published by manitoba beef producers september 2015 · entz, professor of cropping systems and...

PUBLISHED BY MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS

SEPTEMBER 2015

POST

MA

STER

: PLE

ASE

RET

URN

UN

DEL

IVER

ABL

E CO

PIES

TO

:M

BP, U

NIT

220

, 530

CEN

TURY

STR

EET,

WIN

NIP

EG, M

B R

3H 0

Y4

CA

NA

DIA

N P

UBL

ICAT

ION

S M

AIL

PRO

DU

CT

SALE

SA

GRE

EMEN

T N

UM

BER

4000

5187

PO

STA

GE

PAID

IN W

INN

IPEG

.

MBP visits The Pas Page 4

AgriClear takes cattle sales online

Page 7

Field day focuses on manure

Page 3

What’s Inside

PHO

TO B

Y JE

AN

NET

TE G

REA

VES

September 2015CATTLE COUNTRY2

www.mbbeef.ca

DISTRICT 13BEN FOX - 2ND VICE PRESIDENT

R.M. of Shell River, Shellmouth,Hillsburg, Boulton, Grandview, Gilbert Plains, Ethelbert, Mossey River, Dauphin, LGD Park

MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

DESIGNED BY

CATTLE COUNTRY EDITOR

FINANCE

POLICY ANALYST

Chad Saxon

Esther Reimer

Trinda Jocelyn

Chad Saxon

Deb Walger

Maureen Cousins

Melinda German

Ph: 1-800-772-0458

DISTRICT 14STAN FOSTERR.M. of Minitonas, Swan River, Mountain, The Pas

Unit 220, 530 Century StreetWinnipeg, MB R3H 0Y4

PH - (204) 772-4542FX - (204) 774-3264

[email protected]

GENERAL MANAGER

PROJECT MANAGER

DISTRICT 1 GORD ADAMS R.M. of Albert, Cameron, Whitewater, Edward, Brenda, Winchester, Morton

DISTRICT 2 DAVE KOSLOWSKY - SECRETARY R.M. of Riverside, Strathcona, Argyle, Lorne, Turtle Mountain, Roblin, Louise, Pembina

DISTRICT 3 PETER PENNER R.M. of Portage la Prairie, Cartier, Grey, MacDonald, Dufferin, Thompson, Roland, Morris, Stanley, Rhineland, Montcalm

DISTRICT 4 HEINZ REIMER - PRESIDENT R.M. of Richot, Ste. Anne, Hanover, De Salaberry, La Broquerie, Franklin, Stuartburn, Piney, LGD Reynolds

DISTRICT 5 RAMONA BLYTH - 1ST VICE-PRESIDENT R.M. of Elton, North Cypress, North Norfolk, Cornwallis, Oakland, South Cypress, Victoria, South Norfolk

DISTRICT 6 LARRY WEGNER R.M. of Wallace, Woodworth, Daly, Pipestone, Sifton, Whitehead, Glenwood

DISTRICT 7 LARRY GERELUS R.M. of Russell, Silver Creek, Rossburn, Ellice, Birtle, Shoal Lake, Strathclair, Archie, Miniota, Hamiota, Blanshard

DISTRICT 8 TOM TEICHROEB R.M. of Harrison, Clanwilliam, Rosedale, Glenella, Saskatchewan, Odanah, Minto, Langford, Lansdowne, Westbourne, LGD Park

DISTRICT 9 DIANNE RIDING R.M. of Woodlands, Rockwood, St. Andrews, Rosser, St. Francis Xavier, Springfield, Tache, Whitemouth, Lac du Bonnet, Brokenhead, St. Clements, LGD of Alexander, Pinawa

DISTRICT 10 THERESA ZUK - TREASURER R.M. of Bifrost, Gimli, Fisher, Armstrong

DISTRICT 11 CARON CLARKE R.M. of Siglunes, Grahamdale, Eriksdale, Coldwell, St. Laurent

DISTRICT 12 BILL MURRAY R.M. of Lawrence, Ochre River, Ste. Rose, McCreary, Alonsa

Carollyne Kehler

ATTEND YOUR MBP DISTRICT MEETINGMeet with MBP representatives and fellow beef producers to discuss the timely beef issues affecting your district and industry. Elections will be held in even numbered

districts. All Meetings will begin at 6 p.m. with beef on a bun being served.

CALL 1-800-772-0458 OR [email protected] FOR FULL DETAILS

DISTRICT DIRECTOR DATE LOCATION ADDRESSDistrict 11 Caron Clarke Oct-26 Eriksdale Rec Centre 1st Ave., EriksdaleDistrict 9 Dianne Riding Oct-27 South Interlake Rockwood Ag Society PR #236 & Rockwood Road, StonewallDistrict 3 Peter Penner Oct-28 Elm Creek Community Hall 70 Arena Rd., Elm CreekDistrict 4 Heinz Reimer Oct-29 Grunthal Auction Mart Provincial Road 205District 12 Bill Murray Nov-03 Westlake Community Hall Hwy. 68, EddystoneDistrict 13 Ben Fox Nov-04 Chicken Chef 131 1st Ave., RoblinDistrict 14 Stan Foster Nov-05 Legion Hall 206 2nd St., BowsmanDistrict 7 Larry Gerelus Nov-06 Strathclair Hall 120 Veterans Way, StrathclairDistrict 1 Gord Adams Nov-09 Deloraine Curling Rink 119 Lake St., DeloraineDistrict 2 Dave Koslowsky Nov-10 Memorial Hall 142 First St., BaldurDistrict 6 Larry Wegner Nov-12 Oak Lake Community Hall 474 North Railway St. West, OaklakeDistrict 5 Ramona Blyth Nov-13 Cypress Planning Office(Old Town Hall) 122 Main St., CarberryDistrict 10 Theresa Zuk* Nov-16 Bifrost Community Centre 337 River Rd., ArborgDistrict 8 Tom Teichroeb Nov-18 Royal Canadian Legion 425 Brown Ave., Neepawa

Tours: Plains Processors, slaughter plant - Carman Feedlot tour at Souris Manitoba

Plus animal health information, needle free vaccine applicators, marketing information, displays and more!

Keynote Speaker : Darrell Busby, Iowa State University, What are Packers looking for in Live Cattle?

October 27 - Carman October 28 - Brandon October 29 - Souris

2015 Manitoba Beef Feedlot

and Backgrounding School

For More information or to register Call (204) 768-2782

Manitoba was the focal point of Can-ada’s cattle industry for one week in Au-gust The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association held its Semi-Annual Meeting and Conven-tion in Winnipeg from Aug. 11-14, bring-ing together delegates from throughout the country as well as guests from the United States and Mexico for a series of meetings, policy setting and socializing.

The event also gave Manitoba Beef Producers the opportunity to shine a light on some of the work being done in the province for the betterment of producers across Canada during a tour of southeast Manitoba.

The tour first stopped at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre and Glenlea Research Farm. While there, the tour was given a tour of the cen-tre and learned of their work to educate the public about farming and where their food comes from.

The attendees also heard from re-searchers from the University of Manitoba who spoke about their work on a number of fronts at the research farm. MBP general manager Melinda German and Glenn Fri-esen of MAFRD also provided an overview of the work of Manitoba Beef & Forage Ini-tiatives Inc. at their operation near Brandon. The second half of the tour took the group to Hylife Ltd.’s JV Ranch near La Broquerie where they learned about the company’s innovative manure management program which was created in collaboration with researchers from the U of M. The evening wrapped up with a supper at the ranch.

The business portion of the meeting kicked off Wednesday at the Holiday Inn Polo Park. Among the sessions on Wednes-day and Thursday were domestic agricul-ture, animal health and animal care and foreign trade.

Wednesday also included the annual President’s Banquet and presentation of The Environmental Stability Award (TESA).

B.C.’s Squaw Valley Ranch captured the award this year for their work which in-cluded being one of the first operations in their area to complete an Environmental Farm Plan. The ranch is operated by Dar-rell Squair and his wife Doris along with their son Travis and daughter in law Ka-tie. Recognized along with the Squair’s were the other TESA provincial nominees including Manitoba’s Kristine Blair and Graham Tapley.

Among the highlights on Thursday was the 4-H Fundraiser and Entertainment evening held at Anderson’s Hitch ‘n Post northwest of Winnipeg. Putting a spin on a traditional Manitoba social, the evening was used a fundraiser for 4-H Canada and the Manitoba 4-H Council.

Thanks in no small part to the gener-osity of numerous businesses and organi-zations that donated items for raffles and draws, the evening was a success, raising just over $2,100 for the two organizations.

Friday’s agenda included the board of director’s meeting and a Canfax outlook presentation.

CCA holds semi-annual meeting in Manitoba

The popular Prairie Dog Express was used to shuttle delegates and guests to the fundraiser at Anderson’s Hitch n’ Post.

Manitoba Beef Producers’ Director Tom Teichroeb was “arrested” while on his way to the CCA Semi-Annual fundraiser and entertainment evening. A number of people attending the event travelled to Anderson’s Hitch ‘n Post on the Prairie Dog Express steam engine. While on the train Teichroeb and CCA President Dave Solverson wtere arrested by actors and held until they were able to raise enough money for bail.

Graham Tapley and Kristine Blair were presented with artwork by MBP President Heinz Reimer (left) in recognition of being Manitoba’s nominees for The Environmental Sustainability Award. The national TESA was presented during the CCA President’s Banquet. This year’s winners hailed from B.C.

*Director Retiring

September 2015 CATTLE COUNTRY 3

www.mbbeef.ca

ANGELA LOVELL

Composting manure on the farm offers a number of advantages over stockpiling raw manure. The compost-ing process kills pathogens and weed seeds that might be present in the manure, significantly reduces the vol-ume of material that the farmer has to transport to the fields, and produces a homogenous product that is easier to apply. Composting can reduce the volume and density of manure by 50 to 65 per cent according to data from North Dakota State University.

“In making compost we are trying to simulate what happens below ground naturally in the soil and create organic matter (humus),” explained Dr. Mario Tenuta, Professor of Soil Science at the University of Manitoba during a recent Field Day for producers at the Glenlea Research Station, where manure composting trials are taking place. “Composting turns something that was wasteful and smelly into something that will be beneficial to soil, particularly in terms of nutrients.”

Compost has a high concentration of phosphorus (P) in a stabilized form that won’t be lost to the environ-ment, so it can provide an important P boost, especially in organic crop rotations. In long-term organic trials at the University of Manitoba’s Glenlea Research Station there has been a good P response from adding com-post at a rate of only five tons per hectare on the organic plots. “Alfalfa in the rotation fixes nitrogen (N) but P has been the limiting factor in these rotations that include alfalfa because we are taking it off and removing the P,” explained technician, Keith Bamford, who led producers on a tour of the side-by-side organic and conventional plots at Glenlea. “Now we are putting it back in with the compost and seeing little difference in yield from the

conventional plots which receive synthetic fertilizer. We are also getting twice the yield in the half where compost was added compared to the half where it was not in the organic plots.”

12 Years of Organic Wheat and Oat BreedingProducers on the tour also looked at the organic oat

and wheat breeding plots established 12 years ago. The plots were deliberately located on land that was less than perfect. “We put these crops into fields that were short on nitrogen and had some weeds because we wanted to

do the selection under those conditions,” said Dr. Martin Entz, Professor of Cropping Systems and Natural Systems Agriculture at the University of Manitoba. Entz pointed to other wheat studies at Carman comparing organic and conventional production, which have shown a 10 per cent yield boost under organic production for the wheat varieties selected under an organic production system.

Organic Soybeans, Perennial Wheat, and Seed Size Trials

Michelle Carkner, a graduate student at the Uni-versity of Manitoba presented findings from a 2014 organic soybean study designed to discover more ear-ly-maturing non-GMO soybean varieties that could perform well under Manitoba production systems. Twelve varieties of organic soybeans were seeded at four Manitoba sites and yields ranged from 34 to 39 bushels/acre. Carkner hopes data from the study will prompt further organic soybean breeding research in Manitoba.

Producers also got a sneak peek of new research underway at the Ian N. Morrison Research Farm at Carman which hosted its own tour on July 15. Entz is leading a project to evaluate how the seed size of cereal crops affects plant vigour and yield. Researchers seeded small, medium and large size seeds at the same seeding depths and compared the plant growth, with noticeably taller plants resulting from the larger seeds.

Carman is also the location of perennial wheat breeding and evaluation plots, and researchers in-volved in the program brought along some plants for producers to take a look at. Although perennial wheat yields are slowly increasing, it will probably be at least 15 years before farmers see any commercial perennial wheat varieties coming to the market, said Entz.

ANGELA LOVELL

There are a number of different elements that are important to produce good compost from manure. During a recent Field Day at the University of Mani-toba’s Glenlea Research Station, Professor of Soil Science, Dr. Mario Tenuta, and other experts shared their experiences from dairy manure compost-ing trials currently taking place there.

There are three stages to composting – the heat-ing (thermophilic) stage, mesothermic stage, and curing stage. The heat-ing stage generally takes around four to eight weeks,

and curing and maturation can take several months.

