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Cattle bale grazing in central Saskatchewan.

Tips for bale grazing

Feeding: News Roundup from the January 2020 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

By Canadian Cattlemen Staff January 13, 2020

Bale grazing not only helps keep cows fat and sassy over the winter, but can also improve areas with low fertility and reduce yardage costs. Research studies in Saskatchewan and Alberta have found higher forage production on bale-grazed sites than control sites with no bale grazing, the Beef Cattle Research Council notes in Extended Grazing, […] 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, Hay, Pasture

Hay shortage in Manitoba Interlake reaches tipping point

By Marlo Glass – MarketsFarm September 5, 2019

MarketsFarm — A state of agricultural emergency has been declared in 12 municipalities, mostly in Manitoba’s Interlake region, due to chronically low hay yields. Drought and grasshoppers have hindered crops to the point that hay production is about 25 to 30 per cent of average. “We’ve moved cows out of pastures because the grasshoppers ate […] Read more

When cows bale graze, are they letting good quality forages fall by the wayside?

Livestock, News, News Roundup

Bale grazing trial looks at feed waste

Grazing: News Roundup from the December 2018 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

By Canadian Cattlemen Staff December 19, 2018

Bale grazing is a common winter feeding practice but how much forage are those cows leaving behind? Alberta Agriculture and Food recently shared results from one trial that examined that question. The Lakeland Agricultural Research Association (LARA) measured waste from bale grazing over four winters, from 2008 through 2011. The study was done using the […] Read more

Despite its size, wads of net wrap such as this one can be easy to miss in a full rumen if you are not looking for it.

Features, Livestock

‘Software disease’ — The hazards of plastic, net wrap and twines

Animal Health: Ingestion of plastics has become a common killer

By Heather Smith Thomas September 13, 2017

Cattle, especially young ones, are curious and chew on anything within reach. They may eat baling twines, plastic bags and other debris that ends up in their pen or pasture. The strange material may taste or smell interesting, so the animals chomp it down. Sometimes they accidentally ingest foreign objects in their feed. Cattle eat […] Read more

Livestock, Research

NDSU studies net wrap, twine ingestion in cattle

By Heather Smith Thomas September 13, 2017

Beef specialist Carl Dahlen, North Dakota State University Animal Science Department, became interested in this problem after the NDSU diagnostic lab necropsied a case of acute bloat associated with ingestion from a large wad of net wrap. He decided to compare various materials to see how well they break down (or not) in the rumen […] Read more

Hay, News

Stack bales properly to help maintain quality

Moisture is a bale's biggest enemy so give it room to breathe

By Alberta Agriculture August 1, 2017

When it comes to stacking bales, a little forethought can go a long way to ensuring a better product. “Storage losses from improperly stacked bales can be anywhere from 15 to 20 per cent of the dry matter yield while protein and energy losses can be anywhere from five to 10 per cent,” said beef […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Features, Forages

Don’t waste your expensive feed

By Duane McCartney November 3, 2015

This will be a difficult winter for drought-stricken cow-calf producers. It will be essential to make the best use of available feed stocks and look at ways of reducing wastage of this valuable resource. Cows can be very wasteful creatures especially if forages are fed free choice be it dried hay or bale grazing. In […] Read more

Livestock

Measuring feed quality in the field

A new system allows for bale-by-bale feed value testing

By Michael Thomas August 12, 2015

In challenging economic times it is more important than ever to know the value of the alfalfa forage you are feeding your dairy or beef cattle. Whether you are blending alfalfa in a ration to maximize lactation, fertility and calf growth, or utilizing lesser-quality hay for dry cattle or replacements, you want to know that […] Read more

Features, Forages

Looking for a payoff from energy-dense forages

By Heather Smith Thomas June 5, 2015

Clayton Robins, the current executive director of the Manitoba 4-H Council, has been researching forages for a number of years. In 2008 he was part of a team from Canada that went to Argentina to look at the forage-fed beef value chain. “We spent most of our time there with Dr. Anibal Pordomingo who was […] Read more

Grain exports continue strong out of Thunder Bay

U.S. court blocks sales of Bayer’s dicamba herbicide

COVID-19 and the farm: Stories from the GFM network

GFM Network News