’t want to go down that road again. We want to do things that actually increase the income of cattle producers."

Laycraft said CCA is monitoring discussions surrounding the “Product of USA” versus “Processed in USA” labels.

“We have a very strong commitment from our counterparts in National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to work together and make sure that whatever rules are put in place are compliant with everyone’s international obligations.” he said. B

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 33

FEATURE Lonepine Creek Ranchers Take Action Kori Maki-Adair

In November 2010, the Committee of the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessed the Milk River populations of Mountain Sucker in Alberta and Saskatchewan and assigned them a designation of Threatened. By April 2013, the Mountain Sucker was legally listed as Threatened under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

Three other fish species population studies, Atton and Merkowsky (1983), McCulloch et al (1998) and Pollock et al (2015), documented a total of 26 species in the Saskatchewan Milk River watershed, including 17 native and nine non-native species. In those studies, the White Sucker, Fathead Minnow, Brook Stickleback, Longnose Dace and Northern Redbelly Dace represented 88 per cent of the total number of fish sampled.

With a diversity of fish species of that magnitude, it is reasonable to conclude there is a lot to lose within that watershed habitat without the right management and supports in place.

Experienced in successfully delivering stewardship programs in Southwest Saskatchewan over the past six years,

South of the Divide Action Plan (SODCAP Inc.) recognized the Mountain Suckers’ dire need for assistance and stepped to the fore.

With funding from South Saskatchewan Community Foundation through the Joyce Gemmell Jessen Habitat Conservation Fund; Fisheries and Oceans Canada through the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk; and U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through the Northern Great Plains Program, Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation Inc. (SSGF) in partnership with the South of the Divide Conservation Action Program (SODCAP Inc.), took action to coordinate a project partnership with the habitat’s landowners, June and Brooks Whitney, in Lonepine Creek, south of Cypress Hills Provincial Park.

To learn more about this invaluable undertaking to protect Saskatchewan’s wildlife and environment, we connected with the experts from each partner group.

Beef Business: With more than 25 years of experience in agri-environmental program delivery, including 35 individual projects covering more than 220,000

acres on private and public lands of Saskatchewan as the former SODCAP Executive Director and current program manager for SSGF, you know what it takes to get a project like this one off the ground. What did you and your team do to launch this one?

Tom Harrison: It happened in graduated stages. First, we contracted Michelle Lanoie, SODCAP Inc., to analyze imagery and cadastral information of the target area.

In April 2019, SODCAP’s Biologist Diego Steinaker engaged Brooks and June Whitney, the owners and managers of the land intersecting this important watercourse and critical habitat along six kilometres, to discuss the possibilities for a conservation project.

In summer 2020, Diego and other SODCAP staff evaluated the ecological condition and health of the riparian habitats, using a method developed by the Saskatchewan Prairie Action Plan (SK PCAP) for streams and small rivers.

Diego and his team assessed vegetative cover of floodplain and streambanks erosion, streambank root mass protection, invasive plant species, establishment, regeneration and utilization of preferred woody species, streambank lateral cutting, livestock-cause disturbances (e.g., hummocking and pugging in streambanks), invasive species, barriers interfering stream flow, among other important variables.

The results of their assessment showed the area has some ecological problems, particularly associated with over-grazing and trampling by cattle in the streambank of the creek.

Hummocking and pugging as result of livestock hoof action

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| ©BEEF BUSINESS | www.skstockgrowers.com

Beef Business: As SODCAP’s Biologist, with 25 years of experience in plant ecology applied to rangeland management, you work closely with Tom in project management. You’re handling landowner engagement, field assessment, monitoring and reporting for this project.

SEPTEMBER 2021

FEATURE SODCAP’s multiparty project focus: To improve and maintain the Mountain Suckers’ critical habitat by delivering a Habitat Management Agreement and encouraging producers to make species at risk and habitat conservation a priority in their land management decision-making, by increasing awareness through outreach and extension activities

SODCAP Inc. Biologist Diego Steinaker, Ph.D.

SSGF Program Manager Tom Harrison, P.Ag.

What did you do with the all of the baseline information collected in the assessment phase?

Oceans Canada (DFO) Recovery Potential Assessment of Mountain Sucker, Milk River Populations.

Diego Steinaker: We used the maps, imagery, Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis, basic information on the ranch-farm operation and the ecological assessment to develop a site-specific Habitat Management Plan (HMP) with the producers—Brooks and June Whitney.

Beef Business: What is the focus of the HMP in the conservation agreement you designed with the Whitneys?

We did this within the context of a Conservation Agreement (CA), which is a legally-binding document that will contemplate payments to the Whitneys based on the cost of implementing the conservation measures and strategies specified in the HMP. We developed the HMP to incorporate strategies detailed in Fisheries and

Diego Steinaker: Our site data and observations indicated that over-grazing and trampling by cattle have impacted the streambank of the creek.

Densely rooted vegetation is important for the stability of the streambank because it may affect sediment and water quality. Reductions in the canopy cover in the riparian edge may also impact sunlight and water temperature, which in turn, affects habitat and food availability.

With the goal of protecting the streambank, we designed the HMP to focus on improving and maintaining riparian vegetation through three main measures: 1) reduction of livestock pressure by fencing critical areas; 2) deferring grazing during critical seasonal periods; and 3) providing off-

stream water supply for cattle. These measures should mitigate the negative impact of cattle in the creek streambank and help to restore disturbed area.

Beef Business: As the owners and managers of the land intersecting this important watercourse and critical habitat, your willingness to participate is fundamental to the project. Diego Steinaker contacted you and June in April 2019 to discuss the possibilities for this venture and how to move forward in graduated phases. Now, 18 months later, which stage of the project is currently underway?

Brooks Whitney: The HMP involves a number of key steps with target timelines. June and I began conservation agreement negotiations with SSGF and SODCAP when the Joyce Gemmell Jessen Habitat Conservation Funding grant was confirmed in September 2020.

We began construction of the fence and the off-stream gravity watering system for cattle in summer 2021. By fall this year, before the freeze, we expect to have the fence and water systems for the cattle finished. Next summer season, we will begin implementing the conservation grazing strategies. We’re on-plan in terms of targets and timing.

So far, June and I have committed to longterm management of the project for 15 continued on page 36

SEPTEMBER 2021

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 35

FEATURE Lonepine Creek cont. from pg. 35 years. We are pleased with our progress to date; and, we are looking forward to providing regular updates on the restoration of the natural ecosystems and wildlife habitat for native species of flora and fauna as land owners, managers and stewards in Southern Saskatchewan.

Government of Canada, Species at Risk Act assessments and reports canada.ca/en/environment-climatechange/services/species-risk-publicregistry/cosewic-assessments-statusreports/mountain-sucker-2010.html

Government of Canada, Species at Risk public registry and species profile wildlife-species.canada.ca/speciesrisk-registry/species/speciesDetails_e. cfm?sid=1116

Please check out SODCAP’s communication channels for more information about this project as it continues. B REFERENCES Atton, F. M., & Merkowsky, J. J. (1983). Atlas of Saskatchewan fish. Volume 83, Issue 2 of Fisheries technical report.

Fisheries Branch, Department of Parks and Renewable Resources. 281 pp.

McCulloch, B. R., Duncan, J. R., & Keith, R. J. (1998). Fish survey of the Saskatchewan portion of the Missouri River basin. Blue Jay, 56(2): 107-115.

Pollock, M. S., Jeff. S. & Phillips, I. (2015). Investigating the impact of water management on the Mountain Sucker.

Water Security Agency, 69 pp.

Streambank erosion (lateral cutting) is evident here by the presence of bare soil.

Joyce Gemmel Jessen Habitat Conservation Fund sscf.ca/joyce-gemmell-jessen-habitatconservation-fund/ Fisheries and Oceans Canada through the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/sara-lep/ hsp-pih/index-eng.html U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through the Northern Great Plains Program nfwf.org/programs/northern-great-plainsprogram Committee of the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) cosewic.ca/index.php/en-ca/assessmentprocess.html

36

Project target: Healthy riparian habitat

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SEPTEMBER 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 37

SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION Active Missing Livestock Files May 1 - August 15, 2021

Area Missing From

# of Head

Animal Description

Brand Description

Oxbow

1

Heifer

Lashburn

2

Cow/calf

Maidstone

1

Bull

Watrous

1

Sturgis

Brand Location

RCMP Detachment

LSS District Office

Date Reported

No brand

Carnduff

Yorkton 306-786-5712

May 24

No brand

Maidstone

North Battleford 306-446-7404

June 14

Right hip

Maidstone

North Battleford 306-446-7404

June 24

Bull

Left shoulder

Watrous

Saskatoon 306-933-7660

July 7

1

Heifer

Right hip

Canora

Yorkton 306-786-5712

August 1

Francis

1

Bull

Left rib

Fillmore

Moose Jaw 306-694-3709

August 4

Maidstone

1

Bull

Right hip

Maidstone

North Battleford 306-446-7404

August 10

North Battleford

1

Steer

Left rib

North Battleford

North Battleford 306-446-7404

August 10

Hafford

1

Bull

Blaine Lake

Saskatoon 306-933-7660

August 11

No brand

Information provided by Livestock Services of Saskatchewan

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SEPTEMBER 2021

SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION The Everbridge System of Instant Alerts Jason Pollock

Jason Pollock, Chief Executive Officer Livestock Services of Saskatchewan

Since the beginning of June, Livestock Services of Saskatchewan (LSS) has been given the opportunity to be a part of a joint effort to broadcast incidences of reported theft and missing cattle through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Everbridge system. This is a quick way to get information out to everyone that signs up for alerts and notifications through Everbridge. It allows better response and tip generation from the industry through increased awareness.

