published by manitoba beef producers vol.14 … · · 2013-06-28beef producers generally...

BEEF PRODUCERS GENERALLY SATISFIED WITH GROWING FORWARD 2RON FRIESEN

PUBLISHED BY MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS VOL.14 NO.6 OCTOBER 2012

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Buried deep in a stack of communiqués issued a!er the recent launch of the new "ve-year Growing Forward agriculture policy agreement is a paragraph that makes Ray Arm-bruster smile.

“Governments continue to look at ways to improve coverage for forage and livestock production,” it reads. “Beyond AgriInsur-ance, federal and provin-cial governments are also examining the feasibility of livestock price insurance coverage.”

For Armbruster, Mani-toba Beef Producers presi-dent, it is a sign that a long-awaited insurance program for cattle producers may "nally be getting some-where.

Mind you, a communi-qué issued "ve years earlier for the previous Growing Forward agreement prom-ised the same thing. But Armbruster is sure this time it is more than lip ser-vice.

“It was somewhat of a commitment to develop that in the last Growing Forward,” he says. “We’ll certainly work vigorously to hold them accountable to put that in place for this one,” he says.

#e promise of a live-stock insurance program was included in Growing Forward 2, which Canada’s agriculture ministers an-nounced Sept. 14 during their annual meeting in Whitehorse. For the live-stock sector, it was signi"-cant.

#e lack of such a pro-gram has always bothered cattle producers, who feel they are on an unequal

KRISTEN LUCYSHYN

...Continued on page 2

footing with crop growers who can insure against pro-duction losses.

“Crop insurance is a great tool for annual crop producers. But cattle pro-ducers don’t have an abil-ity to manage their risk in a forward way,” says Ryder Lee, manger of federal-provincial relations for the Canadian Cattlemen’s As-sociation (CCA).

“If you’re competing for the same piece of marginal land, or even for inputs, and if you can lay o$ your risk, you’re in a much di$erent competitive position.”

#e previous Growing Forward agreement did contain provisions for live-stock insurance but never

went beyond that.But now there are de-

velopments which govern-ments appear willing to build on.

A livestock price insur-ance program, which en-ables producers to insure a future price for their cur-rent production, is already in e$ect in Alberta.

#e Manitoba Agricul-tural Services Corporation has commissioned a study into the feasibility of of-fering a similar program across Western Canada.

Armbruster says a price insurance program for cat-tle producers is important in times of high costs, large investments and the risk of trade disruptions.

“It gives producers an opportunity to have some %exibility in the market-place and to be more in-novative in their own op-erations—in marketing and adding value,” he says.

Government o&cials acknowledge Ottawa, the provinces and territories are moving in that direc-tion, although slowly.

“#e development of a livestock insurance program was discussed at the recent federal-provincial Growing Forward 2 discussions held in Whitehorse,” says a Mani-toba government spokes-person. “#e result of those discussions was a federal-provincial-territorial agree-ment to move forward on the

work already done on live-stock insurance. More infor-mation will become available as discussions continue and as GF2 programs are devel-oped and launched.”

Growing Forward 2 takes e$ect April 1, 2013.

#e promise of a live-stock insurance program isn’t the only measure in the agreement which pleases Manitoba cattle producers.

MBP is particularly heartened by a $3 billion commitment to innovation, competitiveness and mar-ket development, says gen-eral manager Cam Dahl.

#ose were among the priorities for the new

Attend your local MBP district meeting. Schedule on page 3.

October 2012CATTLE COUNTRY2

agreement which MBP list-ed in a July 6 letter to Mani-toba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Ron Kostyshyn.

#e agreement calls for a 50 per cent increase in gov-ernment cost sharing for these three initiatives.

It also promises expan-sion of the Market Access Secretariat, a federal orga-nization under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada designed to improve mar-ket access for agricultural exports.

Created in 2009, the MAS “coordinates government ini-tiatives with industry, prov-inces and territories to aggres-sively and strategically pursue new and existing markets and keep pace with international competitors,” according to the AAFC website.

Funding for measures to increase access to export markets was also on MBP’s wish list.

Altogether, the emphasis on market development, re-search, competitiveness and innovation is welcome news for beef producers, says Dahl.

“#ere was a lot of good in the direction set at White-horse,” he says.

“Yes, there are some aspects of the agreement that produc-ers aren’t going to appreciate.

now it is less e$ective,” Chor-ney says.

However, Dahl says the changes, while unfortunate, may not make a big di$er-ence to most beef producers.

He says margin-based programs, such as AgriStabil-ity, never worked particularly well for the cattle sector be-cause of the longer produc-tion cycle and the fact that economic fallout from BSE lowered producers’ incomes to the point where many had no margins to work with.

As for AgriInvest, the pro-gram has been a mixed bag for Manitoba cattle produc-ers, Dahl says.

“Some feel the program is good, it works and should have been expanded, and their neighbours feel the op-posite.”

Also in line with Grow-ing Forward 2, the federal government announced the

But in the direction and in the priorities, I think the ministers got it right.”

One thing they didn’t get right, in the opinion of some farm groups, was a change to AgriStability and AgriIn-vest, two of the "ve business risk management programs (BRMs). #e others are Agri-Insurance, AgriRecovery and the Advance Payments Pro-gram.

Under Growing Forward 2, the payment trigger for AgriStability has been low-ered to 70 per cent of a pro-ducer’s historical reference margin from the current 85 per cent.

#e change also stipulates that payments will be based either on the 70 per cent reference margin or eligible expenses, whichever one is lower.

Some farm groups say the new rules will make it a lot

formation of a new Agri-Innovators Committee. Co-chaired by former CCA president Travis Toews, the committee will advise the federal agriculture minister on agricultural research and development.

Armbruster feels beef producers did about as well as they could have hoped with Growing Forward 2. MBP is not happy to see cuts to AgriStability and AgriIn-vest. But BRMs were never the association’s priority in

harder for producers to qual-ify for AgriStability payments because it caps the amount of income protection a farmer can access.

“It used to attempt to ensure economic stability for the farm sector and now it has a much-diminished ability to do this,” says Doug Chorney, Keystone Agricul-tural Producers president.

Another change is to AgriInvest, a program which enables farmers to set money aside for use during income shortfalls. Producers will now be allowed to deposit only one per cent of their allowable net sales into an AgriInvest account instead of the previous 1.5 per cent. Government matching con-tributions will be $15,000 a year, down from the current $22,500.