The MixtureSuccessful compost-

ing requires the correct mixture of ingredients to provide a carbon to ni-trogen (C: N) ratio in the range of 25:1 to 40:1. “In

backyard composting we talk about having a good mixture of greens and browns, but that also esca-lates to farm composting,” explained Jolene Rutter, Environmental Program Analyst for Green Mani-toba, who in the past has conducted a composting research project at Glen-lea. “The N comes from the manure, and the car-bon comes from a number of sources such as wood chips, waste hay bales, straw, or paper.” Combin-ing materials with different particle sizes will also allow better air flow through the composting material.

HeatThe true definition

of composting indicates that the feedstock mate-rial must go through a self-generated heating phase during composition. Heat is created by the activity of the microorganisms as they decompose the ma-terial. When there is the

correct mixture of food, moisture, and oxygen the microorganisms are very active. Heat is insulated within the center of the compost windrow and can reach temperatures above 55 C. This heating phase is required to kill off patho-gens such as E. Coli and Salmonella as well as weed seeds such as wild oats and mustard. In order to kill off pathogens and weed seeds the Canadian Coun-cil of Canada Ministers of the Environment (CCME) Compost Quality Guide-lines indicate there should be at least 15 consecutive days of high temperatures above 55 C. Reaching these high temperatures also

speeds up the rate of de-composition.

MixingTurning the compost

pile frequently is impor-tant to get heat and oxy-gen – both necessary to the composting process – into the centre of the pile. “You

may be getting some heat on the inside of the pile but chances are you aren’t get-ting heat on the outside, so the surface of the pile won’t be composting,” said Tenu-ta. “If you have heat in the centre it will kill pathogens in the centre of the pile but on the outside, because it never gets hot, pathogens could survive.”

The CCME recom-mends turning compost at least five times during the heating phase to en-sure that pathogens are destroyed. Temperature is a good indicator to de-termine when the pile is ready to be turned. Once the temperature begins to slowly decline below 55 C it indicates that the mi-crobes have depleted the carbon inside the pile and need more oxygen or car-bon material from the out-side of the pile to continue feeding. After the pile is turned the temperature will rise above 55 C again. When the temperature doesn’t rise after turning, this indicates that all the available carbon has been depleted and the heating phase is complete.

“We found in the early stages we were turning the pile about every five to 14 days, and after two months the temperatures had come down and the heat phase was ending,” said Tenuta.

It’s also important to aerate the pile by turning it during the mesothermic and curing stages because the organisms in the com-post still need oxygen, but it’s not necessary to turn it as frequently as during the heating stage. “During the

curing stage, as the com-post cools, the heat lov-ing organisms that are left die out, and the compost needs to be re-colonized by organisms that like regular temperatures around 10 to 20 C,” says Tenuta. “Re-search has found the lon-ger you let compost mature the more it will be colo-nised by microorganisms that are living in the soil.”

To determine when the pile is mature farmers can submit a sample to a testing laboratory to anal-yse the amount of CO² being released, and when it’s low that is a good indi-cation that the compost is mature.

Farmers can turn the compost pile with a front end loader, tractor and bucket, or a specially de-signed compost aerator such as the one manufac-tured by Brown Bear Cor-poration, which farmers got to see in action at the Glenlea field day.

MoistureA starting moisture

content between 40 and 60 per cent is ideal for compost, said Rutter. “If the moisture level is lower than this it’s going to in-hibit microbial activity

because they need water to move around and get on to the surfaces, and have that exchange of gases and nu-trients,” she said. “Above that moisture level you are suffocating them because the water replaces oxygen, which they need because they are living organisms.”

Rutter took a handful of the compost material to demonstrate how to test the moisture content. “It should feel like a wrung out sponge,” she said. “There should be no water visibly dripping from it, and it should be sticky and ball up and not leave clumps of residue on your hand.”

Another telltale sign that the material is too wet is if it has a rotten smell, which means the pile has gone anaerobic. “Compost that is produced properly and starts out with the cor-rect water content should have an earthy smell within about two weeks,” said Rut-ter. “It shouldn’t smell like manure or rotting mate-rial.”

If compost is too wet, turning the pile and blending in drier materi-als – such as wood chips or straw – will help lower the moisture content.

Glenlea open house a success

How to compost manure successfully

Producers got a chance to see the “Brown Bear” compost aerator in action at Glenlea Research Station’s Field Day on July 8.

Dr. Mario Tenuta of the University of Manitoba and Jolene Rutter with Green Manitoba show producers how to check the moisture content of composted manure at the Glenlea Research Centre Field Day on July 8.

PHO

TO C

RED

IT A

NG

ELA

LO

VEL

L


www.mbbeef.ca

CATTLEX LTD.• CATTLEX offers a complete Order-Buying service and covers

all Manitoba and Eastern Saskatchewan Auction Marts.

• CATTLEX buys ALL classes of cattle direct from producers.

• CATTLEX is interested in purchasing large or small consignments of Feeder Cattle,

Finished Cattle, Cows and Bulls.

For more information and pricing, contact any of the Cattlex buyers:

Andy Drake (204) 764-2471, 867-0099 cellJay Jackson (204) 223-4006Gord Ransom (204) 534-7630

Clive Bond (204) 483-0229Ken Drake (204) 724-0091

Bonded & Licensed in Manitoba & Saskatchewan

I suspect most of you have heard about the Verified Beef Production (VBP) Program and you may have even been to a workshop and had your opera-tion audited and certified. But did you know Manitoba is leading the country with the number of VBP producers? And that Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) is working towards being the first produc-er association to have all of its board of directors’ operations certified? Okay, so maybe I have a bit of a competitive streak in me but I think this is something for which we need to give ourselves a pat on the back.

So if Manitoba is doing so well at VBP why you may ask am I writing about it? Well, VBP is the one and only industry-led verified on-farm food safety program for beef that helps ensure our consumers and retailers continue to have confidence in our product. The world has changed and the vast majority of our consumers are far removed from where food comes from. Therefore it is key that we hold high programs like VBP where

we can point to and show our continued commitment to producing a safe, high quality product.

This program is 100 per cent grass-roots driven and industry led and I be-lieve this contributes to the success of the program. If you are one of those produc-ers who has yet to take a workshop and/or be audited and certified I encourage you to make this part of your business plan for this year. With a growing retailer and public focus on sustainability initiatives, the VBP Program is evolving to include new modules such as Biosecurity, Animal Care and the Environment. This will be the new VBP Plus Program and it will continue to demonstrate the tremendous level of care that not only goes into rais-ing beef but also the care that goes into protecting the environment.

Many retailers are looking to the VBP Program and VBP Plus as a tool to communicate to the public and our con-sumers the hard work that you as pro-ducers put into producing the beef sold in various stores and restaurants around the world. This includes McDonald’s, who has committed to start selling a por-tion of their beef from verified sustain-able sources in 2016. The VBP Program is a key tool in the McDonald’s sustain-able beef campaign and other retailers

and stores are either looking at or already moving in the same direction.

This fall Manitoba Beef Producers, along with Betty Green, the Manitoba VBP Program Coordinator and other instructors will be conducting 14 work-shops for the VBP On-Farm Food Safety module, five Biosecurity workshops and 14 Beef Codes of Practice workshops. I would strongly encourage you to con-sider attending one of these important workshops.

The Code of Practice workshops are envisioned as a lead-up to training for the new Animal Care module under VBP Plus. The newly-revised Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cat-tle was released in 2013. In there is im-portant information and updates on the requirements for the care and handling of livestock. If you have yet to pick up a copy and review the document please vis-it the following website and have a look: https://www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice/beef-cattle .

One area in particular I would like to draw your attention to is Section 4: Animal Husbandry and the new require-ments around dehorning and castration. In January 2016 the use of pain control to mitigate pain associated with dehorning calves of age is required (typically done

at two to three months). As well, when castrating bulls older than nine months of age pain control is required. These measures should be undertake in consul-tation with your herd veterinarian. These are significant changes for our industry but having said that many producers are already getting these chores done early on in the calf ’s life.

We have been working to make the VBP Program workshops easier to at-tend. Working with Manitoba Agricul-ture, Food and Rural Development in the delivery of the workshops we are now of-fering them not only in person but also through video conferencing at several of the local GO Offices. If you are look-ing for when and where you can take a workshop please contact our office at 1-800-772-0458 and watch our Facebook and Twitter accounts for details and our bi-weekly E-Newsletter.

The VBP Program and VBP Plus are important programs for produc-ers to participate in and also to help get our message out to the public about all that you do to care for your livestock. I urge you to sign up for a workshop this year and help to keep the beef industry in Manitoba a leader in Canada in areas such as on-farm food safety, animal care, biosecurity and the environment.

MAUREEN COUSINS

There have been sig-nificant developments on a number of water-related issues since the last issue of Cattle Country.

In late July the federal government announced it will be providing up to $165 million in funding for the Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin Out-let Channels project. This is on top of $330 million already committed by the Manitoba government.

“MBP welcomes the federal government’s commitment to this ini-tiative. We have been seeking both the federal and provincial govern-ments’ support for this for a very long time,” said

MBP President Heinz Re-imer. “Years of flooding due to high water levels on Lake Manitoba has proven very detrimental to our beef industry and we need swift and last-ing solutions to this chal-lenge. We ask that gov-ernments work as quickly as possible to get shovels in the ground on this sorely-needed project.”

Project components include building another permanent outlet chan-nel from Lake Manitoba to Lake St. Martin. As well, the existing Lake St. Martin Emergency outlet channel will be enlarged, improved and made per-manent so the province has authority over when it is operated. It currently

has to seek federal ap-proval to operate it. The channel with an outlet to Lake Winnipeg will by-pass Dauphin River First Nation.

Details about the ca-pacity of the new chan-nel have not yet been released, nor a construc-tion timeline. MBP will continue to advocate for the work on the channels to be expedited to help reduce risk to beef pro-ducers and to help restore confidence in raising cat-tle in this region.

Shellmouth Dam, Artificial Flooding and

CompensationThe Manitoba gov-

ernment announced in mid-July that it will be providing compensation

to producers affected by artificial flooding down-stream of the Shellmouth Dam and Reservoir due to its operation in 2014.

No timeframe for flowing the compensation was provided, although affected producers will be contacted by the pro-vincial government. Compensation is targeted toward crop and other business losses, as well as property damages.

The government also announced that starting this fall it will be review-ing the operating guide-lines for the Shellmouth Dam. MBP will be pro-viding feedback into this process.

MBP had raised the need for both a timely compensation program and the review of the op-erating guidelines with the provincial govern-ment.

MBP is also seeking a meeting with represen-tatives of the affected As-siniboine Valley produc-ers and the Ministers of Infrastructure and Trans-portation and Agricul-ture, Food and Rural De-velopment. The purpose will be to discuss issues such as the need for long-term solutions to artificial

flooding related to the op-eration of the Shellmouth Dam and Reservoir, as well as ongoing concerns around the speed of com-pensation payments.

To see the govern-ment’s report on artifi-cial flooding see: http://w w w. g o v. m b. c a / m i t /floodinfo/floodproofing/reports/pdf/shellmouth_artificial_flood_report_july_7_2015.pdfTax Relief for Producers

Affected by DroughtCattle producers af-

fected by drought this year in several designated Manitoba areas will be eligible for the livestock tax deferral provision in 2015, the federal govern-ment announced in late July.

Producers facing feed shortages in the pre-scribed drought regions will be eligible to defer a portion of their 2015 sale proceeds of breeding live-stock for one year to help replenish that stock the following year. Proceeds from deferred sales are then included as part of the producer’s income in the next tax year, when those proceeds may be at least partially offset by the cost of replacing their breeding animals.

To defer income, “the breeding herd must have been reduced by at least 15per cent. If this is the case, 30per cent of in-come from net sales can then be deferred. In cases where the herd declines by 30 per cent or more, 90per cent of income from net sales can be de-ferred. Eligible producers can request the tax defer-ral when filing their 2015 income tax returns.”

Designated areas in Manitoba include: Divi-sion No. 18, Unorganized, East Part; Division No. 19, Unorganized; Divi-sion No. 20, Unorga-nized, North Part; Divi-sion No. 20, Unorganized, South Part; Division No. 21, Unorganized; Gil-bert Plains Municipal-ity; Grandview Munici-pality; Municipality of Ethelbert; Municipality of Hillbsurg-Roblin-Shell-River; Municipality of Minitonas-B owsman; Municipality of Swan Valley West; the rural municipalities of Alonsa, Dauphin, Grahamdale, Lawrence, Mossey Riv-er, Mountain (North), Mountain (South), Ochre River and Siglunes. Also included is Valley River 63A First Nation.

Verified beef production

Flood and drought issue news

MELINDA GERMANGeneral Manager’s Column

FIND US ONLINE:

Facebook.com @ManitobaBeef mbbeef.ca


www.mbbeef.ca

I have done a lot of media interviews lately on the drought in western Canada and how this could impact the price of beef to the consumer.

While it has been very dry in parts of the prairies, there has been little liquidation of cattle in those drought areas. Cattle prices have stayed strong because of the overall cattle numbers being the lowest since the early 1950s across North America.

The Canadian cow herd, which peaked in 2006 after BSE, had fallen by 35 per cent by 2015 due to low prices and weather-related issues. The U.S. has had severe drought in the south for a number of years and some severe weather in the northwest that led to losses and dropped the num-bers further.