Unfortunately, our industry still deals with theft in many forms. From outright theft and immediate sale to theft through conversion and fraud, the industry and LSS sees this happening too frequently.

Recent enhancements to the relationship between the RCMP and LSS have provided an improved response and coordination related to any reported incidents. If you suspect you have been the victim of theft or have lost track of some animals, the best course of action is to alert your local LSS inspector and your local RCMP detachment. This will start a chain of events that work together to help you recover your animals.

Theft and immediate sale is less common, while fraud, theft through conversion, illegal butchering and harbouring SEPTEMBER 2021

someone else’s animals is more frequently the issue. Regardless of your situation, seek assistance as soon as you suspect you have been the victim of one of these events.

pieces with a flat side. I am no Sherlock Holmes, but it didn’t take me long to remember my missing heifer from the previous fall and put two and two together.

Several years ago, I rounded up my replacement heifers at a pasture that was not so close to home, and found I was missing one. I would like to say this was the first and last time, but it happens on a regular basis. I rechecked the pasture looking for birds and a smelly carcass but found nothing.

It seems that where I had stopped for lunch was the perfect secluded place to butcher a quiet, inquisitive yearling heifer.

I gathered up and took pictures of the bones I had found; including, a part of a leg cut off about six inches above the knee and a few other tell-tale signs of bones that had been cut off and not gnawed off by a coyote.

Thinking it was just the combination of curious yearlings and typical fencing issues, I didn’t do anything about it— except alert the neighbors that one of my animals was missing and asked if they would keep an eye out for her.

The heifers were in a pasture that was checked weekly and had decent fences, but yearlings are yearlings after all.

A week or two after alerting neighbors, there was still no sign of her in neighbouring fields, so I notified the local LSS inspector. He logged the missing animal and recommended that I contact the local RCMP detachment with any details I might be able to provide them.

I did this and then carried on with my regular fall routine.

Nothing came of the situation until the following spring, when I was going around the fence in the pasture before my critters were turned loose for another season. I stopped for lunch in a nice quiet opening in the trees along the side of the road, and as I was finishing up and getting my tools gathered up again, I noticed a few bones and part of a spine in the grass.

Normally, this isn’t much of a concern, but I could tell it was too big for a deer spine, and it was also flat on one side which was abnormal. I started to poke around in the grass and found more and more of these

I called the same inspector and told him what I had found, and he again encouraged me to relay the same information to the local RCMP detachment. When I called, the RCMP officer thanked me for the information and informed me there wasn’t a whole lot they could do about things at this point. I expected this as it was seven months after the fact. Needless to say, I quit looking for my missing heifer.

Why did I just tell you all of that, if it didn’t result in a happy ending?

My point in telling this story is to highlight the importance of reaching out to the resources we have as producers to help stop theft, fraud, illegal butchering, etc.— and the loss of animals in general.

After discussing the situation with a few neighbours in the area, I discovered there were others that had lost an animal or two to this type of activity with concerning regularity. This information had not been given to the local RCMP detachment; instead, I found out about it via coffee row.

I gave this new information to the detachment, and it was added to a renewed file in the area. As a result, RCMP continued on page 40

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 39

SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION Everbridge System cont. from pg. 39 presence on rural roads was made more prominent, and as of this date, the missing animal activity in the area has stopped (to my knowledge). So, if you are missing animals, tell LSS or the RCMP as soon as you verify the animals are indeed missing.

Our team at LSS and the RCMP will open an incident report and work together to provide as much help as possible to locate and return the animals.

Fraud is likely the most common form of loss for producers. It is important to take care of your business with good written contracts where possible. I have mentioned before that good business equals good paper. This doesn’t just apply to livestock.

Since becoming part of the Everbridge system of alerts, many producers have called in reporting they have been defrauded of down payments or full payments for feed. With the severe

If possible, refrain from sending down payments before confirming the deal is legitimate. It is an extra step and hassle, but getting in your truck and going for a drive to seal the deal in-person may be worth it. If the seller is unwilling to hold the deal until you get there to see the feed, or is adamant that you send money right away, this may be a warning sign that it is a bad deal.

drought conditions, producers are caught in between a rock and a hard place. If there is feed on the line and the seller wants a down payment or full payment to hold the feed, it’s a tough situation. If you can, buy from people you know or at least people that someone you know has dealt with before.

Unfortunately, the dry conditions have put many producers in a dire situation.

The conditions are so severe that some members of our population are preying on trusting folks that just need to get feed for their livestock.

If you are interested in signing up for Everbridge and receiving instant alerts on your smartphone, the Everbridge mobile app is available for download from your iOS App Store or Google Play for Android devices.

If you have had this happen to you, please contact your RCMP detachment as soon as possible with as much information about the seller that you have. Before making any deal with someone you don’t know, get as many details as you can from them prior to the transaction; so, if you are one of the unlucky ones, there is some information for the RCMP to start their investigation.

Heartland Livestock Services 780 Home Street West Moose Jaw, SK S6H 7P4 Phone 306-692-2385

The more producers on the system there are, the more effective the alerts can be to help find missing animals or stop illegal activity. B

Heartland Livestock Services Hwy #1/3067 N. Service Road West Swift Current, SK S9H 3V8 Phone 306-773-3174

Canada’s Source for Quality Breds Heartland Livestock Services 329-12th Street North, Unit A Brandon, MB R7A 7K4 Phone 204-727-1431

40

Heartland Livestock Services 107 York Road East Yorkton, SK S3N 2W4 Phone 306-783-9437

Heartland Livestock Services Box 340 (1 mile south on Hwy 83) Virden, MB R0M 2C0 Phone 204-748-2809

| ©BEEF BUSINESS | www.skstockgrowers.com

SEPTEMBER 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 41

SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION Pregnancy Detection

Beef Cattle Research Council | www.BeefResearch.ca Pregnancy detection (preg-checking) has been used in the beef industry for more than 60 years. There are many reasons for producers to preg-check, including: to evaluate herd and bull fertility, to help monitor herd reproductive health, to determine approximate calving dates and to help determine how best to sort cows into management groups.

Preg-checking also gives producers the opportunity to save the cost of overwintering non-pregnant (open) cows.

Heat detection alone may not be enough to determine pregnancy as some cattle continue to show signs of ‘false heat’ after they have been bred.

Methods of Pregnancy Detection Several methods can be used for testing pregnancy in cattle. The most common are ultrasound, manual palpation and blood samples.

Manual palpation Palpation can determine pregnancy as early as 35-45 days by feeling the uterus and ovaries through the rectal wall. Experienced veterinarians are able to estimate stage of pregnancy and approximate a calving date.

The economics of pregchecking and selling cull cows depends on: • cull-cow market price, • the management system employed by the producer, • feed and overhead costs, and • veterinary costs.

Ultrasound can detect pregnancy as early as 13-21 days. Pregnancy detection with ultrasound requires less manipulation of the uterus, and previous studies have shown that pregnancy loss was one per cent lower in heifers that were preg-checked using ultrasound versus manual palpation.

Compared to manual palpation, ultrasound is more accurate at determining fetal age, can determine viability of the pregnancy, detect twins and identify the sex of the fetus(es).

Blood samples

Ultrasound

Detecting pregnancy with blood samples uses a lab test that detects pregnancyspecific proteins. The blood sample can be taken by a producer from the tail vein, then sent to a lab for analysis.

Pregnancy testing through blood tests works well for producers that seldom get on-farm veterinarian visits (i.e., because of limited availability in, or high travel costs to their location).

Ultrasound uses a probe to emit and receive sound waves aimed at the uterus to create an image. When sound waves contact solid tissue, like bone, they bounce back and appear white on the monitor. Sound waves pass through fluids, so they do not return to the probe; and therefore, appear black in the image.

Various densities of tissue appear in shades of grey.

Blood samples can be taken as early as 28 days and there is no risk of transferring venereal diseases between cows. Because samples must be sent to a lab for analysis, results may not be returned to producers for days or weeks. Therefore, cows will need to be brought in twice if producers want to sort cows into management groups based on pregnancy or to cull non-pregnant cows.

Having a defined breeding season, and removing bulls from a breeding pasture weeks before preg-checking, will help to increase testing accuracy and eliminate the question of whether cows are open or bred fewer than 45 days before the exam.

42

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Economics The 2015 Western Canadian Cow-Calf Survey reported that 60 per cent of producers include preg-checking as part of their management strategy. While this is 49 per cent higher than the 1997/98 Alberta Cow-Calf Survey results, the question remains as to why 40 per cent of producers in Western Canada choose not to preg-check their cows.

