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(Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)
Barley, Crops, Markets, Spring Wheat, Weather

Feed weekly outlook: Heat reducing potential yields, raising prices

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MarketsFarm — The hot and dry summer that has enveloped all of Western Canada is already bringing down projected yields for feed grains, creating an inverse effect on prices. “We’re losing the crop here right now with the heat and lack of moisture across the Prairies and the northern Plains of the United States,” said […] Read more
Farmer and Grainews columnist Toban Dyck inspects wheat on July 6, 2021 near Winkler, Man., where hot and dry weather has led to thin, uneven stands. (Photo: Reuters/Rod Nickel)
Beef Cattle, Crops, Forages, Weather

Saskatchewan raises salvage threshold for parched crops

Stock watering program also boosted; APAS, Tories' ag critic had called for more drought aid

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Saskatchewan’s provincial crop insurance agency is raising the yield threshold at which drought-damaged crops can be grazed, baled for greenfeed or cut for silage with no penalty on future coverage. Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. said Wednesday it would double the “low yield appraisal” threshold values on cereal or pulse crop acres put to feed. SCIC […] Read more
Overgrazing doesn’t just reduce above-ground growth. It also reduces root growth.
Livestock, Research

Underground herbicides

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

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When I was a kid, my dad found Russian knapweed in a pasture along an irrigation canal. He explained that it was important to catch this weed quickly because it can spread very aggressively. Russian knapweed reproduces using seeds as well as by buds growing from its roots (somewhat similar to the sod-forming grasses in […] Read more
When the government pulled out of community pastures, operations became the responsibility of board members and patron volunteers.
Features, Pasture

Community pasture patrons adapt to new business models

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The following is the second in a three-part series exploring how different community pastures shifted from government to producer operation, and the ongoing effects of that shift. Years after government decided to turn over community pasture management to patrons, board members and staff are still finding new approaches to managing and improving operations while ensuring […] Read more
Cows grazing winter wheat and fall rye in September 2018.
Cereals, Crops, Forages

Adding winter cereal crops to the annual forage mix

Dr. Vern Baron makes the case for winter cereals as cow chow

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Spring barley and oats are typical annual forage choices for many beef producers, but winter cereals can add forage flexibility to beef cattle diets. Dr. Vern S. Baron has worked with forage crops since the 1980s — with a master’s and PhD in corn production and physiology. Much of that time has been with Agriculture […] Read more
The Beef Cattle Research Council has released its five-year research and extension strategy.
Livestock, Research

How Mother Nature hedges her bets

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

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Pasture plants are generally classified as decreasers, increasers and invaders. Decreaser species are the plants you want to see and your cattle prefer to eat, so they face the most grazing pressure. Increaser plants tend to thrive when the decreaser species are challenged by overgrazing, drought or other sub-optimal conditions. Invaders (weeds) proliferate when increasers […] Read more
Supplementing minerals on pasture — a necessary evil!
Livestock, Nutrition

Supplementing minerals on pasture — a necessary evil!

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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Hopefully, as you read this article, “spring has sprung” and pastures across the country are showing signs of early growth. For cow-calf operators, the arrival of spring signifies the transition from winter feeding to a new grazing season. Spring pasture growth is considered an excellent forage source for meeting the nutritional requirements of lactating cows, […] Read more
Salinity in central Saskatchewan, just off Highway 15.
Features, Forages

Managing soil salinity for the long haul

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Establishing perennial forages is one of the top recommended methods to manage saline soils for the long term

Growing up on a mixed farm in southern Alberta, Alan Iwaasa was no stranger to the costly headaches that saline soils could create. “There were certain land bases that just were poor,” Iwaasa recalls. “For a period of time, there was a lot of effort that was looking at levelling your land and putting in […] Read more
Cattle waiting at the Pathlow Community Pasture in July 2006.
Features, Livestock

Ideas for advanced grazing management

Once you’ve established the foundation of grazing management, you’re ready to fine-tune the system

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The idea of moving cattle to graze higher-quality forages goes back hundreds of years. Long before barbed wire and electric fences, shepherds would move their flocks every day to new areas to graze. Similarly, on the North American prairie, the vast herds of buffalo were continually on the move in search of better grazing. The […] Read more
Choosing an appropriate mineral can help ensure the health and productivity of cattle on pasture.
Livestock, Nutrition

Getting the most out of your grass cattle

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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As this issue comes to print, we are likely 40 to 60 days away from turning yearlings out to grass. The vast majority of these animals are last year’s calves weaned in the fall or early winter. If we examine how these animals are overwintered, two different management approaches are evident. The first is to […] Read more

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