These unexpected events have resulted in many changes to the Canadian livestock industry. Producers have learned to better manage risk through the tough years and the ones who survived and waited are now being rewarded with higher cattle prices.

Recently I was confronted by someone who noted the price of ground beef had in-creased by $2 a pound since last year and said it was unreasonable for consumers to pay the additional prices. I asked him to estimate how many pounds of ground beef he bought per year. His reply was 50 to 75 lbs. My response was that works out to $100 to $150 more per year and noted that he had purchased a new quad last week, went riding it on the weekend with friends, then went out for supper and drinks, but is still complaining that the price of beef is up. He replied “OK, it’s not that bad and I won’t bring it up anymore.”

That conversation shows there is a disconnect between many consumers and ag-riculture with many of them three to four generations removed from the farm. We as producers need to advocate and be promoters for our industry. Over the last few years a

major shift has occurred in the public perception of food production. Sales have become more targeted to the individual buyer than mass markets and food is clearly becoming more specialized. Retailers are calling the shots more and more but some are also working with farmers to supply specific types of products.

It’s time that farmers and farm groups become part of the debate on how food is grown and handled.

Public transparency is key; we need you producers to tell your story and talk to people about what you are doing on your operation such as animal health and welfare, environmental stewardship, marketing etc.

The use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook can link us to the world from the tractor seat or while on your horse in the pasture. So let’s get

started! Changes will continue to impact agriculture and opportunities can lead to ben-efits. Let’s help with the future of our farms and Canadian agriculture.

Sticking with the topic of advocating for the future of our operations, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association held its semi-annual meeting and convention in Winnipeg from Aug. 12 to 14.

Delegates from throughout the country convened in the city to talk about the indus-try with meetings touching on everything from trade to the environment. The week also included a tour of the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre and Hylife’s JV Ranch near La Broquerie. An entertainment evening was also held at Andersen’s Hitch N’ Post with all funds raised going toward 4-H Canada and 4-H Manitoba.

Manitoba Beef Producers was proud to assist the CCA in hosting the event and to highlight some of the work taking place in our province to make a brighter future for everyone involved in this industry.

DR. TANYA ANDERSON, DVMThe Vet Column

What is biosecurity? It’s a question that I have started asking both my large and small animal clients (I am a mixed animal practitioner). Small animal cli-ents with no agricultural background almost always mention the anthrax at-tacks post 9/11 though none to date have known that anthrax is occasionally diagnosed in Manitoba livestock. The good news is that livestock clients, es-pecially those with poultry or pigs are well-versed on what biosecurity is with answers revolving around the concept of disease prevention for the better health of herds and improved access to domestic and world markets. Some even mention improved human health – peo-ple are getting the big picture. Cattle producers know that it is important and most realize that a good biosecurity program will be profitable but to date, our industry has not embraced this con-cept like the other commodities.

Implementing biosecurity mea-sures seems like a daunting task but it need not be. Disease prevention does not require an “all or nothing” approach nor does one size fit all. Protocols and recommendations are tailored to each individual operation and can be very simple or quite complex. Farm biosecu-rity measures can be broken down into three categories: herd immunity, within herd and outside herd disease control.

Animals with a poor immune sys-tem are more prone to disease. A clas-sic example is calves not getting quality colostrum. Study after study has shown decreased productivity from scours and pneumonia, to poor feedlot perfor-mance. Even closed herds not buying in any stock nor having contact with other animals are subject to disease if their immune system weakens. Many of the bacteria that cause disease in cattle are naturally carried in their airways and gut systems – E.coli, Coronavirus, Mannheimia hemolytica, Mycoplasma and Histophilus to name a few. Others like Listeria and Clostridia are present in the soil and feed.

Good biosecurity management in-

cludes boosting the immune system to prevent disease. Develop a vaccination program with your veterinarian tailored to your operation. Feed cows well to en-sure that they deliver strong calves that are able to quickly nurse high quality colostrum of adequate quantity. Feed calves high energy rations at weaning to keep their immune systems strong during the greatest stress of their lives. Proper nutrition and a well-balanced ration including minerals and vitamins is crucial to minimize disease. Any vaccination program will look bad if there is feed mismanagement.

Very few herds are truly closed herds. Almost everyone must bring in new genetics with a bull purchase. What about the cows that have been purchased at production sales or the local auction mart bred cow sale? Are you asking the seller questions about his herd health? What vaccination pro-tocols are in place? What health prob-lems are seen – scours, abortions, pneu-monia, skinny cows? What antibiotics and parasite control products are used? Where are their replacements and bulls purchased from? May you contact their veterinarian? Walk away if someone re-fuses to answer your questions and dis-cuss the answers with your veterinarian. Screening like this will help prevent the purchase of diseases like Johne’s or drug-resistant bacteria.

Biosecurity can also be enhanced on your own farm. Have a quarantine area for newly arrived cattle or cattle that are returning to the farm. Separate your cattle into age groups - feedlot, bulls and cow/calf pairs. These differ-ent groups have different nutritional needs and disease susceptibilities. Lim-it contact between your herd and other livestock. Don’t share bulls, livestock trailers and other equipment and keep your fences in good repair. Encourage visitors to wear clean clothing and foot-wear or to avoid your operation if they are experiencing health problems in theirs. Calf scours can be easily trans-ferred between herds on dirty clothing or through the purchase of a calf from the neighbour.

Learn how to prevent a dreaded scours or calf pneumonia problem.

Look forward to preg check day instead of worrying about how many open cows you will have.

Attend a beef herd biosecurity seminar this fall and start working with your veterinarian to make one

or two positive changes in your herd and build from them Before long, you will have implemented a solid bi-osecurity program for your herd, re-duced your stress level and improved your profits.

September already! Where did summer go?

HEINZ REIMERMBP President

Moovin’ Along

Breaking down approaches to biosecurity

HI-HOGFarm & Ranch Equipment Ltd.

Toll Free 1-800-661-7002www.hi-hog.comsa [email protected]

Avai lable at Federated Co-op Ag Centres Proudly Made

in Canada

Manual & Hydraulic Chutes Stationary & PortableLoading Chutes

With Adjustable

Ramps

Corrals & Handling SystemsAre you equipped?

Better by Design


www.mbbeef.ca

More and more firms just calculate numbers.We help calculate your next move.

MNP Understands Agriculture. In fact, it is both a specialty and a passion. Our business consultants, financial advisors and professional agrologists are intimately familiar with all aspects of the beef industry. Which means not only can we help you make sense of the now, but we can also help show you what’s next.

Contact Tere Stykalo, CGA, Southman Regional Ag Leader at 204.638.6767 or [email protected]

We specialize, you capitalize. Visit MNP.ca to learn more.

The Canadian Centre of Beef Excellence hosted some special guests from Manitoba in July.

Players and coaches from the Winnipeg Blue Bomb-ers visited the centre July 17 and were treated to a lunch, prepared and served by staff from Canada Beef.

Located in Calgary, the centre opened in late 2014 and will serve as an education and development facility for Canada Beef and its many partners.

The centre includes a 24-seat meeting space, a 20-seat, state of the art demonstration theatre with a consumer kitchen and commercial cooking line. There is also refrig-erated beef fabrication room stocked with all of the latest equipment. The centre is also able to broadcast demonstra-tions throughout the world.

The visit from the Blue Bombers was part of Canada Beef ’s three-year sponsorship agreement with the Cana-dian Football League. Designed to promote beef by high-lighting its incredible nutritional qualities, the Fueling the CFL campaign is now into its second year and includes a number of promotions by Canada Beef and its provincial organizations. For example, Manitoba Beef Producers will be the host sponsor when the Bombers welcome the Cal-gary Stampeders to Winnipeg on Aug. 29.

Ron Glaser, Canada Beef ’s VP Corporate Affairs and Public Relations brought greetings on behalf of the organi-zation and explained the partnership between Canada Beef and the CFL. Communications Coordinator Chad Saxon spoke on behalf o f MBP which has also entered into its own sponsorship agreement with the Blue Bombers.

Under that partnership, MBP is the sponsor of the Family of Game promotion which provides a deserving Manitoba family with four tickets to one of the nine regular season home contests throughout the 2015 season.

The lunch also included an opportunity for the Bomb-ers’ players to win two enormous tomahawk steaks if they correctly answered questions about Canada Beef ’s smart-phone app The Roundup. Rookie offensive lineman Sukh Chungh was the winner.

Bombers visit Canada Beef Centre of Excellence

Abe Van Melle (left) and Chef Marty Carpenter (middle) of Canada Beef serve up lunch for the members of the Blue Bombers during their visit to the Centre of Excellence in July.

Members of the Winnipeg Blue

Bombers sign an autogrpah board

during their recent visit to the

Canadian Beef Centre of Excel-

lence.

With the fall calf run just around the corner, cattle producers anxiously await the first feeder cattle sales to establish this fall’s price catalogue. A lot has hap-pened over the summer, and the spring optimism of strong cattle prices in the fall looks like a reality.

Despite drought conditions in many parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, crops in the USA, Ontario and Quebec should produce above average yields. The drought’s biggest impact will be a short-age of hay and straw in some of the major cow/calf areas. Reports of huge herd dis-persals at bargain prices in Alberta due to the drought were over-exaggerated. Many of the ranchers did reduce their

herd inventory, but in most cases they culled from the bottom up, selling cows that had survived last year’s cull due to the high calf prices and cows that would have gone to town on a normal year this fall. Many of those same producers re-tained extra heifers to breed this spring, so culling those older cows with defects was an easy decision.

The biggest unknown right now will be the demand for bred heifers this fall. The number of heifers sent to the breed-ing pastures this spring was considerably higher than the five-year average. Many of these heifers were destined for resale this fall with the expectation of a strong demand for bred stock due to the high calf prices. The shortage of hay could certainly redirect many of these bred heifers to the feedlots for finishing, which in turn would delay any major expansion of the Canadian cow herd. The bred cow market will still be strong this fall for top dispersal cows from reputation herds as

producers replace open cows and cows that did not produce top selling calves this year. If the exchange rate on the dol-lar remains in the mid 70’s US, the cull cow and bull market should remain very strong. There will probably be some sea-sonal price adjustments due to the large supply in October and November, but in general culls will be strong this fall.

The yearling market for cattle off the grass has seen a number of peaks and valleys over the summer. Many of the larger grasser inventories were forward contracted in the late spring. Fluctua-tions in both the cattle and grain futures, along with the dollar, made for daily price changes. Those cattle that were left for the cash market look like they will match or even out sell the contract prices for September and October deliveries. This year there is a true shortage of year-lings on the cash market. With the strong market, many of the smaller grass cattle buyers thought the risk was too high for the return this spring and decided to re-lease rented land or custom graze. Many of the smaller to mid size feedlots in the west, along with feeders in Ontario and Quebec, do not forward contract year-lings. Good corn crops in the east means strong demand for yearlings there. Those smaller feedlots in Alberta always push the cash yearling prices higher when the cattle are available for immediate delivery in the fall. This year many of the grass yearlings in Alberta came off the grass early due to the drought; these cattle are already in captivity and are not available for sale, contributing to the short supply. Last but not least, is the strong appetite for yearlings from the American feedlots. Despite an increase in the number of cat-tle in the USA, there is still more feedlot capacity than cattle to feed. Combine the strong US dollar and a cheaper cost of gain, and the feeders from the south will be aggressive competitors for Manitoba cattle this fall.

Early calf sales on the DLMS and

TEAM have been very strong with 600-pound steers trading north of $3 per pound, 500 pounders at $3.50 plus, and peewees under 400 pounds at over $4. Heifers have been a little spotty at 25 to 30 cents per pound behind the steers.

It will be very important this year to work with your marketing agents and auction markets when selling your calves. Timing will be very important with the Alberta calf run expected to be earlier than normal. Producers can expect the “price adjustment slides” for the different weight breaks to be very wide this fall. In the spring, some of the slides on the light-er weight calves were as much as 0.40 to 0.55. In the past, slides on yearlings were 0.06 to 0.08, while this fall, 0.14 to 0.20 were not uncommon on the contracts.

The truest form of “Price Discovery” for cattle is established by competitive public auctions, but it is important for producers to remember that prices of-ten change daily and sometimes multiple times in a day. I advise my customers to watch for trends and buyer demand. Book your calves early and keep an open line of communication with your mar-keter. They know and follow the mar-ket, and if they are doing their job they should be able to give you some sound advice. Sales will fill up early, and I pre-dict that the calf run in Manitoba will be even more compressed this fall than last year. Manitoba calves will draw strong demand from all directions this fall. With strong demand and wide price slides on different weights, producers in Manitoba might find that paying a selling commission to an auction market that does a good job could be a valuable in-vestment this fall. This is especially true if you don’t have large groups of uniform cattle to sell.

All in all, it looks like this fall should be a well deserved “good one” for the cow calf producers in Manitoba.

Until next time, Rick

Despite challenges, optimism remainsRICK WRIGHTThe Bottom Line


www.mbbeef.ca

BY RON FRIESEN

The world of elec-tronic cattle sales has a new player offering an on-line clearinghouse for Cana-dian and American buyers and sellers.

AgriClear Inc., launched June 16, operates through the TMX Group with backing from NGX, a Calgary-based firm provid-ing electronic trading, cen-tral counterparty clearing and data services.

