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Cattle are often susceptible to frothy bloat when grazing lush alfalfa pastures. It is best to ease them into high-risk pastures and even provide some dry hay or straw.
Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf, Livestock

Preventing frothy bloat on early spring pasture

A couple of treatments are available, but management practices can avoid the problem

By
As a beef nutritionist, I haven’t heard about many fatal cow bloat cases over the last 10 years, but of the few I’m aware of, it seems it takes only a few things to come together to make bloat deadly. From talking to experienced beef producers, I am also aware that the risk of annual […] Read more
A typical brome grass field of the many I drive by on the way to Dundurn Farm. In wet years, there are many bales and in dry years only a few bales. The rain or soil moisture is always needed but if fertility is missing, wet years become ordinary years not high-yield years.
Columns, Crops, Hay, Pasture

Les Henry: New wrinkles when fertilizing grass crops for hay and pasture

One quarter section of fertilized grass could give the same yield as five quarters of “cut what is there”

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There are many old grass stands that are mainly brome grass and serve as hayfields with occasional grazing. Many hayfields have never seen a kernel of fertilizer. Perhaps this piece will start folks thinking and will lead to a change in practice. There are many old reports that deal with the topic. The two main […] Read more
Smoke rises from a wildfire near Wildwood, Alta., about 100 km west of Edmonton, on May 5, 2023. (Photo: Alberta Wildfire/Handout via Reuters)
Livestock, Reuters, Weather

Alberta ‘crossing fingers’ for rain amid wildfires

CN mainline traffic west of Edmonton suspended

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Reuters — Firefighters were counting on rain and cooler weather forecast for Monday to help them quell a dramatic start to Alberta’s wildfire season. The province declared a state of emergency on Saturday in response to wildfires in northern and central regions that have displaced nearly 30,000 people and prompted energy producers to shut in […] Read more
Along with native grass pastures, the Baergs are trying different combinations of seeded grass and legume species to 
provide both annual and perennial forage stands.
Cattleman’s Corner

Crop diversity intended to beef up the soil

Proper rotation is part of developing sustainable farming operation

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“If you take care of the grass, it will take care of you.” These are the words of wisdom Alberta cattle producer Jerry Baerg received from one of his mentors, and which he has followed as he and his family set about building a sustainable beef operation near Linden in south-central Alberta. Over the past […] Read more
File photo of a cow grazing near Leader, Sask., about 85 km south of Kindersley. (James_Gabbert/iStock/Getty Images)
Beef Cattle, Pasture, Weather

Saskatchewan holds Crown grazing rents at last year’s levels

Also, leaseholders on drought-downgraded land eligible for rate cut

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Cattle producers leasing Crown land for grazing in Saskatchewan won’t see a rate hike this year and may be eligible for a significant rate cut. The provincial government announced Wednesday it has frozen the rates charged to producers who lease Crown grazing land in 2023 at their 2022 level. The freeze will apply to all […] Read more
Drought expands across western Prairies
Crops, Weather

Drought expands across western Prairies

By
MarketsFarm — Drought conditions expanded across Alberta and Saskatchewan in October, with very little precipitation across the agricultural regions of the two provinces since August. That’s according to the latest Canadian Drought Monitor from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, as of Oct. 31. At the end of that month, 72 per cent of the Prairie region […] Read more
Livestock, Reuters

At least 12 killed in Nigeria attack over farmland

Gunmen appear in village in north

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Abuja | Reuters — Gunmen have killed at least 12 people in an attack on a village in the northern Nigerian state of Plateau, residents and the state governor said on Wednesday, the latest deadly incident fuelled by growing pressure on land resources in the country. Violence between farmers and pastoralists has become increasingly common […] Read more
The developer of Velcro got the idea from burdock seed heads. While Velcro turned out to be a great thing for consumer products, the burrs that stick to livestock (and humans) are not just a nuisance but can have a negative health and economic impact.
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Burdock control is a year-round project

Plants reduce forage production and their sticky burrs can devalue and injure livestock

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Burdock is an invasive plant that causes problems for livestock and crops. The tall burdock plant (a native of Eurasia, brought to North America by seed burrs stuck to imported animals) is a biennial. Burdock flowers in late summer, producing a composite seed head which matures by mid-August in southern areas and later in northern […] Read more
In those parts of the Prairies that have had quite a bit of moisture this spring, there is a risk of cattle being infected with liver fluke parasites that can affect overall animal performance.
Cattleman’s Corner

Beware of liver fluke invasion on wet pastures

Parasite infection can result in animal weight loss and reduced body condition

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Most of the high water across the eastern Prairies will recede in the upcoming weeks, if they haven’t already. When cattle can be returned to these once-flooded pastures, the ground will probably be soaked, which will likely expand the territories of many cattle parasites such as the common deer liver fluke. To combat this invasive […] Read more
Figure 1. The fencer pushes out electric pulses, the cow connects the current through the earth and back through the ground rods to the fencer.
Cattleman’s Corner

Zapping your way to improved pastures

Electric fencing is an important tool to improved pasture and grazing management

By
In the last while I have taken an increasing number of calls about electric fencing. I think this is largely due to lack of rainfall in a lot of areas, but also a renewed interest in adding productivity to pastures and forage. Another big reason is that electric fence can be significantly cheaper to install […] Read more

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