Assuming a spring calving schedule, generally, producers have three options for managing open cows: 1. Preg-check cows in the fall and cull open cows, immediately Pros: Realize value of cull cows in the fall and avoid incurring costs of overwintering open cows Cons: Incur vet costs and forgo the value of cull cows in spring during higher market prices 2. Preg-check in the fall and feed open cows separately to market at a later date Pros: Avoids selling during the lower market prices in the fall, and adds weight to cull cows before they’re sold Cons: Vet costs, overwintering costs for open cows and supplemental feed costs 3. Do not preg-check - overwinter all cows together and cull opens in the spring after the herd has finished calving Calculator: Economics of Pregnancy Testing Beef Cattle To help producers choose the most economical option for their operation, the following economics of preg-checking model was developed by Ben-Ezra and Muzzin (2015). The model accounts for these factors and assists cow-calf producers to determine which of the three

SEPTEMBER 2021

SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION Figure A

Gain per head (CAD$/head)

20 Gain/Loss per head - Drylot

15 10 5 0

0

0.5

0.25

1

0.75

1.25

1.5

-5 -10

Gain/Loss per head - Swath Grazing

ADG (lbs)

-15

Gain/Loss per head - Bale Grazing

-20

above options makes the most sense for their operation.

A basic and advanced version are available. Both versions have the option to enter parameters for feeding cull cows as a separate group.

grazing). However, not every producer will realize the same ADG using the same management system due to other factors, including: cattle genetics or environmental conditions like harsh winter versus mild winter (Please refer to Figure B).

To use the Economics of pregnancy testing calculator, please visit www.beefresearch.ca/economicmodel/ pregnancy-detection.cfm

Conclusion #3: High cull-cow prices and ADG favour overwintering cows until the following spring as every pound of gain is more valuable.

DISCUSSION: How alternative feeding options and market decisions impact producer decisions

Cattle market price is a much stronger driver of the economics of preg-checking than overwintering costs. Over the last 10 years, producers have not benefited from preg-checking and culling open cows in the fall. The loss of potential income, experienced by producers for preg-checking and culling open cattle in the fall, was driven largely by cattle prices increasing seasonally and annually. This may explain the significant segment of producers that still do not preg-check their herds.

Using the model, the developers made several conclusions: Conclusion #1: The higher a producer’s feed and overwintering costs, the more favourable preg-checking and culling cows is in the fall (Please refer to Figure A).

Conclusion #2: The average daily gain (ADG) of cull cows over the winter feeding period has a significant impact on the cow’s spring value; higher weight gains over the winter result in higher spring values than low weight gains, regardless of the market price. ADG varies with the management system (i.e., traditional drylot versus swath grazing versus bale

Consistently, higher cull-cow prices in the spring can be a strong deterrent to pregchecking. Producers in Western Canada, that have overwintered their open cattle, have received on average (2005 to 2014), a market price 25.6 per cent higher than the previous fall (October to March). However,

Management System

Breakeven ADG (lbs/day)

ADG (lbs/day) from literature

Decision

Drylot mixed hay

1.20

1.44

Sell in the spring

Swathed barley grazing

0.70

0.58

Preg-check and sell in the fall

Bale grazing

0.50

0.88

Sell in the spring

the seasonality is quite variable, ranging from six per cent in 2006-2007 to 53 per cent in 2009-2010.

Conclusion #4: At current market prices, the strategy of preg-checking and feeding the open-cow group a high-energy ration for 90 days provides the greatest economic benefit to producers—a gain of $5.16 per head compared to overwintering. As cow prices have increased annually over the last decade, from the 2003 low, preg-checking has not been economically-beneficial and producers have seen the greatest benefit from overwintering cattle and selling at the higher price.

Conclusion #5: Should cull-cow prices drop to pre-2012 levels (below $0.75 per pound), many scenarios indicate that preg-checking and culling in the fall is a better option, as the cost of overwintering begins to outweigh the benefit of selling heavier cull cows in the spring. B REFERENCES 2015 Western Canadian Cow-Calf Survey www.beefresearch.ca/blog/westerncanadian-cow-calf-survey-results/ Preg-Testing Cows is Easier than it Used to Be Canadian Cattlemen, The Beef Magazine www.canadiancattlemen.ca/2015/09/25/ preg-testing-cows-is-easier-than-it-usedto-be/ Pregnancy Checking Tips The Beef Magazine www.beefmagazine.com/genetics/ selection-tools/pregnancy-checkingtips-1101 Methods of Pregnancy Detection in Beef Cattle North Dakota State University www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/beef/ as1632.pdf www.ag.ndsu.edu/livestockextension/ methods-of-pregnancy-detection-in-beefcattle Ben Ezra and Muzzin. 2015.

Figure B

SEPTEMBER 2021

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 43

SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION Improving the Nutritional Value of Straw and Chaff with NH3 Kori Maki-Adair

We know that leaving straw on the ground improves soil condition and reduces erosion, but when confronted with extreme drought and feed shortages, some ag producers are collecting whatever crop residues they have to use for feed.

It’s true, crop residue like straw and chaff, has insufficient nutritional value for ruminant animals. However, by treating it with an ammonization process (ammoniation), you can improve its nutritional value by increasing the quantity of total digestible energy (TDN) and crude protein equivalent.

Just as it seems, ammoniation requires anhydrous ammonia, which is used across North America in a variety of applications.

It helps to grow food as a fertilizer. It keeps food and indoor environments cool as a refrigerant. It is a key ingredient in glues, dyes, pharmaceuticals and household cleaning products; and it’s used to purify water and treat waste materials. In agriculture, we use it as a highly-effective fertilizer to add nutrients to soil and grow crops.

Though ammonia is critical to life on Earth, and is produced by all mammals, it is also considered hazardous and can be deadly. It requires specialized training and personal protective equipment to handle. Much more than a mask, handlers are trained to protect themselves by wearing bunker gear and a self-contained breathing apparatus to reduce the possibility of contact or inhalation. As a gas, ammonia can be inhaled and seriously damage the respiratory system.

As a gas or liquid, it can cause chemical burns to eyes, lungs and skin—severe enough to result in blindness, or even death.

Considered a Class 2.3, Toxic Gas and Subsidiary Class 8, Corrosive by Transportation of Dangerous Good (TDG) Regulations, anhydrous ammonia is 44

transported under pressure in a liquefied gas in transport trucks, rail cars and nurse wagons. To alert first responders of the presence of a toxic gas with corrosive properties, TDG Regulations require vessels carrying the substance to display an official TDG black and white anhydrous ammonia placard; the product identification number UN1005; and the words: Anhydrous Ammonia, Inhalation Hazard marked on the transportation equipment.

Properties of Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) Boiling Point

-33 degrees Celsius

Freezing Point

-78 degrees Celsius

Vapour Pressure (21 degrees Celsius)

888 Kilopascal or 128 pounds per square inch

Flammable Range

16-25 per cent

Auto Ignition Temperature

650 degrees Celsius

Vapour Density

0.71 grams per litre

Expansion Ratio

800 to 1

Absorption Ratio (volume of ammonia gas to volume of liquid water)

800 to 1

Immediate danger to life and health

300 parts per million

Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) Classification Class 2.3, Toxic Gas Subsidiary Class 8, Corrosive Product identification number UN1005

IT IS IMPORTANT TO OBEY ALL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH AMMONIZATION: • Wear personal protective equipment to protect your eyes, breathing and skin.

If contact occurs, flush with water immediately to prevent serious injury.

•

Never smoke or light a flame near it; when it evaporates, liquid anhydrous ammonia becomes a gas that is flammable and explosive.

•

Never combine feed supplements containing urea with ammoniated residues as they may be toxic to animals.

•

Ensure ammonization service providers are trained and certified to manage, transport and apply anhydrous ammonia for agricultural purposes.

| ©BEEF BUSINESS | www.skstockgrowers.com

Simply described: Ammonization involves enclosing crop residues in an air-tight space, adding a specific volume of anhydrous ammonia, leaving the mixture undisturbed for 21 days, then releasing the accumulated gases (over a few days), before adding a small measure of grain and offering it to livestock as feed.

There are two ways to ammoniate your crop residues—hire an experienced product and service provider or study the process, gather some likeminded individuals and do it yourselves. The DIY method is the direction more and more producers are investigating because of the ongoing drought. What they are finding online and through word-of-mouth is that the process involves a number of steps, but has proven to be an effective means of sourcing alternative feed in a supply shortage.

Though, there are no studies underway in the province, ammonization was closely reviewed by University of Saskatchewan in the late eighties. Their findings determined the right procedure to follow, which Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture posts online for producers to access. Visit saskatchewan.ca and enter “ammonization” into the search bar for details.

To learn more about the commercial product, service availability and related costs, the Agriculture Knowledge Centre conducted a telephone survey of 10 crop input dealers.

What the survey found was that employee safety, limited return on investment, transportation expenses and the fact that Transport Canada considers anhydrous ammonia to be a Class 2 dangerous good are what prevent many dealers from offering the product or providing transport or other ammonization services.

If you want the product and service, you’re

SEPTEMBER 2021

SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION going to have to do some searching. Since it’s more likely that you’ll find the product than the service, you’re going to need some training too.

Fertilizer Safety & Security Council (FSSC) offers Anhydrous Ammonia Safety and the Farmer, which is an online course designed to provide farmers with the knowledge to ensure that anhydrous ammonia is handled and transported safety. FSSC offers it to eLearning users at no cost. There is no prerequisite and the certificate is valid for three years. For access, visit elearning.fertilizercanada.ca/ en/fertilizer-safety-and-security-onlinecourses and select the Add course option to register or login to start learning. To take the exam, users enter the promo code SafetyAg and pay $5.00.

In relation to estimated project costs, the Agriculture Knowledge Centre’s survey also noted:

• The current market price of anhydrous

wheat, the digestible energy must have a minimum of 33 per cent. If it’s barley, the TDN must have at least 38 per cent.

