Don and Diane Guilford have been practicing holistic management on their 1,200-acre ranch near Clearwater, Man. since the early 1980s. Don is the third generation of his family in that region and says holistic management has made a big difference in his success as a farmer. He took his first course with Allan Savory at […] Read more
Redefining a ranch
Holistic management has made the Guilford ranch more efficient — and it carries more cattle
Creating calf creep water tubs
Calves get their own water source while their trough is out of order
This spring we had to find a way to supply water to our baby calves. The pastures where we have our cow-calf pairs in the spring and early summer are fenced away from the creek, to avoid the risk of having a young calf swept away by high water. When we first moved onto this […] Read more
A key to cattle business survival
Produce more pounds of beef per acre versus more pounds per cow, this U.S. rancher says
North America producers are receiving higher prices for cattle than ever before — “yet very few are really profitable,” Kit Pharo says. Most cow-calf producers “are too dependent on outside inputs, which are also at record-high costs,” says Pharo, who operates Pharo Cattle Company in Colorado and was the keynote speaker at the recent Holistic […] Read more
Pastures, hayland get a leg up with legumes
Climate program funds allow Canadian-bred non-bloating legumes such as sainfoin to gain ground
A former Alberta provincial forage and livestock business specialist, now working with seed supplier Union Forage, Grant Lastiwka has studied forages in grazing systems for a long time. Over that time, he’s found certain legumes can bring net benefits to pastures and forage stands — significant enough to outweigh the potential drawbacks. Eleven years ago, […] Read more
It’s been a wonderful visit
For years we've shared our lives with Grainews readers and they've done the same with us
This will be my final Rancher’s Diary column. I was recently informed that with the current business changes at Grainews, my column will no longer be published, but I was graciously given the chance to say goodbye to my readers — many of whom have become personal friends over the years. I first became aware […] Read more
Making a wish list of bulls for next breeding season
There are always several late fall projects to complete before the ground freezes
October 20 Last week we moved the cows to the lower back field to join the heifers They can all graze there a few weeks. We checked the temporary fence around the deep gully — to make sure it was still secure enough to keep cows out of that gully. It’s so deep and narrow […] Read more
A handy inexpensive feed bunk
A repurposed water trough and other fencing materials were all put to good use
This fall, we decided to let our two yearling bulls out of the corral for winter and have them eat down some willows. Last winter, we created a new little pasture by clearing out the trees and willow bushes, then piling and burning them in hopes of growing more grass. We grazed that new pasture […] Read more
Pleased with top sale prices for steers
Rancher’s Diary: Always more chores to prepare for winter
September 27 Last Wednesday Andrea got her pickup hooked to the trailer at the loading dock, ready to go to auction, and we put hay in the trailer to create better footing for the cattle. That evening I put the steer calves and two open yearling heifers in the calving pen where they’d be easy […] Read more
Great gathering for granddaughter’s wedding
Rancher's Diary: Firewood pile is ready for the winter ahead
September 7 Last week we moved some big bales in our upper stack that was leaning over into the bushes toward the creek. We stacked them on the end of the smaller stack, reconfigured the black plastic covering and put deer mesh around them to keep the deer out. Emily’s wedding was Friday — marrying […] Read more
Water in short supply for irrigation
A mostly hot and dry August with one forest fire out of control
July 26 — The past 12 days we’ve had hot weather, up to 35 C. The creek is dropping, and we’ve been short of irrigation water. We bought some big square bales from Phil Moulton; he hauled and stacked them for us, and Dani helped us put black plastic over the bales. We always buy […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