“#is was a good business risk management tool and

the "rst place—market ac-cess and innovation were, he says.

Some suggest agriculture ministers are taking a lead from the Canadian Agricul-tural Policy Institute (CAPI), a think-tank which several years ago found roughly 60 per cent of annual agricul-ture spending was on farm support programs. CAPI rec-ommended more emphasis on research and innovation for better long-term returns on investment.

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Good for your business – Extended grazing has the potential to lower your winter feeding costs by reducing the amount of time you have to confine your animals and use stored feed. It also reduces your manure disposal costs and your winter feeding/yardage costs.

Good for your land – Extended grazing allows your animals to return most of the nutrients they consume back to your land. This fertilizes your pastures resulting in higher grass production, higher livestock gains and, possibly, a longer grazing season.

Find out more – To discuss different options such as bale grazing, grazing corn or stover, swath grazing and others, or cost-sharing available, contact your local Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives GO Office or call the Portage la Prairie GO Office at 204-239-3352.

There is funding available for extended grazing in 2012. This funding is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Call us today.

Good for your business. Good for your land.

Discover the benefits of extended grazing

RAY ARMBRUSTER

It gives producers an opportunity to have some flexibility in the marketplace and to be

more innovative in their own operations. – Ray Armbruster

October 2012 CATTLE COUNTRY 3

WE NEED YOU AT THE TABLE.

ATTEND YOUR DISTRICT MEETINGMeet with MBP representatives and fellow beef producers to discuss the timely beef issues a!ecting your district and industry. Elections will be held in odd numbered districts

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

BECOME PART OF THE GROWING BREED...ANGUS!

Sales for Angus Tagged Cattle 2012Gladstone Auction Mart 204-385-2537 October 23, March 5, 2013 Grunthal Livestock Auction 204-434-6519 October 16, November 13Heartland Livestock Service:

Brandon ALL TAGGED SALE OCTOBER 25 204-727-1431 October 16, November 6Virden ALL TAGGED SALE OCTOBER 10 204-748-2809 October 17, November 7, 21

Interlake Cattlemen’s Co-op (Ashern) 204-768-2360 October 24Killarney Auction 204-724-2131 October 22, November 19Ste. Rose Auction 204-447-2266 October 25Strathclair Auction Mart 204-365-5327 October 22, November 5Taylor Auctions 204-522-3996 Agents for Heartland Winnipeg Livestock 204-694-8328 October 5, 15, November 2

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

Check out the Manitoba Angus Gold Show Nov. 2 at the Manitoba Livestock Expo, Brandon

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HAROLD UNRAU - Manager/Sales Rep.1-204-434-6519 o!ce or 871-0250 cell

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CALL 1"800"772"0458 OR EMAIL INFO#MBBEEF.CA FOR FULL DETAILS

DIRECTOR DATE TIME LOCATIONDistrict 1 Ted Artz Nov. 13 6 p.m. Medora, Medora Community Hall

Beef on a Bun served – Sponsored by Artz FarmsDistrict 2 Dave Koslowsky Nov. 15 6 p.m. Pilot Mound, Royal Canadian Legion Hall

Beef on a Bun served – Sponsored by Killarney Auction MartDistrict 3 Brad McDonald Nov. 2 6 p.m. Carman, Memorial Hall

Beef on a Bun served – Sponsored by Brad McDonaldDistrict 4 Heinz Reimer Nov. 1 6 p.m. Vita, Ukrainian Home of Vita (Hall)

Beef on a Bun served – Sponsored by Feed-Rite (Peter Kraynyk), HyLife Ltd., Southeastern Farm Equipment (Cory Plett)

District 5 Ramona Blyth Nov. 8 6 p.m. Carberry, Memorial HallBeef on a Bun served – Sponsored by Heartland Livestock Services Brandon

District 6 Trevor Atchison Nov. 12 6 p.m. Oak Lake, Royal Canadian LegionBeef on a Bun served – Sponsored by Poplarview Stock Farm

District 7 Ray Armbruster* Nov. 16 6 p.m. Birtle, United ChurchBeef on a Bun served.

District 8 Glen Campbell Nov. 14 7 p.m. Gladstone, Gladstone District Community Centre

District 9 Mac McRae* Nov. 7 7 p.m. Stonewall, South Interlake Ag Society

District 10 Theresa Zuk Nov. 6 6 p.m. Arborg, Arborg Bifrost Community CentreBeef on a Bun served – Sponsored by Arborg Livestock Supplies

District 11 Caron Clarke Nov. 5 6 p.m. Ashern, Royal Canadian LegionBeef on a Bun served – Sponsored by K & A Feeds

District 12 Bill Murray Oct. 30 7 p.m. Eddystone, Westlake Community Centre

District 13 Kim Crandall* Oct. 29 7 p.m. Gilbert Plains, Royal Canadian Legion

District 14 Stan Foster Nov. 9 6 p.m. Durban, Durban Community HallBeef on a Bun served – Sponsored by Swan Valley Consumers Co-op Ag Division

*Director retiring

EVENT FUNDING PROVIDED BY:

October 2012CATTLE COUNTRY4 THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN CATTLE COUNTRY DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE POSITION OF THE MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS. WE BELIEVE IN FREE SPEECH AND ENCOURAGE ALL CONTRIBUTORS TO VOICE THEIR OPINION.

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

TAKING A LOOK AT GROWING FORWARD 2RAY’S ROUND-UPRAY ARMBRUSTER

BELOW: Ray and his grandson Laramie Collen out for a ride.