To ensure process eligibility, gather crop residues from around your property and combine them to make one representative sample. Then, submit the sample for analysis at a feed testing lab. To find one near you, contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre toll-free at 1-866-4572377 or visit saskatchewan.ca and enter “feed testing lab” into the search bar.

STEP TWO: If moisture content is low, irrigate the stack evenly. To increase moisture by five per cent, the Ministry suggests adding 400 gallons of water to a 40 ton chaff stack (2,000 litres to a 40 tonne chaff stack).

STEP THREE: Choose the right location.

Position stacks near shelter that protects them from wind, but in a way that you

can access them from all sides with farm equipment. Make sure they are downwind and at a fair distance from your home, farm buildings and animal holding areas.

STEP FOUR: Build stacks or pile chop.

Stack round bales in a 4:3, 3:2 or 3:2:1 arrangement, up to 15 rows. To support adequate drainage, unroll one bale along the tops of the 4:3 and 3:2 arrangements.

If the chop is one inch long, straw can be piled and shaped into a 42 ton (38 tonne) mass and chaff can be piled and shaped into a 50 to 75 ton (45 to 68 tonne) mass.

STEP FIVE: Cover with six-millimetre, black polyethylene and ensure there is an excess of two feet (0.6 metres) on all sides.

Wind and rough weather can damage covers and projects, so protect corner bales with burlap, empty grain or fertilizer bags. Complete this step by covering each stack or pile with used plastic underlay.

Start from the top and release the plastic continued on page 46

ammonia is approximately $0.4766 per pound ($1,050.00 per tonne); and

• Anhydrous ammonia should be

applied at three per cent of straw or chaff dry matter weight; THEREFORE,

BeefSmart C O N S U LT I N G I N C .

o 2,204 pounds (one tonne) of

forage dry matter would require 66 pounds of anhydrous ammonia by application (not including any required moisture added); and

o It would cost $31.45 per tonne to

apply anhydrous ammonia to one tonne of straw or chaff.

In addition to anhydrous ammonia, there are other materials and labour required.

To calculate your project investment effectively, it’s best to review the process.

STEP ONE: Start your project before cooler weather arrives because the resulting product is enhanced when the temperature is higher. Moisture content is important, so bale early in the day after dew or rainfall. To be suitable for ammonization, straw and chaff must have 15 to 20 per cent moisture content. If it’s

SEPTEMBER 2021

Dealing with drought can be a delicate dance, lean on a consultant to help identify nurtition shortfalls, mitigate feed risks and best utilize your on farm feeds.

Connect with us today.

Balanced by BeefSmart beefsmart.ca • 306-229-0675 • info@beefsmart.ca

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 45

SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION Nutritional Value cont. from pg. 45

contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre toll-free at 1-866-457-2377.

down the sides or start on the ground and work your way up. Fully enclose each stack or pile in plastic and fold the corners up and across the ends like a parcel. Place dirt or sand bags on all sides and tape down all loose edges to ensure the plastic is well-sealed. For best results, add a final layer of netting weighed down by rocks at the base.

SPECIAL NOTE OF APPRECIATION: This article was prepared with the guidance of Murray Feist, Provincial Livestock Specialist - Feed, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. B

SANITY TIP: Schedule five people to wrap on a day without wind.

STEP SIX: Schedule a trained and experienced ammonization service provider to transport the anhydrous ammonia to your property and inoculate your straw and/or chaff enclosures with it. If you’re trained and certified to transport and handle anhydrous ammonia, and intend to DIY, please visit saskatchewan.ca and enter "Ammonization of Straw and Chaff" into the search bar and follow the instructions and diagram for preparing and inserting ammonization pipes, determining how much ammonia to add, adding the ammonia and removing the ammonization pipe.

REFERENCES Transport Canada www.tc.canada.ca/en/dangerous-goods/ transportation-dangerous-goodspublications/new-requirements-nursetanks-transporting-anhydrous-ammoniacanada Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/ emergencyresponsecard_29750013.html

Fertilizer Safety & Security Council www.elearning.fertilizercanada.ca/en/ fertilizer-safety-and-security-onlinecourses/fertilizercanada.ca/wp-content/ uploads/2015/07/First-ResponderFactbook-EN.pdf Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Branch Database Feeding Livestock During Feed Shortages www.saskatchewan.ca/business/ agriculture-natural-resources-andindustry/agribusiness-farmers-andranchers/livestock/cattle-poultry-andother-livestock/cattle/feeding-livestockduring-feed-shortages/ammonization-ofstraw-and-chaff Beef Cattle Webinar Series www.saskatchewan.ca/business/ agriculture-natural-resources-andindustry/agribusiness-farmers-andranchers/sask-ag-now/producerresources-for-dry-conditions/beef-cattlewebinar-series

STEP SEVEN: Wait 21 days for the ammonization treatment process to be completed.

STEP EIGHT: Release the vapours. Wear gloves, eye and respiratory protection when opening an enclosed stack or pile.

Leave enclosures sealed until a few days before it is required for feed. Try to select a day with a light breeze that blows in the opposite direction from your home, farm buildings and animal holding areas. Once opened, those few days will be needed for residual ammonia to evaporate and the odour to dissipate. Not to worry, animals become accustomed to the tangy scent and are content to consume the resulting product, mixed with a small amount of grain, within a few days.

For more information on alternative feed, including crops salvaged for feed, please

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SEPTEMBER 2021

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SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION High Nitrates a Concern in Stressed Forage Crops Jordan Johnson, M.Sc., Agri-Environmental Specialist, Swift Current Maddy Lazurko, AAg, Livestock and Feed Extension Specialist, Swift Current

With much of the growing season on the prairies occurring under extremely dry conditions, poor forage yields have urged many producers to consider the use of annual crops as forage sources for their cattle herds. When harvested as greenfeed, cereal crops such as oats, barley, wheat, rye or triticale can be comparable in feed quality to hay. While annual cereal crops are an attractive alternative to traditional forage sources, stressed growing conditions due to lack of moisture this season have resulted in many crops accumulating higher than normal levels of nitrates.

Nitrate accumulation in plants occurs whenever normal growth is disrupted.

Under normal growing conditions, nitrates absorbed from the soil are converted to ammonia and incorporated into plant proteins. Stress caused by limited moisture, hot winds, hail, frost, spray drift or cool cloudy weather results in restriction of plant growth, but nitrates continue to be absorbed from the soil.

This continued absorption from the soil results in accumulation of nitrates in plants, with concentrations being highest in the lower third of the stem.

Annual crops such as oats, barley, wheat, rye or triticale are most susceptible to nitrate accumulation. Some weeds such as kochia, thistle, millet, lambs quarters and pigweed are also known to be accumulators of high levels of nitrates. In addition to adverse weather and plant species, fields with high levels of soil nitrogen from nitrogen fertilizer or manure application may predispose plants to nitrate accumulation. Nitrate concentrations are typically highest in young plants and tend to decrease as plants mature, but plants grown under persistently stressful conditions or in soils exceedingly high in nitrogen may maintain high nitrate levels even at maturity.

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A barley crop near Saskatoon in 2020

Unlike annual crops, perennial forages or native grasses are less likely to accumulate nitrates since they are fertilized less frequently, ultimately resulting in lower soil nitrogen available for absorption.

Thanks to their nitrogen fixing capabilities, legumes such as alfalfa, peas, lentils or faba beans are also unlikely to accumulate problematic levels of nitrates.

Feed testing is a critical component of establishing a feeding program for forages suspected of being high in nitrates. Under normal conditions, rumen bacteria convert feed nitrates to nitrite in the rumen, which is then converted to ammonia and utilized by microbes to create protein in the rumen. Nitrate toxicity occurs when rumen bacteria convert nitrates to nitrite more rapidly than nitrite can be converted to ammonia, resulting in an accumulation of nitrite in the rumen. When absorbed into the

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bloodstream, nitrite binds to hemoglobin and reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of blood. Total feed nitrate levels below 0.5 per cent are considered safe to feed, with feeds containing 0.5 to one per cent nitrate requiring careful adaptation and feeding management.

For more information, go to saskatchewan.ca and search “nitrate toxicity.” To discuss concerns over high nitrates or to have your feed tested, please contact your local Ministry of Agriculture regional office or call the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.B

SEPTEMBER 2021

Livestock producers can apply for the 2021 Canada-Saskatchewan Drought Response Initiative.

The 2021 Canada-Saskatchewan Drought Response Initiative provides immediate relief to livestock producers. Producers do not have to be enrolled in any existing Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) programs to qualify for funding.

The Initiative provides a per head payment on Canadian-owned female breeding beef and dairy cattle, bison, elk, sheep or goats.

Apply by January 31, 2022.

Contact SCIC for more information.

Visit SCIC.ca Call 1-844-723-1211 skdri@scic.ca

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SEPTEMBER 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021

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ASSOCIATION NEWS AND REPORTS A Report from Kelcy Elford President, Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association extended to Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) Director Calvin Gavelin and SSGA Past President Calvin Knoss for taking the time to show Ryan Meili, Trent Wotherspoon and several other members of the New Democratic Party caucus around as the ag critics in some of the worst drought areas of the province. It is always important to take the opportunity to get elected officials and government representatives out to see what is actually going on.

Kelcy Elford, President Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association

The unknown variable. This phrase and thought have been at the forefront of many decisions this year. When putting a plan together for success and growth, all the planning, all the risk contingencies, all the different scenarios, all the pencils worn to a nub with ideas, sometimes cannot prepare someone or anyone for the unknown variable.

