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Forages

A handful of corn silage. It’s easiest to collect a representative sample of silage while filling the pit.
Features, Forages, Livestock

How to sample feeds

From bales to silage to swath-grazing, experts share tips for getting representative samples

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While high nitrates in feeds are more commonly seen in frost-touched plants, Saskatchewan Agriculture staff have been seeing high levels in drought-stressed crops this summer, highlighting the importance of feed testing this fall. “We’ve seen a really wide variety of test results come in, some as high as five per cent (for nitrates), which is […] Read more
Axel Diederichsen and Travis Sander threshing wheat.
Barley, Forages, Oats

Seeding the Future: The curious cultivator

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You probably haven’t heard of Axel Diederichsen, yet he holds our past, present and future in the palm of his hand. He’s been entrusted to protect a resource our very existence depends upon, and it on us.  Those are the opening lines of Grainews editor Kari Belanger’s story about Axel Diederichsen, research scientist and curator […] Read more
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

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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
Larkspur, which contains many toxic alkaloids, can affect the next year's calf crop if gestating cows eat enough of it at the wrong time. It's just one example of toxic plants found in some regions in North America.
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

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