AgriClear describes itself as a web-based plat-form for cattle sales, offer-ing a full transaction and delivery package with fi-nancial security backing.

“We’re an on-line mar-ketplace for buyers and sell-ers to connect,” said David Moss, AgriClear president, in a recent telephone inter-view with Cattle Country.

“We facilitate the market-place discussion between a buyer and a seller, and then we add a level of security comfort and confidence with the clearing price.

“The key differen-tiation is that we’re not an auction. This is a market-place where prices are ne-gotiated between the buyer and seller directly. It kind of moves producers from be-ing a price-taker to becom-ing a price-maker.”

As Moss described it, buyers and sellers can post listings online for the type of cattle they are will-ing to either buy or sell. Parties negotiate a range of specifications, includ-ing price, delivery, shrink and number of head. Pric-ing negotiations are com-pleted through the Agri-Clear platform. Sellers and buyers may accept offers

at any time or make coun-ter-offers. If both parties reach a mutual agreement, the buyer deposits the es-timated sales proceeds in AgriClear’s payment and settlement system backed by NGX. The funds are held until the cattle are delivered and inspected by the buyer. If the buyer agrees that specifications have been met, AgriClear calculates the final value based on the contract and delivery information and releases the amount to the seller. Both parties pay Ag-riClear a transaction fee of $6 a head.

Moss said AgriClear offers a dispute-settling mechanism if a party feels contract specifications have not been met. Buyers and sellers first try to settle the dispute privately. If they cannot, they ask AgriClear

to step in and assist. If nec-essary, AgriClear may send an independent third party out to inspect the cattle and help moderate a settlement.

As a registered dealer, AgriClear is required to deduct all cattle checkoffs. All transactions are re-corded and fully available so that CFIA’s traceability and movement reporting requirements are satisfied.

Because transactions are conducted by com-puter, parties need assur-ance they are getting what they are paying for. For that reason, Moss urges parties to include as much infor-mation as possible on list-ings, possibly using Smart Phones with high defini-tion capability.

“We strongly encour-age sellers and listers to include videos, pictures and everything available to represent those cattle. As well, we ask them to put in enough photos and videos to get true representation, not just of a few head, but the full lot that’s being put up for sale.”

Moss says AgriClear also encourages people to get on the phone or Skype to talk directly to each oth-er.

AgriClear is back-stopped by a $10 million bond in order to guar-

antee payment in case of default. The company has a 45-member advisory committee of players rep-resenting all sectors of the industry to provide ideas and input.

Moss says several fea-tures of AgriClear could benefit clients. Because parties are dealing direct-ly instead of through an agent or middleman, user costs are lower. The mar-ketplace extends across North America, including remote places where pro-ducers have fewer mar-keting options. Having a clearing backstop provides payment assurance and eliminates risk. The system also enables sellers to com-municate unique features (e.g. hormone-free, hu-mane handling, specialized breeding) to differentiate them from other produc-ers.

Although some might compare AgriClear to Kiji-ji, Moss said his company is not just a listing service. In-stead, it combines sophis-ticated software, a clearing platform and a financial backstop to provide assur-ance for transactions.

Although AgriClear is open to all buyers and sell-ers, Moss said it might ap-peal particularly to younger producers who are familiar

and comfortable with on-line technology.

By eliminating the middleman, the existence of online systems for selling cattle raises the question of their impact on traditional venues such as auction markets and order buyers. That issue came up during the recent annual conven-tion of the Livestock Mar-kets Association of Canada in Winnipeg.

Rick Wright, LMAC executive secretary, said his association is “not too concerned about AgriClear coming in and taking away a lot of business from the markets.”

Wright said his as-sociation just wants to be sure AgriClear plays on the same level as everyone else by providing prompt pay-ment, traceability, move-ment reporting and all the things auction markets are required by law to do.

For his part, Moss says AgriClear is just another marketing option for cattle producers and is not trying to do an end run around anybody.

“There’s no endgame or runaround aspect at all. It’s simply a new and alter-native way to market cattle.”

More information is available at www.Agri-Clear.com.

New web-based platform for selling cattle launched

BY BLAIN HJERTAAS

Soil: not the average topic of con-versation for most people. Yet it’s critical to all of our survival. 2015 is the Inter-national Year of Soil as declared by the UN. 99.7 per cent of what we eat each day comes directly from the soil. Over the eons of time mankind has abused it badly in some cases causing civilizations to collapse. Agriculture has traditionally destroyed and then moved on. Unfortu-nately there is nowhere else to go.

The production of food causes a soil loss of four tons of soil per person per year on an annual basis. There are seven billion of us so that equated to 28 billion tons of soil loss annually from our agri-cultural areas. Clearly not sustainable. Add to this the loss from urbanization and population increase and something will have to give soon with disastrous consequences. Throw in climate change and it doesn’t bode well.

I don’t believe it’s a bad news story. We know how to fix this. It’s simple and a win-win for all. It all has to do with car-bon. We have put our carbon in the atmo-sphere instead of in the soil. We have lost most of our organic matter or carbon or humus over the last 130 years of farming. The 1930s took their toll, the summer fal-low era took more and each time tillage is performed more carbon is oxidized and goes into the atmosphere. Add to this the carbon released from fossil fuel burning and we have an increase from a historical levels of 300PPM to 400PPM of carbon dioxide in a 50 year period. This is a huge increase in a very short period of time and we are just beginning to understand the ramifications. At this point in our his-tory there is no indication of slowing our rapid increase.

It would seem prudent to me that we should take carbon back out of the at-mosphere and put it into the soil where it can do good. The process is simple. Pho-tosynthesis does it free for us ever day if we have green leaves working for us. The plant takes oxygen and carbon dioxide from the air and makes simple sugar or glucose. This is transported to the roots where 20-30% exudes from the roots into the rhizosphere to feed the fungi and bacteria. This is a symbiotic relationship between plants and bugs. They get sugar from the plant and in return they can make unavailable nutrients available to the plant. They build structure in the soil and as death occurs the plant and animal

remains are converted into more com-plex forms of carbon or humus. The more humus we have the more soil microbes there are; the more water holding capac-ity the soil has, the more nutrient dense the food that is produced will become and the higher the overall yield will be. This keeps getting better and the energy source is solar energy converted by green leaves. Sounds like a pretty good thing. Our modern agriculture is destroying or holding at the current levels because of the negative effects of tillage and pesti-cides especially fungicides.

Several years ago a group of farm-ers were concerned about this issue and decided to prove whether this trend could be reversed or be regenera-tive and begin to build. The soil carbon coalition was formed to monitor soil carbon levels across North America’s farmland.

Plots were established and initial samples were analyzed in 2011. In the fall of 2014 these same sites were again visited and analyzed for carbon. The re-sults are very impressive with all farms showing positive increases in three years. In tonnage the seven farms tested in SE Saskatchewan had 4627 hectares between them and sequestered the equivalent of 131 370 tonnes tonnes of carbon diox-ide. The average Canadian has a carbon footprint of 18.9 tonnes. Therefore each hectare negated the effect of 1.5 persons or these seven farms had a zero carbon footprint for 6973 people.

All of these farms practice high stock density grazing with long recovery peri-ods. It proves conclusively that cows are carbon negative as this wouldn’t have happened if cattle had not been improv-ing the soil on these farms. Cattle ensure the litter on the ground is pushed tight so that decomposition can occur. The act of grazing stimulates the growth of grass making more solar capture possible. We need biology working on our farms to make this happen. Livestock enhance bi-ology.

This is a great news story. All of these farms have had increases in grass produc-tion, had a decrease in inputs, and are holding more water in the soil and pro-ducing more nutrient dense food. Clearly farmers are more profitable, consumers have better food and society has more wa-ter holding capacity mitigating floods and mitigating climate change. To view results check out the web site at www.soilcarbon-coalition.org

Soil critical to our survival

THANK YOUto the

generous CCASemi-Annual

Sponsors!

TOUR SPONSORS:Canadian Gold BeveragesFort Garry Brewing CompanyHylife Ltd.Manitoba Agricultural Services CorporationOld Dutch Chips

4-H FUNDRAISER RAFFLE SPONSORS:AgWest Ltd.Alberta Beef ProducersAvenue Honda-PolarisBC Cattlemen’s AssociationCanadian Cattle Identification AgencyEMF NutritionHoliday Inn Winnipeg Airport – Polo ParkMacDon Industries Ltd.Manitoba Angus AssociationManitoba Beef ProducersManitoba 4-H CouncilMasterfeedsMarquette Consumers CoopMNP

With these generous

donations over $2,000

was raised for 4-H Canada

& 4-H Manitoba!


www.mbbeef.ca

Monty Thomson Cell #: (204) 870-0089 Gladstone, MB www.hatfieldclydesdales.com

Cattle that work: Good milk production,

sound legs & udders,

fertile

& functional

Today is a great day to pick out your next

herd improver at Hatfield

The result is fewer resources are used to produce beef, with smaller impacts on the environment and your grocery bill.

Hormone implants are small, slow release pellets placed under the skin in an animal’s ear to enhance production of natural hormones. Using hormone implants directs growth towards muscle and away from fat, which boosts growth rate and means less feed is needed for the animal to gain weight. 1

All plantsand animals have

hormones naturally in their systems.

Your body produces hormones no matter

what you eat. 2

EARTH FRIENDLY

ADULTFEMALEESTROGEN = 480,000 ng

Birth control pills are effective because they contain hormones that are specially treated to protect them from being broken down by the acids and enzymes in your digestive system.Naturally occurring or implant hormones are not protected from digestion, meaning that the extra amount you may consume from eating beef produced with the use of hormone implants is not absorbed by the body in any significant amounts. 6

nes

Researchersbelievethat increasedbody fat levelsin young children, not hormones in food, is one of the major causes of early onset puberty. 7 | 8ESTROGEN | Amount of estrogen (1 ng = 1 billionth of a gram)

# OF COW EQUIVALENTS | Produced with the use of hormone implants

Food/supplement Estrogen * Servings of beef ~ (75 g)

75 g beef 1.1 ng 0.65 without hormone implants

75 g beef 1.9 ng 1 with hormone implants

355 ml beer 15 ng 7.9

75 g cabbage 2025 ng 1,065.8

1 tbsp soybean oil 28,370 ng 14,931.6

Birth control pill 20,000-50,000 ng* 18,421.1 – 26,315.8depending on brand

Compare those amounts to the amount of estrogen circulating in your body right now 5

Many common foods have higher amounts of hormones than beef produced with the use of hormone implants 3|4|5

* AMOUNT OF ESTROGEN (1 ng = 1 billionth of a gram)

~ EQUIVALENT # OF SERVINGS OF BEEF produced with the use of hormone implants

You don’t need to be

Worried about hormonesin cattle?

The amount of estrogen from

1 serving of cabbage

the same amount of estrogen from OVER 1000 servings of beef produced using hormone implants.

Would have to eat 95.3 cows' worth of beef produced using hormone implants PER DAY (~222 kg each) to match her own daily production of estrogen

ADULTMALEESTROGEN = 136,000 ng

PRE-PUBERTALGIRLESTROGEN = 54,000 ng

PRE-PUBERTALBOYESTROGEN = 41,500 ng

Would have to eat 27 cows' worth of beef produced using hormone implants PER DAY (~222 kg each) to match his own daily production of estrogen

Would have to eat 10.7 cows' worth of beef produced using hormone implants PER DAY (~222 kg each) to match her own daily production of estrogen

Would have to eat 8.2 cows' worth of beef produced using hormone implants PER DAY (~222 kg each) to match his own daily production of estrogen

www.mbbeef.ca220 - 530 Century Street, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0Y4Phone: 1-800-772-0458email: [email protected]

The use of hormone implants

Health Canada,the World Health Organization and the United Nations all conclude the use of hormones is a safe practice that can be

continued without harm to human health.9 | 10

Result in food products that are safe for people to eat on a regular basis11

Canada’s Food and Drugs Act makes it law that hormone implants used must:

Do what they are supposed to

Be safe for the animals

done by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ensure hormone

levels are withinthe normal range. 12

The use of hormone

implants is safe and regulated

implants has any negative impact on human health 13

11%MORE

BEEF

20%

RESULTED FROM PRODUCTION PRACTICESLIKE THE USEOF HORMONE IMPLANTS BETWEEN 1977 AND 2007 4

It’s true that adding hormones make cattle grow

the producer.

fosters competition that

consumers and allows producers to invest in improvements for the future.

Beef without any added hormones is available by

There are no adverse health

conventional.

FEWER

FROM

CATTLE

BBe

Whetheryou choose

conventionalorganic,

delicious Manitoba Beef is a safe part

of a nutritious diet

or

Manitoba Beef Producers would like to acknowledge the work and research of Alberta Beef Producers in the creation of this brochure. For more information on Manitoba's beef industry please visit www.mbbeef.ca

RESUR LTED FLL ROM

The use of hormone implants means fewer resources are used to produce beef

1

2

3

WATER

4%MORE

FUEL

7%MORE

RETAILBEEF

PRICES14

8%OR MORE

MANURE & GREENHOUSEGASES

10%MORE 12%

CATTLE

MORE 10%

LAND

MORE 11%

FEED

MORE

GAS

% % %%% % %

IF WE WERE TO RETURN TO 1950s TECHNOLOGY, WHILE MAINTAINING CURRENT PRODUCTION RATES, THE RESULTS WOULD BE …

www.mbbeef.ca220 - 530 Century Street, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0Y4Phone: 1-800-772-0458email: [email protected]


www.mbbeef.ca

Premium Products, Premium Service... Direct to Your Door.