The variable that it will be more than 30 degrees Celsius with no moisture for more than 60 days; the variable that a drought will reach from north of Grand Prairie and go all the way to southern California, and reach from British Columbia into Ontario.

The variable that winters would be longer the last couple years and all feed stocks would be depleted. The variable that water, which has been good and plentiful for generations, would dry up and turn to poison for livestock. The variable that puts feed cost at an unattainable level for many producers that are already extended just to operate. The variable that no one saw coming, that we would be looking at a reduction in the cowherd of more than 30 percent.

We have had a busy summer with lobby efforts. A big thanks needs to be

52

That same day, we had a board meeting that delved more into Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association's strategic plan for moving forward as an organization, followed by a single agenda item: The drought.

It wasn’t all work, we hosted a skeet shoot and barbecue for the board and guests. It was a much needed time to catch up, visit and just have some fun. We had several Members of Parliment (MP) and MLAs in attendance, including Andrew Scheer, Michael Kram, Aleana Young and Trent Wotherspoon. We also had Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture David Marit and Saskatchewan Minister of Environment Warren Kaeding. One thing is for sure, the message was carried forward loud and clear that things need to happen now for producers to have a chance to weather this drought.

You can’t work with what you don’t know.

Once you know, you can make a plan.

I believe this can be applied in a lot of areas of life; especially, when considering potentially life-changing decisions in this industry.

I have had the busiest three months of my three-year term with the Stock Growers.

Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association has lobbied for you, member or not—the organization has lobbied for the best interests of the industry.

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We applaud Minister Marit for recognizing that timing was extremely critical in this drought and that action needs to be immediate.

As a result: There has been opportunity to bale crops that were written off.

AgriRecovery was triggered, meaning there is financial help. To get the details, contact your local Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) office and they can go through the program details with you.

Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program (FRWIP) has been enhanced to do those bigger projects that, hopefully, ensure clean, plentiful water for years to come.

A tax deferral has been issued to deal with the implications of unexpected income.

I am well aware that many conversations have been had around what a blanket solution would be for all. Sum and substance: There isn’t one. Every operation is different. Every management decision is custom fit for your own, individual operation. There isn’t going to be a fix that magically creates feed, or makes it rain, or makes winters shorter. What we do have now, are some options that our government has made available to us... to weather the storm as it continues.

With that said, there have been some good news stories directly tied to tools that are already in place for everyone’s advantage.

I’m not sure if it was a financial decision or just plain foolishness to forgo rain insurance the last couple years. I know some producers that did invest in it. It sure is going to take the pressure off looking

SEPTEMBER 2021

ASSOCIATION NEWS AND REPORTS for finances in the face of unprecedented feed costs.

Forage insurance is another investment that has provided reliable benefits for producers that took advantage of the program. Livestock Price Insurance has been around for a few years, and looking at an unstable calf market, I commend all the producers that took part. This isn’t a shot at those that don’t have insurance.

In fact, I am one that doesn’t. This is a reminder that going forward, thinking about all of the unknown variables, it’s important to consider the risk management tools that are in place and available for use.

No one should ever buy insurance and hope they get a payout. Insurance is

intended to give peace of mind at times when the unknown variable knocks on the door. I know putting establishment insurance on my hay last year paid off when we went through the driest year on record in the Moose Jaw area.

Remember that mental health is important. We are known as a tough and resilient bunch. This too shall pass. It will rain again. Good times will come again.

I have struggled with this report for about a month. Not sure what to say. This drought is beyond devastating. It will take years for us to recover—that is a fact.

Next year, I want our annual general meeting to be in stirrup high grass with the sound of laugher and old friends catching up to be heard throughout.

On each of your operations, work with the knowns; make the best decisions for you and your family. This drought has taken a toll. You can hear it in voices and see it in faces. Take care of your mental and physical health—if that’s just calling a neighbour, going for a drive or having a few cold ones with an old friend, please do it.

Even if you can only think of one thing that makes you feel optimistic, be persistent: Find that one thing.

We are one day closer to a rain.

Kelcy

Improved immunity means maximized health and better beef quality

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SEPTEMBER 2021

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ASSOCIATION NEWS AND REPORTS 2021 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING RESOLUTIONS Virtual Meeting held on June 15, 2021

Resolution #1

Resolution #2

Resolution #3

WHEREAS the Government of Canada’s new Humane Transport Regulations require producers to complete a movement document; and WHEREAS there will be increased printing costs to produce expanded livestock manifests to accommodate the new movement requirements.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby AAFC to fund all additional costs as a result of the Humane Transport Regulations.

Carried

WHEREAS the Government of Saskatchewan received $400M from the Government of Canada to decommission oil wells; and WHEREAS orphan oil wells are currently ineligible for funding from the provincial Accelerated Site Closure Program (ASCP).

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Government of Saskatchewan to include orphan oil wells in the ASCP. Carried

WHEREAS term conservation easements are a new conservation tool; and WHEREAS term conservation easements can help contribute to Canada’s Target 1 goal; and WHEREAS term conservation easement are not currently eligible under the Federal Ecogifts program.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Federal and Provincial governments to provide tax incentives for term conservation easements.

Carried Resolution #4

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WHEREAS the current Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessment process assesses species populations based on political boundaries; and WHEREAS the overall health of a species population is not accurately reflected using political boundaries.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Government of Canada to have the COSEWIC assessment and recovery planning processes updated to reflect the status of the species entire population and that recovery actions in Canada consider the overall status of the species population.

Carried Resolution #5 WHEREAS Black Tailed Prairie Dogs (BTPDs) are a protected species under The Species at Risk Act (SARA); and WHEREAS BTPDs cause long term damage to native grasslands and seeded crops; and WHEREAS there is an existing process through the Saskatchewan Ministry

SEPTEMBER 2021

ASSOCIATION NEWS AND REPORTS for individuals to apply for a permits to control BTPDs. BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby for a more streamlined and clear process for individuals to apply for a permit to control BTPDs. Carried Resolution #6 WHEREAS Black Tailed Prairie Dogs (BTPDs) are a protected species under The Species at Risk Act (SARA); and WHEREAS BTPDs cause long term damage to native grasslands and seeded crops; and WHEREAS damage to native prairie from BTPDs is not currently covered by the SK Crop Insurance Wildlife Compensation Program.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Government of Saskatchewan to include BTPD damage under the Wildlife Compensation Program.

Carried Resolution #7 WHEREAS the COVID pandemic has highlighted the fragile nature of livestock processing capacity in Canada; and WHEREAS the Government of Saskatchewan has a goal of doubling Saskatchewan’s livestock processing capacity by 2030.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Government of Saskatchewan to offer incentives including tax rebates and discounts on utilities and water to investors that construct new or expand livestock processing and value-added facilities in Saskatchewan.

Carried Resolution #8 WHEREAS the Government of Saskatchewan has a goal of increasing livestock cash receipts and value-added revenue by 2030; and WHEREAS the current Intensive Livestock Operation (ILO) permitting process in Saskatchewan is unpredictable.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA work with the Government of Saskatchewan, SARM and livestock industry associations

SEPTEMBER 2021

to develop a more predictable ILO permitting process.

Carried

Resolution #9 WHEREAS the adoption of cover cropping and cocktail cropping is rapidly increasing; and WHEREAS there is currently limited crop insurance coverage available for these crops.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Government of Saskatchewan to expand crop insurance coverage options for cover crops and cocktail crops.

Carried Resolution #10 WHEREAS bonds do not provide adequate protection against nonpayment to Saskatchewan livestock producers; and WHEREAS the legislative framework currently exists for the creation of an assurance fund.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Government of Saskatchewan to establish a Saskatchewan Cattle Producer Assurance Fund.

Carried Resolution #11 WHEREAS the current livestock dealer bonding system does not provide adequate protection to livestock producers; and WHEREAS other provinces license livestock dealers based on ability to pay via a financial means test.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA support the implementation of a financial review process as part of the livestock dealer licensing process.

Carried Resolution #12 WHEREAS there is discussion of adding a security declaration to livestock manifests; and WHEREAS producers have concerns about disclosing personal banking information; and

WHEREAS security declarations are an unproven document in a court of law.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA oppose the addition of security declarations to Saskatchewan livestock manifests.

Carried Resolution #13 WHEREAS carbon pricing is increasing agricultural producers annual operating costs; and WHEREAS agricultural producers have no ability to pass these increased costs on to consumers; and WHEREAS agricultural production has significant carbon sequestration potential; and WHEREAS without the development of internationally recognized carbon protocols producers have no ability to participate in the carbon market.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Federal and Provincial governments to provide funding as part of the next Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) for the development of agricultural carbon protocols.

Carried Resolution #14 WHEREAS the destruction of critical habitat is in contravention of The Species at Risk Act (SARA); and WHEREAS there are currently no regulatory tools to prevent the destruction of critical habitat on private land; and WHEREAS the destruction of critical habitat leaves the province and private landowners open to the threat of an emergency protection order.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the province of Saskatchewan to allocate 7 per cent of all crown land sales revenue into a conservation endowment trust to fund conservation activities on private lands.

