Canadian cattlemen

NOT YOUR AVERAGE CREEP FEEDER THE BEEF MAGAZINE

Rawes Ranches Ltd. 33rd Annual Performance Tested Charolais Bull Sale Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at the ranch, Strome, AB

MORE DETAILS ON PG 61

The Ranch where performance is no accident! JANUARY 2016 $3.00 WWW.CANADIANCATTLEMEN.CA

PASSION makes it possible

Justin, Kordell and Tawnie Morrison, Radville, Sask.

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40069240

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One Breed For Every Need

Pe r f o r m a n c e • D o c i l i t y • E f f i c i e n c y • L o n g e v i t y

The Bull You Can Trust www.hereford.ca • 5160 Skyline Way NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6V1 • 1-888-836-7242 • herefords@hereford.ca

Established 1938 1938 ISSN ISSN 1196-8923 1196-8923 Established Cattlemen Editorial Editorial Cattlemen Editor: Gren Winslow Winslow Editor: Gren 1666 Dublin Dublin Avenue, Avenue, Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB MB R3H R3H 0H1 0H1 1666 (204) 944-5753 944-5753 Fax Fax (204) (204) 944-5416 944-5416 (204) Email: gren@fbcpublishing.com gren@fbcpublishing.com Email: Field Editor: Editor: Debbie Debbie Furber Furber Field Box 1168, 1168, Tisdale, Tisdale, SK SK S0E S0E 1T0 1T0 Box (306) 873-4360 Fax (306) 873-4360 Fax (306) (306) 873-4360 873-4360 Email: debbie.furber@fbcpublishing.com debbie.furber@fbcpublishing.com Email:

Contents canadian cattlemen · january 2016 · Volume 79, No. 1

 S E E DSTO C K

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The Morrisons of Radville, Sask. knew when they started ranching it would be with a purebred operation.

passion makes it possible  seedstock

FEATURES Get ready for calving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Passion makes it possible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Contents of Cattlemen are copyrighted and may be reproduced only when written permission is obtained from the editor and proper credit is given to Cattlemen.

An International Hereford tour. . . . . . . . . . 20

Cattlemen and Canadian Cattlemen are Trade Marks of Farm Business Communications.

Care of syringes and needles. . . . . . . . . . . 22

Cattlemen is is published published monthly monthly by by Farm Farm Business Business Communications. Communications. Cattlemen Head Head office: office: Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Manitoba. Printed Printed by by Transcontinental Transcontinental LGMC. Cattlemen Cattlemen is is printed printed with with linseed linseed oil-based oil-based inks. inks. LGMC. Subscription rates rates in in Canada Canada — — $43 $43 for for one one year, year, $64 $64 for for 22 years, years, Subscription $91 $91 for for 33 years years (prices (prices include include GST). GST). Manitoba Manitoba residents residents add add 8% PST. PST. U.S. U.S. subscription subscription rate rate — — $35 $35 (U.S. (U.S. funds). funds). Subscription Subscription 8% rate outside outside Canada Canada and and U.S. U.S. — — $55 $55 per per year. year. Single Single copies copies $3. $3. rate We acknowledge the financial support of the Govern­m m ent of ent of We acknowledge the financial support of the Govern­ Canada Canada through through the Canada the Canada Periodical Periodical Fund Fund of the the Department Department of of Canadian Canadian Heritage. Heritage. of Publications Mail Mail Agreement Agreement Number Number 40069240. 40069240. Publications Canadian Postmaster: Return undeliverable Canadian Canadian Postmaster: Return undeliverable Canadian addresses (covers only) to: Circulation addresses (covers only) to: Circulation Dept., Dept., PO PO Box Box 9800, 9800, Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB MB R3C R3C 3K7. 3K7.

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Not your average creep feeder. . . . . . . . . . 30 Set up a proactive cash flow . . . . . . . . . . . 36

An International Hereford tour

20

Monitor the suckle reflex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

 feeding

Verified Beef Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

DEPARTMENTS

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Seek help if you suspect a uterine torsion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

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The editors and journalists who write, contribute and provide opinions to Canadian Cattlemen and Farm Business Communications attempt to provide accurate and useful opinions, information and analysis. However, the editors, journalists, Canadian Cattlemen and Farm Business Communications, cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the editors as well as Canadian Cattlemen and Farm Business Communications assume no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken by any reader for this publication based on any and all information provided.

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Not your average creep feeder

30

Supplement rationing with a self-feeder

Congratulations! To our January survey winner, Austin Lindsay, Roblin, Man. Cover Photo: Photo from Tawnie Morrison

Comment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Newsmakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Our History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Vet Advice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Holistic Ranching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Prime Cuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Research on the Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Straight from the Hip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 CCA Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 News Roundup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Purely Purebred. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 The Markets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Market Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Sales and Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 C at t l e m e n · j a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

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 COMMENT

By Gren Winslow

Alberta supports the $2.50 checkoff

T

he Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) became the first provincial cattle organization to officially declare its support for a $1.50 increase in the mandatory $1 national checkoff at its annual meeting last month in Calgary. Given the vocal support for an increase reported at district meetings around the province leading up to an official vote by the delegates the result was not a surprise. There was no drama, no debate, and no dissention. Alberta’s on board. The national checkoff train moves next to Saskatchewan later this month, then Manitoba, Ontario and B.C. in May. These five supply most of the money, but this is a national checkoff so every province needs to express its views to maintain the national consensus. The money raised by this new checkoff, some $16 million by official estimates, will fund the promotional and marketing work of Canada Beef and the industry’s share of research commissioned by the Beef Cattle Research Council. The split of promotion versus research dollars varies quite a bit depending on where it’s collected. Provincial associations determine how much of the money they raise goes to each. B.C., for example, allocates 90 per cent to promotion, Alberta 80 per cent and Saskatchewan 70 per cent with the rest to research. Manitoba gives 85.5 per cent to promotion, seven per cent to research and the rest to provincial projects. In the East the accounting is a little more creative. Ontario’s $1, and presumably its $2.50, is split roughly 32 per cent to Canada Beef, 17 per cent to research and 50 per cent to provincial projects. Quebec sends 10 per cent to Canada Beef and keeps the rest for provincial initiatives. Maritime provinces maintain a split similar to Quebec except for Nova Scotia at two per cent for promotion, 10 per cent for research and the rest for the province. The second money vote of the day was the standard request for ABP to lobby the provincial ag minister to reinstate Alberta’s non-refundable $2 service levy. This is the provincial checkoff that funds lobbying activities by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) and the ABP plus any provincial projects the ABP has managed to maintain after the refundable levy came into force in 2010. This time the ABP plans to recommend a $2 nonrefundable levy with 60 cents directed to marketing, research and industry collaboration. Rescinding refunds has been a regular request coming out of ABP meetings since former minister George Groeneveld dumped the non-refundable levy on them in 2010, but it has never gained much traction with any of the Conservative ag ministers up to now. Would the NDP look more favourably on a fixed fee? The ABP intends to find out.

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A more pertinent question might be, is this the right time to ask? The refund rate in Alberta is one of the reasons the industry is citing to justify a higher national checkoff to keep its marketing and research programs intact. It might seem a little uncharitable to seek an end to the refunds in the same year. In the past Alberta always had the money to back the CCA’s lobbying efforts in Washington or Geneva, as well as any shortfalls with national marketing programs. Since 2010 refunds have siphoned off upwards of $2.5 million a year, taking much of the slack out of the ABP’s budget. Until recently some of those losses were picked up by the so-called Legacy Fund established in 2005 with $50 million from Ottawa and $30 million from the province to haul Alberta and the country out of the wreckage created by BSE.

ince 2010 refunds have S siphoned off upwards of $2.5 million a year, taking much of the slack out of the ABP budget The Legacy program and the money ran out last month, which is another reason why the industry is looking to raise the national fee. Another concern for the ABP executive is the ill feelings created by the NDP’s hasty passage of Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act. Like most farm organizations the ABP tried to soften the impact of this legislation on its members with little result outside of an amendment to exclude family members from the legislation. If nothing else the battle over Bill 6 demonstrated the ABP’s pressing need to develop new relationships with this government. Obviously it isn’t the only organization feeling the void. In something of a landmark move Page Stuart, the chair of the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association submitted a resolution asking the ABP to continue working with the feeders to come up with a common plan for the Alberta industry. Given the past history between these two this is a significant effort to bury the hatchet. Meetings have been going on since October with discussions centred around sharing checkoff funds and finding ways for the two groups to work together and present a united voice on key issues. A document released by the cattle feeders made no reference to a non-refundable checkoff, but does say the “overall checkoff is a bigger issue than the checkoff refund.” c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Even My Wife... Loves cows! M.C. Quantock Bull Sale

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BULLS

“Canada’s Bulls” Saturday, Jan 30, 2016

12 noon MST

Lloydminster, AB/SK • All cattle in heated facility! • Free Beef Lunch 11 a.m. My family and I have spent more than 40 years supplying in excess of 10,000 bulls to Canada’s commercial cow men. We’re sincere and solid. You have my word we’ll look after your business in a caring, friendly manner. Read what our customers have to say, then this year call me for your bulls. Sincerely, Mac

We sell and deliver for free, hundreds of bulls all across canada. Here's what our customers say... “We bought 2 hereford bulls sight unseen. The whole process of getting such good quality bulls was absolutely painless, right from the first conversation to delivery. The bulls were everything we expected and more. Easy fleshing they maintained their weight through breeding.” — G.&S. Clark, AB “Your service has always been great. The bulls stay in shape out on the range and the calves are darn good.” — W. Mulvahill, BC “Bend over backwards service" bulls hold their shape and don't need a lot of extra attention. — Salmon Farms, MB “Good quality, easy doing bulls, stand up well in pasture, hard working ranch bulls.” — T. Hoberg, SK “We have bought over 100 bulls from Mac and Family - every year the bulls get better. We see the results in our calf sales. You can trust Mac, these bulls have put us on the map.” — Norwest Cattle, N. Campbell and Sons, AB “The bulls, the sale, the service is second to none. Buying from M.C. Quantock for the past 3 years has been a huge stepping stone for the ranch. It is always a pleasure to deal with you.” — JV Ranch, MB

“We had problems with one of our bulls. We called Mac and he took it back and made an adjustment. We had had the bull one year. Very pleased with your service and prompt reply. I have been very satisfied. You take a professional approach to your business. Something that is often neglected in agriculture.” — L & R Cooper, SK “Bull behavior is excellent, trust in your sight unseen program is excellent.” — B. Hawken, AB

“Excellent service, the only place we buy our bulls. Small birth weight calves, excellent growth. Our calves are weaning steadily heavier in the last 5 years, better replacement heifers, better genetics.” — D & G Lyons, AB “Just got home with my bull, great head, real good feet and legs, clean in the shoulder and thick bull. I was nervous about this Sight Unseen Purchase thing, never done it before. I was impressed with the bull and the way you do business.” — R. Mattison, MB

“We look for your catalogue every year, been buying sight unseen and very satisfied. We now go south to Arizona and buy sight unseen.” — J. Naylen, MB

“Very satisfied with the bulls on arrival, bulls worked well, all the first calf heifers are in calf, very satisfied with the sight unseen program..” — A. Funk, MB

“Nice quiet bulls, easy to handle, nice birth weights. They always get the job done.” — B. Fletcher, AB

“Been buying MC. Quantock bulls for 20 years, fun to watch our herd grow.” — L. Crowley, SK

“Customer service was very good, bull delivered in excellent shape, worked well,very quiet and easy to handle.” — J. Duerken, MB

“Brought sight unseen. I was surprised at how good he looked when Mac delivered him. Stayed in good shape through breeding, Travelled great.” — D. Rutz, BC

“Wow the calves looked exactly like their sire, they really stood out from the rest. Thanks for the good service” — C. Schultz, AB

“It is a pleasure to do business with you. Never yet have I been disappointed with Sight Unseen purchases. Best of all, I like

the temperament of your bulls and Mac’s integrity and reliability is tops with me.” — D. Armstrong, MB “Sight unseen was smooth buying experience, good contact and clear expectations,” — J.&E. Peters, SK “We bought three H2 bulls, we had problems with one. Mac gave us another bull to get through breeding season. We were well satisfied.” — R. Noble, AB “More than satisfied. Hybrid Black Bulls work well on our Angus cows..” – Barrington Ranch, BC “We used your Super Baldie bull for 11 years, he was the best bull we ever had. We keep daughters and really improved our herd. When we sold him he was still going strong and in great shape. I think you run a wonderful operation and I want to thank you so much for that bull.” — B. Hogg, MB “The Sight Unseen Purchase Program you offer, coupled with a rock solid reputation, unquestioned convenience and a large battery of quality, affordable sale bulls has again made bull buying from your ranch a pleasure.” — J. Comrie, MB

“Pleased with the RA bulls, good shape when they arrived and at the end of the dry summer in MB remained in good condition.” — K.&G. Archibald, MB “Nothing but a positive experience. Even being a small producer, you have treated me like I was important to you.” —S. Goldie, SK “Very impressed with how smooth and fast the sale ran, to run that many bulls in that amount of time was truly impressive. It was also reassuring to know that you were there after the bull had been delivered to ensure that everything was okay.” — B. Wilson, SK “I’m 100% satisfied with the quality of bulls I’ve bought with your Sight Unseen system. When taking delivery I’ve always felt I’ve gotten more value than I paid for. Your integrity is appreciated.” — M. Carr, ON “Being able to buy a bull over the phone is great peace of mind, and Mac was very easy to talk to and is very knowledgeable about his bulls. The bulls I got were perfect. It was as if I was at the sale. I am 100% satisfied and will buy again from M.C. Quantock.” — M. Arnold, SK

Call Mac... 1-800-561-BULL (2855) Everything is on our website (www.canadasbulls.com or www.mcquantock.com), videos, hundreds of pictures...… The complete bull book a 75 page 4 color "wish list" of the best bulls available. View it today or just call 1-800-561-bull (2855) or email us at mcquantock@hotmail.com and we’ll send you your very own copy and a DVD of all bulls.

 THE INDUST RY

NewsMakers Bob Lowe

Roland Cailliau

Charlie Christie

Nanton rancher and feedlot operator Bob Lowe is the new chairman of the Alberta Beef Producers. Joining him on the executive are vice-chair Roland Cailliau of Valleyview and finance chair Charlie Christie from Trochu. The Vandervalk family of VXV Farms near Claresholm received the Alberta 2016 Environmental Stewardship Award last month at the Alberta Beef Producers annual meeting in Calgary. Jack Vandervalk moved to southern Alberta in 1956 and has been managing the ranch situated in the Porcupine Hills ever since along with his wife Merry and his son Gerald and his family. Jack Vandervalk They rotational graze their tame grass, moving cattle every two or three days, utilizing their native grass pasture during the winter months. Numerous dams have been set up on the ranch to supply water to troughs made from recycled mine truck tires. Turning old tires into waterers has become a secondary business for the ranch. Some of the excess rubber was turned into a wind fence to protect the cattle. As members of the Lyndon Creek Conservation Group the family worked on projects with neighbouring ranches. Cows and Fish worked on the riparian areas on their ranch and Alberta Conservation Association helped them with rotational grazing and offstream watering projects. Dr. Katharine Wood has been appointed assistant professor of beef cattle nutrition with the department of animal biosciences at the University of Guelph. Her appointment is effective in April. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Saskatchewan. All three of her degrees are from the University of Guelph. Dr. Randy Bagg, Elanco Animal Health has been elected to the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association National Issues Committee.

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C at t l e m e n · j a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

On January 1 Dennis Laycraft, executive vicepresident of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, assumed the role of president of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Dennis Laycraft for 2016. He replaces Forrest Roberts, the former CEO of the U.S. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Joining Laycraft for the 2016 term will be Carlos Saviani, World Wildlife Fund, as vice-president, and Cameron Bruett, JBS, as an executive committee member-at-large. Keeping with the appointment of a president from Canada, the GRSB 2016 Global Conference on Sustainable Beef is scheduled to be held next year in Alberta. Veterinarian Byrnne Rothwell and cattle producer Barry Andrew will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame in Saskatoon on August 6. Byrnne Rothwell worked as a veterinarian in Mission, B.C. and Wakaw, Sask. after graduation before building a clinic in Shellbrook, Sask., in 1970. In 1987 he joined the animal health, meat hygiene Byrnne Rothwell and food inspection branch of Agriculture Canada. During his time with the department he volunteered with the Sask­ atchewan Horse Federation, Canadian Western Agribition, Prince Albert Exhibition and the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association. He passed away in January 2014. Barry Andrew, a grain and cattle producer from the Foxleigh district north of Regina, was a founding member and director of Canadian Western Agribition serving as president Barry Andrew of the board of directors in 1980 and 1981. He was a Shorthorn breeder and served as president of the Saskatchewan and Canadian Shorthorn Association. Duncairn Shorthorns were promoted and sold across Canada and the U.S. for more than 40 years. Andrew was also the program director of the provincial Counselling and Assistance for Farmers program helping Saskatchewan farmers who were struggling with debt during times of high interest rates. He passed away in December 2012.

