Forages & Production Tips

Standing corn west of Giroux, Man. on Oct. 21, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Manitoba beef sector faces tight feed situation

By GFM Network News October 22, 2019

MarketsFarm — An early snowstorm may have been the last straw for Manitoba livestock producers looking to put up feed ahead of winter. While the foot or more of heavy snow that blanketed much of the province over the Thanksgiving weekend has melted, saturated fields continue to limit corn silage harvests and hay cutting. “Feed […] Read more

Crops, Pasture

Alberta to lift residency rule for public grazing lands

By GFM Network News September 25, 2019

The Alberta government plans to remove a restriction on non-Albertans’ use of public lands for grazing, in a bid to smooth out paths for interprovincial trade. The province on Saturday announced it will do away with eight of its declared exceptions under the interprovincial Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). Of the eight, three deal with […] Read more

Crops, Hay, Pasture

Hay shortage in Manitoba Interlake reaches tipping point

By GFM Network News 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

Crops, Hay

Crop reports stoke hay shortage concerns

By GFM Network News August 2, 2019

MarketsFarm – Rainfall varied across the Prairie provinces during week ended August 2, as concerns of a hay shortage continue. Approximately 39 per cent of the hay crop in Saskatchewan is now baled or stored. While hay quality is 55 per cent good-to-excellent, yields have been well below normal across the province. According to the […] Read more

Hay, News, Wheat & Chaff

Make hay while the sun shines. But do it safely

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association July 23, 2019

Summer is a busy time. Kids are home from school, ongoing farmyard and machinery maintenance is underway, and of course one of the season’s most labour-intensive tasks looms — haying. Beating the weather and getting hay down, dried, baled and hauled is a major undertaking and not without its particular set of hazards. Crush injuries, runovers, rollovers, pinch points, transportation hazards, fall hazards, stress and anxiety — you […] Read more

Crops, Forages, Hay, Markets, Weather

Prairie hay shortage on horizon

By GFM Network News July 19, 2019

MarketsFarm — While rain across the Prairies has eased concerns of an all-out drought, worries of a hay shortage going into winter haven’t ceased. Darren Chapman, a Virden, Man. producer and chair of the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA), explained that regrowth following the first cut of hay has been strong. First-cut hay crops […] Read more

File photo of cattle on pasture northeast of Calgary. (James_Gabbert/iStock/Getty Images)

Livestock, Pasture

Alberta to lengthen public leases for ‘exemplary’ ranching

By GFM Network News July 12, 2019

Ranchers who display “exemplary” stewardship as tenants on Alberta’s public lands could soon be eligible for double the term of the usual lease. The province announced Tuesday it expects the new policy to come into effect in late autumn this year and “in the coming months” will release new guidelines on what would be considered […] Read more

Crops, Pasture, Reuters, Weather

Rain gives farmers relief, for now, from three-year drought

By Rod Nickel, GFM Network News June 25, 2019

Winnipeg | Reuters — With drought turning Chad Ross’s pastures brown, the southeastern Saskatchewan rancher sent 140 head of cattle to slaughter earlier than usual this spring, as the Prairies’ three-year drought made them too expensive to feed. The ranch and feedlot near Estevan has lost money two straight years. Long-awaited rains that swept the […] Read more

Wheat in southeastern Saskatchewan on May 31, 2019. (Leeann Minogue photo)

Cereals, Crops, Forages, Weather

Saskatchewan extends greenfeed seeding deadline

By GFM Network News June 19, 2019

Saskatchewan farmers who still want to put in cereal crops for greenfeed with crop insurance coverage will get an extra couple of weeks to do so. Saskatchewan Crop Insurance on Wednesday announced an extension on the June 30 deadline for seeding crops for greenfeed, to July 15. Producers who have crop insurance will now be […] Read more

Crops, Pasture, Weather

Prairie drought reaches tipping point

By GFM Network News June 19, 2019

MarketsFarm — The Prairie provinces have been under the influence of a large ridge of high pressure for a number of weeks, which has produced prolonged dryness with little precipitation. That high pressure system has pushed low-pressure, precipitation-carrying systems to the south, where the U.S. Midwest has already received significant rain. Environment Canada estimated the […] Read more

GFM Network News

U.S. grains: Soybeans continue gains on Trump’s China comments

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures end week higher on tight supply

Pea, lentil outlooks have some positive signals – Penner

Forages