A well-planned and managed grazing season — focused on maximizing forage growth/production, adequate grazing management and appropriate mineral supplementation — can reduce production costs and increase profitability.
Grazing
Transitioning yearlings to pasture
Native plant 411 for livestock producers
The native plants in your pasture tell a story about everything from disturbances to soil quality
Southwest of Calgary, Alta., as the jagged peaks of the Rockies level out to the Prairies, rough fescue grows in dense tufts. This native plant is Alberta’s provincial grass and a tasty meal for livestock in the fall and winter. Saskatchewan’s provincial grass is needle-and-thread grass, named after its sharp seed tip and long awn. […] Read more
Water systems for cattle operations
A water system can help beef producers make the best use possible of their resources
In Western Canada, the land aches for water. Drought has plagued parts of the Prairies for years now. Water levels in rivers, lakes and producers’ dugouts have dropped. Grass in the summer looks the same as it does in the fall — brown, crunchy and dead. The concern lingers going into the growing and calving […] Read more
Managing grazing through drought
Understanding how plants respond to drought is key to adapting your grazing strategy
I first met Dr. Alex Johnston, one of Canada’s leading range management scientists, at a 4-H camp that I was helping to lead in a wilderness area in the mountains north of Pincher Creek, Alta., many years ago. He was an impressive figure, dressed in his ceremonial headdress, given to him when he was inducted […] Read more
Finding a forage to fit your farm
What do you need to think about when you’re considering a cover crop or a perennial legume
Last summer, Canadian Cattlemen caught up with Graeme Finn, rancher and founder of Union Forage, at Ag in Motion. Here’s what he had to say about everything from cover crop blends to the “slow ponies” of the forage world — perennials. Know your soil “Before you even start down this journey with cover crops, know […] Read more
VIDEO: How to manage your grazing in times of drought
The Canadian Prairies have seen their unfair share of drought conditions for a number of years and that has made for challenging conditions for both cattle producers and the plant species they feed upon. Here, Dr. Breeanna Kelln, Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan and Beef Industry Research Chair in Integrated Forage Management & […] Read more
Rotating to managed grazing
Rancher Greg Judy of Missouri explains why he switched from continuous to rotational grazing
Greg Judy’s farm in Rucker, Missouri, sounds picturesque: mild winters, flat land broken by rolling hills, dotted by livestock. “It’s not row cropland,” Judy says, speaking at the Western Canadian Conference on Soil Health and Grazing last winter. “It’s just basically rolling hills, very thin topsoil. And so what we’re dealing with there, folks, is […] Read more
Plan for drought to minimize the effect on your herd
News Roundup from the May 2023 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
Anyone farming and ranching in the Great Plains is going to have to deal with drought, so it’s best to be as prepared as possible. That was the message from Anneliese Walker at the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association conference last fall. Walker is a Princeton, Minnesota producer who also works for Maia Grazing, which […] Read more
Pond scum: blue-green algae and cattle
It’s a routine summer day of checking cattle, maybe repairing a bit of fence. Nothing too stressful, at least until you see the dugout you’re using as a water source for your cattle, which has algae in it. Now what? The first question is whether it’s blue-green algae, which can release toxins harmful to cattle, […] Read more
AUDIO: Spring droughts – and floods – favour toxic plants
At the end of April, the government of Canada’s Canadian Drought Outlook had listed most areas in the Prairies as experiencing abnormally dry conditions, or moderate to extreme drought conditions. By the end of May, this had changed, with the drought lifting or improving in many areas of Saskatchewan. The Weather Network predicts areas in […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