SAIT Polytechnic researchers took the top award for Innovation in Agricultural Science at the 2015 ASTech Awards in November. Glen Kathler, applied research chair of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Application Development Lab (RADLab) at SAIT, was recognized for his team’s work on a four-year, $1-million research project with Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA). “The new UHF-RFID tag/readers system developed and field tested by RADLab researchers will be a fraction of the cost of the old technology, more reliable, more compatible with producers’ computer systems, and more efficient,” said Gordon Cove, president and CEO of ALMA in a press release from SAIT. Animalytix LLC of Kansas City has acquired the Compendium of Veterinary Products (CVP), the MSDS information system, and related assets formerly held by North American Compendiums, located in Waterloo, Ont. Back in the time before the Internet the compendium was the main source of product label information on all veterinary pharmaceutical products cleared for use in North America. It also operated a materials safety data sheets library covering more than 14,000 animal health products. Bill Strautman, the former communication specialist with the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association has joined the content marketing team of Think Shift, a Winnipeg- and PortlandBill Strautman based consulting agency specializing in corporate branding, culture and leadership. A former professional agrologist in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Strautman holds degrees in journalism and agriculture and has worked with agriculture advertising agencies, publications and industry organizations during his career. David MacTaggart from Lacombe, Alta. took first place in the senior competition of the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture (CYSA) contest sponsored by Agriculture David MacTaggart and Agri-Food Canada and 4-H Canada. c

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

Project12_Layout 1 12/8/15 6:46 PM Page 1

 our histo ry

The Packers’ dollar By R.J. Deachman From the December 1949 Canadian Cattlemen

T

he packer took less than a cent — who got the other 99? In the fiscal year ending March 30, 1949, total sales of Canada Packers Limited amounted to $314,918,000. Ten years ago, in 1939, the total was $77,000,000. This is an agricultural industry. It deals with the processing of farm products. Farmers in these years were prosperous. Total income from the sale of all farm products in Canada moved up from $717,000,000 in 1939 to $2,250,000,000 in 1948. Keeping these figures in mind let us now examine what might be called the “packer’s dollar,” for 1949, the fiscal year ending March 30 in both years. Out of each dollar received there was paid: 1949 1939 For raw materials, chiefly livestock 84.42¢ 80.45¢ For wages, salaries and bonuses 7.02¢ 8.86¢ For services — general expenses 3.65¢ 4.37¢ For materials and packages 2.69¢ 2.66¢ For taxes: municipal, provincial, federal .83¢ .69¢ For debenture interest .05¢ .21¢ For depreciation on fixed assets .34¢ 1.15¢ For pension plan .24¢ –– Total Amount Paid per Dollar of Sales 99.24¢ 98.39¢

Profit from operations Plus income from investments Dividends from subsidiaries Total Net Profit on Each Dollar of Sales

.76¢ .02¢ .11¢ .89¢

1.61¢ –– –– 1.61¢

Profits from operations per dollar of sales in 1949 were less than half the 1939 level. On each $100,000 of sales in 1939 the net profit from operations was $1.61 — in 1949 in was 76 cents. To this was added, in the latter years, two other items which did not come out of pocket of the consumer: income from investments and dividends from subsidiaries, bringing the total profit to .89 cents per dollar of sales. This is an interesting statement; it raises certain questions: 1. How did the consumer fare in those two years? 2. Was labour well paid? 3. Did the farmer get a fair deal? 4. Were profits sufficiently high to encourage expansion of industry? The evidence is shown in the Annual Report of Canada Packers for the year ending March 30, 1949. The consumers were prosperous. Prosperity is measured by the capacity to consume. Consumption of meats varies from year to year. Demand depends on the price of meat and the earnings of those who buy it. In 1939, per capita consumption of meats by civilians stood at 114.6 pounds. It moved to a high of 155.5 pounds in 1943. In 1948 it was down to 135.3 pounds. This is higher

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C at t l e m e n · j a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

than any pre-war record. It was high during the war years. Men and women were working hard. The hours of work were long, they needed more meat. In 1948 average consumption was 20.7 pounds above the 1939 level. The facts tell the story, the evidence is irrefutable. Was labour well paid? The actual amount paid out in salaries, wages and bonuses in the fiscal year ending March 30 was three times the 1939 level. What about the farmer? The Bureau of Statistics puts total income from the sale of farm products at $717,015,000 in 1939 — $2,449,865,000 in 1948, more than three times the 1939 level. In this period, earnings of all classes were high but in many other industries, as well as the one we are now reviewing, profits per dollar of sales were exceptionally low. The figures here given are typical of other firms in the same industry. High-volume production, low profits per unit of sales is the real basis of sound industrial progress. Meat prices rose during the war and are still high. The average price of all products sold by Canada Packers Limited in 1939 was 9.6¢ per pound, in 1949 it was 21¢ per pound. Why did prices rise? Canadian consumption increased sharply. The figures are already before us. Exports to Britain moved up from 186,500,000 pounds in 1939 to 692,300,000 pounds in 1944. Costs of production were high. It was necessary to increase prices in order to increase production. Everybody kicked about prices. The meat packing companies were big and the bigger the target the easier it was to hit. Some deemed it good business, politically, to hit the meat packers. The criticism still continues. It always will. The only objection to it is that some people were careless with the facts. There are those who want to nationalize this industry for the benefit of the employees. Since 1944 Canada Packers Limited has paid more in bonuses to its employees than it has paid in dividends to its shareholders; profits from operations have been cut from $1.61 per $100 of sales in 1939 to 76 cents per $100 of sales in 1949. If you bought products valued at $1,000 in 1939, the packer, for his services, received $16.10. In the fiscal year ending March 30, 1949, the packer on this piece of business made a net profit of $7.60 or less than half as much as he made in 1939. Selling on an exceedingly small margin Canada Packers made a lot of money, and yet the total wage, salary and bonus payments amounted to $6,820,000 in 1939 — to $22,092,000 in 1949. This is the procedure which has spelled industrial progress on this continent. c For more of the past from the pages of our magazine see the History section at www.canadiancattlemen.ca.

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 calving

Get Ready for calving

By Dr. Ron Clarke

A

nother list you might say. Seems important things tendered as advice always come in a list; some is trivia, some make sense, others simply repeat what’s been said before. The following is a bit of all three, but needs to be offered as a reminder each calving season. Hang this one by the door and glance at it each time you are going to the calving shed to check cows, or taking a ride through the calving pasture this spring. Nothing really new, just important points about getting ready for calving. √ No surprises about the breeding performance of the bull battery. The start and end of calving season should match the start and end of a controlled breeding season. If the calving period stretches beyond two to three heat cycles, if there is an unexpected number of open cows or the distribution of calves born is erratic, bulls should be checked and common reproductive diseases like those caused by campylobacter and tritrichomonas ruled out. Preg check cows in the fall. √ Body condition of brood cows. To obtain optimum post-calving fertility, mature cows should calve with a body condition score of 2.5 and heifers 2.5 to 3.0 and maintain it through the breeding season. Thin cows produce lower quality colostrum, less vigorous calves, do not return to heat and rebreed as quickly, and wean lighter calves. Thin cows, overall, are much less productive than cows in good body condition. Did you know? • Reproductive rate is five times more important than growth rate and 10 times more important than carcass quality when it comes to PROFIT! • Everything else being equal, a two per cent improvement in reproductive efficiency lowers cost of production by $16.50/head. • Every time a cow misses a breeding cycle, it costs 42 lb. in weaning weight! Adjustments to energy intake need to start at least 90 days before calving. Check with your veterinarian or agriculture extension specialist about body condition scoring and nutrition through the last trimester of pregnancy. The nutrient demands associated with lactation make it difficult and expensive to add body condition after calving. √ For herds calving early, protecting the newborn calf from weather extremes becomes a critical consideration. The Continued on page 12

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ca lving

Continued from page 10

newborns possess a limited ability to regulate body temperature and are very susceptible to cold. A cold-stressed or hypothermic calf is not thrifty and its survival in cold, wet, muddy conditions can be severely compromised. Bedding and shelter are important. √ Preparing calving facilities prior to calving. The calving area should be clean and dry and in close proximity to shelter. Maternity pens with a head gate, crowding gate, and nursing panel help. Check the inventory of needed items like disposable sleeves, calving jack, OB chains or straps, disinfectant, tube feeder, towels, light source, tags and tattoo equipment. Infection is a numbers game; keep things clean. Traumatic injury is common. Crowded conditions increase the risk of calves being stepped on or crushed. Physical hazards like protruding nails, broken posts, loose wire, standing water and exposed electrical wires create danger zones for young calves. Barns are a common storage site for partially used containers of toxic pesticides

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or carelessly discarded batteries, a frequent source of lead poisoning for the inquisitive calf. Calving grounds should be examined for potential hazards every year prior to calving season. √ Minimizing the risk of infectious disease is still the biggest challenge for most cow-calf producers. Cold and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) increase the risk of calf death from infectious disease four to eight fold. Lack of vigour and unresponsiveness are cardinal signs of problems. Pre-calving vaccination programs for cows provide immunity to the calf via colostrum. There are several diseases that cows can be vaccinated for before calving. Consult with your veterinarian to develop the vaccination strategy that is appropriate for your operation. Acquired infections after birth are primarily a numbers game. The adult cow is most often the unwitting donor of pathogens for her own and other calves. The numbers of pathogens like scour-causing E. coli, cryptosporidia, coccidia and rota and corona viruses grow quickly in crowded, damp conditions, then explode when sick calves start shedding billions more infectious particles. The inventory of “bad bugs” steadily increases during the span of a calving season unless care is taken to create space and clean ground. √ Start clean, stay clean. Preventing scours is a matter of controlling pathogen numbers and maintaining resistance. Temperature and moisture play a role. Mud and snow favour the buildup of pathogens. Cold can be a stressor that impairs the ability of calves to resist disease. Biosecurity in a sewer isn’t achievable. Auction markets are a cesspool of disease and should be considered off limits during calving season unless care is taken to clean boots and change clothes at home. Follow basic rules of sanitation when treating sick calves. Use disposable gloves. Wash hands frequently. Disinfect boots and change clothes often. Leave treating sick calves until after you have handled healthy ones — never before. Disinfect all balling guns or esophageal feeders after treating sick calves. Have a number of simple handwashing and disinfection stations around the calving area with a few jugs of warm water, disinfectant soap and several cheap coolers to keep things from freezing. A few simple rules and a dash of imagination means those in charge of the calving barn solve problems rather than create them. The farm dog, barn cats, birds and rodents can all be part of biosecurity breaks. √ Know what you are dealing with.

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calving

uncontaminated areas, free of older, infective calves. Eliminating many of the infectious organisms we may deal with in calving season is not possible because they may be normal inhabitants of a cow’s gut. The strategy becomes understanding the things we can control. The producer in consultation with a veterinarian has a list of issues to consider. Among them: • Diagnostic protocols

• Treatment protocols • Movement control into and out of calving areas • Nutrition • Vaccination programs • Hygiene (people, equipment, buildings) • Colostrum management • Pasture management during calving season • Herd management during calving season • Staff training. c

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Fighting a war is impossible without knowing the enemy. Because infectious scours and respiratory infections can be complex, a correct diagnosis precedes any meaningful control program and plans for the future. Work with your veterinarian. √ Colostrum is critical to survival of the newborn calf. Manage it wisely. Calves should receive five to six per cent of their body weight (1.5–2 litres) as colostrum within six hours and again within the subsequent six hours. If the calves are not able to nurse or the cow’s production of colostrum is insufficient, colostrum from other cows or commercial colostrum supplements may be necessary. Ideally, colostrum should be collected from cows within 24 hours of calving and fed fresh. Colostrum can also be collected, frozen and used later. Colostrum should only be used from cows known to be free of Johne’s disease. Calves that have failed to nurse within three hours should be given colostrum by esophageal feeder. √ Animal separation is a part of controlling disease. Calves from heifers face a greater risk of getting sick. Heifers produce smaller amounts of lower-quality colostrum. As well, heifers have poorer mothering skills and are more likely to experience calving difficulty. Deal with these problems at the start of the calving season when things are the cleanest and the least harried. Consider the calving grounds a controlled environment where limiting exposure to disease-causing organisms is most critical and factors like overcrowding, cold and dampness affect the ability of calves to resist disease. Simple things like keeping the udders of nursing cows clean and the calf’s environment dry and comfortable as possible are important first steps in controlling infections. The risk of developing disease is a function of pathogen numbers and the length of time animals are exposed. Crowded conditions increase the risk of disease on both counts. As calving season progresses so does the risk of acquiring infection. The Nebraska Sandhills Calving System offers basic, yet important management options. In summary, the Sandhill’s system effectively reduces extended contact among calves and transmission of pathogens from older to younger calves. It involves scheduled movement of pregnant cows — the primary source of infectious organisms — to clean calving areas. The objective: to recreate starting conditions of calving season each week by having new calves dropped in

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2015-12-03 10:48 AM

AGE VERIFICATION TIPS for 2016: AGE VERIFICATION

associates an individual animal’s birth date with its approved Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) radio frequency identification (RFID) tag number in the Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS) database at www.clia.livestockid.ca. Whether you age verify animals to meet breed standards, comply with region-specific regulations or maintain herd management records, CCIA’s highly-specialized, in-house technical support and mobile field teams have prepared this handy reference to support you during the 2016 calving season.

Six best practices from our experts: your CLTS database tag inventory for the tags you wish to age verify by logging into your 1. Check account at www.clia.livestockid.ca with your CLTS username and password OR by contacting our complimentary technical support team. To create or activate a CLTS account, please contact a CCIA Client Services Representative toll-free at 1-877-909-2333 or email at info@canadaid.ca.

Health of Animals Regulations require approved CCIA RFID beef tag dealers to issue tags to a tag buyer’s CLTS inventory within 24 hours of tag purchase. This means if the tags you purchase have not been issued to your CLTS account by the time you wish to age verify your animals, you will be unable to age verify those tags at that time. However, if you give our team a week’s notice before you intend to age verify your animals, we can check your tag inventory in the database and resolve any issues before they occur. verify an animal only after applying an approved CCIA RFID tag. Do not age verify a 2. Age package of tags before applying the tags to animals. You can store leftover tags in a bag marked for culls and bulls that can be used at a later time.

age verify, you must be an animal’s farm of origin (i.e., the animal must be born on your premises 3. To only). If an animal loses its approved CCIA RFID tag, please apply a new tag to the animal. Please do not apply the

new tag in a hole from a lost tag. If you must retag an animal, please submit a tag replacement or cross-reference event to the CLTS database. NOTE: A tag replacement event is used to associate a newly applied CCIA RFID tag number with a previously tagged animal when the lost tag number is unknown. A cross-reference event is used to report multiple CCIA RFID tag numbers associated with one animal (i.e., cross-referencing the new tag number applied to the animal with the lost tag number in the database, if the lost tag number is known).

To age verify, you may enter exact birth dates with corresponding tag numbers, or a calving start 4. date associated with a tag range that allows for all calves born within a 90-day time period to be age verified using

the same calving start date. If you would like to use a calving start date, but your calving period is longer than industry’s 90-day standard, please use two separate calving start dates.

verify an animal only if you know the birth date for certain. Please enter the birth date as 5. Age Year Month Day (i.e., YYYYMMDD) without spaces, dashes or slashes (e.g., April 23, 2013 should be entered as 20120423). NOTE: Reporting hours and minutes continues to be optional.

Providing a birth date cerfificate is a two-step process. Step one: Apply the approved CCIA RFID 6. tag to the animal, then age verify that tag. Step two: Print the birth date certificate. A birth date certificate NOTE:

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 COVER STO RY · s e e dsto c k

By Debbie Furber

Passion Makes it Possible

T

here’s no telling how far Justin and Tawnie Morrison’s passion for quality cattle will take them. This year it took them right to the top at Canadian Western Agribition where they captured the championship banner in the inaugural President’s Classic jackpot event with their 2015 bull calf, Brooking Silver Lining 5012. The calf earned top honours in the Black Angus show’s bull calf division to advance to the President’s Classic where he came up against the best of the best from the Horned Hereford, Simmental, Charolais and Red Angus shows. On the female side, Mich Envious Blackbird 1440 is this year’s First Lady Classic reserve champion. Brooking Queen 5067 took the intermediate division calf championship and Mich Envious Blackbird 1449 is the reserve champion senior female. This came on the heels of a string of wins in the female divisions the previous two years. The icing on the cake at the 2015 show was earning the Black Angus premier exhibitor and premier breeder banners.

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What is telling is behind the banners and bustle of show week in the couple’s yearround commitment to quality and cattle comfort. The Morrisons started Brooking Angus Ranch from scratch in fall 2011 after buying Tawnie’s mom’s place, a former PMU operation, near Radville, Sask. There was never any question that their ranch would be a purebred operation. “Raising quality purebred cattle has always intrigued me,” says Morrison, who was influenced by the best in seedstock circles at Agribition. He didn’t grow up on a farm but spent a good part of his youth helping out and learning the cattle business on relatives’ farms. The year 1996 is a standout because that was the first of many years to follow helping his aunt and uncle, Levi and Carmen Jackson of Sedley, Sask., with their show string at Agribition. He did some professional cattle fitting for a while before taking on the management of Soo Line Cattle Company near Midale, Sask., from 2007 to 2012. They’ve built the foun-

dation of their herd with Soo Line genetics complemented with quality females from reputation-herd production and dispersal sales. Their overarching principle and what they feel backs their success has been to never allow compromise. “It’s always been quality over quantity,” Morrison says. They won’t compromise on eye appeal, structure, udder perfection, hoof quality, fleshing ability and the ability to wean a heavy calf each year. These are priorities when selecting females for their own herd and they won’t have it otherwise for their customers. On the bull side, they strive to raise a better set of bull calves than the year before, to offer the best bull for each customer’s dollar, and produce bulls whose offspring will make more money for their customers. Bull selection for their own herd is a year-round endeavour when it comes to researching potential herd sires and the cow families behind them, studying genetics and deciding on proper matings. All females are bred AI to select sires on the first cycle and then turned out with bulls for two cycles.