Premium Products, Premium Service... Direct to Your Door.

2015 FULL LIN E CATALOGUEVisit www.lakelandgroup.net

Mineral Tub Program

ANIMAL HEALTH

Silage Wrap

LIVESTOCK HANDLING EQUIPMENT

Squeeze Chutes

Corral Panels & Gates

LAND MANAGEMENT

Push N Drive Over Gates

Full Line of Poly Tanks & ATV Sprayers

Deluxe Spin Trim Chute

LakelandGroup.net

A group including some Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) directors and staff traveled to The Pas in early July as part of its ongoing outreach activities to producers.

MBP President Heinz Reimer, District 14 Director Stan Foster, General Manager Melinda German and Poli-cy Analyst Maureen Cousins met with producers to learn more about the types of issues facing producers in northern Manitoba.

“This area of Manitoba is certainly well suited to beef production and we were pleased to meet with local produc-ers and talk about both the challenges as well as the oppor-tunities they see for our industry,” said Reimer. “It was very informative and we appreciated their insights.”

MBP provided producers with an update on its advo-cacy efforts and on matters such as trade, including ongoing efforts to resolve the Country of Origin Labelling dispute. Issues of local concern were discussed, many of which will be familiar to other Manitoba beef producers. These include water-related challenges, as the region has been hard hit by flooding in recent years; predation management; and, the ability to access Crown lands to support beef production, among others.

Producers Rod and Jarrett Berezowecki gave the MBP contingent a detailed tour of the Carrot River Valley. There is approximately 110,000 acres of land being used for agri-cultural purposes (both livestock and crop production) in this area, all situated north of the 53 parallel. It is home to between two and three dozen beef producers.

MBP thanks the Berezoweckis for providing their per-spectives on raising cattle in this region and for their tremen-dous hospitality.

2014 – 15 ResultsFinal laboratory test results

for the 2014-15 Bovine Tuberculo-sis (TB) Surveillance Program are now in...and the news is all good. No occurrences of TB were detect-ed in domestic livestock herds, or the wild elk and deer populations, within the Riding Mountain Eradi-cation Area (RMEA).

Approximately 10 per cent of the domestic livestock herds, within the RMEA but outside of the Core Area, were tested for TB over the past winter. 2700 cattle in 29 herds were tested with 3.5per cent of these animals showing a slight reaction to the tuberculin test. Animals showing this reavc-tion were subjected to a Bovigam test, with four animals showing a suspicious result that necessitated slaughter and further testing. That additional testing confirmed nega-tive results across the board.

The negative results in 2014-15 confirm the status of the RMEA, of Manitoba, as TB-free, a status we have held since 2006. Unfortu-nately, the United States Depart-ment of Agriculture (USDSA) does not recognize Manitoba’s TB-free status, still requiring additional TB testing of Manitoba breeding stock entering the US. The USDA has not indicated when it will un-dertake a review of Canada’s TB program, meaning that these ad-ditional export testing require-ments will stay in place for the foreseeable future.

Fifty-eight mature cow elk in the Core Area were captured, blood sampled, radio-collared

and released. Five of the samples showed suspicious results – these elk cows were recaptured, slaugh-tered and subjected to further test-ing. That testing returned negative results for bovine TB. The hunter killed sample submission program received 97 deer and 69 elk sam-ples. All of these samples tested negative for TB.

These wild cervid test re-sults indicate that the prevalence of bovine TB in the population is approaching an undetectable level.

The overall 2014-15 TB pro-gram came in almost 28per cent under budget at $1.6 million, al-though not all planned activities were completed this past year.

2015-16 Management Plan The plans for the upcoming

season are well advanced. On the wild elk side, the bal-

ance of the Core Area mature cow herd (approximately 50 ani-mals) will be captured and tested. Hunter killed sample submissions from First Nations and licensed hunters will be collected again for testing.

2014-15 marked the last year for herd testing outside of the Core Area. The 2015-16 Plan is to test all of the core area cattle, bison and elk herds. This testing in the Core is anticipated to continue ev-ery second year until the disease prevalence in the wild herd drops below detectable levels.

Manitoba Beef Producers will continue to work diligently with RMEA cattle producers to conduct on-farm risk assessments, address

any areas of concern, and link the producers’ Premise Identification and Canadian Cattle Identification Agency accounts so as to maxi-mize the recovery of slaughter sur-veillance information on all cattle born in the RMEA.

With all department agency and organizational contributions included, the 2015-16 Bovine Tu-berculosis Management Plan is targeted to cost approximately $2 million.

Bovine TB Management Plan Goals

The program goals continue to focus on the Management Plan’s long term vision of:• maintaining TB Free status in

domestic livestock• reducing the prevalence of TB

in wildlife to undetectable lev-els

• reducing surveillance pro-grams in both wild and do-mestic herds to maintenance levels

• minimizing wildlife-livestock interactions in the Riding Mountain region, and

• maintaining a sustainable elk and deer populations in the ecosystem.

Closing NoteOf significant interest to the

many stakeholders in the Bovine Tuberculosis Management Plan, AAFC Minister Gerry Ritz an-nounced a $7.4 million project this week, in partnership with VIDO-InterVac, Genome Canada and Genome British Columbia, to research “a reverse vaccinology ap-proach for the prevention of my-cobacterial disease in cattle," fo-cusing on bovine tuberculosis and Johne’s Disease (paratuberculosis). We will follow this research project closely as its projected results may have a large impact on future ac-tions in the RMEA.

MBP directors and staff visit The Pas

Negative results for the 2014-15 Bovine Tuberculosis Surveillance Program

(Above) MBP District 14 Director Stan Foster speaks with Rod Berezowecki during a recent trip to The Pas. MBP staff and directors travelled to northwest Manitoba in July to meet with producers in the region.(Right) MBP GM Melinda German speaks with producers during a meeting in The Pas in July.

DR. ALLAN PRESTONFrom the Desk of the Bovine Tuberculosis Co-ordinator

PHO

TO B

Y M

AU

REEN

CO

USI

NS


www.mbbeef.ca

More of Canada’s farm experts choose to do business with FCC

Together, we’ll create the financing plan that works for you. We get to know you, your farm and how you want to grow. If you’re ready to get down to business, talk to one of our farm business experts.

fcc.ca/Expert2Expert 1-800-387-3232

“On this farm, we’re the experts.”Sean Gorrill – FCC Customer

ADRIANA BARROS

Let’s get ready for harvest season, back to school and back to busy schedules. This busy time of year might leave home-made dinners on the back burner to be replaced with quick fixes like take-out or ordering in meals. The easiest way to tackle a busy schedule is to be organized and this can be simple if everyone is able to do their part. Dividing dinner tasks and staying organized isn’t a new invention. However, it requires dedication and support from those around you in order to be success-ful. Below will be a number of tips and ideas that can be easily brought into your kitchens at home.

Keep a weekly chalk-board or dry erase board on the refrigerator; this is the best way of staying on top of all family events and daily commitments. From weddings, birthdays, soccer games and parent-teacher conference. Make sure the calendar is large enough to get the whole families' activities in one place. You might even want to colour code the markers for mom, dad and the children's ac-tivities.

Based on the sched-

uled activities your family has each week, designate re-sponsibilities to each family member in order to get din-ner on the table at a reason-able time each night. Based on the ages of the children in your family examples could be setting the dinner table, peel and cut vegeta-bles or making a tossed sal-ad. Let the older children take the lead; they can read the recipe that is being used for dinner and get started where they can. This can be browning and seasoning ground beef. Giving your children set designated tasks will not only make them feel involved, they will learn responsibility. Key lessons can be achieved by simply working together to accomplish a larger goal; developing disciplinary skills doesn’t need to be boring and can happen in the kitchen!

Grocery shop only once a week and have a list. The fact of the matter is, You will typically forget items and overspend when you enter the grocery store without a list. Before decid-ing to go to the store make sure you have checked through your fridge, freezer and pantry. This will avoid forgetting items and you will then know exactly what

you need. After you have a good idea of the ingredients you currently have in your kitchen; make a meal plan. A meal plan does not need to be intimidating it’s just a list of family dinners for the week. Typically this is seven meals; however, you can make double batches and recreate several dinners from cooking one large roast in the beginning of the week. For example:

Monday: Double batch of ground beef for Monday & Tuesday: Hamburgers and tossed salad

Tuesday: Ground Beef Quesadillas Loaded with Beans and Veggies

Wednesday: Roasted chicken with roasted root vegetables and potatoes

Thursday: Leftover chicken from Wednesday: Pulled Chicken Cobb Salad

Friday: Large slow-cooker cross-rib roast and for the weekend: Pulled Beef Tacos with coleslaw

Saturday: Pulled Beef sandwiches with baked po-tatoes

Sunday: Muffin-Sized Beef Meat Loaves (great to pack for lunches at school or work on Monday).

Once the set meal plan has been created it is then appropriate to create one single grocery list.

Make big batch meals, this means creating left-overs to recreate a few ex-tra meals in a pinch dur-ing a busy week. Start with having your cupboards stocked with pantry items to make marinades, spice rubs and sauces to season meats. Your best friend in the kitchen can be your slow-cooker; it’s fabulous at getting all the hard work done for you. A slow cooker can be used to cook roasts, soups or ground beef. When cooking low and slow all the time spent cooking is done for you, leaving you

with assembling dinner. Don’t be fearful of leftovers, by cooking a large cross-rib roast and shredding all the meat at once gives many meal possibilities that can be stored in the freezer for 2-3 months. Recreating meals from ground beef or shredded beef can be end-less; here are a few options the whole family will love:

Calzones / pizzaQuesadillasDinner salads (Tex-

Mex salad, Cobb salad, Pasta salad)

Hard or soft tacosWraps / submarine

sandwiches.Getting the family in-

volved in making dinner is not only a wonderful bond-ing activity; there are many lessons in leadership chil-dren can learn from time spent in the kitchen. This month’s recipe is courtesy of Canada Beef Inc., Mini Beef Meat Loaves. Ground beef is an excellent ingredi-ent to always have on hand. Purchasing large trays and breaking down the meat into raw or cooked por-tions will help with prepar-ing meals throughout busy weeks ahead.

Over the summer the federal and provincial governments announced in-vestments in research and development projects that should benefit the beef in-dustry.

One is a project initiated by Manito-ba Beef Producers on the impact of cow-calf feeding and vaccination strategies on carcass outcomes in beef cattle. Through Growing Forward 2’s Growing Innova-tion – Agri-Food Research and Develop-ment Initiative the federal and provincial governments are investing $261,234 in this project. The research is being led by Dr. Kim Ominski at the University of Manitoba. This is a continuation of other research Dr. Ominksi has been conduct-ing around the use of needle-free injec-tion systems for beef cattle.

The federal government is investing in a series of genomics research projects, one of which involves efforts to develop vaccines against Johne’s disease and bo-

vine tuberculosis, two diseases that have had a costly impact on Canada’s beef in-dustry. The research will be led by An-drew Potter, VIDO-InterVac, University of Saskatchewan and Robert Hancock of the University of British Columbia.

According to information about the project, the researchers will be taking a “reverse vaccinology” approach to pre-venting infectious diseases in cattle. This approach uses genomic technology to screen large numbers of bacterial proteins simultaneously to identify those that have properties that can stimulate a protective immune response in cattle. These pro-teins then form the basis for developing novel vaccines and immunization strate-gies.

It is estimated the annual financial impact of bringing these vaccines to the marketplace will be around $100 million, with international sales of a further $400 million.

Meal planning for our busy lives

Government investing in research that will be beneficial to the beef industry

Mini Beef Meat Loaves1 ½ lb (750 g) Extra Lean Ground Beef Round or Sirloin or Lean/ Extra Lean Ground Beef1 egg, beaten½ cup (125 mL) finely shredded carrot (1 large)¹/³ cup (75 mL) finely shredded onion (1 small)¼ cup (50 mL) dry bread crumbs1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano¼ tsp (1 mL) EACH salt and pepper½ cup (125 mL) pizza sauce¼ cup (50 mL) Shredded cheese, optionalCombine beef, egg, carrot, onion, bread crumbs, oregano, salt,

pepper and ¼ cup (50 mL) of the pizza sauce. Mix lightly but thor-oughly to blend.

Lightly spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray. Divide mix-ture among cups. Spoon remaining pizza sauce over tops, dividing equally.

Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until digital rapid-read thermometer inserted into centre of a meat loaf registers 160°F (71°C).


www.mbbeef.ca

Disability Insurance-Coverage available up to $7,000/month non-taxable-1st day Accident-24 hour Accident and/or Sickness to age 65/75, with Lifetime renewable option-Guarantee Issue or Non-cancellable contracts-Optional Accidental Death and Dismemberment benefits-Optional Business Expense benefits

Extended Health Care-New extended coverage to 75-Up to 100% coverage with no deductible for Hospitalization, Ambulance, Private Nursing, Medical Equipment, Healthcare Professionals such as: Chiropractor, Massage Therapists, Physiotherapists, Dietician, Naturopath and more-Prescription Drug cards for instant reimbursement at pharmacy-Vision, including eye exams, glasses, contacts, and laser eye-surgery

Dental Care-Up to 90% coverage on all basic, preventative care including: fillings, denture relining/rebasing/repairs-Up to 50% coverage for endodontics and periodontics for wisdom teeth removal and gum disease treatment

Critical Ilness Insurance-Lump Sum benefit from $5,000 to $2 million-Coverage for Cancer, Heart Attack, Stroke, up to 25 conditions-Non-cancellable contracts to age 65, 75, or for life-100% Return of Premium available

Call Now: 1-204-275-1109 or 1-888-505-2611

Contact

LINK ATTEN DNA [email protected]

Prescription Drug cards for instant

reimbursement at pharmacy!

New

For Beef Producers of Manitoba

Fill out and fax to: 1-204-269-1081 or mail: DNA Insurance 404-35-2855 Pembina Hwy Winnipeg MB R3T 5K2

Name: ________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________

City: _________________________________________________

Prov: ____________________Postal Code: ______________

Phone: ___________________Fax: _______________________

Contact: __________________AM ______________________ PM

DID YOU KNOW?Cancer:1 in 2.2 men & 1 in 2.4 women living in Canada will develop cancer during their lifetime; 63% will survive for at least 5 years

Heart Disease:1 in 2 men & 1 in 3 women living in Canada will develop heart disease in their lifetime; 85% of hospitalized patients survive the event

Stroke:An estimated 50,000 Canadians suffer a stoke each year; 85% survive the initial event

Needs survey looks at communicationCAROLLYNE KEHLERProject Coordinator

In recent months some of you may have par-ticipated in the Manitoba Beef Producers’ member survey. The results are now in and they will be very important to MBP’s future strategic planning

When the direc-tors and staff of MBP sit down at a board meet-ing, in front of their com-puter, on their tractor, or at a provincial or national event they are consider-ing issues affecting Mani-toba’s beef industry, both on an immediate and a long-term basis. The deci-sions and directions they choose to follow are why MBP is the driving force it is today. Having producer and industry stakeholder input helps provide MBP with a clear focus and path going forward. There are many opportunities and challenges that MBP must tackle but it is im-portant to know on which ones to focus its efforts and resources. That is why the results of this survey are so valuable.

How was the information collected

A consultant, Kelwin Management Consult-ing, was hired to execute the MBP member survey, which took place from January to June of this year. The survey had two parts: a written portion and an interview por-tion. The written survey was distributed through a number of avenues in-cluding: at Ag Days in Brandon, during the MBP AGM in Brandon, with the help of directors contact-ing other producers, as an insert into Cattle Coun-try, and online. There were 195 surveys collect-ed from participants all across the province. The surveys included a diverse group of participants from each of the 14 districts in Manitoba, in all age cat-egories and with differ-ent types of operations (cow-calf, feedlot, back-grounder, purebred and dairy). There were also 24 interviews conducted with industry stakehold-ers including a researcher, representatives from other livestock groups, cattle buyers, processors, gov-ernment representatives and cattle industry lead-ers. The consultant then collected the information from all of these sources, analysed the results of the written survey and com-piled the answers from the interviews resulting in a 70-page report.

The report includes an in depth look at MBP’s organisation and services, the challenges and risks affecting producers’ oper-

ations and the future op-portunities and potential challenges for Manitoba’s beef industry. With such a wealth of information it’s difficult to cover all the topics in one article. So this will be the first of a number of articles delv-ing into the results of this survey.

Communication is keyAn overwhelming

theme throughout the re-port was that communica-tions is key. When asked “How important is each of the following to you as a focus for Manitoba Beef Producers’ activities?” the top four answers were all related to MBP’s com-munications with various groups (see Figure 1.). These included inform-ing the public about beef production, promoting beef consumption, talk-ing with the media about beef industry issues and advocating on behalf of the industry with govern-ments. These are activities that MBP is already very involved with but it is en-couraging that the survey participants value MBP’s efforts and think it im-portant to increase them. MBP regularly meets with government leaders to discuss topics such as business risk management programs, water manage-ment, livestock predation, eradicating bovine TB, Crown lands and more. MBP is also involved in many outreach events such as Ag in the City, the Red River Ex, Royal

Manitoba Winter Fair, Great Tastes of Manitoba and more, and through partnerships with organi-zations such as the Winni-peg Blue Bombers.

Communication is also key for MBP because

producers want to hear more about MBP’s activi-ties. It is recognised that the staff and directors, as well as many others, do a lot of work to address issues raised by produc-ers, such as those brought forward as resolutions at MBP’s annual general meeting. However, pro-ducers want to regularly hear what progress is be-ing made on each of the issues. One way MBP does this is through updates on issues in Cattle Country, such as the columns writ-ten by MBP president Heinz Reimer, General Manager Melinda Ger-man and Policy Analyst Maureen Cousins.

In response to the

consultant’s recommenda-tion to “develop a compre-hensive communications strategy that will address members, stakeholders and consumers” MBP Communications Coor-dinator Chad Saxon has

already begun to create a new strategy, with the guidance of the directors and other staff. The design of this strategy is based on developing a trusting relationship between con-sumers and producers by featuring the pride beef producing families have in their profession and product.

To improve commu-nications between MBP and you, the members, the consultants recommend-ed collecting more mem-ber contact information. It is clear from the results of this survey that you want to hear more about MBP’s activities and other industry news. If that’s the case, we are making an ef-

fort to collect more mem-ber contact information so that those of you who want can receive the bi-weekly MBP e-newsletter and Cattle Country. MBP also has active Facebook and Twitter accounts that

you can follow for indus-try updates and impor-tant news that could affect your operations. Not sure where to sign up? Call our office at 1-800-772-0458 and we will help you out.

Where do we go from here?

The next step is put-ting the results of this survey into action. When the consultants were fin-ished they sent the MBP staff their final report, a 70-page document con-taining a detailed exami-nation of all of the par-ticipant’s thoughts and responses. Since then the staff have been reading through the document and analysing how they can utilize the report’s in-

formation to make work plans that address the themes brought up in the survey. MBP GM Melinda German can be spotted walking around the office with the member survey report in hand, every page covered in notes. Not only is she using the report for her own insights but she is bringing the ideas to the board of directors so they can use it to help guide the board’s discus-sions, strategic planning and decision making processes.

With your input MBP will continue to adapt its activities to better address the issues that affect you and our province’s beef in-dustry. Once again, thank you to all who participated in the survey. Support for this important project was received through Grow-ing Forward 2 – Growing Actions. Don’t hesitate to contact MBP if you would like more information. Or you can wait for future articles on other aspects of the survey findings in upcoming issues of Cattle Country.

“The MBP board must have the vision and skill to navigate between the old and the new, re-shaping traditions with-out crippling the indepen-dent spirit that has seen producers through some very tough times and is the foundation on which the industry has been built since cattle produc-tion came to Manitoba.” said the report's authors.

Key a. lobbying governments to ensure that policies and

programs are based on sound science b. investing producer check-off dollars in research c. offering production services, such as age verification

services, ration formulation and balancing d. offering extension services, such as information about

research & new technology e. offering training sessions and workshops, on topics such

as the Beef Code of Practice, biosecurity measures, succession planning, workplace safety and health.

f. participating in events and programs to inform the public about beef production

g. promoting beef consumption h. talking to the media about beef industry issues i. providing media/presentation training so beef producers

can individually help promote the industry j. developing management tools such as farm management

software

Very important Important Not very important

Rat

ing

Figure 1. How important is each of the following to you as a focus for Manitoba Beef Producers activities

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.


www.mbbeef.ca

Kathy Larson, MSc, PAg,Beef Economist with the Western Beef Development Centre and the Beef CattleResearch Council

Herd productivity is closely linked to herd profitability. The calcula-tion for break-even price on calves clearly demon-strates this:

The break-even price can be lowered by decreasing total cow herd costs or by increas-ing the total pounds of calves weaned. Increas-ing the total weight (lbs) of weaned calves can be achieved by improving herd productivity, such as:

a) INCREASING – conception rates, wean-ing rate, etc.

b) DECREASING – calf death loss, calving span, etc.

While it is good management to track and calculate one’s herd production performance indicators on an annual basis, it can be helpful to have benchmarks to com-pare to. Benchmarks help a producer know if they are on the right track. They can help a producer identify if they excel in a certain area and/or could improve in another. They can also help to show what production and management practices other producers are fol-lowing. Benchmark pro-ductivity measures for the cow-calf sector can also help guide research and extension efforts.

For these reasons, a group of individuals from British Columbia to Manitoba, representing provincial beef producer groups, provincial Min-istry of Agriculture spe-

cialists, the Beef Cattle Research Council, Can-fax and the Western Beef Development Centre have revived, expanded and conducted a survey last conducted in Alberta in 1998.

The Western Cana-dian Cow-Calf Survey (WCCCS) was distrib-uted to producers from November 2014 until the end of February 2015. A total of 411 survey re-sponses were received (representing just over 76,000 cows). Response rates varied by province with the greatest per-centage of respondents being from Alberta (49 per cent), followed by Saskatchewan (24 per cent), Manitoba (18 per cent) and British Co-lumbia (8 per cent). The average age of survey re-spondents was 50 with an average of 28 years in the cattle business.

Survey respondents provided details on their 2014 calf crop starting with the 2013 breeding season and ending with weaning. Cow:bull ratio averaged 25:1 and breed-ing season length aver-aged 93 days, which was nearly unchanged from the results of the ’98 Al-berta survey. A breeding season no longer than 63 days is recommended to maintain a 365 day calv-ing interval and improve calf crop uniformity, but only 24 per cent of re-spondents achieved this recommended target.

Breeding heifers four to six weeks before the cows is recommended so that heifers have more time to recoup (i.e. lon-ger post partum inter-val) after their first calf is born. Only 26 per cent of survey respondents bred their heifers earlier than the rest of the herd, aver-

aging 2 weeks earlier.The average open

rate was 7 per cent in cows and 10 per cent in heifers. The conception rate for all females was 92.8 per cent, compared to 95.6 per cent in AB in 1998. Work is underway within the industry to gain a better understand-ing of recent years’ lower conception rates.

The most popular month for calving start was March, with 18 per cent starting calving in the first half of the month and 18 per cent starting in the second half of March (see Figure 1). This is a change from 1998, where the major-ity of respondents were calving in February. This shift in calving start date suggests the research and extension about calving later to avoid the high cost of calving during winter months was heard and adopted.

Calving distribution is an important indica-tor for a herd. Ideally, 60 per cent or more of females should be calv-ing in the first 21 days of the calving season. A little more than 40 per cent of question respon-dents achieved this tar-get. On average 55 per cent of females calved in the first 21 days (see Fig-ure 2), which is an im-provement from 48 per cent reported in the 1998 AB survey.

Nearly 80 per cent of respondents provided de-tails on their 2014 wean-ing dates. Most respon-dents weaned in October (41 per cent), followed by November (32 per cent). The most common meth-od for weaning was tra-ditional separation (70 per cent), with others us-ing low-stress fenceline (22 per cent), two-stage/

nose paddle (6 per cent) or natural (3 per cent) weaning methods. The average wean percentage was 86 per cent, with 533 lbs weaned per cow ex-posed, 28 lbs higher than in 1998. Only 24 per cent of survey respondents implanted their 2014 calves.

More than 69 per cent of respondents re-port having more than 90 per cent polled calves. Ninety-four per cent of producers castrate calves before six months of age, indicating the vast ma-jority of producers are already in alignment with the beef care Code of Practice requirement (to be effective Jan. 1,

2018) of using pain con-trol when castrating bulls older than six months of age.

Over 70 per cent of respondents sold a por-tion of their calves at weaning, with nine per cent preconditioning and 35 per cent background-ing. Some producers used multiple calf mar-keting strategies. Most respondents (80 per cent) marketed calves via live auction, 12 per cent sold calves direct/private treaty, nine per cent used electronic auction and seven per cent used an order buyer.

The top four bull selection criteria were breed, conformation,

birth weight and EPDs, respectively. Genetic test results ranked ninth in bull selection. Few re-spondents test their bulls for trich (12 per cent) and vibrio (10 per cent).

Nineteen per cent of respondents regularly body condition score their females and 91 per cent vaccinate. Fourty-seven per cent lab test their winter feed for quality, and 80 per cent of those use the results to balance rations.

If you are interested in learning about more WCCC survey findings please visit: www.wbdc.sk.ca/wcccs.htm. Ideally this survey will be con-ducted every five years.

Result of the WCCCS: production benchmarks

WE’VE MOVED!UNIT 220, 530 CENTURY STREET

WINNIPEG, MB R3H 0Y4


www.mbbeef.ca

Cash Advance Program Applies to:• Manitoba Cattle, Goat, Bison and Sheep Producers• Saskatchewan Cattle, Goat, Bison and Sheep Producers• Alberta Sheep, Bison and Goat Producers• British Columbia Bison and Goat Producers• Quebec, PE, YK, NB, NL & NS Bison Producers

CASH ADVANCE FORMS AVAILABLE ONLINEat: www.manitobalivestock.com

ADVANCE PAYMENTS PROGRAM - HIGHLIGHTS

LOAN ADVANCES ON SOME SELECT GRAINS

• $100,000 Interest Free• Over $100,000 to a maximum of $400,000*

Prime +0.0% on loans over $100,000.00(floating rate)

Call: 1-866-869-4008 to start your application**Manitoba Livestock Cash Advance Inc.