Carried Resolution #15 WHEREAS custom work is currently an ineligible expense for AgriStability; and WHEREAS excluding custom work as an continued on page 56

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ASSOCIATION NEWS AND REPORTS Resolutions cont. from pg. 55 eligible expense unfairly discriminates against producers that don’t have the labour or specialized equipment to perform all jobs on their operation; and WHEREAS excluding custom work does not accurately reflect the true profit or l oss of running an agricultural business.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Federal and Provincial governments to include custom work as an eligible expense under AgriStability.

Carried Resolution #16 WHEREAS there is a growing risk of the elimination of single use plastic; and WHEREAS farmers and ranchers rely on plastic products such as twine, net wrap and silage plastic to store livestock feed; and

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WHEREAS these products are difficult to transport and have limitations for recycle.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Federal and Provincial governments to invest in research to investigate the development of environmentally-friendly agricultural plastic alternatives.

Carried Resolution #17 WHEREAS the PMRA is currently in the process of phasing out the licensing of strychnine for ground squirrel control; and WHEREAS there is currently no equivalent or adequate alternative to strychnine as an option available for controlling the overpopulation of ground squirrels on agricultural lands; and WHEREAS producers are currently experiencing an explosion in ground squirrel numbers.

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BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Government of Canada to extend the licence for strychnine until a viable alternative is available.

Carried Resolution #18 WHEREAS there are currently regulatory trade barriers that prevent the interprovincial trade of provinciallyinspected meat products; and WHEREAS the COVID pandemic has highlighted the importance of food security.

BE IT RESOLVED that SSGA lobby the Federal and Provincial governments to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers for provincially inspected meat products.

Carried

SEPTEMBER 2021

ASSOCIATION NEWS AND REPORTS

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Alongside raising cattle, Donald was highly-engaged in the advancement of the cattle industry. He managed Mankota Stockman’s Weigh Company for 30 years. He was one of the first ranchers to initiate grading yearlings or calves into carload lots in order to receive better prices. And, he was a lifelong member of Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA), where he served 16 years as a Board Director.

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Though Donald passed on July 8, 2021, he will be fondly remembered by SSGA’s Board of Directors, staff and members as a friend, industry advocate and leader amongst Saskatchewan cattlemen. SSGA sends heartfelt condolences to his sister Margaret, sons Douglas (Colleen), Don (Beverly), Darwin (Chanti), and daughter Lois (Bob Cameron), as well as seven grandsons, one granddaughter and seven great-grandchildren.

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C.W. Mike Smith was born in Kincaid, Saskatchewan. He grew up on the family farm near Reliance, where his parents had commercial Herefords and Mike dedicated much of his time to the local 4-H Club. After graduating from Vocational Agricultural School at University of Saskatchewan, Mike moved home to help on the family farm.

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Within 10 years, Mike had purchased two and a half sections of land in the Barr District, married Barbara Dixon and they settled into ranch life together. They bought their first Red Angus bull from Six Mile Ranch’s first bull sale in 1975, which has sired his red cow herd to present day.

Mike was a lifelong member of Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA); he joined in 1966 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 1968, where he served the cattle industry for many years while balancing other leadership roles—as vice president for five years and president for 13 years at Mankota Stockmen’s Weigh Company. By 2015, Saskatchewan Livestock Association awarded Mike the Honour Scroll for his contribution to the community and the livestock industry.

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Mike’s friends, colleagues and fellow cattlemen at SSGA were sad to learn he passed away on August 8, 2021. Mike’s contribution to the Red Angus breed and the cattle industry are historic. He was a lifetime advocate for producers and for animal health and safety. Mike was a true gentlemen. SSGA sends heartfelt condolences to Mike’s closest friends and extended family.

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ASSOCIATION NEWS AND REPORTS Director Profile: Steven Dempsey Kori Maki-Adair

Steven and Brittany with their little shepherds Jack, Violet and Louisa Dempsey of Foam Lake, SK

As a mechanical engineer, Steven Dempsey is trained to design, build, test and repair technology, systems and structures. As expected, Steven’s education has honed his ability for observation, testing, hypothesizing and data analysis, which he uses daily at Diamond F Farms—his family’s sheep and grain operation south of Foam Lake, by West Bend, Saskatchewan.

Steven met Brittany while they were both in university. She finished her Masters while they got to know one another. They were married in 2014 and began pursuing a career in farming.

Now seven years later, they have three young children, Jack, Violet and Louisa, and are working collaboratively with Brittany’s parents, Zenneth and Cindy Faye, the owners and operators of Diamond F Farms for more than 40 years.

“My wife’s grandparents founded the farm as a mixed operation with pigs, chickens, cattle and grain in 1961,” states Dempsey.

In succession, “Brittany’s parents raised their two daughters on the property— my wife and her sister Ambrely. By then, it was predominantly a cattle and grain operation.”

Dempsey says the farm continues to transition.

“The cattle are gone, but the infrastructure remained. Seeing the potential for livestock in Saskatchewan, we decided to explore the possibilities for diversifying into sheep with the help and guidance of Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board.”

Steven says, “I work full-time on the farm, Brittany works on and off the farm, and our children enjoy all aspects of it—from tractor rides to bottle feeding lambs.”

According to the history of sheep production in Canada recorded on Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board’s (SSDB) website, sksheep.com, sheep arrived on the prairies more than two hundred years ago. Since then, sheep have become a vital part of Saskatchewan’s economy as the nation’s fourth largest breeding flock.

Though he did not grow up around livestock, he is now fully engaged as an ag industry member and leader.

The site also indicates, with good nutrition and minimal stress, sheep offer greater than average biological efficiency for a livestock species. Multiple, healthy offspring per gestation tends to produce a more robust flock in less time. This type of livestock operation also brings the added income streams from wool and dairy.

With the hope of continuing to grow their flock sustainably, and in harmony with their grain operation, Diamond F Farms is currently focusing their efforts on purchasing good breeding stock and selecting proven rams to set themselves up for a low maintenance drove.

Dempsey describes the farm’s rolling hills as mostly grain land now.

“Recently, we have transitioned less productive land into forage for the sheep.

We mainly put up silage bales for feed from the farm’s less productive cultivated acres; using what we need and selling the surplus. We are also able to use the screenings from our cereal crops to supplement during key times of the year.”

The Dempseys and Fayes work hard to ensure Diamond F Farms stays competitive in the market place as a progressive family enterprise, with a highlight on the family component.

He explains their approach to life as being: “Loving, hardworking and resourceful.”

“My first involvement with Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association was when I was asked to represent SSDB as an Affiliate Director. From my first few meetings, it was apparent how critical of a role the Stock Growers play advocating for producers,” asserts Dempsey, SSDB Vice-Chairperson and Director for the northeast region of the province.

“I think it is important for me to be a part of the Stock Grower’s board as a voice for the sheep industry. Being around the table with beef, goat and milk producers,” enhances everyone’s perspective he says.

“A lot can be learned and shared barriers can be discussed.”

Like every sector, sheep production has industry development challenges, including predator problems and market reach, but Dempsey says public perception may be the biggest, “From sheep shearing to consumption of animal protein, our industry needs to listen to consumers and their hesitations. We need to share our stories and encourage people to ‘try something new on the barbecue’— we are always willing to share a recipe!”

Finding labour is also a problem.

“We usually have two full-time employees year-round and take on other temporary help during the busy seasons. We also enjoy hosting any and all friends and family willing to come and help out,” he says and perhaps, hints.

Dempsey thinks the ag industry needs to continued on page 59

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SEPTEMBER 2021

ASSOCIATION NEWS AND REPORTS Introducing Policy Intern Josee Monvoisin Alongside my family, I help run JPM Farms, our purebred and commercial Black Angus cow-calf operation and grain farm. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness with a Minor in Field Crop Production from University of Saskatchewan.

Josee Monvoisin, Policy Intern Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association

Hello everyone, my name is Josee Monvoisin. I would like to introduce myself as the new policy intern with Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA).

I grew up on a mixed farming operation in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, where agriculture has always been my passion.

After working in crop production, I decided to further my education and pursue a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics at University of Saskatchewan.

I am now wrapping up the final stages of my graduate degree and looking forward to working with Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association staff, board and members.

Over the past two years, I have spent much of my time working on my graduate thesis together with my thesis advisor and professor Kathy Larson, Research Associate in the department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. My project is focused

on evaluating premiums and discounts associated with Western Canadian feeder calves sold via electronic auction.

It has been interesting meeting with industry stakeholders and diving into the data to identify which feeder calf attributes are valued most by buyers. I look forward to sharing some insights and results from my thesis project in the coming months.

In my spare time, you will likely find me outside tending to my yard and garden, on a horse checking and moving cows, or out for a round of golf. I am very fortunate to enjoy the ranching lifestyle and to spend time working with my family.

SSGA does an excellent job of advocating for and supporting Saskatchewan livestock producers. I am excited to join this team, learn from others in the industry as well as share my knowledge and experiences. B

Steven Dempsey cont. from pg. 58 get creative to motivate people to work on farms and feels the next generation is where the most energy should be focused.

He states with the certain assuredness of a resourceful mind and ag innovator, “We need to encourage young entrepreneurial farmers to see the benefits in diversification. Providing supports at the ground level through education and programs like those offered by Canadian Agricultural Partnership will have the most positive impact on the industry today and moving into the future.”

Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association warmly welcomes Steven Dempsey to its board of directors and looks forward to continuing its producer-focused advocacy with Steven’s strong work ethic, aptitude for learning and willingness to adapt and target success for his family and the ag industry at large. B

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ASSOCIATION NEWS AND REPORTS

y c a c o v d A Summer

New Democratic Party Drought Tour

Conservative Party of Canada Ag Critic Tour

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SEPTEMBER 2021

Summer BBQ & Skeet Shoot

Thank you to retiring Director Roy Rutledge for 12 years of service and dedication to SSGA Board of Directors.