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seedstock

Another important element of their breeding program is understanding what the industry and customers want and having it available when they want it, he adds. It’s a lot easier said than done because a person’s mind works a lot quicker than the gestation schedule, so an idea today could take generations to make work. “Currently, customers are looking for bulls that offer high weaning weights that will be herd improvers. They want low birth weights and near-zero calving assists. They want to see the bulls produced from a cow herd that is big bodied, quality pheno­type, good uddered and perfect footed. Most importantly, from a program they trust,” Morrison sums up. Expected progeny differences and performance data play a role, too. “We try to be aggressive because we want a bit of everything, not more of one or two traits at the expense of others. EPDs help give us the big picture,” Morrison explains. When it comes right down to it on both the female and bull sides, what they see — phenotype and quality — is trump. EPDs predict the genetic potential of the animal’s offspring but whether or not they reach their full potential depends on proper nutrition, good health and an environment conducive to growth and development. “I’m a big believer that if everything is nice and easy for the cattle they will do well. We try to make it so that they never have a bad day,” Morrison says. That starts at birth by providing lots of bedding and protection from the cold to get them off to a good start. Calving begins in late January, at which time the cows are moved from swath-grazing fields to the yard where they have the advantage of a couple of large barns built for the former PMU operation. Managing the grass and land properly comes into play as well because they want to have pastures ready for turnout as early as possible. Depending on growing conditions that can be by late April on crested wheatgrass and then bromegrass pastures. The native-grass pastures carry them through late summer and fall leading into swath grazing barley/oats to end the year. The main comfort consideration on pasture is protection from the elements, whether it’s fly control and access to shade in the heat of summer or shelter from wind and cold as winter rolls around. He also includes the use of QuietWean nose flaps because this two-stage weaning process they implemented in 2008 www.canadiancattlemen.ca

has reduced sickness at weaning to nearly zero. Part of the reason is that the calves are so much calmer after separation that they hold them in corrals only a short time to make sure there are no escapees before turning them out on fresh grass. This all but eliminates dust problems that contribute to respiratory disease and the calves are back on familiar feed in no time at all. About a week before weaning, the calves are given their booster vaccinations according to their veterinarian’s recommendation and the flaps are secured in their nostrils to prevent them from suckling while they continue grazing with their mothers. A half-dozen or so calves might lose their flaps, but the loss rate can be higher if there are trees to rub against. A week later, the calves are hauled home and the cows stay on pasture, usually far enough away that the pairs can’t hear or see one another, although there’s not much bawling at all.

e try to be aggressive W because we want a bit of everything, not more of one or two traits at the expense of others Out of curiosity, they’ve weighed calves before and after the nose flaps and found that many calves don’t lose weight and even maintain their daily gain through weaning. The bull calves are weaned the first week of September to go into the development program for spring sale. The heifer calves for Agribition are weaned at the same time to begin preparations and the rest come off pasture at the end of the month. This year, they’ll be calving out 170 females, up from 130 last year, which in itself speaks to their confidence in the Canadian beef industry and desire to be part of the rebuilding by providing quality genetics to seedstock and commercial cattle operators. Selling season

Agribition has been a big part of promoting their program and they are just reaching the point where they have enough bulls and heifers on offer to host their own sales. March 28, 2016, will mark their second bull sale live from the ranch. The bulls are displayed for viewing before the sale

and videos of each bull are shown as the sale progresses instead of putting the bulls through the ring. The sale catalogues and videos are posted on their website and Internet bidding is available on sale day. Their November Open-Book Invitational female sales, with guest consignors also contributing some of the best genetics from their herds, have proven to work well for them and their customers over the past three years. Sale catalogues are printed two months in advance of the sale, which runs online day and night for 48 hours at Anguslive.com. Videos of each animal are posted to the website at least a week ahead of the sale and customers are welcome to view the animals at the ranch at their own convenience. “The beauty of this kind of auction is that there is no sale order. Customers can bid on any animal at any time,” Morrison explains. There’s no need to make split-second decisions or to be at the computer at a certain time. A buyer can place a bid, go on with his day and check in periodically to up the ante as needed. If bids on an animal of interest go higher than the budget allows, the customer has time to consider and bid on other animals that fit the bill. A computerized proxy option allows a buyer to confidentially place a maximum bid on an animal(s) of interest and the computer program automatically takes care of bidding as the sale progresses. The ending time is set and all animals are declared sold to the highest bidder at closing time as long as there hasn’t been any bidding activity within the five minutes leading up to the close. If, for instance, the sale is set to end at 7 p.m. and a bid comes in at 6:58, the closing time for bids on all sale animals extends to 7:03. If there is no activity, the sale ends at 7:03, but if someone bids within the fiveminute period, the sale continues for another five minutes from the time of the last bid. This year’s sale continued in this manner for a full hour past the original closing time, Morrison adds. The idea behind the extended bidding feature is to prevent someone from coming in with the highest bid at the last second to buy an animal. The Morrisons offer a couple of perks for their buyers. Progeny from females are eligible to sell in future Brooking Angus production sales, and juniors who purchase heifers to show are welcome to visit the ranch with their families to learn about feeding, daily hair care, grooming, clipping and showmanship. For more information contact the Morrisons at 306-536-4590 or visit www. brookingangusranch.com. c

C at t l e m e n · J a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

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 vet aDvi c e

Search for simplicity

A

s Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “The chief work of civilization is making the means of living more complex.” In the cattle industry, striving for optimum production and managing change sparks a counterimpulse toward simplicity. Preparing for calving season is always a chance to look for simpler ways. A big part of getting to “simple” is planning. Producers calve at a particular time of year because that’s how it’s always been done, or because it works best in a multi-enterprise operation. The calendar for most cattle operations in Western Canada is tied to the reality of feeding in confinement, or at least under controlled conditions, for 180 days, and grazing for 185 days. Three pivotal events typically appear on all production calendars: breeding, calving season, weaning. Other operational decisions are interspersed among these events. A common question of producers is: “Should I switch calving seasons?" Initiating change in calving seasons isn’t easy. The to-do list can be extensive, but none more important than keeping the calving interval as short as possible. For a producer to ensure each cow calves every 12 months, they need to rebreed within 83 days after calving. The calving interval is greatly influenced by nutrition and health. If not managed properly, calving intervals backslide. Choosing a calving season that allows the producer to couple change with maximum fertility is essential and should involve discussion with a veterinarian. Defining the calving period and setting clear objectives for reproductive performance and maximum health using a three-year target is achievable. Disappointment often follows change planned inside three years. Shifts in calving seasons are riveted on heifer replacement. Success depends on front-loading the breeding season, which calls for the majority of cows and heifers cycling through the first 21 days of breeding season. If first-calf heifers have their second calf in the first 21 days of the subsequent calving season, they probably stay in the herd and become an important part of building positive momentum. Heifers calving in the first 21 days of six successive calv-

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ing seasons, produces the equivalent of an additional calf over her productive lifetime. It’s imperative producers pay close attention to the genetic selection and management of future “breadwinners,” especially when one considers it takes about three years for a heifer to contribute to the positive side of the ledger. Front loading the breeding season should result in a front-loaded calving season if health, bull power and nutrition are looked after, but it doesn’t always work that way. Calving two-thirds of bred animals in the first 21 days of the calving season is neither easy, nor quick. It starts by culling deeply for late pregnancies, bad eyes, poor udders and bad feet. Replacement heifers should be selected from the pool of potential replacements born early in the calving season. Moving calving seasons will not fix systemic problems (disease, poor bulls, inadequate nutrition, and cows with low body condition scores). There are no one-time solutions for an irregular or prolonged calving season without fixing systemic problems. Disease issues, timing of vaccination programs and bull problems require discussion with a veterinarian. Nutrition becomes the major manageable component. In the opinion of Kansas State University veterinarian Brad White, building reproductive momentum begins at weaning. Fifteen to 20 per cent of breeding females are replaced annually in most cow herds. Replacement heifers represent the future and ultimate profitability of an operation. Calving seasons fall into four periods on the calendar: Winter (January, February, and March); spring (April and May); summer (June and July); and fall (August, September and October). Winter calving is associated with the highest infrastructure costs followed by spring and fall calving (about 20 per cent less). Summer calving requires the least investment in facilities, about 25 per cent less than winter operations. Total labour requirements for a cow-calf operation would be greatest for winter calving, fall calving requires 10 per cent less, followed by spring calving at 20 per cent less, and summer calving the lowest at 25 per cent less labour than wintertime calving.

All management systems can be made to work. No one calving system has all the advantages, and there is no one system that is right for everybody. Switching calving seasons is a major farm decision. Principles that apply to all calving systems include: • Managing feed resources requires feed analysis. You can’t manage what you haven’t measured. • Optimal disease control and use of feed resources require separating cows into groups. • Do not underestimate the importance of basic biosecurity — start clean, stay clean. • Have cows go into calving season with a BCS of 2 to 2.5 and heifers at a BCS of 2.5 to 3. Mineral and energy needs post-calving increase rapidly. • Know what things affect future reproductive potential. Work with a veterinarian. • Ensure calves receive five per cent of their birth weight of high quality colostrum (1.8 to two litres for a 75 pound calf) before they are 12 hours old. • Cull deep! Assume things like early cancer eye, chronic lameness and pendulous udders are only going to get worse on pasture. • Ask your veterinarian if vaccination programs need adjustment. Herd expansion involving large numbers of replacement heifers usually requires a rethink on BVD vaccination programs. When buying replacements, question suppliers about vaccination and herd health programs, including biosecurity practices and efforts to prevent or control Johne’s disease. • The most common cause of a drop in reproductive performance is the lack of dietary energy and protein. Monitoring body condition is critical. • Calving season should not span more than the equivalent of two cow cycles (6 weeks) if bull power was optimal and cows went to the breeding pasture in good condition. c Dr. Ron Clarke prepares this column on behalf of the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners. Suggestions for future articles can be sent to Canadian Cattlemen (gren@fbcpublishing.com) or WCABP (info@ wcabp.com).

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 seedsto c k

By Debbie Furber

Shokhan Mussabalin and his son, Dualet Ualikhanov.

An International Hereford Tour In Saskatchewan

P

eace to Canada, says Shokhan Mussabalin in Kazakh. “My father says he likes how people treat their work here, living with their families on the farms and organizing programs like Agribition to help beef. He means peace to Canada so people can continue to work as they do,” interprets Daulet Ualikhanov. The family from Almaty, Kazakhstan, started a 1,000-head seedstock operation with the first 800 purebred Herefords and 200 purebred Simmentals purchased from Australia in 2014. Financial assistance from the Kazakhstan government under a program to help establish a beef industry in the country has to be repaid after three years. Before those imports Ualikhanov says they had 500 “Kazakhstan cows” and 1,500 horses, so part of their reason for visiting Canadian Western Agribition was to learn about feeding cows and feedlots. Canadian Hereford Association (CHA) executive director Stephen Scott organized

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the Hereford tour for international guests with that in mind and included visits to Border Line Feeders near Ceylon, and the Western Beef Development Centre (WBDC) near Lanigan, along with stops at McCoy Cattle Co. Ltd. of Milestone, Crittenden Bros. at Imperial, and Triple A Here­ fords near Moose Jaw. “They wanted to learn about feedlot management because they are trying to develop a feeding industry there,” Scott explains. “They were most impressed with the facilities, handling and (growth) technology. It’s a completely different mindset for them because they don’t have feedlots.” Also on the tour were four guests from Uruguay, two from Australia and six from the United Kingdom, who are more familiar with systems in use here because of recent visits to Canada and through activities of the World Hereford Council, including the 2012 World Hereford Conference hosted by the CHA in Calgary. Among those from Uruguay was José

Bonica, the current secretary general of the World Hereford Council and the first South American ever elected to the position. He was in Canada to promote the 17th World Hereford Conference to be held in his home country this April. The Uruguayans are serious about their Herefords. There are three million people and 12 million head of cattle, six million of which are Herefords, in this small country dwarfed by neighbouring Brazil and Argentina. That works out to two Herefords for every person, says Bonica, a third-generation Hereford breeder who has a long involvement with Hereford Uruguay. With Uruguay being the eighth-largest exporter of beef in 2015, just a notch behind Canada, a focus for Hereford Uruguay in recent years has been finding premium markets for grass-fed beef. Dr. Bart Lardner, research scientist with WBDC, says the topics that really caught the interest of this group were the centre’s

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seedstock

research on extensive winter grazing systems and our use of annual cereals. Even though there are distinct differences in climates and regulations among the visitors’ countries (for instance some European countries don’t allow cattle to be outside because of wet falls and winters), they were interested to see alternatives and think about how they could be adapted to their countries. Lardner showcased some of the ongoing applied beef and forage research on calving systems, energy and protein supplementation in extensive grazing, breeding for feed efficiency, parentage testing, and the economic importance behind alternative winter feeding systems in Canada. A stop at the forage processing lab

brought forward a lot of questions about the need to supplement cows for proper nutrition whether it’s a purebred or commercial operation, in the heat of summer or cold of winter, to produce healthy calves year after year. They saw cattle grazing barley straw and chaff piles where researchers are evaluating the durability of pellets and whether cows eat adequate amounts when they are fed on snow. They also heard about some new research into the impact on the dam, fetus and calves when pregnant cows are supplemented with fat from canola and flax. Grazing whole-plant (not threshed) corn was of particular interest, as Lardner explained that whole corn can provide

complete nutrition without supplementing the ration with grain. He also explained the importance of the stage of maturity at first frost and controlling access to feed with portable electric fencing. Lardner says the Kazakhs were quite at home during the field tour because Kazakhstan’s climate is similar to Saskatchewan’s. It was a good day to demonstrate the effect of wind chill for visitors from warmer climates, and why Canadians need to protect their cattle from the wind with portable windbreaks and natural shelterbelts. Overall, Agribition reported a 25 per cent increase in active international buyers this year with more than 800 international guests from 70 countries. c

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C at t l e m e n · J a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

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 animal h ea lt h

By Heather Smith Thomas

Care of Syringes and Needles  N e e d l es 16 gauge x 1 ½ inch 16 gauge x 1 inch 16 gauge x ¾ inch

18 gauge x 1 ½ inch

18 gauge x 1 inch

There are right ways and wrong ways when it comes to cleaning syringes.

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r. Steve Hendrick of the Coaldale Veterinary Clinic, Coaldale, Alta., urges his clients to clean their syringes every time they are used. “For the syringes and pistol-grip syringe guns we use for administering killed virus vaccines, bacterins, toxoids or the products that give protection against bacterial pneumonia, we can clean with a mild dish detergent. We can take the syringes apart and make sure we get everything clean. There are bottle brushes that will fit into a syringe, which a person can use for cleaning, if necessary. The important thing is to make sure they get rinsed well, especially after using a detergent or disinfectant,” he says. “With guns or syringes that you use for modified live virus (MLV) vaccines, we recommend you not use any soap or disinfectant. Any residue would inactivate the MLV vaccine. "Generally I follow that recommendation, but occasionally a person encounters a situation where the syringes got really dirty and you almost have to use soap along with the hot water, to get them completely clean. I don’t think it’s bad to use a detergent, if you make absolutely sure there is no residue. You really need to rinse and rinse multiple times afterward. If there’s any residue, you will be wasting your time and money on that vaccine because it won’t be effective. “Some people think that if the disinfectant kills it, it would be just like a killed

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vaccine, but that’s not true. They are not the same. The MLV vaccine is not adjuvanted, and the amount of organism in the product is of much lower level because it is expected to be still alive and able to grow within the animal and stimulate an immune response. If you kill it, the MLV vaccine will not work effectively,” says Hendrick. The method suggested by veterinarians is to use boiling water, according to Heidi Carroll, livestock stewardship extension associate, South Dakota State University. “A person might first rinse the syringe with hot tap water, to flush out most of the vaccine residue, and also to heat up the syringe so that the boiling water won’t break it, especially if it’s a glass-barrel syringe. “Then you can pull the boiling water up into the syringe, rinse it out, pull in some more, and keep rinsing it several times. Most veterinarians recommend doing this five to 10 times, making sure that all of the interior comes into contact with hot water. If the guns can be taken apart, disassemble them. “Then the goal is to let them air dry before you put them away. Don’t store syringes wet; you want them to be dry. You might set them on a clean towel to allow them to finish drying,” she says. How you store syringes between uses is also important. “Once you’ve gone through all the cleaning processes, you don’t want them to get dusty. Choose a storage place that will keep it clean. Put the syringe into a large Ziploc bag, once it is completely dry,

and then put the bag into the cupboard or tool box where you keep your supplies,” says Carroll. “Another trick is to use one particular gun or syringe for a certain vaccine, and no other. You can label them or colour-code them with tape, so you’ll be less apt to get them mixed up when refilling syringes at the chute. It’s also important to keep all your vaccine syringes separate from any you might use with antibiotics.” You never want an antibiotic in a syringe that you might later use for a vaccine. “When you take syringes and guns apart to clean, check the rubber O rings,” says Hendrick. “They tend to break down, over time. This is an area where you could get some unwanted growth of bacteria, or some residue (inside the tiny cracks). Make sure you change those periodically, especially if they are starting to wear out,” he says. If the plunger rubbers start to stick, it’s wise to lubricate them after you clean the syringe, so they won’t be stuck and tight the next time you use it. People often use mineral oil for this purpose, but glycerin or vegetable oil may actually work better. Mineral oil tends to break down the rubber over time. The best thing, according to Hendrick, is to just replace these O rings on a regular basis. Then you don’t have to worry about a lubricant possibly interfering with a vaccine. Continued on page 24

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a n i m a l h ea lt h

Continued from page 22

NEEDLES

Select the diameter and length of needle that is most appropriate for the animal, the injection route, and the product being injected. A young calf has a much thinner hide than a cow or a bull, for instance, and you’d want to use a smaller needle.“The viscosity and the volume of the product will also make a difference. It would be hard to force a thick fluid or a large volume through a small needle. Some of the viscous products would be difficult to put through a small needle, so you’d want a 16-gauge needle,” he says. “If you are giving a large volume, follow label directions and break it up into multiple smaller injections, at different sites,” he says. It will be absorbed better if injected into multiple locations and not all in one area. This is also very important in terms of meat withdrawals. Antibiotics mistakenly given via the wrong route can have serious consequences. Also be sure the needle length is appropriate. You only need a short needle, for example, for subcutaneous injections. “With some products, like some vaccines or some hormones, the dose may be as small as one or two ml and if these are going IM you need to make sure you have a long enough needle, at least 1.5 inches. You don’t want any of it to leak back out,” warns Hendrick. “For subcutaneous injections in a calf with a thin hide a half-inch needle is plenty. On a bull, for a subcutaneous injection, it might take a three-quarter-inch needle. Also, it might depend on whether you are using a pistol-grip repeater gun and just aiming it in at a slight angle (to go under the hide), or tenting the skin with your other hand, to slide the needle in under the skin. In that situation you might do best with a longer needle.” It depends on the situation and how you are administering the injection.

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“For most treatments out in the pasture, or even in feedlots, people are generally not using a pistol-grip gun. With some of these injections you might tend to use a bit longer needle. Each person might also have preference for what works best for them which is fine, provided the drugs are administered in the proper location. “It all depends on the angle, and whether you go right up to the hub or not. If you are giving an IM injection and don’t put the needle in all the way, or the animal jumps, it might not go in deep enough. I think 1.5 inch might be the safest length to use from that standpoint — to make sure you are actually getting into the muscle. In a calm, quiet animal, one inch might be sufficient, but that extra half inch is a good idea in many cases,” he says. If it doesn’t go in all the way or some leaks back, it may end up mostly under the skin rather than in the muscle, which may affect the efficacy of the product. Another question often raised is how often you should change needles. “For treatment of sick animals, you should ideally use a new needle for each animal. On the farm, a person may be only treating one animal at that point in time anyway, and it’s just best to use a new needle. When it comes to vaccinating a group of animals, however, people generally inject multiple animals before changing needles. We advise our producers to try and change needles every 10 animals,” says Hendrick. If you keep using the same needle, it becomes dull, and won’t go through the hide as readily. “You’ll feel it, and can tell a difference, and by that time it’s dull enough to cause more tissue damage and more pain to the animal. I’ve been in situations where we’ve used needles for more than 10 animals — to do the job — but we wonder how much trauma we are creating,” he says.