*Per applicant, includes all APP Programs.

APPLY FOR A CASH ADVANCE TODAY...Check out the Great Loan Advance

Rates this year!

Subject to Credit Approval

Q: Is early weaning a good option? How should early-weaned calves be man-aged and fed?

A: It is important to weigh the pros and cons of both early weaning and pre-conditioning light-weight calves. Early weaning has benefits for the cow but early-weaned calves require more management time, good quality feed and proper facilities.

If pasture supply is low and cows have a body condition score of 3.0 or lower (on a scale of 1 to 5), weaning early will give the cows time to regain body condition before winter and ultimately, calving. Maintenance requirements of lactating beef cows are 20 per cent higher than the maintenance re-quirements of dry cows. Early weaning re-duces the cow’s daily nutrient requirements and gives her the opportunity to maintain or regain condition, even if only grazing on dry, lower-quality grass.

A good option is to evaluate the Body Condition Score of the herd on a group-by- group basis. You may notice that it is just first-calf heifers and older cows that are un-der-conditioned. Moving these animals to a separate pasture and weaning their calves is a good strategy to manage their body con-dition and keep them on track for calving and rebreeding.

Ideally beef cows should have a body condition score of 3.5 going into winter; cows in good condition will require less supplementation during the winter feeding period, compared to cows in poor condi-tion. Poorly conditioned cows generally have five to 10 per cent higher energy re-quirements. As cows progress from mid to late gestation and temperatures drop, it becomes increasingly difficult to put on condition.

Studies have shown that calves can be weaned as young as two to five months of age with no negative effect.

Calves are typically weaned around six to seven months of age but studies have shown that calves can be weaned as

young as two to five months of age with no negative effect on future performance, provided the calves are managed properly. Calves weaned at four to five months are already eating some forage; therefore, they transition better. Weaning at four to five months also gives the cows an additional 30 to 60 days, with lower nutrition require-ments, to gain condition.

It is important to reduce stress on calves at weaning, particularly if they are being weaned early. Calves should not be dehorned or castrated at time of weaning as it will compound the stress. Ideally these practices should be done a minimum of two weeks before or after weaning. It is also important to discuss a vaccination program with your veterinarian prior to weaning.

Starting calves on creep feed a mini-mum of two to three weeks before wean-ing will make the transition to feed easier. The first ration fed to calves, after weaning, needs to be palatable and nutrient dense. The ration needs to be high in energy and protein to compensate for minimal con-sumption by the calves. Getting calves onto feed quickly is important for minimizing health issues.

For calves weaned at four to five months of age, the introduction ration should have a minimum of 16 per cent crude protein and 70 per cent TDN. The ration should be a mix of high-quality hay, concentrates and a well-balanced mineral and vitamin package. A typical diet for ear-ly-weaned calves would be 50 to 60 per cent grain, 30 to 40 per ent good quality hay and the remaining 10 per cent, a high protein supplement. Low-quality, dusty hay should be avoided. Feed needs to be kept fresh and bunks cleaned out regularly. Each calf will require 12 to 18 inches of bunk space. Once the calves have reached 400 lbs they can be transitioned to a silage-based background-ing diet.

Early weaning will be a good option for you if your cows are losing condition

or are in poor body condition. However, you must ensure that you have adequate facilities, time and access to good-qual-ity feed to properly manage your early- weaned calves.

Early weaning has definite benefits to cow condition in times of limited feed re-sources.

We want to hear from youFor the next issue of Cattle Country,

Elizabeth Nernberg, MAFRD Livestock Specialist, will feature your livestock ques-

tions on protecting your feed from Elk. Send your questions to [email protected] by Sept. 4, 2015.

StockTalk Q&A Feature for Cattle Country is brought to you by Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. We encourage you to email your questions to MAFRD’s forage and livestock team, who have a combined 230 years of agron-omy experience. We are here to help make your cattle operation successful. Contact us today.

BY MAUREEN COUSINSMBP Policy Analyst

It has been a busy summer on the advocacy front with MBP providing feedback to the provincial govern-ment on several key issues, including environmental policies and business risk management programs.

Alvar EPZThe Manitoba government is proposing to create an

alvar Ecosystem Protection Zone (EPZ) on approximate-ly 2600 hectares of Crown land in the Interlake, some of which is currently being leased by beef producers.

It is MBP’s position that the lands identified for the proposed EPZ should remain available to producers for all uses through the Agricultural Crown Lands Leasing Program and not be removed from agricultural produc-tion.

Alvar is described as a habitat characterized by a thin (usually 10 cm or less) or absent layer of soil over a limestone or dolomite bedrock pavement. It supports species such as mosses and lichens, and is a rare ecosys-tem in Canada. Alvar has already been designated as an endangered ecosystem under Manitoba’s Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act. To protect this ecosystem the province could restrict certain activities in the pro-posed alvar EPZ.

MBP has been engaging with staff from Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship about the pro-posed EPZ. Research has shown that grazing can provide considerable benefits to the landscape, such as helping to reduce shrub encroachment that can inhibit the growth of certain endangered plants, such as those that could be found in the proposed EPZ.

MBP has also shared its position with Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Tom Nevakshonoff and Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron

Kostyshyn. The ability to access Crown lands is essen-tial to many producers’ livelihoods, providing them with valuable lands used for haying, grazing, forage and crop-ping purposes. MBP has asked for the Ministers’ confir-mation that agricultural Crown land lease holders will be able to continue using these lands for the activities outlined in their leases and permits once the EPZ is cre-ated and that no leases or permits will be cancelled.

Input into the development of any regulations relat-ed to the EPZ that could affect beef production has been sought by MBP. And, MBP has asked that as researchers and government staff enter the leased lands to study the alvar that they consult with the lease holders in advance of entry. This will help ensure that proper biosecurity practices are being followed, helping to protect the safety of people and livestock as well as the environment.

MBP encourages producers who may be affected by the creation of the EPZ to participate in the province’s consultations. Comments are due by September 16. Consultation details and a map of the proposed protect-ed area can be found at:

http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/wildlife/eco-system_shareyourviews.html

Agriculture Risk Management Review Task ForceManitoba’s Agriculture Risk Management Review

Task Force’s held a series of producer consultations around the province in July and MBP directors and staff took part in a number of these.

The Task Force is examining business risk manage-ment (BRM) programs and changes to AgriInsurance programs, including gaps in existing policies and pro-grams and identifying ways to shift government support from ad hoc assistance to planned and predictable pro-grams.

MBP took forward a number of issue of concern to the meetings. These include: the need for bankable

and responsive insurance programs; the need for a level playing field between the different commodity groups when it comes to insurance options; having the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program be made available as a backstop for producers trying to access the Advance Payments Program; shortcomings in the forage insur-ance program for producers affected by repeated flood or excess moisture events; the importance of having ac-cess to beneficial management practice programs to help producers build resilience in their operations, and more.

MBP will be making a detailed written submission to the Task Force and is encouraging beef producers to make their voices heard as well.

Consultation information is available at http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/business-and-economics/agri-risk-task-force.html

The deadline to complete the online consultation survey or to provide a formal written submission sharing your ideas on how to improve BRM programs is Sept. 30.

Feedback Sought on Rural Vet ServicesThe Manitoba government has created a three-per-

son task force to evaluate and seek feedback on rural vet-erinary services. Members include Dr. Paul Schneider, Bertha Russell-Langan and Merv Starzyk. MBP will be participating in this process.

The task force’s duties include: holding focus groups with stakeholders, public meetings and an online consul-tation process, reviewing the current model of providing the services (including financial statements and clinic caseloads) and, looking at provincial and municipal sup-port for vets and vet clinics in the prairie provinces. Its report and recommendations are to be submitted to the Minister of Agriculture in January 2016.

For information about public meetings and online consultations visit www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture or watch for it on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBGovAg.

StockTalk Q&A Feature brought to you by Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development

MBP talks alvar EPZ, BRM programs

KATHLEEN WALSHLivestock SpecialistManitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD)


www.mbbeef.ca

Check out our Market Report

online UPDATED WEEKLY

For on-farm appraisal of livestock or marketing information, callHAROLD UNRAU - Manager/Sales Rep.1-204-434-6519 office or 871-0250 cell204-434-9367 fax Box 71 Grunthal, Manitoba R0A 0R0

www.grunthallivestock.com [email protected]

GRUNTHAL LIVESTOCK AUCTION MART

Regular sales every Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.

Saturday, September 12 at 10:00 a.m. Horse and Tack Sale

Monday, September 14 & 28 at 12:00 p.m. Sheep and Goat with Small Animals &

Holstein Calves

2015 Manitoba Beef ProducersBURSARY WINNERS

COLE JANKE

What do you call the most impor-tant industry in Manitoba? The beef industry. Fortunately, this isn’t a joke. Manitobans need the beef industry. Without it, our economy would need to rely on other sources to boost and balance it, but no industry is as reliable as that of food in today’s day and age. Without the beef industry, my province would not be the same, my community would not exist, and my family would be extremely different.

The term “summer job” doesn’t ex-ist in my family because we own a farm, and that means there is no rest for the weary. Whether it be cutting, raking, baling, hauling, or feeding hay to our cows, my family is busy year-round be-cause of our cattle. Not only does this benefit our lives financially, but I believe the experiences we share are really in-comparable to anything else out there. Learning which vaccinations to use and when to administer them and how to

bottle-feed and care for sick calves are just a few of the things that I can learn hands-on and love to experience. I would never have the set of sto-ries and memories I do from doing anything else. I am glad to be a part of the beef industry.

Without the beef in-dustry, my community and others like it wouldn’t exist. My hometown of Marquette, is a town of fifty people, fifteen houses, a café, and a Co-op. What most people fail to recognize is the sheer size of the farming community that comprises Marquette. It is surrounded by small and large beef, Holstein, hay, and grain farms alike, and everyone who is a part of them share a sense of community and pride. Without the beef industry, hun-dreds of people would be unemployed and so would their future generations possibly, in my community alone. Busi-

nesses such as our little café would have no cus-tomers, and the Co-op would have no one to sell fuel, hardware, or fertil-izer to. Marquette thrives because of the beef indus-try.

Of all the farmland in Canada, 12per cent is lo-cated right here in Mani-toba. Of that agricul-tural base, 34.6per cent

of farming in Manitoba is that of cattle. It easy to see from these numbers how important the beef industry is to Mani-toba’s economy. Livestock is an impor-tant export, as beef is always in high de-mand in our province, our country, and around the world. It provides a reliable source of income for farmers and cor-porations that filter their revenue back into the economy and therefore boost it. Manitoba may have other sources of income, but for us to have a large and recognizable staple such as the beef in-

dustry allows us to create a balanced economic foundation for which there is a perpetually growing demand. This industry also creates jobs for all ages, as there is always need for helping hands when there are cattle involved. In my school for example, half of our students either own some sort of cattle farm or work on one. Those who simply work part-time jobs on farms are encouraged to join the agricultural industry, creat-ing future opportunities for individuals and the province.

With the growing provincial, na-tional, and global populations, food is becoming of higher and higher de-mand leading into an uncertain future. But because of this, the importance of the beef industry to Manitoba grows as well, allowing everyone to benefit in the financial cycle. The beef industry is im-portant to Manitoba. It is important to Marquette. But most importantly, it is important to me, and I guarantee there are thousands of others that feel the same way.

KATELYN STEHR

Imagine driving down a gravel road, following it as it twists and dips past trees and over hills. Imagine scanning the landscape, your eyes following the rolling grassland and seemingly never-ending barbed-wire fence line, until your eyes rest upon a herd of cattle grazing in a lush, green cou-lee. This is my home. This is Manitoba.

Beef cattle production is vital to the province as it offers economic benefits, provides for a sustainable future, helps to shape future leaders and fits so perfectly into the picture of Manitoba. Sustainability is achieved when there is equali-ty between the environment, society and the economy. Beef production in Manitoba is essential to a sustainable future as it allows these three aspects to balance so perfectly.

Beef production is environmentally beneficial as graz-ing practices allow for the preservation of many environ-mental aspects such as prairie ecosystems and habitat for a vast amount of wildlife including numerous endangered species. Proper grazing manage-ment also improves the health of the environ-ment by decreasing wind and water erosion and increasing carbon sequestration.

The beef industry contributes to a strong provincial economy in a variety of ways. For example, 2013 beef cattle exports to the U.S. from Manitoba alone were valued at $1 mil-lion. The value of these exports not only bene-fits Manitoba beef producers, but benefits oth-er Manitoba residents through job creation, the purchase of equipment and materials for production and overall by bringing economic prosperity to rural economies. It is estimated that in Manitoba, agri-culture contributes 4-5per cent to the province’s GDP, but when the indirect benefits are factored in, this number is

closer to 12per cent, thus effectively demonstrating just how important agriculture is to the entire provincial economy.