SSGA 108th AGM June 15, 2021

Thank you

to our presenting sponsor

Speaker presentations available at www.skstockgrowers.com Box 4752, Evraz Place, Regina, SK S4P 3Y4 Tel: 306-757-8523 Fax: 306-569-8799 Email: ssga@sasktel.net Website: www.skstockgrowers.com Photo courtesy of Reg Schellenberg SEPTEMBER 2021

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STEWARDSHIP Saskatchewan Grassland Habitats Resound with Songbirds Carolyn Gaudet

Grassland songbird populations have declined by 53 per cent in North America since 1970. Anecdotally, this decline has been apparent since the 1950s. The several years of drought we’ve been experiencing likely haven’t been easy on them or the ranchers managing the grasslands these birds inhabit.

Years of monitoring and research have produced useful information on how we can improve habitat and help prevent grassland birds from further decline.

Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan (PCAP) is working on a guide to help manage grasslands for multiple species that have a variety of habitat needs (more details are in the PCAP article published in the May 2021 edition of Beef Business).

A handful of grassland songbirds are specialists, requiring native grassland in good condition and free of anthropogenic impacts, which often reduces the quality of habitat. Grassland songbirds are known to be good indicators of prairie health due to their specific nesting and foraging needs, and they are more likely to occur in grasslands with higher integrity and better range condition.

Some preferred habitat attributes overlap between species, whereas other habitat needs may not, requiring pasture management to vary over the landscape.

Understanding the individual needs of species can help guide management of these lands in a way that provides suitable habitat for more than one species at a time. Land managers are in a unique position to manage grasslands through grazing and create heterogeneous habitat to benefit many species. Here are a few details on three songbird species that you may see on nearby pastures.

Sprague’s Pipit The Sprague’s Pipit is six inches tall and weighs less than an ounce. It has plain buffy plumage with no distinct features, other than a thin beak. No other grassland songbird in Saskatchewan

62

on the ground, rather than taking flight.

However, males often sing at or near the tops of grass clumps or scattered shrubs.

Sprague’s Pipit on the ground

looks quite like it, but your chances of seeing them out in the pasture are pretty slim. They are inconspicuous, but if they are present on your pasture, you’ll be able to hear them. They are known for their prolonged singing displays, where the average male may sing for 30 minutes at a time; circling their territory up to 100 metres above ground, so that all you see is a dot overhead, moving in circles against the sky.

The Sprague's Pipit is often considered the "Goldilocks" bird of the prairies; they prefer their habitat just right. They require some disturbance such as grazing, but not too much. Sprague’s Pipits prefer to nest in mixed or short grass prairie throughout most of the northern Great Plains; they prefer grassland vegetation of intermediate height (i.e., 15-30 centimetres), and medium density with moderate litter and few shrubs.

Baird’s Sparrow The Baird’s Sparrow is generally a sandybrown colour with fine black and chestnut streaks on the back and flanks. The belly is clean white, with a necklace of thin black streaks across the chest. The head is a buffy yellow colour featuring subtle black markings.

Baird’s Sparrows prefer tall grass or mixed grass native prairies, but they are less picky than the Sprague’s Pipit as they can sometimes be found in managed hayfields or ungrazed pastures.

They prefer grasslands that are 15-30 centimetres that have a moderate amount of litter. They avoid very short grass, bare ground, dense litter and vegetation. They select grass they can run through.

Baird’s Sparrow perched on a fence wire

Chestnut-collared Longspur Chestnut-collared Longspurs are one of my favourites, after the Sprague’s Pipit. Like the Baird’s Sparrow, the Chestnut-collared Longspur is stocky with a thick bill, large head, short tail, a black belly, yellow throat and a rustychestnut-coloured nape. Males sing a melodious warble, similar to the Western Meadowlark, and will sing perched on top of small shrubs, taller grass or fence wires. To defend nesting territory, a male performs a flight-song display, fluttering up about six metres, flying in undulating circles while singing, then fluttering down again.

Baird’s Sparrows are partially nomadic, with breeding populations often shifting locations from year to year, which likely evolved in response to the effects of roaming bison herds, fire and drought.

Longspurs will nest in an open cup.

These longspurs prefer to breed in short (i.e., 7-15 centimetres), sparse, open vegetation; meaning, low amounts of litter and more bare ground. They are more likely to occur in grazed habitat rather than mowed or burned grassland.

Similar to Sprague’s Pipit, Baird’s Sparrows can be difficult to see as they often escape predators (and bird biologists), by running

All three species are found throughout southern Saskatchewan, being more common in the southwest, but Sprague’s

| ©BEEF BUSINESS | www.skstockgrowers.com

SEPTEMBER 2021

STEWARDSHIP

Chestnut-collared Longspur perched on a rock

Pipits and Baird’s Sparrows can be found all the way up to the Aspen Parkland and boreal-grassland transition.

PCAP’s multi-species guide will provide more detailed information about habitat attributes for each of these species. The guide will be going out for review shortly and we would appreciate any feedback from land managers and owners. Please contact pcap@sasktel.net to volunteer! B

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www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 63

STEWARDSHIP Calling All Landowners of Native Grasslands!

Kori Maki-Adair

You are officially invited to participate in a survey that will guide the process and protocol development for term conservation easements designed to protect native grasslands in southwest Saskatchewan—the last refuge for many species at risk in the province, including Greater Sage-Grouse critical habitat.

As a quality beef producer, you know that native grasslands are also an important forage resource for the cowcalf sector in southwest Saskatchewan.

You also know these grasslands are valuable from an ecological and cultural perspective; they are economically important to our province.

That’s why we need your subject matter expertise. We need your input.

Do you have an opinion that you’d like to share for a $50 gift card to the store of your choice? We’re looking for 60 landowners in southwest Saskatchewan to participate in a 25-question telephone survey. It takes 30 minutes.

Are you up for the challenge?

Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) contracted the locally-based, non-government organization South of the Divide Conservation Action Program Inc. (SODCAP) to carry out the landowner engagement and surveys.

“We’ve been working in partnership with SSGA since 2015, and have signed more than 40 conservation agreements with landowners, protecting a total of 250,000 acres of grassland and critical habitat for species at risk in southwest Saskatchewan,” says Tom Harrison, Program Manager of Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation (SSGF).

Recently, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Species At Risk Partnership on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) fund awarded SSGA $840,000 in additional funding to continue working with landowners and Grasslands National Park to protect Greater Sage-Grouse critical habitat.

“We are currently using a portion of this new endowment to solicit input on term conservation easements through a customized questionnaire that we have

developed to learn more about what is most important to local landowners,” Harrison states. “We are building on the success of SARPAL’s first five years of funding support, by engaging the ag sector to preserve the homes of key wildlife species.”

“We can protect a mosaic of habitats by extending our survey to include more participants,” he adds. “We have been focusing on the conservation of critical habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse in the Milk River Watershed area, but we are now broadening the survey to include landowners of other native grasslands.”

Without reservation Harrison says, “Make my phone ring. Fill my inbox.”

“As the oldest operating organization in Saskatchewan and a trusted voice in agriculture in the province, SSGA launched Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation (SSGF) as a federallyregistered charitable organization and land trust in January 2020,” affirms Ray McDougald, SSGF Board Chair.

“The Foundation’s goals are to conserve

Photo courtesy of Kelly Williamson

64

| ©BEEF BUSINESS | www.skstockgrowers.com

SEPTEMBER 2021

STEWARDSHIP agricultural lands, advance education, relieve poverty and assist victims of disasters,” McDougald furthers. “We intend to fill a growing need in the ranching community for voluntary, private-sector options for agricultural land conservation, and I think we’re doing that.”

To ensure statistical relevance, McDougald confirms, “We need landowners’ input to get it right. We’ve developed this survey to assess the different levels of interest and to gather geographically-specific knowledge of southwest Saskatchewan’s

biodiversity. We need landowners’ help to guide the development of term easement valuation protocol, and to understand their current and future decision-making needs—including, succession planning.”

He adds, “The benefits of granting an easement means you are preserving the environmental value of your land for the future, without giving up private ownership. Whether you pass the land onto family, or you sell it, the easement will be transferred with the property and the terms of the easement will remain unless they are modified by mutual

POW!

consent of the landowner and the conservation easement holder. In terms of the financial reward for signing this kind of agreement, we are assessing potential payments in this study. We will release the details as soon as we have them.”

If you’re interested in being heard and rewarded for sharing your opinion on term conservation easements, please contact Tom Harrison, SSGF Program Manager, at 306-530-1385 or prairiecloudscape@sasktel.net. B

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www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 65

CALENDAR DATE

EVENT NAME

LOCATION

OCTOBER 2021 Oct 1-31

Agriculture Month

Oct 13

Booking Deadline for November Beef Business

Oct 19-21

Transboundary Grasslands Workshop

*

Oct 27-30

MB AG Exhibition

Brandon, MB

Oct 29-30

Edam Fall Fair

Edam, SK

NOVEMBER Nov 3-6

Harvest Showdown

Yorkton, SK

Nov 3-6

Stockade Roundup

Lloydminster, SK

Nov 5-6

Getting Started in Sheep

Saskatoon, SK

Nov 15-17

MFGA Regenerative AG Conference

Brandon, MB

Nov 18

Cultivating Trust Conference

Saskatoon, SK

Nov 20-22

Canadian Bison AGM

Regina, SK

Nov 22-27

Canadian Western Agribition

Regina, SK

* www.albertapcf.org/about-prairies/transboundary-grasslands

Invites all entries for our continued photo contest: We want to view ag through YOUR lens!