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“There’s also more chance for contamination, and sharing that contamination with other animals. It’s better to just change needles, and have a systematic process such as changing after 10 animals, or changing each time you refill the syringe from a 10-dose bottle. You can therefore use a new needle for every draw-up. Definitely use a sterile needle for every insertion into the vaccine bottle,” he says. Always change needles if the one you are using gets bent. Some people try to straighten it and keep going, but this is dangerous. “Once a needle has been bent, you’ve created a weakness and it may break. You don’t want it breaking off in the animal.” If it’s very bent it will also create more tissue damage as it goes in, and the angle may be wrong for injecting that vaccine where you want it. “If you are getting too many bent needles, there’s something wrong. The animals may not be adequately restrained and are jumping around while you are trying to give that injection. They may not be squeezed enough, or maybe not squeezed at all. Not everyone has a perfect chute, and sometimes people have to be a little creative and careful to not get into a problem while vaccinating.” If the animal jumps at the wrong time, you might get your hand or arm injured, or end up with a broken syringe. “The plastic syringes in use today may not break as readily as the glass ones. We still see some glass syringes in use, however,” he says. If you are using a transfer needle when rehydrating MLV vaccines, make sure it is clean and sterile before you start. Sometimes people forget about those when cleaning syringes afterward. “They may just leave it in the box and use it again next year, but it needs to be rinsed out, too,” says Hendrick. c

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benlock.indd 1

12/14/2015 10:01:09 AM

 Nutritio n

By John McKinnon

SOUND ADVICE FROM A NEW GENERATION OF AGROLOGISTS

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ast month, I attended a producer meeting in Weyburn where speakers addressed issues with winter feeding. One of the speakers, Leah Clark, a livestock agrologist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture gave an excellent presentation on body condition scoring (BCS). Her focus was the relationship between a cow’s body energy stores, nutrition program and the subsequent impact on reproductive success and performance of offspring. The message resonated with me and I thought I would pass on a few of the points that were raised, as they apply to beef producers across the country. As we have discussed many times in this column, thin cows at calving or those that lose weight through the breeding season are at risk of a longer anestrus period and/or poor first service conception rates. In either case, both the breeding season and subsequent calving season are extended. The consequences of which can include an increase in the number of open cows and negative effects on calf growth both for the current as well as next year’s calf crop. For example, newborn calves will receive less milk as the cow is not milking to potential while next year’s calf crop will be lighter due to the fact that more calves are born later in the calving season and have less time to grow through weaning. In all cases, these issues can be traced back to inadequate nutrition at some point over the last six months of the cow’s life. The fact that cows are coming into calving in poor shape is a consequence of how they have been fed over the winter. Either they have come off pasture in thin condition and were not fed to regain weight, or they have lost weight due to an inadequate winter feeding program. Similarly, cows that are not fed to meet lactation requirements will lose weight from calving through breeding and pasture turnout. The key to preventing these issues is to develop a winter feeding program that matches the cow’s requirements for pregnancy, particularly in the last trimester and for milk production after calving. From a nutrient perspective, requirements for energy, protein, minerals and vitamins peak during these periods. Failure to meet requirements will result in the negative effects discussed above. Complicating matters is that some cows may come off pasture in thin condition and need to gain weight over the winter, first and second calf heifers have both pregnancy and growth requirements; and in all likelihood at least once or twice a winter, extreme cold weather will increase the animal’s maintenance energy needs and if not accounted for will result in weight loss. Clark’s presentation pointed out the need to account for these factors by grouping animals according to age, body condition (thin, normal or over-conditioned) and stage of pregnancy, and to develop targeted feeding

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programs for each group. Body condition scoring is a tool that can help you achieve this goal. Body condition scoring is a means of physically assessing the amount of fat an animal is carrying and by proxy, its nutritional status. Scores range from 1 (extremely thin) to 3 (normal body condition) to 5 (over-conditioned or “fat”), and are assigned by physically feeling for evidence of fat over the short ribs, along the backbone and in areas such as the hooks, pins and tail head where only bone and fat is present under the hide. In under-conditioned animals (BCS 2 or less), it will be very easy to feel the ends of the short ribs, while in over-conditioned animals (BCS 4 or 5) it will be very difficult to feel any bone in the areas of the skeleton mentioned above.

John McKinnon is a beef cattle nutritionist at the University of Saskatchewan

he fact that cows are coming T into calving in poor shape is a consequence of how they are fed over the winter By gaining experience with this system, you will gain the ability to sort your cows into groups that need to gain weight, those that can maintain weight and those that are over-conditioned. Implementing a condition scoring system at appropriate times such as at pregnancy checking, and taking into account factors such as age (first or second calf heifers and older cows) and pregnancy status, it is possible to group cows according to nutritional needs and develop a feeding program accordingly. For example, cows that have a BCS of 2 or less in the fall will need to be fed to gain weight over the winter such that they are in a BSC of 2.5 to 3 at calving. Depending on the animal this can involve a gain of 100 to 200 pounds and will require a ration that has appropriate energy and protein levels to support this level of weight gain. In contrast, cows with a BCS of 2.5 or higher can be maintained on a lower-quality diet for much of the winter before addressing the needs of the last trimester of pregnancy. Those with excess condition can actually be allowed to lose condition during the early part of winter without jeopardizing health or pregnancy. In short, BCS can help you fine-tune your feeding program. For more details on implementing a BCS system, consult the Beef Cattle Research Council website www.beefresearch.ca, or one of the many outstanding young agrologists in the public and private sectors. c

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12/14/2015 10:15:37 AM

 Holistic R a nc hi ng

By Don Campbell

Creating Success

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he desire for success is universal. Our definition of success may vary but deep down we would all like to feel that we are successful. Success is very personal. Each one of us must develop our own definition of success. That is the success I suggest you strive for. Don’t strive for society’s definition of success. Live your dream, not someone else’s. I feel that I am an ordinary person and yet I feel that I have achieved a very high degree of success. I have been living my dream for many, many years. I want to share some of the things that have helped me achieve success. My hope is that the same or similar ideas may help you achieve success. The first requirement for success is to know what you want. This requires having a clear goal based on your values. Once you know what you want you must take concrete positive steps to achieve your goal. Five Suggestions for Success

1. Believe in yourself. 2. Believe in your spouse. 3. Find and follow good role models. 4. Do the necessary thinking and planning. 5. Work hard. Believe in yourself. Believing in yourself is essential. I am reminded of Henry Ford’s saying, “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.” Your basic thoughts about success tend to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have always had a high degree of self-confidence. If something needs to be done I am confident that I can figure out how to do it. I give credit to my parents for helping me develop my self-confidence. They always believed in and supported me. That made it easy for me to believe in myself. I am reminded of the time that I wanted to disperse our cow herd in the 1980s. My dad’s comment was, “Do what you think is best, I believe in you.” What do you think that kind of support did for my self-confidence? If you are a parent I encourage you to tell your children (don’t assume that they know) that you offer them unconditional love and support. This applies to our children at all stages of their lives (birth to death). There is nothing like parental support and approval to help us succeed. At this point I feel pretty confident and am well on the road to success. From time to time my self-confidence may waver. It’s at times like this that I turn to my second point. Believe in your spouse. Bev and I, like most married couples (I think), have lots of small things we may not agree on. Fortunately when it comes to the big things Bev offers me unconditional love and support. When I turn to her and suggest we should make some major change in our business (sell the cows, buy our hay, or borrow a million dollars) she says, “Do what you think is best, I believe in you.” What do you think that kind of support does for my self-confidence? I encourage everyone to strengthen their marriage and relationships. Together you can do so much more than you can do alone. At this point I am even further along the road to success. Even with this kind of support my selfconfidence may still waver. When that occurs I turn to my third point. Find and follow good role models. I have been blessed with good role models my entire life. When I was young it was my parents, my family and their friends. You may have heard the statement “it takes

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a village to raise a child.” I feel I was raised like that. As I grew I was always able to find good role models no matter where I was or what I was doing. This included my university years, my veterinary career and especially my ranching career. HM has given me the wonderful opportunity to continue to be influenced by good role models. When I was about 50 I realized that I knew people who could really help me grow, increase my knowledge and skills and become a better person. This personal growth appealed to me. I phoned some of these people and said, “I’d like to get to know you better and learn from you. Would you allow me to come and spend some time with you?” Amazingly people always said yes to my request. The result was I set up a flexible program of learning. I spent as much as a day a month for up to six months with some of my mentors. I drove as much as eight hours one way to invest in my learning. The result was rapid personal growth that resulted in a higher degree of success. Another interesting thing also happened: these people became lifelong friends. I encourage you to look around. Is there someone you might learn from? Why not set up a personal mentoring program with that person? Your first reaction may well be “I can’t afford the time.” My response would be “can you afford not to invest in yourself?” As I look at my life today I am confident that no matter what situation may arise I will know someone I can turn to for love, wisdom, guidance and support. What do you think that kind of support does for my self-confidence? By now I am feeling confident and capable. By moving to my fourth point It won’t increase my self-confidence but I will increase my chance of success. Do the necessary thinking and planning. Before making any major decision or change it is vital to “work it out on paper.” If you can’t make it work on paper chances are it won’t work in the real world. If it works on paper chances are it will work in the real world. I suggest planning out for a minimum of one year. If you are making a major change projecting out for three years would be even better. At this stage we have good self-confidence and a workable plan. Now it is time to move to my fifth point. Work hard. Hard work is the last step in achieving success. Hard work, determination and commitment will help our plans bear fruit. Hard work is like the icing on the cake. It allows us to savour the fruits of our self-confidence and planning. Remember “working will, where wishing won’t.” These are some of the key things that have helped me achieve what I consider to be a very successful life. As I examine my life closely I realize that most of my success has come from the wonderful people I have had the privilege to know and to learn from. This gives me a sense of humility and a deep sense of gratitude. My desire is to help other people achieve success as others have helped me. I invite you to use these points in any way that may be helpful to you. I believe we can all be successful. We are surrounded by unlimited opportunity. I sincerely hope you achieve the success you desire. c Don Campbell ranches with his family at Meadow Lake, Sask., and teaches Holistic Management courses. He can be reached at 306-236-6088 or doncampbell@sasktel.net.

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 feeding

By Debbie Furber

Inventor Gerard Roney points to the bars that control how much grain animals can lick up each visit.

Not your average creep feeder Supplement rationing with a self-feeder

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he 3IN1Feeder takes self-feeding to a new level with its advanced adjustment system to control the amount of grain consumed during each feeding. Several small feedings during the day helps reduce swings in rumen pH and in turn the animals are able to more efficiently utilize forages. “The big thing is keeping rumen pH in balance because the rumen microbes that digest fibre (forage) are different from the microbes that digest starch (grain). When you feed five pounds of grain once a day, it takes time for the microbes to adjust back and forth. So, this isn’t just about substituting grain for forage. It’s about complementing grass and forage to get the most out of it,” explains Gerard Roney, inventor and managing director of Advantage Feeders at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. We met up with him and his North American distributor, Myrna and Marlin Huber of Huber Ag Equipment at Coronation, Alta., at their trade show booth during Canadian Western Agribition. Roney, who has some background in engineering, law and finance, is a farmer at heart and currently helps run a grain farm and 2,000-ewe sheep flock with his father. His search for a safe and convenient way to supplement with a low level of grain after

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lambing and on pasture was the motivator for coming up with a way to accurately ration grain from a self-feeder. He started work on the prototype 10 years ago and within three years had 3IN1Feeders ready to take to the marketplace. They are now available in 10 countries and it was Myrna Huber’s insistence on bringing the innovation to Canada that spurred him to set up a distribution system in North America. This also involved tweaking the feeders for the Canadian market with a protective coating to prevent tongues from sticking to the galvanized sheetmetal construction in cold weather. Huber is the central contact for orders and customer service because making the most of opportunities the 3IN1Feeder offers does require some background information and coaching. The units come in three sizes and are stocked and ready for immediate pickup or delivery, flat-packed or assembled, at locations in all western provinces and Ontario. She came across 3IN1Feeders during her own search for a way to safely and conveniently feed grain and says they have used 3IN1Feeders for control-feeding sheep, goats and now cattle. They come in handy year round from feeding barley to steers and replacement heifers in winter, to supple-

menting first-time calvers, to creep feeding calves on pasture. “For example, we were short of moisture this spring and wanted to conserve our pasture as much as we could, as well as make sure the first-time calvers would be in good condition for providing sufficient milk to their calves and be bred again in a timely manner,” Huber explains. Roney says control feeding mother cows from one side of the feeder and setting up the panels to creep feed calves from the other side is a great way to train calves to use the feeder at a very young age. He suggests introducing calves to grain as early as three to four weeks of age so that they start developing rumen capacity and are primed for efficient digestion of forages and the best possible weight gains on pasture. Dairy research has proven that providing a high-starch calf starter promotes early rumen development for a smooth transition from monogastric to ruminant digestion. Calves are born with small, non-functional rumens. Milk bypasses the rumen for the first few weeks of life to enter the omasum and abomasum, where it is digested by enzymes rather than by fermentation. Continued on page 32

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Davidson Gelbvieh & Lonesome Dove Ranch

BULL SALE

27

Annual

Saturday MARCH 5

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Selling...100+

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Vernon & Eileen Davidson Box 681, Ponteix, Saskatchewan Canada S0N 1Z0 Phone (Hm) 306-625-3755 (Cell) 306-625-7863 • (Cell) 306-625-7864 www.davidsongelbvieh.com davidsongelbvieh@sasktel.net

Ross & Tara Davidson, Ash, Cameron & Jamie PO Box 147 Ponteix, SK S0N 1Z0 Canada Home Phone (306) 625-3513 Ross (306) 625-7045 • Tara (306) 625-7345 Fax (306) 625-3782 www.lonesomedoveranch.ca lonesomedoveranch@sasktel.net

f e e d i ng

Continued from page 30

Rumen development starts as a calf begins to eat solid feeds. Bacterial populations that act on fibre and starch need time to build in the rumen while the papillae necessary for absorption of nutrients form on the interior of the rumen wall. Grain is key because starches are fermented by bacteria that produce high-energy propionic and butyric acids. Butyric acid is the main source of energy for rumen cells and growth of the rumen wall. 3IN1FEEDERs are portable by skidding, lifting with a front-end loader or locked onto the optional trailer so that calves have easy access to controlled amounts of grain for efficient forage utilization all the while they are on pasture right through weaning. Controlled feeding

3IN1FEEDERs look much like traditional creep feeders at first glance. The difference is in how the grain is delivered. Livestock lick grain from the groove between the two adjuster plates rather than scooping up mouthfuls from a trough. Grain sticks to saliva on the tongue to pick up a few kernels with each lick. Saliva production slows with steady licking over five to 10 minutes so that grain no longer sticks and the animal moves on to forages. The adjuster plates, running the length of the feeder on both sides, can be set wide open (1-1/2") for free-choice feeding and narrowed to 5/16" for control feeding small ruminants. A cow’s tongue fits into a 9/16" gap, which limits grain intake to four pounds per day. The gap is narrowed for calves to reduce intake to as little as one pound a day.

Daily grain intake can be increased by widening the adjuster plates little by little every few days as livestock adjust to higher levels of grain in the diet. Most types of pellets are suitable for feeding through the 3In1FEEDERs depending on pellet size and hardness. Likewise, safely transitioning to highstarch grains such as barley, wheat or corn can be accomplished step by step. Start with a low-risk supplement, such as oats or pellets, for a few days and then substituting 25 per cent of the oats with the high-starch grain every five to seven days. A regulation table with adjuster plate settings corresponding to grain intake is permanently fixed to the feeder for handy reference and an incremental volume scale on the inside along with sight glasses make it easy to monitor daily consumption. For free-choice feeding, the two adjuster plates are set to the wide-open position to let livestock scoop the grain from the groove. Any that does fall into the catch-trough is readily consumed because it’s easier for animals to get at than licking it from the grooves. In this way, there’s no waste from spillage or buildup of grain in the trough that might go mouldy or attract pests. The grain in the feeder is always protected from the elements and vermin and only the small amount in the grooves is exposed if rain does happen to drive in from less than a 45-degree angle. Producers appreciate that this system puts bossy animals in their place because the bosses don’t produce any more saliva than timid animals. A removable adjuster guard that divides the groove into four-inch sections prevents animals from running their tongues along the

length of the groove. With the adjuster guard in place, there’s no reason for bossy animals to push others aside because grain delivery is consistent from section to section. There’s a big labour-saving advantage, too. Even high-starch grains don’t need to be rolled or cracked because the kernels taken in small amounts throughout the day are held with forage in the rumen longer than when grain is fed in one or two larger feedings each day. The largest size feeder at 3,800 litres (108 bushels) holds 5,700 pounds of barley or 6,500 pounds of wheat and accommodates 40 cattle, either 20 cow-calf pairs or 40 calves. At the lowest intake level of four pounds per day for cows, the feeder would need to be refilled every 35 days. At half that for calves, one fill would last about 70 days. Pay day

A 60-day trial at Brownfield, Alta., starting when calves were four months old on pasture, showed that the group supplemented with free-choice oats at 4.5 lbs./head/day had the highest growth rate, but were discounted by buyers because of being too fleshy by sale time. The barley-fed group, restricted to 3.1 lbs./head/day, gained 0.42 lbs./day less than the free-choice oats group, but sold for $68 per head more than the oats group because of proper conditioning, and $106 more than the non-supplemented control group because of the additional weight. Even if prices fell to 60 per cent of the 2014 highs, control feeding barley would net more per head than feeding oats free-choice or not feeding grain. In Australia, a backgrounding trial supplementing calves with barley reduced time

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feeding

on perennial pasture from 185 days to 127 days to take the calves from 517 pounds to the target weight of 880 pounds. The associated expense including the cost of the barley, depreciation on the feeder, and labour to fill the feeder worked out to $33 per head. The total gain was 83.7 lbs./head more than the non-supplemented group. At a selling price of $1.60/lb., the additional value was $133.92 per calf for a net profit of $100.90 per calf. Another trial involved 120 newly weaned Angus steers averaging 475 lbs. grown out to a finished weight of 1,030 lbs. on 40 acres of perennial sorghum pasture and 100 acres of grazing oat crops. This operator buys steers from the same place every year and typically realizes gains of 1.72 lbs./day over the 315-day feeding period. Control feeding short-cut pellets at 4.4 lbs./head/day increased average daily gain to 3.01 lbs./ day to finish the steers in 182 days on average. The associated expense worked out to $132.88 per head and the value of the additional gain was $390.21 per head netting an additional $257.33 per head. A 60-day trial in New Zealand involving 120 long yearling steers receiving hay and grazing winter forage rape showed that the steers fed 2.2 lbs./head/day of barley gained 1.1 lbs./day more than those in the control group. The net additional profit of $107.47 per head includes the savings in winter forage consumption of $.49 per head per day. Forage-rape intake was reduced by seven lbs./head/ day by supplementing with grain, but gains improved, presumably because they were able to utilize the feed more efficiently. 3IN1Feeders range in price from $1,180 to $2,330 for the assembled basic model on skids. For more information and pricing call Myrna Huber at 1-800-806-0715 or visit www.3in1feeders.com. c

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 grazing

By Steve Kenyon

Set up a proactive cash flow

I

have said it before and I’ll say it again. Production practices are not the most important part of my business. Intensive cell grazing or bale grazing cannot make or break my business alone. The business side to my ranch is much more important. To see if a production practice is viable for my operation on any given year, I need to first make sure that it is economical. I determine this with a gross margin analysis. This is what will show me if the production practice in question will be profitable. Once I have determined profitability and weighed the risk involved, I then have to determine whether or not I can afford to do it. Can I finance it, or cash-flow it? For my finances, I run a simple business cash flow, which is linked to my personal cash flow as well. I have an easy to use Excel spreadsheet for my computer that keeps me on top of my finances throughout the year. Economics and finances are two different calculations, which is again different from my income tax. We need to be careful in our businesses. I have seen many times that a bank will gladly lend you money if you can finance it, even if the venture is completely and totally economically unsound! It is your job to determine profitability; your banker only cares about finances. I learned years ago the importance of being proactive on my cash flow. By pro­ active, I mean looking ahead six to 12

months and predicting any shortfalls on my monthly net cash flow and having the time to adjust and replan to avoid any issues. This might be just selling something earlier or possibly even meeting with a banker early on to deal with a financial crunch. The alternative is to be reactive on my cash flow and have my banker calling me to tell me that I am overdrawn. Bankers are not so easy to deal with if you are always reactive. They are much happier if you are proactive. My cash flow is simple. The top has a monthly breakdown of my cash inflow. Each profit centre will have a row with how much cash is entering the bank account and when. Some entries can be very straightforward and others can be more complex. The complex entries I will link to another sheet of the workbook and detail out the calculations that come up with that cash inflow. As an example, for my custom grazing profit centre, I have a separate sheet that breaks down the different pastures and the number of animals that graze on them. I then add in my grazing rate and it automatically calculates the monthly revenue off of each pasture. It then totals up each pasture for each individual month and transfers that calculation back to the main page as one single entry each month. Each profit centre you have might have its own calculation sheet. Once all of the extra sheets are filled in, the main page automatically totals up each month in the columns and each profit centre is totalled up in the rows.

