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Cattle grazing on a range infested with velvet lupine in eastern Washington state. Producers will want to know in advance about any potentially hazardous plant life before turning cattle out on unfamiliar land.
Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Prevention and responsibility can be shared

Animal Health: Crop growers and cattle producers can benefit by working together

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In writing for the past several years for Grainews it was nice trying to create articles that had application to the cattle, grain and mixed farmers out there. Better long-term solutions are created by looking from both sides of the fence at a problem. These create win-win situations, where both sides of a deal, trade […] Read more
Beef cows need to have a good body condition score going into the winter.
Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Early-gestating beef cows need good nutrition

Better Bunks and Pastures: Two-stage use of minerals over the fall and winter can help cows maintain body condition at a better cost

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Late autumn is when many spring calves are weaned and removed from their moms. The remaining cow herd is now in its earliest weeks of gestation and requires a modest level of nutrition. It is an opportunity to feed some of the most cost-effective forage diets. But as time goes on, beef cows’ nutrient requirements […] Read more
One of the potential downsides to leaving crop residue on a field is that it can make planting more challenging the following spring.
Features

Crop residues’ rewards versus risks

Leaving crop residue after harvest can be beneficial — but poses some challenges

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John Berger marked the completion of his 57th harvest on his family farm near Nanton in southern Alberta this fall. By most accounts, it was another productive year on Berger’s 5,000-acre grain farm. Still, something didn’t sit quite right with the long-time farmer. Whenever he toured the nearby countryside post-harvest, he noted many farm fields […] Read more
File photo of a sunrise over an Alberta barley crop. (MNphotography/iStock/Getty Images)
Crops, Weather

Alberta issues final crop report for year

Harvest over 98 per cent done by region and crop type

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MarketsFarm –– For the second year in a row the Alberta harvest wrapped up well ahead of the five-year average. With a gain of three points for the week ended Tuesday, Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development (AFRED) pegged the combining of major crops at 99.2 per cent complete. That’s 22 and a half […] Read more
St(RAW) deal
Columns, Crops

St(RAW) deal

Don’t rob our Prairie croplands — help rejuvenate them by working in all crop residues

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Here we go again. “Alberta May Get Straw Plant” was a headline that appeared last summer in an agricultural publication. Why the concern? How many of you remember those massive piles of straw on the Trans-Canada Highway near Elie, Man., just east of Winnipeg? There were stacks and stacks of big, round straw bales — […] Read more
A Redekop MAV Straw Chopper mounted to a Claas Lexion combine.
Machinery

Residue management innovations from Redekop, New Holland, Case IH

The latest straw chopper technologies offer increased spreader widths, finer cuts, more efficiencies and in-cab controls

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For farmers who practice low-till or no-till, residue management is essential. “We’re leaving a lot more residue on the field and that residue brings some benefits because it traps moisture and reduces erosion,” explains Trevor Thiessen, president and co-owner of Redekop Manufacturing in Saskatoon. “If straw is not chopped finely and spread evenly, it can […] Read more
Are you losing money when selling bales? Consider the alternatives.
Columns, Crops

Sixteen reasons why grain growers should never sell crop residues

Read this article and you’ll never sell baled straw again

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Could it be the last straw or the straw that broke the camel’s back? If you grow lentils, peas, canola, dry beans, fava beans, soybeans or grain corn, it’s normal practice to harvest the grain and leave the combined residue on the cropland. There are exceptions when some of the aforementioned crops may be baled. […] Read more
Many farms across Western Canada will likely be dealing with a certain amount of mouldy feed that can be fed in small amounts if blended off with better quality feed.
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Vitti: Options for including mouldy feed in rations

Know what you have and blend it off with the good stuff


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This year, not many people harvested and stored good-quality hay on the northern Prairies. A cool spring and droughty summer capped by a couple of feet of autumn snow forced many producers to harvest thousands of mouldy hay bales. For many, this is their only forage supply to overwinter beef cows. Fortunately, we can set […] 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.
Machinery

Highline CFR 1251 built to speed up processing

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

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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
When you sell straw or hay off your farm, have you ever considered the fate of the nutrients contained in the hay or straw?
Columns, Crops

Selling nutrients: the last straw

Practical Research: How to degrade productive cropland by selling the nutrients after the harvest season

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Sandy soil areas are not uncommon on the Canadian Prairies, especially west and north of Edmonton, my home area. It made me wince when I saw endless lines of wheat straw bales on countless sandy fields this fall. Technically speaking, straw should never be sold on any kind of cropland unless there is a very […] Read more

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