Young Farmer Carrying a Bale of Hay

Make hay while the sun shines. But do it safely

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

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Prairie hay shortage on horizon

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





AGCO introduces two new RB Series silage balers to 
North America. They are based on a Lely design.

PHOTOS: AGCO introduces the RB Series round baler

Lely-influenced round balers join 
the MF family in North America

European expatriates will certainly be familiar with the Lely brand of equipment. The brand has had a presence here in North America for several years as well, and long-time Canadian dairy operators will be well aware of their barn systems. But the brand has had a strong presence in the hay and forage sector overseas […] Read more

Summer bale grazing may work during the dry grazing season.

Another transplanted grazing idea

Report from Down Under: Bale grazing may have a fit in an Aussie summer

Editor’s Note: Keep in mind seasons in Australia are reversed: spring — September to November; summer — December to February; autumn — March to May, and winter — June to August. In my last article, I shared the trials of our swath-grazing attempts on our farm here in Australia compared to what we had done […] Read more


The CFR1251 Bale Pro built by Highline Manufacturing is capable of processing up to three bales in a single ration, allowing it to take larger feed loads out to herds.

Highline CFR 1251 built to speed up processing

Highline model offers speed when blending hay, straw and grain rations

Winter feed costs make up the bulk of animal input costs on the prairie, so blending forage of different qualities into a ration can help stretch feed stocks and provide the right blends at the right time. The marketing staff at Highline Manufacturing of Vonda, Saskatchewan, believes their CFR1251 Bale Pro processor can help producers […] Read more

With proper supplements, straw can make a good winter ration.

Building beef cattle diets using some straw

Keeping cows properly fed while reducing costs

First came the drought, then through September and early October a foot of snow, a weekend of autumn and finally winter. Not exactly the best weather for harvesting good-quality forage and grain for most beef cattle. At least we had a return to good fall conditions by mid-October. Fortunately, what grain that was taken off […] Read more


Gabi Uelinger holds six of the required native plants for a 
Q2 meadow.

Farming for the insects and birds

Government programs provide funds for Swiss farmers who follow new mowing rules

Schleitheim, Switzerland: All around me farmers are mowing. From June 15th onwards farmers are allowed to cut meadows and hayfields qualifying for Q2 government subsidies. The Q2 (qualitätsstufe 2) program aims to provide and protect healthy habitat for birds and insects. Non-qualifying fields are already being cut the second or even the third time. Obviously […] Read more

(File photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Prairies’ dry weather may stem U.S. cattle stampede north

Winnipeg | Reuters — Parched pastures and crops in Western Canada are driving up cattle-feeding costs, and farmers and analysts expect the changing economics to stem a recent stampede of U.S. cattle being brought over the border. Canada imported 65,035 head of cattle from the U.S. from January through June, nearly double the pace of […] Read more