Next we look at our monthly cash outflow. (It is funny how there are always so many more entries in the outflow). Again, all of the cash expenses are detailed and broken down month by month. Similar to the inflow, the more complex calculations can be linked to another sheet. An example of this is that my land rent is detailed on a separate sheet showing who gets paid how much rent and when. The totals are then transferred back as a single monthly entry to the main page in the cash outflow area. The spreadsheet then of course calculates your monthly net cash flow and rolls the balance from the end of the month to the beginning of the next month for a 12-month period. At a glance this can tell me of any upcoming shortfalls that I might have in the upcoming months. The negative account balances show up in red. If this is the case, I need to adjust and replan to get each month back in the black. I also have this linked to our personal cash flow as our wages and shared utilities can be linked along with the business. It may take me a few hours to set this cash flow up at the start of the year but once it is up and running, a few minutes each month is all that it takes to monitor, adjust and resave it. It is the easiest cash flow I have seen and it only takes a little bit of knowledge in Excel to be able to operate it. As you adjust one entry to replan your current month, it automatically updates and flows that correction through to every month ahead. Why run a proactive cash flow? Well, it not only keeps my banker happy and allows my business to run smoother, but I have found the most beneficial bonus is peace of mind. It takes a lot of the stress out of running a business. Even if there is a forthcoming financial issue, I am aware of it and have time to plan for it. The reactive cash-flow plan is not a lot of fun and is not recommended for any business plan. Be proactive. c Steve Kenyon runs Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd. in Busby, Alta., www. greenerpasturesranching.com, 780-307-6500, email skenyon@greenerpasturesranching.com or find them on Facebook.

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www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 calving

By Roy Lewis, DVM

Seek help if you suspect a uterine torsion

P

erhaps because a uterine torsion is a very rare type of malpresentation it is often difficult for producers to recognize. If we can recognize them, and quickly get help, the majority of these calves can be saved. It’s important that you don’t make the mistake of attempting to pull these calves yourself. I have never seen an actual percentage of torsions listed because they are often not documented but my guess is there is one every couple thousand births so larger producers may experience one every few years. The practice I was in saw lots of cow-calf operations and I would say we would see upwards of 10 a year. I always had the producer feel in the vaginal canal when we did diagnose one so they would recognize it the next time. I do the same thing with new vets or students. Once you examine one it is hard to miss it a second time. A torsion describes a condition where the free portion of the uterus (where the calf is) twists over on itself. The vagina is anchored by soft tissue in the pelvis so really it is much like putting a golf ball in a sock holding the open end stationary and giving the sock a 180- or 360-degree twist. It’s so tight you can’t reach in and pull the golf ball out. This is exactly what happens in a torsed uterus. The initial complaint is very similar to a full breech (coming tail first) where the cow or heifer looks like they should have calved hours ago but nothing happened. The cow is bagged up and nesting yet no water bag or heavy straining has started. I always tell experienced cattlemen, if they suspect something is wrong they are probably right. This is especially true if they know the cows’ past history and they have calved normally. A cow that is nesting, belloring or looking uneasy usually means either a breech, other malpresentation or a torsion so it’s best to vaginally examine the cow. When examining a torsion you will usually be able to reach the calf. Initially you will feel bands of tissue running this way and that and it is like running your hand down a corkscrew. When you finally reach the calf your hand may be upside down and the calf may even be upside down. The degree

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of the torsion will determine how tight the opening is. Generally the cow’s contractions line up the calf to be presented normally so if it’s upside down or sideways and you feel these bands of tissue it is very likely a torsion. When one examines a cow that isn’t ready to calve you go straight in the vagina and run into a closed cervix that feels like a round doughnut with a hole so tight you may be able to get in only one or two fingers. A torsion feels much different with an uneven opening that you can wiggle your arm through and the cervix will be open enough to get your arm through, touch the calf, and the water bag will not be broken.

A torsion describes a condition where the free portion of the uterus (where the calf is) twists over on itself With almost all torsions, once identified, veterinary intervention becomes imperative. Veterinarians have several methods they can use to detorse the uterus. If done successfully the calf can be delivered alive out the back end provided it was alive to start with. A veterinarian must first determine which way the uterus is torsed as it can be either clockwise or counterclockwise, and so one must twist it the opposite way to get it detorsed. Some very experienced veterinarians can detorse them by hand by getting the uterus rocking and skillfully flipping it back over. The cervix will then continue to dilate and the uterus will now dump out lots of fluid and the cow will start straining again. Other methods involve using a detorsion rod or detorsion fork to facilitate untwisting the uterus by applying these apparatuses to the calf’s leg. With the use of this instrument an experienced prac-

titioner can help the process along when some additional force is necessary. Another method is to cast the cow on her side. The veterinarian holds the calf while the cow is rolled to untwist the torsion. Again it is critical to know which way the uterus is twisted. I would say that in my experience a higher percentage untwist by moving the calf clockwise meaning they are counterclockwise torsions. If attempts by any method fail, the veterinarian can rely on getting the calf out by caesarian section. In some cases the calf may be detorsed internally through a C-section incision and then pulled out the back especially if the calf is dead. If the calf is twisted and on the far side of the abdomen often the calf must be taken by C-section first and then the uterus detorsed and sewn up. As you can see there are many things to consider when we find a uterine torsion but I am proud to say many times we can get a live calf and the cow makes an uneventful recovery. Early detection on your part is the absolute key component. I have seen backwards calves torsed and twins torsed. Just like a prolapsed uterus, torsions are an absolute fluke. There is no reason the cow would do it again, so as long as she breeds back there is no reason to cull her. Heifers have the same odds as cows when it comes to torsing. I have never seen one torse prior to calving, but I know of one in a horse at seven or so months gestation. The mare had slight colicky symptoms and the owner and vet were quick to detect the problem and correct it with surgery, flipping the uterus to the left, back to normal. The mare went on to deliver a normal foal. Quite a remarkable story. The message is never give up. If you detect a uterine torsion seek experienced help immediately. The outcome will often surprise you. Have a great calving season, but if you experience a rare torsion you now know what to do. c Roy Lewis is an Alberta-based veterinarian specializing in large-animal practice. He is also a part-time technical services vet for Merck Animal Health.

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 calving

By Roy Lewis, DVM

Monitor the Suckle Reflex

S

ome recent research has revealed a test that easily predicts which calves should receive supplemental colostrum at only a few minutes old. It was the result of some work by Dr. Elizabeth Homerosky, a veterinarian at the faculty of veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary, as she was comparing various testing procedures to determine weak calves. These may be calves that are simply weak at birth, ones that have undergone a hard pull, and even those that underwent a delayed calving and are possibly anoxic at birth. Of all the tests she looked at, the most predictive in terms of weak calves was coincidentally the easiest to do: assessing the suckle reflex. All it involves is inserting a couple of fingers into the mouth of a newborn calf 15 minutes after it is born to determine how vigourously it can suck. We’ve all done this and can attest that many of the calves we end up tubing often have a very poor suckle reflex. It’s not a complicated test. The reflex is either vigourous or weak. The result is usually fairly obvious and when in doubt I would call it weak. These are the calves that should be given supplemental colostrum, as they are likely slow to rise and thus slow to nurse. Essentially the suckle reflex determines their vigour and when one is questioning whether to give supplemental colostrum it makes that decision extremely easy. The rule on many farms is any assisted calves get colostrum. The reasoning is the cow is already caught so it only takes a few minutes to milk her in a good maternity pen and you are then assured the calf has adequate colostrum early in life. If the birth

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has been harder than normal or delayed, start checking the suckle reflex on these assisted births and see where they stand. Some calves are simply vigourous enough that even with a harder pull they will rise quickly, but generally speaking the harder the pull the slower the calf is to rise. In these cases non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs prescribed by your veterinarian can help. If you consistently check your calves within 15 minutes of birth it will be easy to identify the sluggish ones. The beauty is we now know partial failure of passive transfer accounts for many of our problems down the road and if we can go one step further to eliminating this, then great. It also helps that there are some excellent colostral products out there today such as Headstart from the Saskatoon Colostrum Company. Make sure and read the label to know how much immunoglobulin you are giving the calves as not all colostrum substitutes are created equal. You want to get a minimum 100 grams into them early. Then you need to determine whether the colostrum substitute or natural colostrum will provide the entire source, if you figure the mother will still provide a percentage with her fresh colostrum. When checking the suckle reflex use latex gloves or wash your hands well before and in between checks.You don’t want to be the main cause of unwanted organisms being spread between calves. For much the same reason we need to clean our esophageal feeder every time it is used, especially the oral tube. By identifying weaker calves easily we can administer colostrum and provide other treatments early enough to enhance calf survival. The suckle reflex test is easy for producers to do, has no cost associated with it and relies on their own skilled judgment.

There are a few cases where we can still be fooled, such as calves that appear vigourous but don’t rise because of a bad back or other developmental issues. Then there are calves born to cows with large coke bottle teats who gain little colostrum even with vigourous suckling. There are always a few calves born to cows with blocked or scarred teats or those who simply don’t produce enough milk. When in doubt, supplement. Calves suffering a partial failure of passive transfer of immunity at birth are more susceptible to diseases like scours and pneumonia. It starts with these calves and then spreads to others in your herd. I guarantee, if we all start to check the suckle reflex it will be time well spent. When you think it will only really take a few seconds to accomplish, it seems a small effort to gain a healthier calf crop. It’s hard to understand why it took so long for someone to document a strong vigourous suckle reflex with a more vigourous and, ultimately, a healthier calf, but I’m glad Dr. Homerosky pursued this investigation. Now we all need to develop our own treatment plan so we’re prepared to act when we encounter a slow suckle reflex. If in doubt, try comparing these calves to healthy ones in the same herd and you will soon become expert at determining those calves that need a little more TLC, which must include colostrum. Have a great spring and hopefully we can end up with fewer sick calves than in past years. c Roy Lewis is an Alberta-based veterinarian specializing in large-animal practice. He is also a part-time technical services vet for Merck Animal Health.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

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 prime cuts

By Steve Kay

IS COOL DEAD YET?

M

aybe I’m asking too much. But all I wanted for Christmas was an end to the COOL saga. I’m sure you did as well. Hopefully COOL has already been killed and consigned to the dustbin of ghastly blunders by the time you read this. But at time of writing on December 10, I was not betting on it, given the fact that congressional twist-and-turn politics were still at play. Following the World Trade Organization’s December 7 announcement of the tariffs amounts for Canada and Mexico, the quickest way to avoid the tariffs would have been for the U.S. Congress to include a repeal of the beef and pork parts of COOL in a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill it was considering. Many people after the WTO announcement had urged the U.S. Senate to repeal these parts of COOL. But the Senate said it was unable to put forward a stand-alone bill to repeal COOL until after January 1. The quicker option therefore was to attach a COOL measure to the spending bill and for Congress to pass that bill. No one knew if a measure would be attached when I wrote this, although it was said the odds were high. A vote on the bill was due December 11. But Congress then delayed

the vote by five days by passing a continuing resolution to fund the federal government. Then followed talk that there might be a further extension. When and if a vote was finally taken, both chambers of Congress would have had to pass or reject the spending bill on an up-or-down vote. A down vote of course would have thrown COOL repeal back into the hands of the Senate. COOL might therefore still be alive as you read this. The next question is whether Canada and Mexico will have begun to impose retaliatory tariffs. They were expected to do so 14 days after the WTO announcement. The potential impact of such tariffs is enormous. At worst, they could halt all U.S. beef and pork exports to Canada and Mexico. Impact began even before the WTO announced the tariff amounts. Some Canadian meat buyers stopped ordering U.S. red meat ahead because it might be subject to tariffs. Imposition of tariffs was a severe market negative as soon as the WTO made its announcement. Feeder cattle, live cattle and hog futures contracts all closed down sharply that day. December was the most affected live cattle contract, closing down 265 points. This came after the contract had lost a startling 758 points the week before.

Imposition of tariffs and potential trade and market disruption could not come at a worse time for U.S. cattle feeders and hog producers. The first group is suffering losses of US$300 per head or more as part of their worst-ever year of losses. Hog producers are also losing money. Tariffs would exacerbate losses in both sectors. U.S. producers must therefore wonder if they are cursed, that COOL is the nightmare that continues even when one thinks it is over. When COOL finally is dead and buried, the U.S. meat and livestock industry should use it as a case study about the intersection of prairie populism and politics and, above all, leadership. The key question will be: How did the industry allow a small group of out-of-touch, steeped-in-the-past cattle producers persuade enough lawmakers to support a far-fetched, deeply flawed program like COOL? My initial response to this question is that industry leaders underestimated support for COOL and got badly outmanoeuvred. They must not allow this to happen again on any spurious action that threatens the industry. c A North American view of the meat industry. Steve Kay is publisher and editor of Cattle Buyers Weekly.

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 researc h o n t h e r eco r d

By Reynold Bergen

The Environmental Hoofprint of Canada’s Beef Industry

O

ur industry is maligned for producing greenhouse gas. Practically every living organism produces greenhouse gas, even plants, but cattle produce more than other livestock because rumen bacteria produce methane as they digest feed. Additional greenhouse gas comes from manure (methane and nitrous oxide) and fossil fuel use (carbon dioxide). However, like the industry’s “water footprint,” which I described in the October issue, the greenhouse gas impact of the beef industry is often vastly overstated. In 2010, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a report called “Livestock’s Long Shadow” which stated that livestock produce more greenhouse gas emissions than transportation, leading to headlines suggesting that burgers are worse for the planet than SUVs. It was significantly flawed and a more balanced FAO report named “Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock” came out in 2013. The more balanced, but less publicized, report found that producing a kilogram of beef in Latin America, India or China generates twice the methane as in North America, Europe or Australia. In countries with more sophisticated production systems, cattle are bred, fed and managed in ways that produce faster, more efficient growth. As a result they reach slaughter weight sooner, and spend fewer days eating, ruminating, producing methane and generating manure. Dr. Getahun Legesse and collaborators at the University of Manitoba and AAFC Lethbridge are working on a Beef Science Cluster project that is measuring how the environmental footprint of the Canadian beef industry has changed between 1981 and 2011. The first paper from this project, entitled “Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Canadian Beef Production in 1981 as Compared to 2011” will appear soon in Animal Production Science. What they did: These researchers looked at many different Canadian research projects that studied how slight changes in reproductive rate, feed and forage crop yields, growth rates, carcass weights, etc. have an impact on how much feed and land is needed to produce a kilogram of beef, and how much manure and greenhouse gas are produced as a consequence. A variety of data sources (Census of Agriculture data from Statistics Canada, Canadian Beef Grading Agency, Canfax, and large-scale producer surveys) were also used. Dairy steers that entered feedlots and cull dairy cows were considered to produce beef, but veal calves were not. A range of cow herd winter feeding management practices (confinement, in-field feeding, swath-, bale- and stockpiled grazing) and feedlot production scenarios (calf-fed, backgrounded, and backgrounded-grassed before finishing) were considered. Regional differences in diets and housing (corn-based feeding in barns in the east versus barley-based feeding in open pens in the west) were accounted for.

