Ranchers stockpile hay to feed their livestock, not roving wild ruminants. Freeloading deer and elk can cart off large amounts of feed in their bellies, and leave behind bovine tuberculosis-infected snot, saliva and feces on the fodder. Tall fences keep them out of bale yards, but are expensive and won’t help with bale-grazing sites –
Big White Dogs Keep Elk Away From Hay Bales
Tight Supplies Bode Well For Cattle, Hog Profits Up
The futures markets are sparkling for cattle and looking brighter for hogs, according to two market analysts who took the stage at Ag Days. Tight supplies pushed April live feeder cattle futures to volatile new highs last week, according to Anne Dunford of Taber-based Gateway Livestock Exchange. “I’m old, but $1.20 has been the resistance
Wet Last Year, Maybe Wet Again This Year
Last year’s deluge will make for some interesting agronomic issues for canola growers this spring, Derwyn Hammond, senior agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of Canada told farmers attending Ag Days. Denitrification in low spots, soil compaction from last summer’s abortive attempts at field work, and weed issues are all things to look out for,
Get Insured, Urges Struthers
With another wet year looking likely, Manitoba’s agriculture minister is urging farmers and ranchers to sign up for the province’s enhanced suite of risk management programs. “I want to take this opportunity to encourage producers to look to AgriInsurance as the first and best line of defence against such risks as excess moisture,” said Agriculture,
Hemp Fibre-Processing Facility Going Up
After five years of planning, construction of the province’s first large-scale hemp fibre-processing plant near Gilbert Plains has begun. A handful of dignitaries were present for a groundbreaking ceremony last week as the first steel beams were erected on the site. Robert Jin, president of Plains Industrial Hemp Processing, first announced his plan to build
DUC, Bayer, Support Winter Wheat Research
Canada’s top winter wheat breeder has been awarded a $600,000 grant to continue his work – even though he’s winding down his breeding program. But University of Saskatchewan plant scientist Brian Fowler says new winter wheat cultivars from his breeding program will continue to appear for years to come. For example, a new cultivar named
Boreal Bounty Entrepreneur Plans Winery
Could Flin Flon be the Napa Valley of the North? An entrepreneur from the rugged Manitoba mining town is planning to launch the region’s first – and likely the world’s only – birch winery. After several years of planning, Doug Eryou says he’s ready to build his winery in nearby Bakers Narrows and bottle his
New Model For Intergenerational Transfers Needed, Say Panellists
How many times has this drama played out in farm country? Son grows up, goes to college, then comes back with newfangled ideas about how to farm. Son goes to bank, borrows an enormous sum, and buys farm lock, stock and barrel from parents, who in turn, pay a hefty tax bill on the payout.
Manitoba Live Cattle Exported To Kazakhstan
Cattle are returning to the wide-open steppes of the former Soviet Union, and some of them are coming from the wide-open Canadian prairie. Ron Batho and Albert Rimke, purebred breeders from Oak Lake, recently sold 20 bred Hereford yearling heifers that were part of a recent shipment that were mustered from local ranches, packed into
Leave More Grass, Make More Money
Graziers are quick to tear up pastures, plant the latest “wondergrass,” dump truckloads of fertilizer onto their paddocks or install irrigation in the name of boosting pasture productivity. But many overlook the one strategy they can implement to boost their productivity at little or no cost, says Jim Gerrish, an independent grazing lands consultant from
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