We always enjoy the cattle on 4-Clover Ranch near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. It was our own animals back in the day and now someone else’s are on the farm for summer grazing. Fact is, we are really grass farmers and have chosen to harvest the grass with cattle rather than the haybine. We have […] Read more
Soil fungi key to grass production
The soil is a complex world working hard to complete natural cycling
Optimism stoked the Australian cattle market
Indicators favoured a strong cattle market in Australia but time will tell if strength will be maintained
Earlier this year I participated in a webinar sponsored by Meat and Livestock Australia and came away with some incredible optimism and understanding more clearly why the Australian cattle frenzy is continuing. The stars are indeed lining up in 2015 for Australian cattle producers and the new record prices set on a daily basis from […] Read more
Be on the lookout for water hemlock
About 1-1/2 pounds of leaves or a bite of a bulb is enough to kill a cow
You are typically hearing from me with an Australian story but for a change I am reporting to you from our 4-Clover Ranch south east of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. Since coming back in late May we have endured a very dry spring and summer. While a good 125 mm of rain has fallen since […] Read more
Simple Bud Box adds ease to cattle handling
Famed cattle handler Bud Williams left a legacy with a design that’s been copied across the world
I always marvel at farmer innovations and the fact some people continue the search for “a better mousetrap” even as you might say they are getting “long in the tooth.” The late Bud Williams was an exemplary lifelong learner, fine-tuning ways to handle livestock throughout his life and never passing up the opportunity to share […] Read more
Harvest in Victoria, Australia
While Canadian Prairie farmers were out in the cold, shovelling snow, Kim Neilsen has been running his combine Down Under
Here in Australia we seed in the fall to take advantage of the cooler temperatures, reliable rain and good soil moisture to germinate crops and mature them for harvest before the inevitable hot and dry summer. It has been eight months since we seeded our crop of oats and we are content to see them […] Read more
Autumn is bull sale season “Down Under”
We are well into autumn, as fall is called down here in Victoria, and the leaves from poplars, elms and plane trees are changing to a golden colour, much the same as in the northern hemisphere despite daytime highs occasionally still entering the high 20s. I wonder where the notion came from that overnight frost […] Read more
Aussie farmers appreciate a good fence
The slogan “A good fence makes a good neighbour” applies as much to an Australian farmer as it does in Canada. Looking a little closer you will see Australian fence is built differently and also very well. Aussies must appreciate neighbourly relations but also believe a fence should be built properly from the onset and […] Read more
A new crop year in Australia
The problems faced by Australian farmers are a lot like the ones we have here. But they’re worried about heat, not frost
Canadian farmers face a short growing season, and are challenged to complete harvest before the arrival of winter. Farmers in Australia deal with climatic challenges as well, but in Australia the biggest challenge is the summer heat. It’s a race to get the grain in the bin before the scorching summer temperatures impact plant growth. […] Read moreThe Victorian cattle run
It is a world away, but ranching has similarities whether you are running cattle in Australia or Canada
It is high summer and we have had several days with hot northerly winds out of central Australia pushing the temperatures into the 40s, bringing pasture growth to a screeching halt. Many cattle producers have now weaned their calves and begun feeding supplemental hay or silage, all part of the annual work cycle for a […] Read moreWrapping up the Australian grain harvest
It’s mid-January, 2013, and there are just a few acres of wheat and the odd field of faba beans left to harvest here in the Western District of Victoria. These last fields will complete the harvest across most of Australia. Victoria is a very diverse agricultural state with relative higher rainfall and cooler temperatures but […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