How to enter:

• Email your photos to ssgacommunications@sasktel.net with the subject line: Photo Contest • Include your name, mailing address and the location the image was taken • Please insure the photo is high resolution and clear quality for full page printing

Set your camera to HIGH QUALITY and start tapping!

Phone graphic courtesy of: freepik.com

Winning photos will be used in Beef Business Magazine and SSGA Communications and will be credited in the masthead and elsewhere as appropriate 66

| ©BEEF BUSINESS | www.skstockgrowers.com

SEPTEMBER 2021

ADVERTISER INDEX Adair Sales & Marketing Company Inc Advantage Feeders Allen Leigh Apollo Machine & Products Ltd. ArcRite Welding Bannerlane Horned Herefords Beef Smart Consulting

32 18 68 70 69 70 45,68

Boehringer Ingelheim

13

Bud Williams Canadian Cattle Identification Agency Cargill Animal Nutrition Ceva Cows in Control Cowtown Livestock Exchange Inc. D&R Prairie Supplies Dekalb - Bayer Ducks Unlimited Edward Jones Frostfree Nosepumps GemGuard Grassland Trailer Head for the Hills Shorthorns Heartland Livestock Sales

70 2 68 63 69 70 8 17 71 68 69 69 69 68 40

Hi Hog Farm & Ranch Equipment John Brown Farms Johnstone Auction Mart Jones Farm Supplies

6 70 68 69

Kramer Trailer Sales

69

Lallemand Animal Nutrition Lane Realty Lazar Equipment Linthicum Ranch Ltd. Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence Manitou Maine-Anjou Man-Sask Gelbvieh Association Masterfeeds MNP Milligan Biofuels N.M. McMahon CPA New Vision Agro New-Life Mills Nick's Service Ltd. No Bull Norheim Ranching Northern Livestock Sales O & T Farms

65 63 14 68 28 70 69 46,69 19 68 68 70 69 56 38 72 29 53

OLS Tubs Performance Seed Performer - Goldridge Perlich Bros Auction Mart Ltd. Quick Look Back Rock Block Saskatchewan Angus Association Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp.

Saskatchewan Livestock Finance Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Saskatoon Livestock Sales SASKTIP Inc. Sheppard Realty Smeaton Fence Supplies SweetPro Target Cattle Concepts Vetoquinol Westway Feed Products Weyburn Livestock Exchange Willow Mills Ltd. Young Dale Angus Young's Equipment

37 69 15 9 69 68 21,68 49 11 59 54 33 70 68 4,68 57 3,47 41 25 69 70 31

SSGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS THE EXECUTIVE Kelcy Elford President Caron, SK

DIRECTORS AT LARGE Phone: 306- 690-5305

Garner Deobald 1st Vice President Hodgeville, SK

Phone: 306-677-2589

Jeff Yorga 2nd Vice President Flintoft, SK

Phone: 306-531-5717

Kim Simpson Finance Chair Assiniboia, SK Bill Huber Past President Lipton, SK

Chay Anderson, Fir Mountain, SK Keith Day, Lacadena, SK Glen Elford, Avonlea, SK Calvin Gavelin, McCord, SK Joe Gilchrist, Maple Creek, SK Adrienne Hanson, Langbank, SK Aaron Huber, Lipton, SK Murray Linthicum, Glentwoth, SK Miles McNeil, Alameda, SK Rob Selke, Morse, SK Lee Sexton, Hanley, SK

ZONE CHAIR DIRECTORS Phone: 306-375-7939

Phone: 306-336-2684

Find email contact for the Executive Directors at skstockgrowers.com

SEPTEMBER 2021

306-640-7087 306-375-2934 306-436-7121 306-478-2558 306-662-3986 306-421-8538 306-336-2684 306-266-4377 306-489-2073 306-629-3238 306-544-2660

AFFILIATE DIRECTORS

Steven Dempsey - SK Sheep Affiliate Garner Deobald - SK Charolais Affiliate Gord Ell - SaskMilk Affiliate

Kirsten Fornwald - SK Simmental Affiliate Ian Leaman - SK Shorthorn Affiliate

Marlene Monvoisin - SK Angus Affiliate Rob O'Connor - SK Hereford Affiliate Ben Rempel - SK Goat Breeders Affiliate Ian Thackeray - Man-Sask Gelbvieh Affiliate Jeff Yorga - SK Limousin Affiliate

APPOINTED DIRECTOR

Zone 1 - Henry McCarthy, Wawota, SK Zone 2 - Karen McKim, Milestone, SK Zone 3 - Kim Simpson, Assiniboia, SK Zone 4 - Brad Howe, Empress, AB Zone 5 - Bill Huber, Lipton, SK Zone 6 - Brent Griffin, Elbow, SK Zone 7 Co-chair - Laura Culligan, Kyle, SK Zone 7 Co-chair - Jamie-Rae Pittman, Kyle, SK Zone 12 - Rod Gamble, Pambrun, SK

306-739-2205 306-436-7731 306-375-7939 306-661-0409 306-336-2684 306-854-2050 403-793-9825 780-977-2516 306-582-2077

Dr. Andy Acton - Veterinary Advisor, Ogema, SK

SASKATCHEWAN CCA DIRECTORS Ryan Beierbach, Whitewood, SK Lynn Grant, Val Marie, SK Pat Hayes, Val Marie, SK Reg Schellenberg, Beechy, SK Duane Thompson, Kelliher, SK

306-551-1338 306-677-2589 306-535-1922 306-297-3147 306-631-3694 306-648-8200 306-550-4890 306-321-7338 306-861-7687 306-531-5717

306-459-2422

306-532-4809 306-298-2268 306-298-2284 306-859-4905 306-675-4562

www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 67

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| ©BEEF BUSINESS | www.skstockgrowers.com

Consigning to On Target sale March 6-8, 2021 Cattle also for sale by private treaty Dr. Christine Ewert Hill | Dr. Clarke Hill christine.ewert@gmail.com (306) 452-7867 (C) • (306) 452-3803 (H) Box 31, Redvers, SK S0C 2H0

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www.skstockgrowers.com | ©BEEF BUSINESS | 69

NEW VISION AGRO Box 479 Hague, SK S0K 1X0

PH: (306) 225-2226 FX: (306) 225-2063

Annual February Sale Two year old bulls & bred heifers

email: newvisionagro@sasktel.net www.newvisionagro.com

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Machine & Products Ltd.

• ROLLER MILLS ~ Electric or PTO models ~ 10 sizes available ~ Increase the nutrition value of your feed! ~ Manufactured in Saskatoon • SILAGE COVERS & GRAIN BAGS

SSGA MEMBERSHIP

- Jay-Lor Vertical Feed Mixers The Saskatchewan Stock Growers - Masterfeeds Association has entered into a Rob & Joanne Bannerman, Livelong, SK - Cargill Rite Now Minerals Home: 306 845 2764 - Baler twine, netwrap, silage bunker, partnership with Flaman to covers, plastic wrap, Grain Bags Cell: 306 845 7790 increase Memberships andCheck with us before you buy!

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2502 Millar Ave, Saskatoon 306-242-9884 or 877-255-0187 apm@sasktel.net www.apollomachineandproducts.com

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We have new books:

phone: 306-584-2773 cell: 306-537-2648 Carlyle, SK

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As of September 1, 2008 the Saskatchewan It’s what we do. prize by Flaman will be a Stock Growers will be offering a major prize draw for all paid new and renewal of existing 12’ BERGEN STOCK TRAILER 3287 Quance Street, Regina, SK memberships as follows: Specs: Full rear door, side door, OFFICE 306.352.1866

Stockdogs: Partners Farm & Ranch Real Estate. and Friends The sponsored membership

slots for side window slides, rock guard, CELL 306.530.8035

Visit www.stockmanship.com callex axles 2-3,500 lb or torefl 417-719-4910 for more information.

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The member that sells the most SSGA new memberships will receive a free registration for two to the2009 SSGA AGM.

New or Existing Memberships:

1 year

$105.00

1 entry

2 year

$194.25

2 entries Cowtown Livestock Exchange Inc.

2 year spousal

CT

$97.12

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3 year 3 year spousal

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Regular Sales every Tuesday @ 10:00 a.m. $262.50 3 entries Locally Owned & Operated Call for info on Presort & Other Sales $131.25 2 entries Phone 306-662-2648 Toll Free: 1-800-239-5933

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For more information or to become a member, please contact the SSGA office 306-757-8523 at 306-757-8523

All draws will be made at the 2009 SSGA Annual Convention

Membership type: Member

Associate

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Renewal

New

1 Year $157.50...................

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In order to be eligible to receive the prize a member, subscriber or advertiser who’s entry is drawn must answer a g skill question. testin The chances of winning the sponsored membership prize draw is dependant on the

70

and type of membership sold during the membership drive of September 1, 2008 to the 2009 AGM. During a comparable d in 2007, perio there were approximately 300 new and renewal memberships sold. | ©BEEFnumber BUSINESS | www.skstockgrowers.com SEPTEMBER 2021

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