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They combined the research information with the production data, and used a computer model to estimate how resource requirements (land base and breeding herd size) and greenhouse gas production changed over the 30-year period. What they learned: Canada produced 32 per cent more beef in 2011 than in 1981. Much of this was due to higher carcass weights; in 2011, slaughter steers were 29 per cent heavier and heifers were 45 per cent heavier than they were in 1981. Producing the same amount of beef in 2011 required 29 per cent less breeding stock, 27 per cent fewer slaughter cattle and 24 per cent less land, and produced 15 per cent less greenhouse than in 1981. Although some greenhouse gas emissions were from manure methane, CO2 (e.g. fuel use) and nitrous oxide from manure and soil, nearly three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions were due to enteric methane produced during digestion. Over 78 per cent of the methane emissions occurred in the cow-calf sector, because the breeding herd spends nearly its whole life consuming forage-based diets that produce a lot more methane than grain-based diets do. What it means: Reductions in the beef industry’s environmental hoofprint have largely come through technologies that improve production efficiencies. On the cow-calf side, optimizing nutrition improves growth and reproductive performance. When more females get pregnant and successfully wean a calf, fewer heifers need to be retained as replacements, so the breeding herd is smaller. On the feedlot side, heifer carcass weight has increased due to growth promotants that overcame the biological disadvantages that heifers have relative to steers. Improvements in feed crop yields mean that a smaller land area is needed to produce the same amount of feed. In other words, many of the same things that improve productivity on the farm, ranch or feedlot also contribute to a smaller environmental hoofprint for the beef industry. In the next few years this research team will use similar analyses to estimate how the Canadian beef industry and the pastures and rangelands it maintains have an impact on water, carbon sequestration and biodiversity. I am grateful Canada has researchers with the skills, integrity and funding necessary to thoroughly and objectively study these issues. The Beef Research Cluster is funded by the National Checkoff and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada with additional contributions from provincial beef industry groups and governments to advance research and technology transfer supporting the Canadian beef industry’s vision to be recognized as a preferred supplier of healthy, high-quality beef, cattle and genetics. c Dr. Reynold Bergen is the science director of the Beef Cattle Research Council.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

BUILDING TRUST IN CANADIAN BEEF

I think… Maybe… No, I’m sure that’s it Clarity and other communications tips from VBP producer workshops

“I’m married, so I don’t really respond until I hear the question repeated.” Jokes about personal communications. Comedians have made (or lost) careers out of them. Families live off them. Beef producers attending Verified Beef Production (VBP) workshops have their share of communications stories. Hidden in that casual perspective are some solid tips for becoming a better communicator on the farm. Chances are that in the process you’ll become a better manager. In fact, many use VBP-recommended practices in training new staff or as a communications pivot point. This sort of coaching can lead to more productive team communications. Here are some of those producer thoughts. Be specific: Write down the important stuff. “Sometimes our team doesn’t bring its A game,” says a producer. “Not everything will work like it should. So we write it down. VBP helps. Written notes put everyone in charge because they can be read by all. When things are rushed and someone is having a bad day, people are more likely to keep a cool head if they clearly understand their job.” Read that? Are you kidding? One producer’s story summed it up: “When I was a kid, my dad would leave a note on the fridge listing which animals needed to be treated. We couldn’t always read his writing. Now, with VBP, we simply post our farm’s main procedures and our kids have the records to back up their decision.” Park the nagging. Build a comfortable communications environment. Nagging is

negative and usually unproductive. Good communications should be about building a business cornerstone. If people are comfortable asking questions you create exchange of ideas, better observations and more dynamic feedback. Think leadership. The best ideas come from people understanding and thinking on their own. An old business axiom says that if people know what to do, they will handle it. But if they know why they are doing it, they will find ways to continually improve. Train your people. Make sure at least one person in the beef operation is trained on VBP requirements. Family members and staff should know their responsibilities regarding standard operating procedures and the “must dos” for your operation. Post critical information. Over many

VBP workshops, one communications theme resonates. Successful operations post key information such as drug withdrawal times or common medications at chuteside or in barns. Test your effectiveness. The busiest times test team communications most severely. Listen and learn. Be objective. If it doesn’t work well in the heavy going, fix it. Reach your network. Veterinarians, truckers, nutritionists, your entire network will do a better job with good communications. One producer said, “Truckers really respect shipping manifests. And if you communicate with your vet before processing, then they’ll have supplies when you need them.” Tell the world. Never miss an opportunity to tell your production performance story to the world. It’ll build a stronger industry.

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 straigh t f ro m t h e h i p

By Brenda Schoepp

Simple Science

I

am looking at my teapot. It is not an ordinary teapot but one which you drain from the bottom as it sits on top of your cup. Simple enough in design but transformational in the tea time world. How often, I wonder, do we skip simple innovation or science to get to the point of — making our point? Most certainly in the cattle world, there remains a disconnect between who we are, what we do and the importance of livestock in the food chain with some of society. I recall my response to a request for being a guest speaker on a panel for animal rights. My answer was “of course.” I prepared by looking at the evolution of food animals and the societal dependence we have on them, rather than evoke an argument for production practises. So the evolution of beef for example would be from fur to leather to beef (cooking) to crayons. With over 500 products derived or created from one beef animal it was a new experience for the audience and the other members of the panel. I circumvented my opinions on trade, gestation stalls, and organic foods and other topics by staying with a simple message. Science and food animals have been combined to bring you the societal privileges of the day. Casting an eye to the pair of women who called me a “murderer” when I walked into the room because I was a farmer, I walked them through the simple act of getting dressed and eating breakfast and how food animals were involved at every juncture. We reviewed the current role food animals play in health care and advanced surgical procedures. It was a strong statement for the science and innovation that is employed to make advances in civilization. Had I tried to baffle that group with anything other than an honest dialogue at a level that everyone understood, it would have been confrontational. They did not care about performance enhancement or feedlot nutritional formulation — those in the room were predisposed to thinking that was bad and tied to factory farming. To their credit, they did respond to a living example. And when lunch came in I waited until they filled their plates and then gently walked them through the contents. How often have we defended or complicated the message to the consumer by throwing heavy scientific answers at them? Can we keep the science simple, while getting to the point or in my case? Today, there is evidence that suggests rather than turn on the conversation with detailed answers, folks are tuning out and turning off. Purdue’s director of the Center for Animal Welfare Science, Dr. Candace Croney, has reminded industry that in the area of animal welfare, folks don’t want to know about heavy science or the most recent studies. For issues as sensitive as animal welfare it is important to address the consumers’ concerns by showing how one is leading change. This elicits a different response that throwing a bunch of statistical infor-

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mation from research at the emotionally charged person asking the question. And, she reminds us to keep getting an honest and positive message out. I recall a cookbook entitled: How to Boil an Egg (Arkless). (Laugh if you will but my children are still encouraging me to read it and put it into play.) The ticket for the success of this book is in simplicity — just how do you boil an egg? What is the simple science behind the perfect egg? Who can boil an egg? Can you boil more than one egg at a time? A good example of this dialogue is the McDonald’s website where you can see this simple approach to complex issues put into play with answers that everyone can understand. Let’s take one question as an example. As a background there are quite a few claims on the Internet that McDonald’s hamburgers do not rot because they are laden with chemicals. One person asked why the burgers do not rot. The first reply was from the company that said they actually would rot under the right conditions. The second part of the answer was referred to a scientist (his photo and links included) to explain in simple terms what rot is — water, nutrients, warmth and time. What he did not do is launch into a huge microbes discussion or deny that burgers have never given way to disintegration because under the right conditions items may stay the same for a very long time. To bring the discussion to life he compared the window sill on a bedroom which likely shows no form of mould to that of a bathroom which may show mould because of the conditions. The answer was in terms of simple science. You and I may know and appreciate that years of science precede before rolling out a new product or a health claim, but questions usually come from a place of core values and beliefs. And behind each complex discovery is the simple question of “why.” Why does the human body need protein? Why is beef a good source of it? Cattlemen have their own questions too: Why do we need traceability in primary production? Why do we focus on exports? Why do we need research in theme areas? Good questions and the focus for industry must be to allow for the competitive environment for the why and the how — for young innovators often have an answer that is — well — quite simple. Why a new teapot? It accommodates loose and bagged tea, is clear and easy to clean and came with detailed instructions for perfect tea. The box claimed both simple science and easy engineering. I can buy that. c Brenda Schoepp is an inspiring speaker, consultant and mentor who works with young entrepreneurs across Canada and around the world. She can be contacted through her website www.brendaschoepp.com. All rights reserved. Brenda Schoepp 2015

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 CCA repo rts

By Dave Solverson

Government responds to COOL report

O

n December 7, the long awaited report came from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) Arbitration panel that U.S. mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) has caused Canadian livestock producers to suffer annual damages in the amount of C$1.055 billion. I was writing this in December from Washington, D.C., where CCA was lobbying for the repeal of COOL. The over $1 billion figure had the immediate attention of many U.S. senators and we sensed a strong build up of momentum to repeal COOL. I hope as you are reading this in January, COOL will have already been repealed. We have been spreading the word that immediate repeal of COOL before the Senate takes its Christmas recess is the only option for the U.S. to avoid the immediate imposition of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods by Canada. If COOL has not been repealed, either retaliatory tariffs are in effect or will be in a matter of days. Prior to the December ruling, the U.S. exhausted the WTO process to the full extent — and came out on the wrong side of its international trade obligations every time. No further negotiation should be done and no compromise should be expected. The retaliation amount cannot be appealed and on December 18, the WTO dispute settlement body would accept the arbitrator’s report and from that point, Canada and Mexico would be authorized to implement tariffs on a combined US$1.01 billion of imports from the U.S. The CCA was very pleased to see the reactions on December 7 by international trade minister Chrystia Freeland and agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay. Following the WTO arbitration announcement, the ministers warned that if the U.S. Senate did not take immediate action to repeal COOL for beef and pork, Canada will quickly take steps to retaliate. Minister Freeland reiterated this clear position in the House of Commons the same day in response to questions on COOL. Along with the staff at the Canadian Embassy in Washington (who has done an outstanding job for us on COOL) we were able to ensure that U.S. legislators were fully aware of the ministers’ intent. This was truly the key to achieving COOL’s repeal. Over the past few months, Canada has transitioned to new leadership and the CCA greatly appreciates the strong and continued support of the federal government. At the CCA December 2 reception in Ottawa, Minister MacAulay was among the nearly 90 members of parliament and senators present. I, along with vice-

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president Dan Darling, had the opportunity to meet with the minister just prior to the evening’s program to discuss priorities of importance to Canada’s beef producers. We were also able to meet with him again more formally later in December following our work in Washington. The key theme of CCA’s interactions with the new government is to focus on the competitiveness of Canadian agriculture. Within this context, export market access, workforce availability, research, access to land, financing and a competitive regulatory environment are all among the messages we have been advocating with members of parliament and directly with ministers. We will continue to engage with ministers and members of parliament to ensure the priorities of Canadian beef producers are heard and acted upon. My first official meeting with Minister MacAulay was in November at Canadian Western Agribition in Regina. Already by that time, the minister was keenly aware of the significance of the approaching WTO arbitrators’ report in the COOL case and the need for the government to clearly state its intention to retaliate immediately. COOL lobbying also took CCA to several U.S. states to attend cattlemen association meetings. In Wichita, I met with the Kansas Livestock Association. There was a keen interest in coming our way with regard to repeal of COOL and avoiding retaliation. Senator Pat Roberts and incoming National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) president-elect Tracy Brunner are from Kansas and so it was a good meeting to attend. As chair of the ag senate committee, Senator Roberts has been a great ally and he was clearly the one leading the charge to repeal COOL. A lot of the cattlemen I met with in the U.S. expressed great interest in working with Canada and learning more about the Canadian industry. I let them know about the Canadian Beef Industry Conference (CBIC) that will be held August 9-11, 2016 in Calgary. This one-ofa-kind event will bring together the semi-annual and annual meetings of several key stakeholder groups, along with learning and networking opportunities to create a unique experience for all participants, regardless of their connection to the Canadian beef industry. Many were interested in attending. That is my season’s greetings message to Canadian beef producers. With COOL behind us and work to ratify TPP and CETA ahead, I know 2016 will be a wonderful year. c

Dave Solverson is president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

with Select Open Females

Saturday, March 5, 2016 - 1:00 pm

At the Ranch, Carievale, SK (heated sales arena)

SONS SELL

22nd Annual Bull Sale 170 Bulls Sell

MRL To The Max

with 20 Select Open Females

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MRL El Tigre

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“THE BULL BUSINESS” IS WHAT WE DO!

MRLA Tilt

Supplying Quality Herdbulls to progressive Cattlemen for 40 years!

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Red & Black Angus Bulls

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For over 40 years we have been committed to and focused on providing herd bulls that will excel for commercial cowboys. Over the years we have listened to our customers to provide herd bulls that work in today’s industry under real world ranching conditions. Herd bulls that will sire calves with moderate birth weights, explosive growth, structural soundness with eye appeal and packed full of maternal power. Extra age bulls Jan/Feb born yearlings and check out the large group of May/June coming two year olds for 2015. Sound, rugged herd bulls that will cover some ground. No fluff, no puff. The top 170 bulls from our highly regarded cowherd of almost 700 mother cows and the most elite herd bulls in the business. Come see for yourself what keeps the commercial cowboys coming back year after year. Give us a call, text or email for a full color catalogue and bull video.

Black & Black Blaze Polled Simmental Bulls

SONS SELL

• All bulls born, bred & developed right here at MRL • Large sire groups 1/2 and 3/4 brothers Penfulls of uniform bulls in every category • Sight Unseen Buyer’s Program (Can’t make it sale day, give us a call. Almost 25% of our bulls sell SUS. • Affordable Bu Many repeat customers year after year.) lls • Quality in Quanity • Semen evaluated and guaranteed and 95% go to Commercial Cowbo • Free Delivery in Western Canada. ys. Cost sharing to the East (Our trailer is most likely going right past your gate.) • Sound rugged Bulls developed on a high roughage ration (Born, bred and fed to work and stay working) • Extra age bulls ready to cover some ground. Offering 30 May/June coming Two Year Olds and January/February born yearlings. • Genetically engineered to excel for the commercial cattleman. Calving ease, performance and packed full of maternal traits.

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15/12/2015 2:45:36 PM

 TH E IN DUST RY

NewsRoundup sustainability

4H club video contest promotes sustainable beef

What started as an impromptu conversation between organizers of McDonald’s Canada’s verified sustainable beef (VSB) pilot and leaders of the Longview 4-H Beef Club in Alberta has snowballed into a Canadian youth beef club video contest. Longview club leaders, Stephen Hughes, Alex Robertson and Ryan Cartwright, whose operations have gone through the VSB verification process, were excited about the club hosting a VSB workshop as a unique real-world experience for members. One thought on how to take it to the next level led to another and ended with the idea for the YouTube video contest, so they stepped up to get

it going, says VSB pilot manager Matt Sutton-Vermeulen. Sutton-Vermeulen is thrilled with the latest turn of events providing an opportunity for the next generation of Canadian beef producers to play an active role in the VSB pilot. He was amazed to learn that more than 10,000 youth participate in beef projects across Canada. “Who better to play a role in this project than the next generation?” he asks. “Sustainability is an evolving journey and the next generation’s voice and actions are really important because they are the ones who will be carrying this forward. We hope this contest can be a catalyst for the next generation to help the McDonald’s pilot inform the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef at yet another level.” Youth club members will be putting

their heads together to create videos telling “what sustainable beef means to me” as they think about why it is important to their families and how they could make beef more sustainable in the future. Participation in the contest starts by attending a VSB workshop. The Longview club organized a workshop for the club and community that attracted more than 190 participants on November 19. Given that club size varies considerably across Canada, the rules require that a club needs only two members with families participating in the VSB pilot to be eligible to enter the contest. Videos are to be uploaded to YouTube and the link sent to mattsv@prassinogroup.com by March 1, 2016. They will be Continued on page 52

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www.canadiancattlemen.ca

11th Annual Family Day Bull Sale Canada’s largest selection of 2 year old Angus bulls.

Monday, February 15, 2016 1:00 p.m. at the farm at Athabasca, AB Lunch at 11:30 a.m.

SELLING: • 190 Red and Black Angus 2 Year Old Bulls

• A Strong Set of 200 Commercial Red & Black Angus Bred Heifers due to Start Calving May 1st

“Sharing in the Excitement of Agriculture” With over 2000 mother cows exposed in 2015, we at Ole Farms raise trouble free cattle. In order to be profitable we believe that a cow must be able to: feed herself on forages for as many days as possible with minimal mechanical intervention, rebreed each summer and wean a calf every year. All of our cattle must be deep bodied, easy fleshing and have solid feet. This enables them to hold condition and breed without being pampered. Our sale bulls are 21 months of age. They are moderate, forage developed and ready to make your operation more profitable.

Kelly & Anna Olson: 780-675-4664

Sale Managed by:

Kelly Cell: 780-689-7822 Travis: 780-689-8324 Graham: 780-675-0112

www.olefarms.com

N EWS ROU N DU P

The Longview 4-H Beef Club organized a McDonald’s pilot verified sustainable beef workshop that attracted 190 participants on November 19 at Longview, Alta. Continued from page 50

shown during the Alberta Farm Animal Care conference, March 22, at Olds, Alta., and judged the last week of March by a panel to include people from McDonald’s Canada, Cargill and media. The judges will be considering the

effectiveness of each video in answering why sustainable beef is important, bringing the concept of continuous improvement to life, and connecting the Canadian beef community with consumers. One prize of $5,000 for “excellence,” one prize of $2,500 for “achievement,” and two prizes of $1,000 for “entry,” reflecting

the VSB pilot verification levels, will be awarded at the close of the VSB pilot during the celebration workshop in April. For more information visit www.vsbpilot.ca or contact Sutton-Vermeulen at 515-371-7914. Continued on page 54

Remitall Farms Bull and Select Female Sale MARCH 14, 2016 AT THE FARM

80 Black Angus Yearling Bulls 30 Purebred Black Angus Open Yearling Heifers SAV Harvestor 0338

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Sankeys Justified

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www.remitall.ca • cattle@remitall.ca office: 403.556.2742 • fax: 403.556.2761

Remitall F Rage 9A

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Selling

TOP QUALITY Bulls in Volume for more than

115 years NOW IN A

new location

Mar 2 & 3 For more information contact ALBERTA CATTLE BREEDERS ASSOCIATION (403)852-0154 finsethjudy@gmail.com

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On-line with DLMS

15-12-09 11:07 AM

LLB Angus 30th AnnuAl

Bull & FEMAlE SAlE at the farm near Erskine Alberta

March 12, 2016

Offering 700 head of Quality Black & Red Angus Cattle

150 yearling bulls • 100 two year old bulls • 100 yearling heifers • 300 commercial heifers • 50 bred commercial heifers •

Lee, Laura & Jackie Brown – Trish & Tim Henderson 403-742-4226 Box 217 Erskine, AB T0C 1G0 llbangus@xplornet.com

catalogue online www.llbangus.com

News Roundup Continued from page 52

associations

Onward and upward for the CFGA

The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association drew the year to a close on a high note coming out of its annual conference at Saskatoon in November. As the theme, “Capturing the Intensity” suggests, the event offered a lineup of insightful presenters on an array of topics from intensive forage management systems and soil health to adoption of research findings and virtual farm tours, along with a great opportunity for networking. Operating on a slim budget, the annual conference is the one time of year when members get to meet face-to-face with one another and bring supporting industry partners, forage and livestock producers into the fold. The CFGA was incorporated in 2010 to provide a national voice for all Canadians who produce hay and forage products for those whose production is dependent on forage and grassland output. While the profile of forage and grasslands continues to gain momentum, the CFGA went through some growing pains in 201415 that started with the process of hiring a new executive director

2 YEAR OLD SIMMENTAL BULLS REICH ANGUS & K3 RANCH 2 YEAR OLD BULL SALE

MARCH 16 2016 CALNASH AG CENTRE - PONOKA AB

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KOLTON KASUR (780-387-8376) • HAROLD REICH CELL (403-783-0207) • REICH RANCH (780-372-2175)

STOP BY ANYTIME 54

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www.canadiancattlemen.ca

NEWS ROUNDUP

following the 2014 conference and building rapport with member livestock organizations and industry partners. Cedric MacLeod, who runs a grass-finished-beef operation and agri-environmental consulting company at Fredericton, N.B., accepted the executive director position as of June 1 and has been instrumental in the CFGA’s onward-and-upward outlook. Activities of the CFGA are funded mainly by its members and industry partners. Members include the provincial forage councils, forage exporters, and livestock associations, including the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association which has returned as a major supporter for 2015-16 at the same level as the Dairy Farmers of Canada. The Canadian Bison Association has been a consistent supporter and the Canadian Sheep Federation became a member. Pickseed and Forage Genetics joined Nutritional Feeds and New Holland as funding partners. New Holland increased its significant contribution to help support a communications program. CFGA has also been working with Farm Business Com-

munications to develop a CFGA brand and with RealAgriculture on a social media strategy. Partnerships are a two-way street, involving what the partner needs and the value piece CFGA can provide, MacLeod says. One role is providing expertise by participating in the Beef Value Chain Roundtable, Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Seed Sector Value Chain Roundtable and Special Crops Value Chain Roundtable. Communications is all encompassing in the forage world from producers and beyond because forage is important to society as a whole, says the newly elected CFGA chair Ray Robertson. While the livestock sector is the largest direct user of forages, this crop provides vital and valuable ecological functions. Cultivated forage for pasture, forage and seed production is the largest crop in Canada, covering 33.8 million acres, or 39 per cent of land used for crop production, according to the 2011 National Forage Assessment. Another 36 million acres is native rangeland and unimproved pasture. Continued on page 56

CANADIAN SHORTHORN ASSOCIATION www.canadiancattlemen.ca

C at t l e m e n · J a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

55

News Roundup Continued from page 55

Robertson sums up the broad scope of a the CFGA’s program: “To support research and innovation and to promote the production, beneficial management practices, market development and benefits of forage and grass in Canada and to provide a forum for information exchange between producers, researchers, industry and farmer stakeholders.” The board is working with consultant Wendy Bulloch of Building Up at Brandon, Man., to develop a strategic plan. Her survey of conference participants highlighted areas consistently recognized as challenges across provincial borders including knowledge transfer, lack of awareness of the contribution of the forage industry among consumers, funding, research and advocacy. Robertson says finalizing a strategic plan and pushing the strategy forward will be a focus during the upcoming year alongside activities of the three standing committees: environment, exporters and research/extension. The environment committee has been collecting research supporting ecological goods and services provided by grasslands as it works to gain public recognition of the value of grasslands and forages and assisted with a Manitoba project exploring the value of forages and grasslands in drought and flood situations.