DISTRICT 1 TED ARTZ R.M. of Albert, Cameron, Whitewater, Edward, Brenda, Winchester, Morton

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

DISTRICT 3 BRAD MCDONALD R.M. of Portage La Prairie, Cartier, Grey, MacDonald, Du!erin, Thompson, Roland, Morris, Stanley, Rhineland, Montcalm

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

DISTRICT 5 RAMONA BLYTH R.M. of Elton, North Cypress, North Norfolk, Cornwall, Oakland, South Cypress, Victoria, South Norfolk

DISTRICT 6 TREVOR ATCHISON ! 2ND VICE PRESIDENT R.M. of Wallace, Woodworth, Daly, Pipestone, Sifton, Whitehead, Glenwood

DISTRICT 7 RAY ARMBRUSTER ! PRESIDENT R.M. of Russell, Silver Creek, Rossburn, Ellice, Birtle, Shoal Lake, Strathclair, Archie, Miniota, Hamiota, Blanshard

DISTRICT 8 GLEN CAMPBELL R.M. of Harrison, Clan William, Rosedale, Glenella, Saskatchewan, Odanah, Minto, Landgford, Landsdowne, Westbourne, LGD Park

DISTRICT 9 MAC MCRAE ! 1ST VICE PRESIDENT R.M. of Woodlands, Rockwood, St. Andrews, Rosser, St. Francis Xavier, Spring"eld, Tache, Whitemouth, Lac du Bonnet, Brokenhead, St. Clements, LGD of Aleander, Pinawa

DISTRICT 10 THERESA ZUK ! TREASURER R.M. of Bifrost, Gimli, R.M. of Fisher, Armstront

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

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

DISTRICT 13 KIM CRANDALL ! SECRETARY R.M. of Shell River, Shell Mouth, Hillsburg, Boulton, Grandview, Gilbert Plains, Ethelbert, Mossey River, Dauphin, LGD Park

MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

CATTLE COUNTRY EDITOR

FINANCE"Book keeper

POLICY ANALYST

Kristen Lucyshyn

Lacé Hurst

Kirby Gilman

Deb Walger

Maureen Cousins

Cam Dahl

Ph: 1-800-772-0458

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

154 Paramount RoadWinnipeg, MB R2X 2w3

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

[email protected]

GENERAL MANAGER

Fall has come upon us and the fall run and sale of cattle is picking up earlier than usual due to dry pastures and the feed supply situation.

One of the important events that happened recent-ly is the announcement on the agreement in principle on Growing Forward 2 made on September 14 by the fed-eral, provincial and territorial governments.

I am generally pleased that governments were able to "nalize the agreement in a timely manner and that this was not postponed. It is ex-pected that governments will implement the new suite of programming in April 2013, hopefully with a seamless transition from one program to the next.

With the announcement of the priorities for programs and new initiatives, the in-dustry and producers now know more about what the playing "eld is going to be like.

For those of us who are producers this means we will be able to plan strategically. On a personal basis, I have to say I am fairly pleased with the outcome of the discus-sions. #ere are some new initiatives that when imple-mented will create a more level playing "eld for our beef industry.

has directed some check-o$ dollars towards these types of initiatives so that research does not end up gathering dust on the shelf.

Another commitment announced for Growing For-ward 2 was market access and an increased role of the market access secretariat. As we look at the gains we have achieved with market access, we see that the work being done has put us in a more positive position for creat-ing value for each and every carcass.

We are seeing e&cien-cies such as o$al going to the Philippines or prime cuts go-ing to Europe. #ere is still a lot of work that needs to be done because we do not have full market access in many countries, and we need to see the removal of tari$s and quotas. Many production lines would see e&ciencies if they did not have to segregate parts of carcasses to ful"ll demands for beef under 30 months and bone out.

Expanded spending on the non-business risk man-agement programs was also announced. #is means funding for things like on-farm food safety, veri"ed beef programs, traceabil-ity programs and biosecu-rity. #ese are important pro-grams. We have to be part of the consultation, discussion and delivery of these types of programs so that they will be e&cient and sustainable to meet the needs of Manitoba beef producers.

#ese programs also allow us to indicate to consumers through traceability and as-surance programs that we do what we say we are doing on our ranches. When we have our market access secretariat and ministers negotiating trade agreements they can say that we have these pro-grams back at the farm level.

managers to manage risk in a very calculated and timely way. Using the Advance Pay-ments Program, producers will have an opportunity to do business in the market-place in a much di$erent way. We will have the op-portunity to market cattle in a more %exible manner and at more convenient times to add even more value. #is will strengthen the beef pro-duction chain as a whole, so it can continue to be healthy and continue to expand.

I made a comment at one of the Growing Forward 2 consultations that as indus-try leaders working on this consultation, of course, we all want to see programs ex-pand or at least be le! intact, but we have to understand we have a responsibility to ask for what is achievable and sustainable to move our entire industry ahead. A!er reviewing what has been an-nounced for Growing For-ward 2, I am generally satis-"ed with the results.

In recent discussions and in the media there has been some criticism directed to-wards governments about the Growing Forward 2 con-sultation process. In our case, MBP certainly took advan-tage of the consultation pe-riod and we believe we had a reasonable opportunity to bring our industry priorities forward with the province and the federal government. As well, although we saw a cut to AgriStability we have made gains in other areas.

One piece of the puzzle that is missing from Growing Forward 2 is a plan to man-age the challenges created by the expansion of the renew-able fuel industry and Cana-da’s renewable fuel mandate. Governments have invested a signi"cant amount of money into these areas, one example is the $1.5 billion committed

Research and innova-tion was one of the commit-ments announced and this is a key MBP priority that we brought forward for discus-sion. We are operating in a competitive global market-place while facing challenges to satisfy the growing world appetite. Research and in-novation needs to be a focus for our industry in order to thrive and be on the cutting edge.

Some of the research we will need to focus on falls under categories such as feed e&ciencies, genetic research, and the development of for-ages with speci"c traits—like the ability to be productive in drought or excess moisture conditions. We have fallen behind on the development of new varieties of feed grains and there is a lot of work that should be done in this area of research. We also need to focus on how to improve our competitiveness on the land-scape.

Spending money on re-search is valuable but it is vital for governments to bud-get for the implementation of that research for producers. MBP is investing in research and extension work and we recognize the importance of ensuring that the informa-tion collected will be imple-mented for producers. MBP

It is clear that these programs create a comfort level for consumers around the world who are demanding more in-formation about where their food comes from.

#e challenge concern-ing non-business risk man-agement programs is that industry and governments need to work hard on work-ing together to identify the priorities to direct the pro-grams. #e beef industry has to be involved throughout the process and help deliver the programs for producers.

One of the new commit-ments outlined for Growing Forward 2 was to develop livestock price insurance. #is is another key priority that MBP asked to see in the new suite of programming.

We have the commitment to move forward but now we need to have industry and governments get together to do the work and make price insurance a reality. #ere is a lot of time between now and April 1 for industry and government to "nalize a pro-gram and be ready to imple-ment it. One of our com-petitors, Alberta, does have a program and it could be used as a model and a starting point for a national beef price insurance program.

