Forages , Latest & Featured | Canadian Cattlemen

Hay disaster benefit kicks in for Manitoba growers

By GFM Staff January 12, 2020

Eligible Manitoba forage growers can expect to share in a $5 million hay disaster benefit (HDB) for the 2019 crop year. Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC), the provincial crop insurance agency, announced Friday that the HDB has been activated and benefit payments to eligible forage producers on about 1,500 claims will begin “shortly.” The HDB, […] Read more

Using feed bunks ensures cattle consume the highest-quality portions of the plants.

Features, Hay, Livestock

Running the numbers on bale processors

Research shows that bale processors can increase digestibility and cut feed waste, especially if used in the right system

By Bruce Derksen December 23, 2019

When I was growing up, if someone had mentioned the words “bale processor,” I would have assumed they were describing my twice-daily task of manually transporting heavy square bales from the stack through herds of playful cattle intent on destroying them before they reached their destination. The processing part was snapping the sisal twine and […] Read more

Crops, Forages, Machinery

Vermeer buys TMR mixer maker Schuler

By GFM Staff December 10, 2019

U.S. hay and forage equipment manufacturer Vermeer Corp. is expanding its reach in the cattle feeding business with a deal for fellow Iowa firm Schuler Manufacturing. Vermeer announced Wednesday it purchased Schuler for an undisclosed sum and that Schuler products will still “initially” be sold under the Schuler brand, but with an “intentional transition” to […] Read more

Lee Carpenter answers questions about his mixed farming operation, during the Saskaskatchewan Forage Council’s pasture tour near Hanley, Sask.

Beef Cattle, Features, Forages

Saskatchewan producers reap benefits of silage crops

After a dry year, these Hanley-area producers are banking on silage to help winter the herd

By Bruce Derksen November 6, 2019

Moisture levels through spring and summer were plentiful in some areas of Western Canada, but in south-central Saskatchewan, Mother Nature was stingy with the rain when it was needed the most. That put even more emphasis on potential yields and benefits of silage crops for two Hanley-area operations. Perry Dyck is owner and president of […] Read more

Cattle grazing a cover crop near Brandon, Man.

Forages, News, News Roundup

Manitoba researchers seek cover crop growers

Forages: News Roundup from the October 2019 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

By Staff October 30, 2019

If you grew a cover crop in Manitoba in 2019, researchers would like to hear from you. Researchers at the University of Manitoba are undertaking a three-year survey on the number of acres in cover crops, the types of farmers growing cover crops and the range of cover crop species grown in Manitoba. Those who […] Read more

Off-site watering systems help provide cleaner water, which in turn provides higher weight gains.

Forages, Livestock

Putting beavers to work with the aim for more weight gain

Abundant clean water means more pounds of beef, and an Alberta project demonstrates how beavers can help provide it

By Jeff Melchior October 29, 2019

Ask many farmers or ranchers if they like having beavers on their land and you may have to wait a moment as they finish choking on their coffee. You may then be on the receiving end of a tirade about what a headache it was to clean up a flooded access road or clear a […] Read more

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada plant breeder Dr. Yousef Papadopoulos holding a sample of AAC Trueman alfalfa to show its branching root and unique rhizomatous growth habit systems.

Forages, News

New branch-rooted alfalfa cultivar hits the market

AAC Trueman is more resilient in extreme weather and can withstand extended periods of dryness, wetness or flooding

By Trudy Kelly Forsythe October 22, 2019

It’s been 30 years in the making, but a new branch-rooted alfalfa cultivar that is tolerant to both drought and excessive moisture is now available in Canada. It’s an important advancement given the increased occurrence of extreme weather events including heavy rains, flooding and drought. The licensing right for this new variety was awarded in […] Read more

Corn, Crops, Forages

Manitoba beef sector faces tight feed situation

By Phil Franz-Warkentin October 22, 2019

MarketsFarm — An early snowstorm may have been the last straw for Manitoba livestock producers looking to put up feed ahead of winter. While the foot or more of heavy snow that blanketed much of the province over the Thanksgiving weekend has melted, saturated fields continue to limit corn silage harvests and hay cutting. “Feed […] Read more

Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) is currently developing a grassland protocol as part of its Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Program

Forages

CFGA calls for less plane talk and more Plains talk

CFGA's carbon offset protocol development underway for Canada's northern Great Plains

By GFM Staff October 9, 2019

The dialogue around Canada’s national election has recently focused on campaign plane usage and carbon offsets. But the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association is calling on candidates to focus more on Canada’s northern Great Plains, which are home to some of the most periled and threatened ecosystems in the world, the association notes in a […] Read more

The attendees at this Atlantic forage field day took in research updates and extension information at the AAFC Nappan Research Farm in Nova Scotia.

Forages, News, News Roundup

Record turnout at forage field day in Nova Scotia

Forage: News Roundup from the September 30, 2019 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

By Amy Higgens, Tanya Dykens October 7, 2019

Agriculture and Agriculture Canada (AAFC) and Maritime Beef Council co-hosted an Atlantic forage field day this summer at the AAFC Nappan Research Farm, located near Amherst, Nova Scotia. This was the third year that the event was co-hosted, and it proved to be the biggest turnout yet with 120 farmers, agriculture advisors, academics and government […] Read more

Starbucks to add more plant-based food in latest green push

U.S. grains: Corn, soy fall as traders await Chinese buying

U.S. livestock: Hogs, cattle ease amid uncertain Chinese demand

GFM Network News