Pasture Archives - Page 93 of 102

Klassen: Feeder cattle market grinds lower

By Jerry Klassen, GFM Network News December 22, 2015

Western Canadian feeder cattle prices ended the year on a soft tone, trading $5-$10 below week-ago levels; fleshier unweaned calves were down $10 to $15 because adverse weather plagued much of the Prairie region. Cattle buyers were busy on the phone, but receiving no orders. Feedlots appear to be content with their current inventory levels […] Read more

An irrigation canal meanders through Lakes of Muirfield. The Western Irrigation District has been managing competing water uses and growing urbanization within its borders.

Crops, Features

Prairie land use and water rights

Alberta’s Western Irrigation District finds its way while it straddles the urban-rural divide

By Lisa Guenther December 21, 2015

Straddling the urban-rural divide is an uncomfortable balancing act. Alberta’s Western Irrigation District, headquartered in Strathmore, has kept its balance by co-operating where it can, and getting tough when needed. For years, the irrigation district had a rocky relationship with the city of Calgary. Stormwater from the city would wash contaminants such as salt, phosphorus, […] Read more

Livestock, Reuters, Weather

Wild bees seen dwindling in main U.S. crop regions

By Will Dunham, GFM Network News December 21, 2015

Washington | Reuters — Wild bees, crucial pollinators for many crops, are on the decline in some of the main agricultural regions of the U.S., according to scientists who produced the first national map of bee populations and identified numerous trouble spots. The researchers on Monday cited 139 counties as especially worrisome, with wild bee […] Read more

Finishers, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. Nov. feedlot cattle placements slump to record low

By GFM Network News December 18, 2015

Chicago | Reuters –– Cattle movement into U.S. feedlots in November fell 11 per cent from a year ago to their lowest level since the government began compiling the data in 1996, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report showed on Friday. Analysts attributed last month’s much smaller-than-expected placements to deteriorating margins that prompted feedyards to […] Read more

These yearlings, working on their third pass this grazing season through this paddock of brassica, legume and grass forage blend appeared to find all the forage types very palatable.

Cattleman’s Corner

Forage blend really produced the feed

A pasture seed mix with 10 to 12 different forages shone in a somewhat mediocre growing season

By Lee Hart December 18, 2015

For the beef handlers at Walter Farms in central Alberta it was actually a good sign — a neighbour called one day to alert them to the fact the cows were in a field of canola or corn or some type of good-looking cash crop. While the neighbour’s concern was appreciated, the cowmen weren’t worried. […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Hogs, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Cash price caution tempers CME live cattle rally

By GFM Network News December 15, 2015

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures finished moderately higher on Tuesday, after uneasiness about cash prices later this week pulled contracts from initial short-covering highs, traders said. Spot December ended up 0.775 cent/lb. to 120.3 cents, and February 1.125 cents higher at 125.525. Those who had been short futures covered those […] Read more

A pasture infested with leafy spurge. This perennial weed spreads quickly and crowds out native vegetation.

Crops, Features

Battling with leafy spurge in Sask.

Leafy spurge is persistent, invasive, and hard to control. Know your enemy

By Edna Manning December 14, 2015

One of the most persistent and problematic weeds to infest large areas of pasture and prairie in Western Canada is leafy spurge. It is even a larger problem in the northern U.S. — North Dakota, and parts of Montana are badly infested; Wisconsin and Minnesota are also dealing with it. Leafy spurge is not native […] Read more

Crops, Forages, Hay, Markets, Weather

Hay producers see increased competition, lower prices

By GFM Network News December 7, 2015

CNS Canada — Canada’s export hay prices have come down from summer highs and now sit at less than half their previous levels, but despite competition from other growing regions, a weak loonie is helping Canadian producers. South Africa, Eastern Europe and Argentina have increased their alfalfa production, said Edward J. Shaw, director of market […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Hogs, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: COOL news weighs on CME live cattle, hogs

By GFM Network News December 7, 2015

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell on Monday, partly led by the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ruling against the U.S. in a meat-labeling dispute, said traders. Canada and Mexico may impose tariffs worth $1 billion onto U.S.-traded products, a WTO panel ruled on Monday, as the countries prepared to retaliate […] Read more

Livestock

Sask. widens wolf harvest pilot area

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News December 3, 2015

Last winter’s pilot project to push wolves back from ranches and farms in northeastern Saskatchewan will expand west this winter. Saskatchewan’s environment ministry on Wednesday announced a wolf hunt will run from Dec. 15 this year until March 31, 2016 in wildlife management zones (WMZs) 49 and 53. The wolf hunt pilot program ran from […] Read more

GFM Network News

U.S. livestock: Cattle rebound on technical buying

U.S. grains: Soybeans fall as rapid harvest overshadows China trade hopes

Good weather pushes Alberta harvest along

Pasture