Price insurance is one of the most important com-mitments to be developed for the beef industry. Other commodities have enjoyed this type of programming for years; producers in the grain sector have been able to backstop programs and now we can take advantage of this tool.

It will be essential that the price insurance program backstops the Manitoba Livestock Cash Advance un-der the Advance Payments Program. #is will really cre-ate new ways for producers, backgrounders and feedlot

to boost Canada’s production of biofuels.

A major challenge we are now facing—and that we predicted would arise—is that with drought across the U.S. and in several regions of Canada, feed grain pro-duction capacity has been signi"cantly lowered and this has driven up the cost of feed for backgrounders and feeders who traditionally run on tight margins. #ey are su$ering and there is no plan to ease the pressure re-newable fuel issues are caus-ing. #ere are many people who have decided that it is not feasible to feed cattle this year and this is not what we want to see happening. Re-newable fuel programs that are highly subsidized should not be pushing people out of business. #is is something that creates an unlevel play-ing "eld when we compete for the same resource and it creates a competitive disad-vantage.

In closing, I encourage every beef producer to at-tend a district meeting this fall. We need to hear from you and you also need to hear from us. We will be there to listen and this is also our opportunity to have some objective dis-cussion on many key issues for the industry. #ese is-sues could be regional, or provincial. With over 8,000 beef producers in the prov-ince, MBP represents the largest commodity group in Manitoba and you should be at the table to discuss the issues a$ecting your opera-tion and industry.

Finally, I would like to welcome Maureen Cousins back to MBP. Maureen previ-ously served as MBP’s com-munications coordinator and has returned as policy analyst. We are happy to have her back.

MBP is a proud champion of this cause

The story of Canadian agriculture is one of success, promise, challenge and determination.

We know, because we live it every day.

Be proud. Champion our industry.

Share your story, hear others and learnmore at www.AgMoreThanEver.ca.


GENERAL MANAGER’S COLUMN

THINKING ABOUT FOOD SAFETYMY SIDE OF THE FENCECAM DAHL

Food safety was in the news again recently. This was prompted by a volun-tary recall of some ground beef products.

A number of producers contacted me after these stories ran. They were concerned about what these articles might mean for our industry and con-sumer confidence in the food we produce.

#e rule of public com-munications would be not to talk about this issue, as it is a negative story. But I want to talk about this be-cause I think this is a posi-tive story for both beef pro-ducers and consumers.

The fundamental take-home message from this recall is that Canada’s food safety works. The product was not pulled off of shelves because people were sick. The company involved did the respon-sible thing and volun-tarily recalled a product because there might have been a risk of a problem.

#is is the story. #e food safety system identi-"ed a potential concern be-fore it caused health issues and the beef production chain took the action nec-essary to protect consum-ers. #is happened without anyone being reported as ill or any visits to the hos-pital. #is is not a common occurrence in many other parts of the world.

As food producers, we need to acknowledge that E. coli bacteria, the con-cern that prompted the recent recall, can pose a risk to human health. E.coli 0157:H7 can be present in raw meat, poul-try, unpasteurized milk, fruit juices, raw greens and vegetables. The food production chain must work hand-in-hand with regulators to ensure the risks from these common bacteria are minimized.

The beef industry is doing its part. All feder-ally inspected processors must develop food safety plans which target E. coli. Canadian meat proces-sors have developed in-ternationally recognized systems known as HAC-CP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) plans to control food-borne bacteria to ensure these potential hazards are controlled.

We have a strong, sci-ence-based food safety system in Canada. In fact, our food safety system is so robust that most Ca-nadians simply take it for granted. We do not think about the millions of dol-lars in research that have gone into designing, main-taining and improving our system. When we reach for that package on the super-market shelf we don’t think about the dedication and e$ort of the team of regula-tors, inspectors and indus-try sta$ that delivered that food to us.

The fact that most consumers don’t think about the safety of their food when they go gro-cery shopping is a testa-ment to the success of our science-based food safety system and the effective-ness of the processes put in place to ensure that food is safely delivered to consumers.

Rather than shying away from talking about food safety, I think the in-dustry should be talking a bit more about the over-whelming success of the Canadian system.

I have seen the Cana-dian beef industry from many sides, including the pasture, the feedlot and the processing floor. I know what it takes to deliver that package safety to the store and I am proud to be part of an industry that does this day in and day out. I take pride in the fact that consumers can confi-dently eat Canadian beef with little concern. This should be a pride shared by every beef producer in Canada. Our produc-ers are part of an indus-try that regularly delivers safe and wholesome food to Canadian tables and to consumers around the world.

I would be remiss if I did not include a com-ment about everyone’s re-sponsibilities as consum-ers in food safety. Food producers and regulators are doing their part to de-liver safe, nutritious food to consumers. But food safety is not just other people’s responsibility. Consumers play a key role in ensuring ongoing good health. As with all food, proper preparation is key

to food safety. Home chefs should:

-ternal temperature. For ground beef this means 71 C/160 F.

-fore and after handling food and frequently while cooking, espe-cially after handling raw meat and poultry.

-nation of food by wash-ing utensils, plates and cutting boards that have come into con-tact with raw meat and poultry, in hot, soapy water.

foods promptly.Take these few steps

to do your part to pro-tect you and your family. And the next time you are in the grocery store give some thought to the sys-tem and people that en-sure we all can take that meat home without wor-rying or even thinking about its safety.

MBP is your organiza-tion and I look forward to seeing you at the upcom-ing district meetings at the end of this month and throughout November. As always, if you would like to discuss an issue affect-ing your operation, please contact me at 1-800-772-0458 or at [email protected], or contact your district director—they would be happy to work with you.

HeartlandLivestock Services

We have a strong, science-based food safety system in Canada.


Bovine tuberculosis continues to threaten Man-itoba cattle herds.

Every year Manitoba ranchers in the Riding Mountain TB Eradication Area (RMEA) and around Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) wait ner-vously for the dreaded brown envelope that car-ries a noti"cation that their herd will be tested for bo-vine TB.

“It has been a long out-standing issue with years of testing, and it is a stressful time,” said Ray Armbruster, cattle producer in the Bird-tail Valley near RMNP and president of Manitoba Beef Producers. “And there are many di$erent risks,” he added.

