Following in the footsteps of our Prairie neighbours, Manitoba is working towards developing a customized rangeland and pasture health assessment. “The project is born out of similar initiatives that started in the United States, Alberta and then Saskatchewan. They have developed these tools for assessing rangeland health, looking at various indicators like bare soil, litter
Creating a better process for assessing pasture
Stakeholders from across the industry are currently working together to develop a Manitoba-focused rangeland and pasture health assessment
Beef cattle market continues to see volatility
Coming off two years of solid prices, cattle producers are adjusting to the realities to today’s market
There’s just one way to describe the beef market over the past five years — volatile. Benjamin Hamm, farm management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, says that’s the only thing that comes to mind when he looks at the market. “In 2015 we had some crazy highs, up to $3.75 and even a few spikes to
Creating a natural rhythm
Lighting experts suggest the correct light intensity and duration can have positive effects on the health, fertility, welfare and productivity of dairy cattle
The lighting in your barn may be having more of an effect than you realize. “The livestock’s biological clock is regulated by light striking the pituitary gland in the middle of the brain. A lack of light depresses metabolism and causes increased melatonin output. We see this effect in the shorter days of winter,” said
Canadian forage research on the rise
The Beef Cattle Research Council has increased forage research funding from $40,000 to $6 million since its inception
The forage industry has begun to see a promised increase in research funding from the beef industry. According to Reynold Bergen, science director with the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC), more of Canadian cattle producers’ checkoff dollars are being put towards research and the piece of the pie that had been allocated towards forages has
Cover cropping improves land and bank balance
Ontario farmer Blake Vince has harnessed the power of cover crops on his operation
Despite not having cattle on his operation, Blake Vince says he is still a livestock farmer. “Where my livestock are is below my feet and sadly we forget that. The soil is alive, it is a collection of living organisms,” Vince, a Canadian Nuffield Scholar and fifth-generation Ontario farmer, said during a presentation at the
What does your underwear say about your soils?
The underwear test can be a visual indicator of the activity that is taking place in your soil
A lot, providing you bury it in a field, according to Ontario farmer Blake Vince, a cover crop and soil health advocate and Nuffield Scholar. Doing so will help you understand what’s happening beneath your feet, he says. “We understand things we can see,” Vince said at the recent Canadian Forage and Grasslands conference in
Young cattle producers wanted
Young producers will be the heart of any future herd expansion and should be involved in setting policy
Manitoba Beef Producers is hoping to see a few more young faces at its upcoming annual general meeting. That meeting is slated for Feb. 2 and 3 in Brandon at the Victoria Inn, and will see the organization discussing a host of issues that affect the industry’s bottom line and setting policy that will chart the
Managing the risks of mouldy feed
According to Manitoba Agriculture, determining if mouldy feed is still acceptable is a complex situation that requires a case-by-case analysis and usually feed tests
After a wet summer Manitoba cattle producers are faced with the reality of keeping animals healthy on less-than-ideal feed sources. It’s possible, but Juanita Kopp, a provincial livestock specialist, says producers do need to be aware of the risks and take steps to manage them. “This is one of the topics I get a lot
Increase to national beef checkoff to come in 2017
The exact date of the change is still up in the air
Canadian beef producers should expect to see an increase to the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off sometime in 2017, but the exact date is yet to be determined. “I suspect producers will see this take effect in 2017. But, it is hard for me to nail down an exact time that producers will start to see
Study shows grassland environmental contributions
The University of Alberta in partnership with Alberta Environment and Parks has undertaken a number of studies looking at the impacts of land use and grazing on soil carbon levels
Grasslands punch above their weight when it comes to carbon sequestration. That’s the conclusion of a researcher who started his career on an Alberta-wide study of how land use affects that province’s carbon pool. Daniel Hewins, now an assistant professor at Rhode Island College in Providence, R.I., says grasslands can and do store an enormous
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