I know from personal experience how influential rais-ing cattle can be on a young person. Many important life lessons are learned, and values instilled when growing up on a beef farm. For example, pulling calves, sorting pairs and halter breaking show animals taught me patience. Showing 4-H calves showed me that hard work is the only way to the top, and that being humble is crucial once you get there. Staying up all night working on a sick calf, just to have him fade away at the first crack of dawn prepared me for loss and taught me that even if I fail at first, if something is important and is the right thing to do, always try again. I see these same values in every young person I meet that grew up around cattle. These lessons prepare us for life and shape us into strong, respectful people that will become the capable future leaders of society.

In the words of Brenda Schoepp “Once in your life you need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman and a preacher, but three times a day every day, you need a farmer”. This statement perfectly demonstrates just how essential agriculture is to the world. The Canadian agriculture in-dustry has a bright future with many oppor-tunities for young people, and I know that I have made an excellent decision by choosing to pursue a career in agriculture. The feeling of satisfaction from helping to feed the world is one of the reasons I love being involved in agriculture. The agriculture community is like a second family, brought together by our

love for feeding the world. Being raised on a cattle farm and growing up surrounded by a thriving agriculture industry has shaped me into the individual I am, and I will always remain rooted in agriculture.

SAWYER LAMBOURNE

Manitoba ha s been home to the beef industry for almost two centuries. This unique industry is a rare example of one that requires skills and proficiencies that are learned from the ground up and passed on from one generation to another. My fam-ily is indicative of Manitoba’s history in the beef industry.

Since coming to Manitoba in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s my parent’s fami-lies have been directly involved and have contributed to Manitoba’s beef industry. This tradition has continued with my fam-ily. It is difficult to imagine my life with-out being involved in the beef industry. A large part of the person I am is due to be-ing raised on a beef farm. My work ethic, my knowledge base and my skill sets have all been developed due to farm life. From an early age I was taught that hard work and perseverance are part of life and that you can’t give up when the going gets tough. I have also learned the value of responsibil-ity and leadership. Working in the beef industry has also taught me the value of nature and the importance of implementing sustainable practises. The beef in-dustry has given me and my family an income and an avenue to feed ourselves and others. There is no other industry that is so multi-faceted, where from hour to hour your job title can change like for example being a self-taught vet one hour to a machinery operator the next and finally finishing off your day as a carpenter. Being able to multi-task is symbolic of a beef farmer.

Manitoba can lay claim to being one of the best re-

gions in Canada to raise beef. We have an abundance of pure grasslands and clean, accessible water sources that allows us to be a leader with regards to top qual-ity beef cattle in Canada and the world. Manitoba is a world leader in beef genetics and an industry lead-er in herd health programs. Manitoba’s one million

plus beef cattle represents ten percent of Canada’s beef herd and this accounts for the province being ranked third in beef production in Canada.

Manitoba’s economy has and will always be significantly impacted by the beef industry. Early pioneers in Mani-toba made a living off agriculture and a significant part of that involved raising beef for milk and food. With the pass-ing of time beef farming evolved into the industry we have today. Beef production played a vital role in many early com-

munities, with towns growing up around farms. My community and the communities where my parents grew up are no exception. As beef production has in-creased so has the economic impact of the industry on Manitoba’s farming communities and the province as

a whole. The number of jobs directly and indirectly related to the beef industry is virtually limitless.

Whenever the beef industry is impacted whether it is positively or negatively, the impact on the prov-ince’s economy is widespread. Everyone associated with the beef industry directly or indirectly is af-fected. Producers, auction marts, the transportation and rail industry, slaughtering facilities, market and commodity exchanges, retail outlets, the goods and services sector, grain companies and producers, ag-riculture machinery and equipment sales, the manu-facturing sector, seed and fertilizer companies, the mining sector, veterinary services etc… are impacted. The carryover is boundless.

As we move on in the twenty-first century it is paramount that the beef industry continues to grow and play a major role in providing a safe, wholesome, nutrient-dense protein to a local, national and global population. So creating a sustainable beef industry is vitally important as we work toward the goal of feed-ing a world population of 9 billion people by the year 2050. This global population explosion will require at least 70 per cent more food with few additional re-sources.


www.mbbeef.ca

2015 Manitoba Beef ProducersBURSARY WINNERS

REBECCA UNRAU

Agriculture is not just a job, but a lifestyle. There is no nine to five; you work until the job is done. This life-style is defiantly not an easy life, as there are many ups and downs. Raising beef is one of those jobs that don’t really end. Haying in the summer, chores year round, and no matter how cold or stormy it is, the cows need fed. It requires a great deal of hands on and physical work, but in the end it is all worth it when you can say you have played a part in providing for not only your family and community, but the whole world.

My father has always been a beef producer, as was his father. We now run 400 head cow/calf operation and my father knows each of his animals by sight and can tell when they are ill or close to calving. He takes a great pride in caring for them and giving them a good start. Beef production hasn’t always been easy for my family; or anyone for that matter, but we have stuck it out and we

are now thankful that we did. Finally in the sale ring, we are receiving a good return and a decent wage for what we put into them. Growing up on a farm has taught me many important life skills. It has given me the opportu-nity to experience a lifestyle unlike any other. Over the years I have established my own commercial cow herd, instead of working for wages, I chose to be paid in cattle instead. This has not only taught me what being a beef producer means, but has also given me a great start on my future herd.

Not only does the beef industry benefit us, it also plays a huge role in my community and Manitoba. It supplies income for indi-viduals by providing jobs in each community and building the economy. When the farm-ing industry suffers, the rural communities suffer as well. Considering that beef is such a main food for people, raising beef is very important. For myself personally, I feel that is very important to know where and how my beef was raised. Manitoba beef producers take pride in the product they produce, and I know on our farm, we continually strive to improve the quality of our beef herd. Maintaining quality in our beef herds helps ensure that our product is accepted and enjoyed, not only locally, but in the larger markets as well.

Since agriculture is a huge part of who I am, espe-cially the cattle, I have decided to pursue a career relat-ing to the agriculture industry. I am enrolled in a two year Animal Health Technology program in Olds Al-berta. With a career in Animal Health Technology, spe-

cializing in large animals, I will be able to live and work in the rural area as well as use my knowledge to contribute to the family farm. Eventually, I hope to operate my own cattle farm. I have always had a keen interest in the health of animals. Over the years I have be-come quite capable of handling and working with large animals. I have endured many dif-ferent situations which have prepared me for this career I am pursuing.

Being raised on a farm, I have learned that in order to be successful it takes hard

work, dedication, perseverance and commitment. An easy life is not handed to you; especially in the cattle in-dustry, however the rewards are great when you reach your goals. I have applied these lessons to my educa-tion and work experience and hope that this knowledge will help me to be successful in my future endeavors as well. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship.

MARIANNE SYTNYK

The beef industry has a very sig-nificant meaning to me and every-thing in my life. I have grown up on a beef and grain farm my whole life and nothing can explain how much it has taught me, nor how much it impacts my decision making. I am the second youngest of six siblings, of which all have been involved in the farm opera-tion. My parents have always kept us involved in every aspect of the farm and I gained a lot of experience and knowledge from these experiences. Some of the activities I am involved in are daily chores, vaccinating, calv-ing, and operating haying equipment in the summer months. In my family, the beef industry not only represents a large portion of our income, but also represents the lifestyle we lead. As a cattle producer, you are always busy and on the go no matter what. Through the farm and raising cattle, my family has taught me that you must be very hard working to excel in this industry and I believe that I have carried on this trait. To my family, the

beef industry means our income, an activity where we must work together and cooperate, freedom, the opportu-nity for great prosperity, learning of life lessons, and without a doubt, the fact that you can work 60 plus hours a week and still love your life!

I live in southwest rural Manitoba surrounded by many small towns. My community bears the same values and mindset of our family, and what I would imagine of many producers; that the beef industry is very impor-tant to not only farmers, but its surrounding busi-nesses as well. Since my community is supported by the agriculture area that surrounds it, it values and promotes the beef in-dustry involvement within the community. To my community, the beef industry means fairs, petting zoos, tradeshows, and even tourism.

Manitoba is an amazing province with a very large parcel of opportunity in the beef industry. Many jobs are

available in Manitoba within the beef industry, but we may be at a shortfall of workers in this sector. In my mind, Manitoba has ginormous amount of opportunity waiting for the young people of tomorrow to take advantage of. I believe the beef industry in Mani-toba has the ability to make a family farm very profitable and allow these self-employed individuals to love what they do.

I want to be involved in agriculture and even more so, Manitoba’s beef industry, because I believe there is vast amounts of opportunity waiting to be taken. My background in the agriculture industry has let me see first-hand just how much of a short-fall of workers there is in Manitoba. I want to be a

part of the future thriving Manitoba Beef industry. I truly cannot imag-ine my life without its involvement in agriculture and I am very excited to see how involved I can become in the future.

CAITLYN WILKINSON

My name is Caitlin Wilkin-son and I am eighteen years old. I am a grade twelve student at Ste Rose School, and will be further-ing my education at Brandon University this fall. I am enrolled in the Faculty of Science, and then plan on applying to the Fac-ulty of Pharmacy at the Universi-ty of Manitoba upon completion of the required courses.

I believe that rural com-munities are very important, and unfortunately, many of them are becoming smaller and smaller. I grew up on a cattle ranch, in the very small town of Eddystone. Ste Rose has been my second home, and it is sad to see the town shrinking in size and popula-tion. I know without a doubt, that I will be returning to a small community, maybe even Ste Rose, which is one of the reasons as to why I will be heading down the career path I have chosen. My goal is to own a pharmacy of my own one day, and provide quality service and bring busi-ness to my community. I hope to help create and sustain rural growth and development and draw younger gener-ations to rural communities to raise their children, keep-ing these communities alive. Those younger generations are the future to the life of our small towns. Ste Rose has served as the foundation of my childhood, and I am very thankful for that. As a pharmacist, I will be able to con-tribute to the sustainability of a small town such as Ste Rose, which is my long term goal.

My family has and continues to make a living through the beef industry. We own and operate a 500 head cattle ranch in Eddystone, Manitoba. I was born and raised into the beef industry, and that is something I am proud of, and also thankful for. In the next few years our ranch will have officially been around for a century! My family’s history and legacies are left on this land, and I am proud to carry on with the tradition. Operating a cattle ranch has been my family’s way of life, and it is a wonderful feeling knowing that we contribute to feeding the world. One of the neatest things I’ve noticed being a part of this industry is that there are so many people who are passionate about what they are doing, and they genuinely love it.

Eddystone is a community consisting of mostly cattle ranches. Being a part of this industry has drawn us closer with our neighbors and fellow ranchers. In my situation, it has provided a living, breathing communi-ty of people. As a community we work together to one main goal, and it is always reassuring to know that help is only a phone call away if need be. This industry has also opened up a wide range of opportunities for me, as well as others in our community. I have been a part of the 4-H beef program since I was eight years old, and I have developed many unforgettable lessons and experiences from this. I like to spend time outside, and I take pride in the industry.

I really enjoy being involved with the beef in-dustry because I get to spend quality time with my fam-ily. The freedom of living on a farm is also something I’m thankful for, and I believe it is a great place for a family to raise their children. Knowing that our own hands are doing the work is a very satisfying feeling. Agriculture has had such a positive influence on my life; I am incred-ibly thankful for all that I have gained through living on a farm.

Check out the new ALL Angus Tagged, Age Verified, Traceable and Vaccinated Sales!

BECOME PART OF THE GROWING BREED...ANGUS!

Heartland Livestock Service:Brandon ................................................ 204-727-1431 .........October 13, November 3Virden ................................................... 204-748-2809 .........October 14, November 4 & 18

Grunthal Livestock Auction ..................... 204-434-6519 .........October 13, November 10Interlake Cattlemen’s Co-op (Ashern) ...... 204-768-2360 .........October 28Killarney Auction ..................................... 204-724-2131 .........October 19, November 16Ste. Rose Auction .................................... 204-447-2266 .........November 5Winnipeg Livestock ................................. 204-694-8328 .........October 9, 23, and November 20Gladstone Auction Mart .......................... 204-385-2537 .........March 3, 2016

www.ranchersendorsed.com www.mbangus.ca

For more information, contact either the Manitoba or Canadian Angus

MANITOBA 1-888-622-6487 CALGARY 1-888-571-3580

Sales for Angus Tagged Cattle


www.mbbeef.ca

www.BodyConditionScoring.ca

Measuring your cows’ body condition score by hand gives you a good indicator of how to manage their rations to maximize their reproductive efficiency – the most important factor affecting profitability. Cows with an ideal year-round body score of 2.5 to 3 rebreed sooner, have higher pregnancy rates, improved milk quality and production, healthier calves, and fewer instances of calving problems. This fall, get the most accurate data by hands-on scoring your females during fall processing and visit our website to learn more about how to manage body condition in your program.

www.BodyConditionScoring.ca was developed by the Alberta Beef Producers, Beef Cattle Research Council, Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan, University of Saskatchewan, and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture with funding provided by:

SLOW INTERNET?

Request a free USB

stick with the webpage

tools by emailing info@

beefresearch.ca or

calling 403.275.8558

ext. 302

Interactive BCS vs Profit Tool Feed Cost Calculator How-To Video

www.BodyConditionScoring.ca

published by manitoba beef producers september 2015 · entz, professor of cropping systems and...

Documents