Despite many years of testing and the cull of infected herds and sus-pect animals, the disease has not been eradicated. As long as it is present in wildlife there is a chance domestic cattle can be-come infected.

Armbruster said that stress is a risk both the producer and the animals face. He noted that pro-ducers know a positive test can lead to the loss of their herd and their income. It takes years to rebuild a herd to its previous size, if the producer can a$ord to do it at all, he explained.

Quarantine requires the cattle to be kept on

the farm longer and that means additional feed is required; meanwhile, mar-ket prices can change for the worse. Just a "ve cent per pound drop in market prices during a quarantine period can reduce a pro-ducer’s sales by thousands of dollars for the year, Armbruster said.

Six years ago, the prov-ince provided a six dollar per head mustering fee to help o$set the negative impacts of testing.

Armbruster said the province withdrew its con-tribution two years ago, but MBP still puts money into that fund as its contribu-tion to the mustering fee.

Eric Munro and his son Darryl raise cattle near Kelwood, Man. #eir herd of approximately 300 ani-mals has been tested be-fore but this year when the testing notices were mailed out, much to their relief, they didn’t get one.

“#e testing is really stressful and it gets harder as you realize all the things that can go wrong. You can lose a herd in the blink of an eye,” Munro said.

He said that realization is particularly stressful for young producers like his son, who is in his early 30s. Younger producers may have higher debt pay-ments and worry more about losing their herds.

When it comes to test-ing cattle, Munro said that even though the testing process has not changed for a long time, there are more false positive results. A false positive leads to re-testing taking blood. And in some cases, if an animal fails the blood test it is slaughtered for inspection.

“#ese are always young females and young bulls and it is a really stressful time, and a "nancial loss,” said Munro. “Last time we lost three animals. So, you are losing about one per

cent of your herd to false positives. #ese animals turn out to be okay, but you’ve lost them.”

Munro noted that the cattle do not like the test-ing process, especially the second time through the chute.

“Bulls are extremely hard to handle through the process and they can take a month to settle down and quit "ghting,” said Munro.

Munro and his son have had some cattle sus-tain minor injuries as they go through the chutes and they also had pregnant cows abort their calves due to the stress of a sec-ond run. Stressed animals are also prone to loss of appetite and a slow down in weight gain.

#e "rst testing round takes an entire day and usually requires some ex-tra hands. Munro said it takes an extra two or three people to manage the cat-tle on test day and that is just one more expense for the producer.

He said the testing is usually done in Decem-ber and depending on the results, the cattle could be in quarantine for months. Producers who, like Munro, are not prepared to "nish cattle, face buy-ing more feed than they would normally need. In addition, if the weight of an animal rises above the

optimal market weight, the value of the animal drops, Munro said.

“Your whole calf crop is tied up in this process,” said Munro. “You have to keep feeding them past your normal selling time and that is why it is such a traumatic thing to go through; it will destroy your year.”

Munro said it is also wearisome to be chosen for testing when your neighbour just across the road is not tested.

“#at’s the frustrating thing for producers who have been picked out and have to deal with this.”

As part of disease miti-gation, Munro and his son take precautions to ensure their herd does not come into contact with wildlife.

“We don’t have any wildlife on our farm be-cause we don’t have any habitat for them,” he said.

Munro and his son have also decided not to bale graze their animals. “It’s a personal choice, but we chose not to bale graze in the "eld,” he said.

Munro noted that in 2003, one TB positive cow was found east of Highway 10, but there have not been any in his area since that time.

“#e cattle herds in this region have now been TB free for nine years but the testing continues,” he add-ed. “On the international level a!er seven years you

are considered TB free, but we’ve been TB free for nine years and we still test. It seems like we have a life sentence here, like it is never going to end.”

Armbruster said MBP continues to lobby the provincial and federal gov-ernments for a TB coordi-nator. #e person in this role would report directly to the federal and provin-cial agriculture ministers, the minister of Manitoba conservation and water stewardship, and the en-vironment minister and minister responsible for Parks Canada. #e TB co-ordinator would also work with stakeholders.

“#e coordinator would be responsible for implementing the man-date of the RMEA and making sure the mandate is followed so that the goal of eradicating TB is met,” said Armbruster. “#ey would deliver a strategy and report to the ministers to ensure that policy is fol-lowed and that the task is completed.”

He added that there are still many outstanding is-sues and challenges that are preventing Manitoba from meeting the goal of eradicating TB.

“We have lost a lot of beef producers over this issue. Our producers need to see progress and they want to see the mandate of the RMEA ful"lled.”

THE IMPACTS OF TB TESTING

ANNE COTE

TARA FULTON


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Veterinary antibiotic us-age has been debated and discussed with increasing frequency among various livestock industry groups, and in newspapers, farm publications, consumer magazines, the human health profession and tele-vision documentary pro-grams.

#e take home mes-sage varies depending on the agenda of the report-ing source but one fact re-mains—antibiotic usage in food-producing animals is necessary for animal wel-fare, safe food production and economic e&ciency. As beef producers, we must take this responsibility seri-ously. Abuse drugs and we may very well lose them.

A beef producer can abuse antibiotic drugs in their herd by creat-ing a food safety concern. Chemical residues, drug resistant bacteria, broken needle fragments, abscesses and scar tissue all create a negative consumer experi-ence.

Imagine carving a roast at a family gathering and cutting into an abscess or su$ering from a penicil-lin reaction due to eating contaminated meat—it has happened! One incident is one too many. Don’t be that one. #e publicity gener-ated will be bad enough and the legal nightmare even worse. Follow the tips below to ensure you pro-duce a quality end product: wholesome, nutritious beef.

Establish a valid veter-inary-client-patient rela-tionship for your herd and implement a preventive herd health program. It is much cheaper to minimize disease and sickness than to treat with antibiotics and other medications. Learn

process in the rain and in-ject muddy rain water? Is your processing chute in good order? Is the diagno-sis correct?

Extra-label or “off-label” drug use refers to using a product in a way that is not indicated on the label. This can include use in species or for in-dications (disease/other conditions) not listed, us-ing a different dose, route, frequency, duration or timing of treatment. This type of use is not bad in certain circumstances but if you do use a product in an “off-label” manner, you must have a signed veteri-nary prescription.

O$-label recommenda-tions are commonly made if treatments must be ex-tended or if research has shown a drug to be e$ective in treating other disease conditions. Label changes take years to be approved so extra-label recommenda-tions are commonly made.

