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Canola regrowth blooming in Manitoba’s Interlake in late September. Beware high nitrates and other issues when grazing canola regrowth and consider using an electric fence to control intake.
Forages, News, News Roundup

Timing key when managing high-nitrate feeds

News Roundup from the October 2021 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

By
You’ve tested your feed and you’ve got some high-nitrate crop in the field or the feedyard. What exactly are the risks to your cattle and what can you do to manage them?  High nitrate levels can affect reproduction, and this time of year is especially risky for herds calving in May or June, says Barry […] Read more
Swath grazing is a great strategy to extend the grazing season.
Forage & Grasslands Guide, Forages

Putting forage theory into practice

A new online guide explains how to maximize forage production and greenhouse gas sequestration

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Forage and grassland farmers now have a practical, straightforward resource to discover best management practices for maximizing soil carbon sequestration. The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) published the digital guide, Forage Best Management Practices for Enhancing Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration, earlier this year as one of the key deliverables of its four-year Agricultural Greenhouse […] Read more
How does your feed measure up? This livestock nutritionist decodes the numbers.
Features, Forages, Livestock

A closer look at your feed test

A ruminant nutritionist provides us with an in-depth look at a real-life feed test for hay

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In a year like this, feed testing is “prudent,” says Courtney O’Keefe, ruminant nutritionist with Blue Rock Animal Nutrition at Innisfail, Alta. “It’s going to help you make those decisions and balance that ration accordingly.” O’Keefe takes us through a recent feed test (see example below) for mixed grass-legume hay, noting that nutritionists tend to […] Read more
(Andreus/iStock/Getty Images)
Crops, Hay, Weather

Hay-starved Prairies fertile ground for online scammers

At least $64,000 lost in Alberta alone, RCMP says

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High demand, scarce supplies and rising prices for hay and other feeds due to this summer’s drought on the Prairies have made a market for online scammers, RCMP warn. The urgency driving such transactions may cause ranchers, farmers and farm workers to make purchases “without taking time to properly verify or research production sources,” Alberta […] Read more
In a dry pasture, cattle will also eat a lot of tall larkspur, which contains many toxic alkaloids.
Features, Forages, Livestock

Unconventional: Salvaging crops and feeding weeds during drought

Whether you’re eyeing a flax crop or baling ditches and sloughs, here’s what you need to know about alternative feeds

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In drought years it’s often challenging to provide adequate forage for cattle. Sometimes producers use alternative feeds which might include drought-stressed or salvaged crops. Dr. Bart Lardner, professor in the department of animal and poultry science at the University of Saskatchewan, says some of the drought-stressed crops that might be available include annuals such as […] Read more
VIDEO: Collecting feed samples for testing
Forages, Livestock

VIDEO: Collecting feed samples for testing

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Getting a representative feed sample of what your cattle are eating is essential due to this year’s drought conditions. In particular, you should be mindful of high nitrate levels that may have accumulated in forages from plant stress. In this video, Jenay Werle with Saskatchewan Agriculture shows where to place your cut for a proper […] Read more
Crops, pastures and haylands throughout Western and Central Canada are parched.
Forages, Livestock, Research

Today’s forage research provides tomorrow’s solutions

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

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Today’s research won’t help you weather this year’s drought, but the practical information and advice you’ll read elsewhere in the September issue of Canadian Cattlemen (and at beefresearch.ca) will. Those tips, covering everything from alternative feeds to weaning, all originate from past research done by scientists and refined by producers. But producer-funded research underway today […] Read more
(GFM file photo)
Crops, Forages

CFA’s Hay West program up and running

Program website now online

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A revival of the “Hay West” initiative, aimed at shipping feed from Eastern Canada to supplement drought-dented supplies in the West, has gone live. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture on Friday announced its Hay West 2021 initiative is “now operational and seeking applicants to both receive and supply hay.” Applicants interested in either supplying or […] Read more
(MDS.mennonite.net)
Crops, Hay, Weather

Ontario MDS volunteers already moving hay west

Disaster response group spearheading program separate from CFA plan

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It’s in the spirit of co-operation in difficult times that a group of Ontario farmers have launched a hay donation program to assist their Saskatchewan counterparts. Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada, a volunteer organization that provides assistance in the aftermath of disasters in Canada and the U.S., is organizing the latest iteration of Hay West […] Read more

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AGCanadaTV: In Case You Missed It – Your National Ag News Recap for the week ending October 22, 2021.

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