Perhaps I should preface this list with a caveat — the best way to make perfect hay is to ensure it doesn't get rained on. And now that we've all stopped belly-laughing we can get down to the business of making hay in a more realistic setting. I've listened to Dr. Dan Undersander, from the... Read More
Category: Livestock
The Canola Council of Canada recently announced the findings from an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada-funded Chinese study that suggests dairy cattle fed canola meal significantly increased their total milk production. The study shows that when used in dry rations, meal from Canadian canola can increase daily milk production by .6 kilograms per cow, according to... Read More
There is many a cowboy who likely wouldn't dream of kicking the cows off his land and running sheep or goats. We get that. But if you haven't thought about the benefits of using sheep and goats on pasture, you may be missing out on a very efficient means of getting more out your existing... Read More
A few weeks ago, I visited Mike Dugan, meat lipid scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to ask about feeding flax seed to pigs to increase omega-3s in pork, and thus diversify the consumer base. But, one may ask, where's the beef? Well, a current study at the Lacombe Research Centre in Alberta is looking... Read More
Determining when to take first, second and subsequent cuts of alfalfa is part science and part art. What's more, relative feed value and yield tend to peak at early bud then part ways soon after. For the beef producers in the crowd, early flowering is going to offer biggest yields with good quality, but our... Read More
So you're a little sheepish about multi-species grazing. It's understandable. Changing fencing strategies and planning handling, sorting, lambing and all the rest of it is a daunting task. Once you add predators to the mix, it can all seem a little overwhelming. Or, at least it did until I attended the Multi-Species Grazing Conference hosted... Read More
The government of Canada and the government of Saskatchewan have announced a joint funding agreement that earmarks $1.25 million over five years for the creation of a forage research chair at the University of Saskatchewan. The forage research chair will focus on forage breeding with an emphasis on developing new forage varieties with improved yields,... Read More
At the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association AGM this week in Moose Jaw, Ryder Lee provided an update from the Canadian Cattleman's Association. In this media scrum Ryder discusses the meetings happening this week Brussels regarding access to the EU market and how Canada will retaliate against the US regarding COOL. If you cannot see the... Read More
Shaun Haney, founder of RealAgriculture.com, spoke with Willie Van Solkema, president of JBS Canada, at the Saskatchewan Stock Growers' 100th AGM this week to get an update on JBS's move into Canada. Up for discussion: JBS Canada's foray into existing markets for the former-XL Foods products, which markets are still closed to the company and... Read More
Feedyards have moved from having to wait for cattle to be lifted for weeks on end to a situation where the market is very current. This has put a little needed marketing power in the hands of feedyards instead of the packer. The strong basis has beena n excellent incentive to sell cattle on schedule... Read More