Your veterinarian will consult with the Food Animal Residue Avoid-ance Database (FARAD) to obtain appropriate withdrawal and safety recommendations. Keep in mind that these recom-mendations may change as more data becomes available and chemi-cal detection limits im-prove. For example, the

about the symptoms of common cattle diseases in your area and in your pro-duction type, whether it is feedlot or cow-calf.

Develop a treatment protocol binder with your veterinarian and conduct necropsies on all deadstock to be sure that revisions to your health program are not required. Meet with your veterinarian at least once yearly. Protocols change based on treatment response and new drugs or formulations become avail-able. Tailor your program to meet your needs, not that of the neighbour.

Keep copies of the label inserts of all the products used in your operation. Recommendations are based on research and clin-ical trials with the ultimate goal of product e&cacy and human and animal safety.

Store products accord-ing to label directions and avoid freezing or excessive heating. Adequate restraint and subcutaneous (SC) neck injections (if labelled) will minimize adverse tis-sue injury or scarring. Pick a clean, dry site for injec-tions and do not administer more than 10cc in any one site. Space injection sites two to three inches apart and change needles every 10 injections.

Regularly inspect for burred or bent needles as they cause tissue trauma and are more prone to breakage. Use the tented method for SC injections: li! the skin, sliding the needle under the base of the tent. Use separate la-belled syringes for di$erent products and ensure proper calibration so that the cor-rect dosage is administered.

Know how much your animals weigh because

underdosing reduces prod-uct e$ectiveness. It also promotes drug resistance. Overdosing can cause tox-icity and may prolong the withdrawal time. It also wastes money.

Wash your syringes a!er use with hot water. Soap leaves residues that can inactivate pharmaceu-ticals. Never mix di$erent drugs in the same syringe as drugs can be inactivated, toxic compounds can form or tissue irritation can de-velop.

Remember that the products you use on ani-mals may be the same as those used to treat infec-tions in people or from similar drug classes. Be re-sponsible in your usage and only use products accord-ing to your veterinarian’s recommendations.

Be aware that some products may cause ad-verse drug reactions if you accidentally inject yourself. I’ve seen pro-ducers require intrave-nous antibiotics and hos-pitalization following self injection with Clostridial vaccine. Micotil injection can cause heart failure and death, even at very low dose volumes. Handle loaded syringes carefully and ensure animals are adequately restrained to avoid accidental injury. Administration sets like the Slap-Shot (shown in the above photo) have been developed to allow safe injections without smashing your arm or sy-ringe in the chute.

Consult with your vet-erinarian if you are having problems. Swollen necks or apparent drug resistance when treating pneumonia can be caused by a myriad of di$erent things. Did you

Injection administration sets are a useful tool.

JEANNETTE GREAVES

antibiotic gentamycin was commonly used to treat bacterial calf scours in the past but it has now been banned for use due to ex-tremely long withdrawal times (over three years).

Responsible antibiotic use in cattle production is

everyone’s responsibility. Minimize drug use with a herd health program and effective environmental and nutritional manage-ment. Remember that our ultimate goal is the production of safe, whole-some beef.

Be responsible in your usage and only use

products according to your veterinarian’s recommendations.


How much hay will be available to Manitoba beef producers this season is largely dependent upon where they live.

“It has been tough this year to pin down aver-age yields for an area,” says Glenn Friesen, MAFRI’s Forage Specialist. “#e weather has been so vari-able in di$erent areas and there are e$ects from previ-ous years confounding the situation. Prices are equally variable across the board. We know there is a lot of hay moving south, and as you move north the price of hay drops as there is more of it in some areas, and the farther you get outside of the U.S. market radius the more prices return to normal.”

In southeastern Mani-toba, hay production is down in some areas by 50 per cent or more due to ex-tremely dry conditions that

MAKING NO HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINESANGELA LOVELL

have persisted since last summer. Some hay "elds in the Interlake region have transformed into cattails and weed patches; and pas-tures will be out of produc-tion for a few years yet.

In southern and west-ern Manitoba, while pro-duction is down by about 30 per cent in some areas, in other areas producers have managed a second cut of hay and average yields, thanks to some timely rains, that will help them make it through the winter.

Virtually everyone, though, will be feeding their cattle a few weeks earlier than normal this year as growth in pastures has slowed due to hot, dry weather throughout August and September.

“We are starting to supplement some of our pastures with hay now,” says Darren Chapman, of

Chapman Farms near Vird-en, which hasn’t seen rain on its 3,400 acres of pasture since the "rst weekend in

July. Chapman Farms also has 1,800 acres of com-mercial hay land, produc-ing high quality alfalfa for

the U.S. market. Chapman has had calls from Mis-souri, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa dairy producers

all looking for high-quality feed, which he has, for the most part, been able to sup-ply.

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“We had enough rain early on in the season that we got a good first cut, an average second cut and very little third cut,” says Chapman. “So our production is about average.”

One thing is for certain: anyone who has excess pro-duction or stockpiles from last year is not going to have a problem "nding buyers for any extra bales. #anks to the drought in southeast-ern Manitoba, the impacts of the 2011 %ood across the province, and drought in the U.S., Ontario and Que-bec; buyers from all of these markets have been actively sourcing hay for weeks.

A coalition of farm and livestock groups from Al-berta and Saskatchewan re-cently announced HayEast 2012, a program to assist drought-a$ected produc-ers in Ontario and Quebec who need to source feed from the west. #e group has called on provincial governments to provide support and has also urged the federal government to assist with public relations, logistics and the triggering of AgriRecovery funds to assist with transportation of hay from the western Prairies.

One industry insider, however, said he is con-cerned that hay which may be needed by Manitoba producers will essentially bypass them, particularly if transportation incentives are given to Quebec and Ontario producers.

#e situation in south-eastern Manitoba is des-perate, says Don Winnicky, who only produced 50 per cent of the hay he needs for his 250 cow-calf herd near Piney. He has baled much more straw this year as a re-sult, around 600 bales, and any non-bred or old cows will be going to market because of local feed short-ages and hay costs that have been rising to four cents or six cents per pound.

“#at’s why I have more cows going to town because at those prices it doesn’t make sense to keep them,” says Winnicky. “#ere

is a big vacuum for feed. #ere’s none to be had. #e drought is from the Red River Valley all the way to the Ontario border and from the Trans-Canada all the way south to Texas, so where are we going to go?”