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N EWS ROUNDUP

The export committee has developed strategies to target overseas markets and is arranging for forage producers and a dairy nutritionist to accompany exporters on a mission to China in March. Hay exports to the U.S. have slowed, largely because of good supplies south of the border and drought-induced high prices in Western Canada. The research strategy is closely aligned with the National Beef Research Strategy’s forage and grassland’s section. The CFGA continues to document research on legume-specific inoculants; however, none of the major companies have come forward on the supply side. Outgoing and inaugural CFGA chair Doug Wray, a beef producer from Irricana, Alta., who represented the Alberta Forage Industry Network on the CFGA, says he is encouraged by the CFGA’s accomplishments raising the profile of forages and most of all by the networking it has facilitated. Robertson has been with the CFGA as the Ontario Forage Council’s representative since day one as well. He is a former dairy and beef producer, who now runs a custom-grazing operation near Markdale, Ont. In addition to serving as general manager of the Ontario Forage Council, he is the founder and executive director of Grey County Agricultural Services Centre, a non-profit organization established in 2000 that provides extension, communication and administration services for agricultural groups and events. The CFGA 2016 conference will be held November 15-17 in Winnipeg. Many of the presentations from the Saskatoon conference will be posted to the website at www.canadianfga.ca. Continued on page 58

Stewart Cattle Co. & Guests

8th Annual Black Angus Bull Sale 50 Black Angus Bulls & Simmental x Angus Bulls

FEBRUARY 25 / 2016 1:00pm Neepawa Ag-plex, Neepawa, MB

Phone or email for catalogue: stewartcows@wificountry.ca Sale catalogue & video will be available from consignors or online @

www.stewartcattle.com FREE BOARD on all bull purchases until April 1, 2016 Stewart Cattle Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204.773.6392 DJ Cattle Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204.841.3880 Legaarden Livestock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204.546.3052

22nd al u Ann

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12/14/2015 9:32:10 AM

News Roundup Continued from page 57

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C at t l e m e n · J a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

identification BIO goes mobile with Go360

The folks at BIO (Beef Improvement Opportunities) in Ontario have been busy creating web-based products and services to complement its web-based bioTrack record-keeping system for beef cattle, sheep and goats. Go360|bioTrack unleashes producers from desk duties with a mobile version that works on any smartphone, even in places without Internet or cellphone connection. It was launched in September and recognized in November with one of Ontario’s 2015 Premier’s Awards for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence for new products or adding value to existing products that support a sustainable environment, job creation and economic growth. Go360 isn’t an app, so it doesn’t permanently take up space on your smartphone. It is a mobile version of bioTrack that makes your browser act like an app. From a location with Internet or cell service, you would log into your secure account to download the information you want and then set the smartphone in disconnect mode. This keeps the information in the browser so you are able to access information and record events such as calvings, weaning, weights, vaccinations and other treatments as they happen without using data until you enter a service area and upload the changes to your account. Closing the tab removes the information from your phone. Calving is a great example of why producers like the idea of using a mobile version of this software. Instead of entering births in a pocketbook and maybe looking back if a problem arises or later recording the details on a computer, the information is immediately entered into Go360 and automatically incorporated into your bioTrack account to supply the analysis and reports used in making management decisions.

It can also play a role in marketing your stock by keeping tabs on traceability and health records, feeding rations and performance statistics. Then wherever Internet or cell service is available, the animal’s record or photo can be pulled up and emailed to a potential customer. Go360 also tracks sales and additions as they occur to constantly update your inventory numbers. BIO’s new motto, “bridging intelligence” is about using everyday technology to make information retrieval easy, accessible and secure so that it’s available whenever and wherever you need it. BIO general manager Mike McMorris

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N EWS ROUNDUP

says profitable decisions come from knowledge, knowledge comes from information, and information comes from data. Livestock producers tend to keep data here and there in notebooks, calendars and various software programs; however, the bottleneck seems to be pulling it together into a format that’s useful for decision making. He describes bioTrack as a whole-farm management system. It includes functions for animal identification and recording each animal’s breeding, genetic evaluation, health, performance, carcass data, economic breeding value and other details useful for herd management. It can also keep track of marketings, transport for traceability records, and share appropriate information within a value chain. There are desktop software programs and apps that take care of one or more of these record-keeping chores but they may not connect with technology you already use to push or pull information from other sources, analyse the data, run comparisons and format reports, or automatically update and back up your data, explains McMorris. The full bioTrack program and optional Go360 offer all that and, when the required data is available, produces within-breed and across-breed genetic evaluations for each animal based on its genetic and economic merit to predict the profitability of its progeny (Canadian Cattlemen, October, 2013). The program also automatically uploads animal identification information to the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency’s database every six hours and BIO works closely with BIXS to ensure easy flow of information to where a user wants it to go, he adds. The full bioTrack program is offered by annual subscription and readily available to producers across North America and worldwide, for that matter, although language and time differences could present challenges in some locations. Go360 is an optional upgrade for bioTrack clients who want the mobile version. The bioMarket program introduced last June is a web-based marketplace for advertising and selling animals and products without having to set up your own online store. The bioLinks program launched a year earlier after adding a processing module to the sales and inventory tracking system purchased from Alberta Agriculture. It is used by processors and retailers to link animal information from farm to fork and has found uptake from other sectors, such as chocolate makers and kitchen cabinet manufacturers, as well. To ask about any of the programs or sign up for a free bioTrack webinar or trial, visit www.bridgingintelligence.com or call toll-free 1-855-246-2333. c

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C at t l e m e n · J a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

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59

 NEWS ABOUT YOU

By Mike Millar

PurelyPurebred

Suggestions are always welcome. My phone number is 306-251-0011 Email: mike.millar@ fbcpublishing.com

n The Canadian Gelbvieh Association hosted the annual Canadian Gelbvieh People’s Choice Bull Futurity on December 4-5 at Red Deer, Alta. Fifty-one Futurity members from across Canada and the U.S. participated in judging the bulls. Twentysix bulls were entered to vie for the prestigious title of People’s Choice Champion. The winning bull was a black purebred, DDN 39C, sired by STON Xplosive 5X. Nelson Gelbvieh of Glenwood, Alberta, was the exhibitor of the winning bull and Ellis Cattle Co./Dane Ranch of Tatla Lake, B.C., was the winner of the bull. n One of the many international guests at Agribition this year was Rachael Wheeler. “Rach” hails from Wellington New South Wales, Australia and was fitting cattle for Miller WilRachael Wheeler son Angus, Bashaw, Alta., and promoting the Sydney Royal cattle show. Rach runs a herd Down Under consisting of Black Angus, Red Angus, Brangus cattle and likes to use Canadian genetics as much as possible. If that isn’t enough Rach was also the ambassador for the International program at Farmfair International. She said the Sydney Royal will have up to 30 breeds of cattle being exhibited. If you are thinking about going it’s being held March 17-30, 2016. Red Angus is showcased this year. For more information go to www.rasnsw.com.au. n We were saddened to learn of the passing of Harry Haney in early December. Harry spent his career in support of Canadian agriculture from his early years as a partHarry Haney ner in the family farming business, followed by several years in the agriculture consulting business, then as owner and manager of Independent Breeders Service Ltd., and later as board chair of Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corporation. He was a dedicated and enthusiastic participant and supporter of the Canadian agricultural industry. Notable among the many duties

60

C at t l e m e n · j a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

(L-r) chaperon Sid Livingstone, Halley Adams, Colby Evans, MacArthur Kowalchuk, and Riley Sharp.

n Congratulations to the Alberta 4-H Livestock Judging Team for placing first in beef judging, third in swine and sheep judging, second in reasons and third overall at the NILE competition in Billings, Montana. Two of the four team members who made this year’s team were from purebred farms: Halley Adams, Ter-Ron Red Angus, Forestburg and Riley Sharp from Double Star Shorthorns, Lacombe, along with Colby Evans from Carstairs and MacArthur Kowalchuk of Willingdon. Individually Riley placed first in beef judging and sixth overall. He had previously won a trip to Agribition in an Alberta 4-H competion last May. Alberta had the only Canadian team in the NILE competition that attracted 500 young people from Mid West 4-H clubs and Future Farmers of America.

he took on in service to the industry, he spent several years as board member and chair of the international committee at Canadian Western Agribition and vicepresident of the international agricultural program at the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. He was a good mentor and above all, a really nice person. We will definitely miss Harry. n The winners of the Canadian Angus Association’s 2015 National Gold Show Program were announced last month. Gold Show winners are the animals that

earn the highest number of points in the association’s three Gold Shows. The Champion 2015 Black Angus Show Bull is PM Thunderstruck 22’13 owned by Ryan Currie of Bristol, Que., Tanya Belsham of Houston, B.C. and Peter and Andy Vos of Plainfield, Ont. The reserve ribbon went to May-Way Breakout 1310 owned by Tanya Belsham of B.C. and Caleb W. Flory of Baldwin City, Kansas. The 2015 Black Angus Show Female is Bar-E-L Erica 74A owned by Maguire Blair of Drake, Sask., and heifer calf Blairwest Miss Erica 400C owned by Maguire

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PURELY PUREBRED

Blair. The reserve banner went to Remitall F Miss Queen 123B from, Remitall Farms. The 2015 Red Angus Show Bull is Red Redrich Aftershock 238A owned by Russell Coward of Swift Current, Sask., and Redrich Farm of Forestburg, Alta. The reserve ribbon went to Red Ter-Ron Hot Shot 10B owned by Russell Coward and Terry Adams of Forestburg, Alta. The 2015 Red Angus Show Female is Red K Adams Zaria 091Z owned by Hal-

ley Adams of Forestburg, Alta., and bull calf Red Ter-Ron Shocker 10C also owned by Halley Adams. The reserve champion is Red Blair’s Bonita 3B owned by Baxter Blair of McLean, Sask. n The Canadian Charolais Association crowned its national champions at the breed’s national show and sale at Agribition. The Grand Champion Female is PZC TR Desirae 012 sired by CML Diablo 2X

with calf at side CML Desirae 558C sired by CML Distinction 318A exhibited by McLeod Livestock, Cochrane, Alta. Reserve Grand Champion is Prairie Cove Miss 309A sired by HTA Vegas 134Y with calf at side Cays Moonshine 11C sired by TR MR Firewater 5792ET, exhibited by Cay’s Cattle, Kinistino, Sask. — additional owner, Prairie Cove Charolais. Continued on page 62

 Gelbvieh association

nThe Canadian Gelbvieh Association held its annual general meeting at Farmfair in Edmonton in November.

Plan now to attend...

Rawes Ranches Ltd. 33rd Annual Performance Tested Charolais Bull Sale Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at the ranch, Strome, AB

The newly elected board is (back row, l-r): Kert Ness, Blair Bentz, Lon Carlson (vice-president). Front row (l-r): Lee Wirgau (president), Darcy Hrebeniuk (past president) Aaron Birch. Missing: Ryan Sommerfeld and Neil Overby.

On offer: 150 TWO YEAR OLDS

n The Gelbvieh Association of Alberta/B.C. recently elected its board of directors at its annual meeting held in Red Deer, Alta. on December 5.

This is your opportunity to purchase bulls from a family that has been breeding Charolais cattle for over 50 years. We offer you the largest selection of Two Year Olds from a program that guarantees sound, functional, uniform bulls, with built in performance to sire calves that will top the market. Gelbvieh Assoc. of Alberta/B.C. board of directors. Back row (l-r): Cody Congdon, Larry Fecho (president), Nolan Pahl, Jason Muhlbach (vice-president). Front row (l-r): Nicole Hollman, Joe Ness, Lorna Okell (secretary).

Philip & Marie Harty (780) 376-2241

John & Myrna Rawe (780) 376-3598

www.rawesranches.com

The Ranch where performance is no accident! www.canadiancattlemen.ca

C a t t l e m e n · j a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 61

PU R E LY PU R E B R E D

n This was the third year for The Yards at Agribition, a spot in the Stock Exchange Commercial cattle where breeders can set up displays showcasing their program without having to enter a show string. That’s where I met Lakeland College’s Pure­ bred Beef SMFTeam members Wyatt Harvey from Rollyview, Alta.; Ashley Hygaard, Selkirk, Man.; and Lexi Antos, Killam, Alta., who took the time to tell me more about their program. Chase Miller, head of marketing and communications on the team and also owner of Miller show cattle was also promoting the team in the barn. This is the fourth year the 13 students on the purebred team have managed the school’s herd of 30 Black Angus cows. All decisions are being made by the students but they are able to draw on the experience of instructors and previous graduates. These graduates set up a plan the students can follow and use as a guide. This year’s trip to Agribition was a success with embryos being sold from the stall. One of their goals moving forward is to get a research herd set up. If you want more information get hold of anybody in the program or contact Lakeland College at www.lakelandcollege.ca.

Continued from page 61

The Grand Champion Bull is CML Distinction 318A sired by Merit Vintage 4065P, exhibited by McLeod Livestock, Cochrane, Alta., additional owners — Sil­ ver Spur Land & Cattle, Sunrise Charolais. The Reserve Grand Champion Bull is SVY Grizzly PLD 521C sired by SVY Blitz 125Y, exhibited by Serhienko Cattle Co., Maymont, Sask., additional owner — Horseshoe E. Both Premiere Breeder and Exhibitor banners went to Springside Farms, Air­ drie, Alta. n HRJ Crowd Favourite 515C, a January 6th son of Sparrows Kingston 139Y was chosen Champion Bull Calf at this year’s Legends of the Fall All Breed bull calf show at Farmfair International in Edmonton, Alta. He is owned by Johnson Charolais, Barrhead. n Canadian Western Agribition posted an attendance record with 130,200 peo­ ple entering the gate at the six-day event in November. Beef entries were up eight per cent with a 10 per cent increase in sale averages. The show also registered 800 international guests from 70 different countries, a 25 per cent increase. n Each year Canadian Western Agribition offers $2,500 scholarships to students with a connection to CWA. This year’s winners are: Breanna Anderson, Swan River, Man.; Megan Bergsveinson, Alameda, Sask.; Rae­ lynne Rosso, Moose Jaw, Sask. Winner of the $1,500 Barry Andrew Family Scholar­ ship award is Jake Rawluk, Moosehorn, Man., while Matt Bates of Cameron, Ont., received the $1,500 William M. Farley Memorial Scholarship. c

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C at t l e m e n · j a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

n Congratulations go out to 2015 Canadian Charolais Association scholarship winners. From a strong field of 16 applicants Laura Weinbender of Canora, Sask., was selected as the 2015 recipient of the $1,500 Dale Norheim Memorial Scholarship and Jessica Sperber of Rimbey, Alta., Luke Marshall of Red Deer County, Alta., and Genevieve Dubuc, St-Eulalie, Que. each receive 2015 CCA scholarship of $1,000.

n The Charolais cow PZC TR Desirae 012, sired by CML Diablo 2X with her CML Distinc­ tion 318A heifer calf at side, exhibited by McLeod Livestock, Cochrane, Alta., was chosen Supreme Champion Female in the 2015 RBC Beef Supreme Challenge at Canadian Western Agribition in November. Desirae entered the Supreme competition as the grand champion female at Agribition and the Olds Fall Classic in Alberta. The Supreme Champion Bull was the Black Angus May-Way Breakout 1310, sired by AVF Breakout 5409 out of May-Way Lady Bando 086 and owned by Tanya Belsham of Houston, B.C. and Caleb W. Flory of Baldwin City, Kansas. This was the 17th year of this prestigious competition that saw 33 female entries and 37 bull entries compete before a five-person judging system.

