Manure Archives | Canadian Cattlemen

Regeneratively grazing recycles nutrients to the soil.

It ain’t pretty

From the Ground Up with Steve Kenyon

By Steve Kenyon April 26, 2021

You may have heard me say this before. A monoculture is ugly, no matter how pretty it looks. This constant drive to manage monoculture cropping has us in a downward spiral of dead soils and added inputs. It is costing us dearly. Nature rarely relies on only one species in an environment. Even a hay […] Read more

Ryan Boyd and his daughter Piper during a farm media tour in the fall of 2018.

Cow-Calf, Features, Livestock

Nuffield Canada scholarship expands horizons for Manitoba producer

Ryan Boyd shares how he’s applying the insights from his international travel on his family’s cow-calf operation

By Piper Whelan April 15, 2021

A mindset of continual improvement led Ryan Boyd on an international adventure with benefits for his family’s farm upon returning home. Boyd runs South Glanton Farms at Forrest, Man., with his wife, Sarah, and his parents, Jim and Joanne. He is passionate about implementing the principles of regenerative agriculture and the soil health movement, including […] Read more

Thanks to Jim Lundgren, who farms at Glenora, Man., about 85 km west of Morden, for this photo of his early start to spring tillage on March 20, 2021, owing to the recent absence of snow and/or rain in the area. Not that it’s a race, but is spring fieldwork already underway where you are? If yes, feel free to snap a photo and email us at daveb@fbcpublishing.com. (Photo courtesy Jim Lundgren)

Crops, Weather

Manitoba soil temperatures allow for spring fertilizer

Winter ban lifted, with cautions

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News March 24, 2021

Farmers across Manitoba are now cleared to apply spring fertilizers including livestock manure on their fields, thanks to sufficiently warm soil temperatures, the province said Tuesday. Though the winter nutrient ban has been lifted, the province cautioned producers to “assess current weather conditions and periodically check weather forecasts” if they’re applying anytime between now and […] Read more

News, Newsmakers

New Cattlemen’s Young Leaders, roundtable elects committee execs

NewsMakers from the March 2021 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

By Canadian Cattlemen Staff March 1, 2021

Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Dave Slingerland was raised on a feedlot and cow-calf operation near Coaldale, Alta. Growing up, Slingerland was very involved with 4-H. His love for cattle and their genetics led him to start Tempest Red Angus, a purebred Angus herd founded on heifers purchased for 4-H. It has grown to 25 registered cows […] Read more

From the Ground Up, Livestock

Winter water for livestock

From the Ground Up with Steve Kenyon

By Steve Kenyon February 17, 2021

We have our fair share of drastic weather here in Alberta. In our environment, we can have temperature swings of about 85 C between winter and summer. I have seen a 45-degree shift in a single day. It went from 10 C and dropped to -35 C overnight. These temperature swings are a lot harder […] Read more

Bootsman uses a quad to roll and unroll aircraft cable for electric fence.

Cow-Calf, Features

Working with farming neighbours to graze crop residue

Here’s how a cow-calf producer is extending the grazing season by working with local farmers

By Heather Smith Thomas February 2, 2021

Fall and winter grazing can help a beef producer reduce winter feed costs, and some cattlemen are finding value in creating co-operative relationships with neighbouring farmers to graze crop residues. Joey Bootsman has a cow-calf operation near Rapid City, northwest of Brandon, Man., and for several years has made arrangements with farming neighbours to graze […] Read more

The Stuart family: Ben holding son Sullivan and Sian holding daughter Ava.

Features, Livestock

Free-choice silage pit grazing a simple winter feeding option

Ben Stuart, a forage specialist and beef producer, explains how to make this feeding option work for you

By Piper Whelan December 2, 2020

A free-choice silage pit may be the right stockpile grazing option to reduce your equipment costs and simplify winter feeding. Ben Stuart, forage specialist with Union Forage, first used this method of “grazing” silage to decrease winter feeding costs while maintaining quality in a system that’s easily accessible for cattle. “We wanted to look at […] Read more

Edgar Smith and his brothers run Red Angus and Red Angus-cross cattle on their operation at Courtenay, B.C.

Beef Cattle, Features

B.C. producer narrows in on what customers want in beef

Health, environment and animal welfare top priorities for Edgar Smith’s customers on Vancouver Island and in the lower mainland

By Heather Smith Thomas November 24, 2020

Edgar Smith and his brothers Phillip and Doug have a unique cattle operation, raising beef from start to finish and selling direct to customers. “Our family has been in the beef business since the 1940s on Vancouver Island, and the operation has evolved and changed over the decades. In the 1940s and 1950s we were […] Read more

A one-foot space at the bottom of the windbreak keeps snow and ice from piling up.

Features, Weather

Whither the wind: How to decide on windbreaks

Find out what your options are for protecting your herd from wind and snow this winter

By Lois Harris November 19, 2020

Find out what your options are for protecting your herd from wind and snow this winter

If beef producers want to have healthy, productive herds, making sure they’re protected from the wind is crucial, says Jenifer Heyden. “We want the cattle to be able to maintain condition on cold, windy days,” says the livestock and feed extension specialist with the Government of Saskatchewan. While beef cattle are tough, and can handle […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Weather

Tech firm aims to boost regenerative ag through A.I., machine learning

Terramera proposes to cut emissions, sequester carbon through efficiencies

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News November 3, 2020

A Vancouver ag tech firm is pitching a proposal to both public- and private-sector investors that would use Microsoft technology to help the ag sector “pull carbon from the air.” Terramera on Monday put forward a $730 million proposal for an initiative it calls the Global Centre for Regenerative Agriculture, which would oversee efforts to […] Read more

Eastern drought zones set for livestock tax deferrals

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle extend rally as beef prices climb

U.S. grains: Soy futures top $16 for first time since 2012

GFM Network News