Feed quality Feed quality is also a

concern in some areas. Just about every swamp hole, cattail and willow patch in the area has been baled, says Winnicky, who was telling a much di$erent sto-ry this time last year.

“Last year we sold 200 bales because we had a big surplus of feed and now I am 500 bales short,” he says. “I am kicking myself for selling those bales.”

Not too far away, feed quality is better than aver-age. Heinz Reimer of J.V. Ranch, a division of Hylife Foods Ltd. near La Broque-rie, has found that the hay

samples he has tested this year show a better than av-erage feed quality, although production is down by around 55 per cent. He is con"dent that with some carry-over from 2011, and also being able to blend the better quality feed with straw, he will have enough feed for the farm’s 750 to 800 cow-calf pairs and 750 feeders.

Feed quality for Morgan Sigurdson, who farms near Reykjavik in the Interlake, is not as good. His alfalfa hay land is still recover-ing from last year’s %ood and the 1,000 bales he took o$ this year were mainly weeds and cattails.

“It’s all we have,” he says. “We never made any wild hay whatsoever and some of our barley land we took o$ as bedding.”

Sigurdson managed to produce only a third of the 3,000 bales he needs for his

herd, but, knowing he was facing a severe shortage, he sourced the hay he needed early. “I started looking about a month and a half ago and bought as soon as the alfalfa was taken o$ from anyone who had a surplus,” he says. “I went and bought it and hauled it home and this way they didn’t have to haul it to their yard to sell it and I got it a little bit cheaper than I would be paying come winter time.”

Sigurdson says he was lucky to have credit avail-able to purchase the hay when he needed it and he is concerned that some producers may have to wait for government assistance, if any is forthcoming. #at feed may not be as easy to "nd as winter approaches.

“It will be two months before the calves are sold, so by then the snow starts falling and people want more per bale because they

have already hauled it to the yard, and that’s if there is any available,” says Sig-urdson, who is expecting to be buying feed for the next three to "ve years, the time he estimates it will take to get his hay land and pas-tures back to useable con-ditions again.

Straw being baled#ere may be a lot less

burning of crop residues across Manitoba this year as many producers have baled more cereal straw than usu-al to blend with their hay in order to make it stretch a bit further. Dave Bonchuk of Solsgirth in western Manitoba, has a 550-head, purebred Simmental herd to feed all winter and he has baled a lot more straw than usual to try to make up for 30 per cent less productiv-ity on his hay land.

He also plans to sell a few more cattle than last year and he grew some corn and barley for silage, so he is con"dent that he won’t have to purchase any hay.

“We are pretty lucky we did get enough rain to get the grass growing so we could get this kind of vol-ume,” he says. “We had a terrible barley crop in 2011. When we combined our "rst "eld of barley this year we had more barley in one "eld than we combined all last year. So we have a de-cent crop of barley and we will make it through the winter with our herd.”

Although conditions have been variable throughout Mani-toba, most farmers—whether

they are crop or livestock producers—are hoping for plenty of precipita-tion over the fall and winter so they aren’t starting the season at a disadvantage.

“We need some rain over the next couple of weeks or there won’t be much fall work done at all,” says Chapman. “We have guys seeding winter wheat into dust hoping for rain, and if it doesn’t rain in the next two weeks that winter wheat won’t establish.”

In other areas like the southeast, rain is critical.

“Everybody here says we are on reserves now,” says Winnicky. “If this carries into next year, we are in terrible trouble.”

Selling hay Producers who have

some surplus hay that they want to move could con-sider selling it through a broker. One place to start is to contact some of the ex-perienced forage marketers in Manitoba (see website below) to get a recommen-dation from them.

“This is a good starting point and producers will probably get a few names from them,” says Friesen. “They may even be willing to broker it for them and line up the sale, which is a good option, especially if they are only considering it this year because they have a surplus.”

Manitoba Forage Mar-keters can be found at www.manitobaforage.ca.

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RATIO ANALYSIS TO EVALUATE YOUR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCEREADING BETWEEN THE LINES

TERRY BETKER

ability to make scheduled payments on long term debt. In terms of earnings, the con-tribution margin reveals how e&cient a farm is at getting a return on the direct or vari-able costs incurred. #e ratio can be improved by reducing costs, increasing yield and/or prices and reducing term debt repayment commit-ments.

A!er accounting for the variable costs, there are still the "xed costs to account for before getting to earned, net income. However, poor performance at the contri-bution margin level almost always translates to less than desirable net income. #ere are not many producers who are able to report satisfactory net income (and therefore a good debt servicing ratio) when starting from a contri-bution margin that is below 50 per cent year in, year out.

Obviously, ratios don’t make the decisions for you. But they can provide you with information that can be very helpful in the decision making process.

Terry Betker is a farm management consultant based in Winnipeg, Mani-toba. He can be reached at 204-782-8200 or [email protected].

should be greater than or equal to 50 per cent.

SummaryKeeping a current ratio

at 1.5:1 or better, a debt ser-vicing ratio at 1.5:1 or better and a contribution margin at 50 per cent or better will cer-tainly help a farm to main-tain longer term viability.

#e ratios are comple-mentary, providing insight into di$erent and related areas of "nancial perfor-mance and bridging the balance sheet and income statement.

Sub-par performance in any one of the ratios will negatively impact the oth-ers and typically result in management challenges.

#e current ratio is asso-ciated with cash %ow which is hugely important in to-day’s agriculture industry. It also factors in current liabilities which include an-nual term debt repayment commitments, a connec-tion to debt servicing abil-ity. Too aggressive a com-mitment to term debt re-payment can negatively im-pact the current ratio and therefore, liquidity (which is a measure of cash %ow).

Debt servicing is related to net or earned income. It looks at the farm’s earned

depending on the type of operation. For grain, mixed or cow-calf operations a 1.5:1 ratio or better is gen-erally adequate.

A debt servicing ra-tio that approaches 1:1 or weaker indicates that the business is in danger of not being able to “earn” the money required to make its term debt payments. In many situations where earnings are not adequate, payments still get made—with the cash coming from increasing an operating loan. #is is not a sustain-able practise in the long term and it will have a neg-ative impact on the current ratio and cash %ow perfor-mance.