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 Market Su mma ry

By Debbie McMillin

TheMarkets Fed Cattle

The sharp downturn continued for all classes of cattle as we headed into the last month of the year. Packers lacked interest in cash cattle and continued to push pickup dates into late December to mid-January. This resulted in larger-than-usual carry-over of heavy cattle which weighed on the fed market along with bountiful supplies of cheaper competitive meats and a volatile futures market for live cattle. Fed steers started December averaging $158.57/cwt, a drop of $9/cwt from the month before and $16/cwt under last year. Basis levels in Canada are still narrow compared to a year ago, with the cash-to-cash basis at -$5.50/cwt compared to -$19.02/cwt last year. Fed slaughter has increased in recent weeks, but the kill for the first 11 months of 2015 is still below the same period in 2014. Canadian steer slaughter is down one per cent year to year at 1,279,604 head while heifer slaughter is 13 per cent below a year ago at 671,484 head. Fed exports to the end of November total 187,865 head, which is 48 per cent fewer than last year. The combination of lower domestic slaughter and significantly reduced exports confirms Canada’s shrinking beef herd. However, while we have fewer cows producing fewer calves for slaughter heavier carcass weights have offset much of this loss up to now. Steer carcasses have been dropping week over week in recent weeks but year to date still shows a 32-lb. increase over last year at 892 lbs.

Feeder Cattle Pressure from the fed market has pushed down feeders prices at the same time that a volatile futures market has made it impossible to cover the risk on these cattle. At the

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

start of December 550-lb. feeders in Alberta averaged $266.30/cwt, a drop of $11.76 from the month before and $26.83/cwt less than a year ago. Heavier feeders also trended down, dropping over $14/cwt on 850-lb. steers over the four weeks previous to an average $217.20/cwt the first week of December, $17/cwt under a year ago. Even with this drop the cash-tofutures 850-lb. feeder basis is still running at a premium to the U.S., entering December at +$2.50/cwt compared to -$35.12/cwt basis during the same week of 2014. As a result feeder exports to the U.S. continue to trend down to 283,992 head at last report, 30 per cent below last year.

Non-Fed Cattle Seasonally larger volumes of cull cattle coupled with reduced beef demand, a pressured lean trim market and lower fed cattle prices have weighed down the non-fed market in recent weeks. D1,2 cows dropped $7.17 in two weeks to average $101.25/cwt by our reporting date in early December, pushing them $25.04/cwt below last year. Outstanding fall and winter weather has extended the grazing season in many areas which has some producers holding their cows for the typical price spike in the first quarter. Slaughter bull prices also continue to slide, averaging $120.42/cwt. Nonfed exports to the end of November combined are 16 per cent fewer than a year ago. To date cow slaughter totals 308,636 head, 14 per cent smaller than last year while bull slaughter is down three per cent to 11,355 head. c Debbie McMillin is a market analyst who ranches at Hanna, Alta.

 DE B ’S OUTLOOK Fed Cattle At press time fed cattle nearby live cattle futures hovered near contract lows and technical market uncertainty was expected to continue fuelled by concerns over the direction of beef demand and the economy. Near term our weak dollar offers some relief but there was little likelihood of the usual seasonal spike in fed prices going into the holidays as packers were bought ahead. Look for supplies to tighten up at the start of 2016, but overall cut-out values and demand need to improve before we see any solid first-quarter strength. Feeder Cattle As I write this Canadian feeder cattle prices are still trading at a premium to the U.S., which is hard to maintain, suggesting additional price pressure ahead in the cash market. Without a shift in futures pricing offsetting risk on feeders remains a chore with calves at current prices. Feeder prices usually level off and trend up towards the end of the year but there was little upside this December given recent feedlot losses, the strong feeder basis and limited export trade. Given the sharp price drop over the past six weeks some sellers were passing on electronic sales or holding on to their cattle in hopes of a better market ahead. Depending on the volumes this may help steady prices into the new year. The low dollar and manageable feed costs also lend some support, but the overall tone within the industry needs to shift to produce a significant improvement in January. Non-Fed Cattle Typically cow and bull prices pick up going into the new year however, this year we are seeing additional volumes from cows held back on fall pastures coming to town, larger-than-normal stocks of boneless beef and a volatile fed market. Cull prices may strengthen into the start of 2016 depending on the U.S. 90 per cent lean trim price, the direction of the fed cattle market and beef demand.

More markets 

C a t t l e m e n · j a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 63

M A R K ETS

Break-even Prices on A-Grade Steers 210

ALBERTA

190

340 310 280

170

250

150

220

130 110

Market Prices

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

210

ONTARIO

190

160

150

100

130

80

Canfax weighted average price on A-Grade steers

Break-even price for steers on date sold

2015 2014

2016 2015

December 2015 prices* Alberta Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $215.63/cwt Barley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.83/bu. Barley silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.38/ton Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73.94/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107.44/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157.73/cwt Break-even (May 2016) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173.13/cwt Ontario Yearling steers (850 lb.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $201.62/cwt Corn silage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.12/ton Grain corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.89/bu. Cost of gain (feed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76.94/cwt Cost of gain (all costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104.18/cwt Fed steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154.16/cwt Break-even (June 2016) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161.30/cwt *Mid-month to mid-month prices Breakevens East: end wt 1,450, 183 days West end wt 1,325 lb., 125 days

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

140 120

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

(500-600 lb.)

160

170

110

Steer Calves

190

60

D1,2 Cows Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Ontario

Alberta

2015 2014

2015 2014

Ontario prices based on a 50/50 east/west mix

Market Summary (to December 4, 2015) 2015

2014

Total Canadian federally inspected slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,318,779. . . . . . . . . . 2,491,937 Average steer carcass weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893 lb.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 861 lb. Total U.S. slaughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,911,000. . . . . . . 28,410,000

Trade Summary Exports 2015 2014 Fed cattle to U.S. (to November 28). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190,741.. . . . . . . . . . .365,737 Feeder cattle and calves to U.S. (to November 28) . . . . . . . . . . 284,761.. . . . . . . . . . . 418,077 Dressed beef to U.S. (to October). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429.14 mil.lbs.. . . . 404.40 mil.lbs Total dressed beef (to October). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587.70 mil.lbs.. . . . . 579.27 mil.lbs IMPORTS 2015 2014 Slaughter cattle from U.S. (to October) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 *Dressed beef from U.S. (to October) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218.25 mil.lbs. . . . . . .241.13 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Australia (to October) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.34 mil.lbs. . . . . . . 62.47 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from New Zealand (to October) . . . . . . . . . 45.19 mil.lbs. . . . . . .32.34 mil.lbs *Dressed beef from Uruguay (to October) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.20 mil.lbs. . . . . . . 29.94 mil.lbs Canadian Grades (to December 12, 2015) % of A grades +59% 54-58% AAA 18.3 23.7 AA 20.8 9.4 A 0.2 1.5 Prime 0.2 0.6 Total 33.9 40.8 EAST WEST

Total graded 516,594 1,822,987

Yield – 53% Total 18.6 60.6 3.4 33.6 0.0 1.7 1.3 2.1 23.3 Total A grade 98.0%

Total ungraded 17,223 4,620

% carcass basis 80.35% 88.9% Only federally inspected plants

64

C at t l e m e n · j a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

www.canadiancattlemen.ca

 market ta l k

By Jerry Klassen

Feed Grain Overview

T

he barley market has traded in a relatively narrow range so far this crop year. At the time of writing this article, southern Alberta feedlots were buying feed barley in the range of $212/mt to $220/mt delivered while central Alberta end-users were showing bids in the range of $190/mt to $210/ mt. Despite the drought-like conditions experienced this past June, yields across Western Canada were sharply higher than earlier anticipated. Wheat production has also surprised many traders and the adverse weather in September has resulted in larger supplies of feed wheat. Barley exports are running behind last year’s pace and larger supplies from other major exporters has made Canadian origin barley uncompetitive on the world stage. The weaker Canadian dollar has virtually shut down potential imports of U.S. corn and DDGs but the overall feed grain supply in Western Canada will adequately saturate domestic demand. Farmer selling has been supportive for the market but the new tax year after January 1 usually brings on a wave of supplies from on-farm storage. Statistics Canada estimated the barley crop at 8.2 million mt, which is up from earlier estimates ranging from 7.3 to 7.8 million mt, and also up from last year’s crop size of 7.2 million mt. The average Canadian yield was estimated at 65 bushels per acre compared to the 2014 output of 61.9 bushels per acre. Barley production in Alberta was 4.3 million mt, marginally higher than last year’s crop of 4.1 million mt; the Saskatchewan barley crop was up sharply at 2.9 million mt, compared to only 2.1 million mt in 2014. This shows that there is a fair amount of barley to satisfy domestic feed requirements in the major feeding regions of Alberta. Looking at the demand, malt production in Canada is about the same every year at 0.95 million mt while seed is about 0.25 million mt. The focus is on domestic feed usage and export movement. Crop year-to-date exports for the week ending November 29 were 0.3 million mt compared to 0.4 million mt for the same period in 2014-15. The bulk of the barley exports have been malt quality to China. However, China is struggling with burdensome coarse grain stocks due to their high domestic support prices. Malting companies in China need to apply for import permits which is extremely slow and importing stocks now run the risk of waiting in port position for one to two months upon arrival as the Chinese government attempts to slow imports. This has made it very difficult to forecast overall import demand from China. I’m forecasting total Canadian barley exports at 0.8 million mt compared to 1.350 million mt last year. Exports to North Africa and the Middle East are non-existent due to the strong competition from Black Sea supplies, Europe, Australia and Argentina. Therefore, don’t expect the world market to pull supplies offshore. Domestic Canadian feed barley usage is estimated at 5.7 million mt, which is the same as in 2014-15. The largest factor influencing feed barley prices will be the amount of feed wheat used domestically. Non-durum spring wheat production was estimated at 20 million mt, compared to 21.2 million mt in 2014. However, the adverse weather in September has resulted in a year-over-year increase of low-quality milling and feed wheat supplies. Unlike

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Supply and disposition of Canadian barley (’000 tonnes) StatsCan StatsCan StatsCan StatsCan StatsCan 10-year Estimated 10/11 11/12 13/14 14/15 average 15/16 12/13

Acres seeded

6,911

6,472

7,405

7,083

5,880

8,273

6,257

Acres harvested

5,899

5,843

6,797

6,554

5,279

7,364

5,812

Yield (bu./ac.)

59.21

61.00

54.10

71.70

61.90

60.00

65.00

Opening stocks Aug. 1

2,583

1,441

1,195

983

1,924

2,081

945

Production

7,605

7,755

8,012

10,237

7,115

9,506

8,226

42

14

19

7

60

37

40

10,230

9,210

9,226

11,227

9,098

11,624

9,211

Exports

1,272

1,200

1,250

1,554

1,350

1,572

900

Seed

233

257

249

209

253

282

250

SUPPLY

Imports TOTAL SUPPLY USE

Human food/industrial/1

902

933

886

971

850

946

950

Feed-waste-dockage

6,382

5,625

5,858

6,569

5,700

6,987

5,700

TOTAL USE

8,789

8,015

8,243

9,303

8,153

9,787

7,800

TOTAL CARRY-OVER

1,441

1,195

983

1,924

945

1,837

1,411

1/includes barley processed domestically and then exported as malt

barley, these stocks are moving quite readily offshore because the weaker Canadian dollar has made these stock competitive with other mid-quality wheat origins into lower-quality destinations such as Bangladesh. Southern Alberta feed wheat prices have fluctuated in the range of $220 to $230 per mt and the market looks relatively stable moving forward. In any case, domestic wheat usage in Canada will be approximately four million mt, about the same as last year. In conclusion, I’m forecasting a barley carry-out near 1.4 million mt, which is up from the 2014-15 carry-out of one million mt but slightly down from the 10-year average of 1.8 million mt. This ending stocks projection is not overly bullish for barley prices because stocks are not extremely tight. Cattle producers will have to be aware of seasonal fluctuations such as in late March through early May as road bans come into effect and cattle-on-feed numbers are at seasonal highs. This could cause a rally in the early spring period. Barley prices will also be more heavily influenced by mid- to low-quality wheat values during this time. The wheat market generally incorporates a risk premium as northern hemisphere winter wheat crops come out of dormancy. Other than this period, the barley market is expected to be relatively flat and farmers are generally regular sellers during January and February, which keeps a lid on the upside. c Jerry Klassen manages the Canadian office of Swiss-based grain trader GAP SA Grains and Produits Ltd., and is president and founder of Resilient Capital specializing in proprietary commodity futures trading and market analysis. He owns farmland in Manitoba and Saskatchewan but grew up on a mixed farm feedlot operation in southern Alberta. He can be reached at 204-504-8339.

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65

 GOINGS ON

Sales&Events Events January

14-16 Ontario Beef Industry Convention, Best Western Lamplighter Inn, London, Ont. 14-16 Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners Conference, Sheraton Cavalier Hotel, Calgary, Alta. 20 Alberta Cattle Feeders Association Annual Meeting, Lethbridge, Alta. 20-22 Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference, Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon, Sask. 21 Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association Annual Meeting, Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon, Sask. 21 Professional Cattle Feeding and Marketing Short Course, Wyoming, Ont. 22-23 Canadian Bull Congress, Camrose Regional Exhibition, Camrose, Alta. 23 Ontario Beef Symposium, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont. 27-29 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Annual Convention, San Diego, California

February

estern Canada Feedlot Management W School, Travelodge Hotel, Saskatoon, Sask. 4 Professional Cattle Feeding and Marketing Short Course, Wyoming, Ont. 4-5 Manitoba Beef Producers Annual Meeting, Victoria Inn, Brandon, Man. 9 BIO Annual Meeting, Mallot Creek Boardroom, Elora, Ont. 16-18 Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference, Saskatoon, Sask. 16-18 Ontario Beef Farmers Cattlemen’s College and Annual Meeting, International Plaza Hotel, Toronto, Ont. 17 National Cattle Feeders Association Annual Meeting, Sheraton Hotel, Red Deer, Alta. 17-19 Alberta Beef Industry Conference, Sheraton Hotel, Red Deer, Alta.

February 1

6 8 11 12 13 14 16 18 18 25

2-4

March 23

anadian Beef Breeds Council Annual C Meeting, Best Western Port O’ Call Inn, Calgary, Alta.

April

28-May 8 F leckvieh Simmental Congress of the Americas, Villahermosa Tabasco, Mexico

Sales January 30

30

66

.C. Quantock “Canada’s Bulls” Bull M Sale, Lloydminster Exhibition Grounds, Lloydminster, Alta. Lazy S Ranch Bull Power Sale, at the ranch, Mayerthorpe, Alta.

C at t l e m e n · j a n ua ry 2 0 1 6

25 27

azy RC Ranch Red and Black Angus L Long Yearling Bull Sale, at the ranch, Beechy, Sask. Hill 70 Quantock Ranch, Barn Burnin’ Bull Sale, at the ranch, Lloydminster, Sask. Moose Creek Red Angus 2-year-old Sale, at the ranch, Kisbey, Sask. Stauffer Ranches 2-year-old Black Angus Bull Sale, Fort Macleod Auction, Fort Macleod, Alta. Anchor D Ranch Simmentals Genetic Edge Bull Sale, at the ranch, Rimbey, Alta. Soderglen Ranches Select Annual Bull Sale, at the ranch, Airdrie, Alta. Remitall Farms Bull and Select Female Sale, at the farm, Olds, Alta. Rawes Ranches 33rd Bull Sale, at the ranch, Strome, Alta. Chapman Cattle Co. 10th Annual “Forage-Developed” Angus Bull Sale, Stettler Auction Mart, Stettler, Alta. Nordal Limousin and Angus, Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, Sask. Stewart Cattle Company Annual Black Angus Bull Sale, Neepawa Ag-Plex, Neepawa, Man. Benlock Farms Bull Sale, at the farm, Grandora, Sask. Lewis Farms 31st Bull Sale, at the farm, Spring Grove, Alta.

March 1

2 2-3 5 5 6 9 11 12 18

elvin Angus 4th Annual Bull Sale, B at the farm, Innisfail, Alta. Erixon Simmentals Annual Bull and Female Sale, Saskatoon Livestock Sales, Saskatoon, Sask. Calgary Bull Sale, Century Downs, Calgary, Alta. Davidson Gelbvieh and Lonesome Dove Ranch 27th Annual Bull Sale, at the ranch bull yards, Ponteix, Sask. McMillan Ranching Ltd. 21st Annual Bull Sale, at the ranch, Carievale, Sask. R Plus Simmentals Bull and Female Sale, at the farm, Estevan, Sask. Harvie Ranching Bull Sale, at the ranch, Olds, Alta. A. Sparrow Farms Annual Bull Sale, at the farm, Vanscoy, Sask. LLB Angus 30th Annual Bull and Female Sale, at the farm, Erskine, Alta. Reese Cattle Company Charolais Bull Sale, Innisfail Auction Market, Innisfail, Alta.

April 3

11

S ummit 3 Speckle Park Sale, at Codiak Acres’ farm near Ardrossan, Alta. Moose Creek Red Angus Yearling Bull Sale, at the ranch, Kisbey, Sask. c

 A DVE RTI S E R IN D EX Page Advancing Women 42 Airdrie Trailer Sales 59 Alberta Cattle Breeders Assoc. 53 Allen Leigh Security & Communications Ltd. 33 Anchor D Ranch 39 Belvin Angus 47 Benlock Farms Ltd. 25 Boehringer Ingelheim 45 Brett Young Seeds 13 Canadian Agri-Blend 50 Canadian Angus Assoc. 58 Canadian Cattle Identification 14, 15 Canadian Charolais Assoc. OBC Canadian Gelbvieh Assoc. 43 Canadian Hereford Assoc. IFC Canadian Limousin Assoc. 34, 35 Canadian Red Angus Promotion Society 58 Canadian Shorthorn Assoc. 55 Canadian Simmental Assoc. 27 Cattlemen’s Financial Corp. 58 Cattlesoft-Cattlemax 12 Chapman Cattle Company 37 Corporation Allflex, Inc. 33 Davidson Gelbvieh 31 Gilbrea Consulting Ltd. 58 Goodon Industries 12 Harvie Ranching 7 Hi-Hog Farm & Ranch Equipment 59 Hill 70 Quantock Ranch 9 John Deere 19 Kolton Kasur 54 Lewis Farms Ltd. 29 LLB Angus 54 Lloydminster Exhibition Assoc. 50 M.C. Quantock Livestock 5 49 McMillen Ranching Ltd. Meridian Manufacturing Inc. 23 Nester Livestock 21 Ole Farms 51 Rainalta Simmentals 57 Rawes Ranches Ltd. 61 Real Industries 24 Reese Cattle Co. 56 Remitall Farms Inc. 52 Ridley Block Ops/Crystalyx 32 Riverside Welding 58 Soderglen Ranch IBC Stauffer Ranches 41 Stewart Cattle Co. 57 The Cattle Range 36 Tru-Test Inc. 56 Zoetis Animal Health 11

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