Contribution Margin and Contribution Margin Ratio

#e contribution margin is calculated by subtracting production expenses—fer-tilizer, seed, chemicals, production insurance, feed, vet costs and medicine—and operating expenses—fuel, repairs, custom work, direct labour—from the gross, accrued revenue. #e ratio is calculated by divid-ing the contribution mar-gin by gross revenue. #e contribution margin ratio

#e current ratio pro-vides an indication of the “liquid” assets available to meet the next twelve months of "nancial com-mitments (the current lia-bilities). #is ratio is closely associated with cash %ow.

#e optimum current ratio is a ratio of 2:1 or bet-ter, which indicates that the farm would have $2 of cur-rent assets for every $1 of current liabilities. A current ratio of 1.5:1 and greater is considered to be a strong current ratio. #e closer the ratio gets to 1:1 or weaker, the more challenging it is to maintain positive cash %ow.

Debt Servicing Ratio#e debt servicing ra-

tio provides an indication of the ability of the farm to repay its term debt. #e calculation of the ratio in-volves determining the amount of “earned” cash available for debt repay-ment for a year, and then dividing that number by the total interest and prin-cipal payments in that year.

A 2:1 ratio reveals that for every dollar of annual debt (principal and inter-est) payments, the opera-tion expects to have two earned dollars available. #e ideal ratio may vary

with the same measures from earlier years.

#e bad news is a ratio is only as good as the informa-tion used to prepare it.

Since each ratio tells us a little about the farm’s "-nancial story, it is impor-tant that they be analyzed collectively because some ratios can be counterintui-tive to each other.

Ratios can be grouped to provide more speci"c information on a farm’s performance, which I liken to reading three or four chapters of a book as op-posed to reading the whole story.

Current Ratio, Contribution Margin Ratio, Debt Servicing Ratio

Grouping these three ra-tios, monitoring their year-over-year performance and making management adjustments to keep them within industry standards can provide valuable insight into a farm’s longer term "-nancial performance.

Current Ratio#e current ratio is cal-

culated by dividing the cur-rent assets by the current li-abilities; both balance sheet values.

Successful farm and ranch operations know the importance of continuously evaluating their business per-formance.

To complete a thorough examination of your op-eration’s e$ectiveness, you need to look at more than just statements or numbers like income, expenses, as-sets and/or liabilities. #is requires that you read be-tween the lines of your "-nancial statements, taking the information contained in the statements, analyzing it and applying it in manag-ing the business.

#is can appear to be quite challenging. Fortu-nately, there are some key, well-tested ratios that make the task less daunting and these can provide you with some meaningful "nancial information.

Although ratios are very useful tools that you can use to analyze busi-ness performance, they also come with some pros and cons. #e good news is that ratios can be quanti-"ed with a high degree of con"dence. #ey can be compared year-over-year to measure progress, be-ing most meaningful when comparing the current year’s "nancial measures

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Charolais Heifer Raising Funds for Major Jay Fox FamilyA group of 10 Manitoba Charolais breeders along with Steppler Farms of Miami are donating a Charo-lais heifer calf to be ra!ed at the Manitoba Livestock Expo (MLE) to raise funds for the Fox Family after the tragic loss of Major Jay Fox this past year.

Steppler Farms will be showing the heifer in the MLE show which takes place Nov. 1-3 in Brandon.

Tickets are $10. Buy yours at the show or by contacting the following breeders:

Andre Steppler 435-2463, Rob Gilliland 748-2000, Hans Myhre 638-5664 or Jim Olson 252-3115.

Raffle_Fundraiser.indd 1 12-09-23 8:47 PM


Increasing feed e&cien-cy in a cow herd through genetic selection could mean lower feed costs or the potential to feed more cattle with the same amount of feed. #is is im-portant as feed is one of the largest expenses for cow-calf producers.

Residual feed intake (RFI) is a measure of feed e&ciency, de"ned as the di$erence between an animal’s actual intake and their expected feed intake for maintenance, growth and body composition.

#e di$erence in actual versus expected intake, or “residual feed intake,” is called the RFI value. #ere-fore, e&cient animals eat less than expected and have a negative or low RFI, and ine&cient animals eat more than expected and have a positive or high RFI.

#e expected feed intake is calculated by using aver-age daily gain (ADG), body weight and back fat mea-surements. RFI is a better measure of e&ciency than the feed:gain ratio as it is unrelated to growth, body size and composition. Se-lecting for more e&cient animals using RFI will not result in compromised per-formance for traits such as ADG or body weight.

A research initiative underway involving the University of Manitoba, AAFC’s Brandon and La-combe research stations, and the University of Al-berta explores relationships between feed e&ciency and methane production, heat loss, carcass characteristics through ultrasound, body composition and manure production.

Graduate students Sean #ompson and Tawnya Ul-lenboom are currently pre-paring for the second year of a two-year trial evaluating bull performance on grain-based and forage based diets to determine if RFI rank-ing changes when diet is changed. Results from the "rst year show that diet did impact RFI rankings.

#e trial, which ran from November to May, involved two feeding periods. RFI ranking for each bull was cal-culated for each period, gen-erating two values per bull.

#ese values represent a deviation from the average e&ciency value for animals being fed the same diet, in

Reduce manure N, P, and K production by 15-17%No adverse e$ects on carcass quality

Currently consigning spring-born purebred Angus bulls for the fall trial

#e second year of this two-year project will begin this fall at the University of Manitoba Glenlea Research Station. We are currently looking for bulls. If you have spring-born purebred Angus bulls and are interested in be-ing involved in our feed ef-"ciency trial, please contact Sean #ompson at 204-365-0097 or email [email protected].

Coming from a farm raising purebred and com-mercial Shorthorn cattle, Sean recognizes the impor-tance of RFI as a heritable trait to select. And he is not alone—already a number of producers who participated in the program last year are consigning bulls for the trial this fall.

Bulls will be perfor-mance tested from approxi-mately November to May. Producers will receive RFI values, average daily gain, feed intake and ultrasound measurements. #e cost is $55/head RFI fee plus par-tial feed costs.

#is RFI research is sup-ported by Manitoba Beef Producers, Alberta Beef

units of lb./day DM (dry matter basis). An RFI value of +0.25 indicates that the bull ate 0.25 lb. DM/d more at equal rate of gain, body weight and fat deposition.

We can look at eco-nomic implications using numbers calculated from the "rst year of the trial. #e most e&cient bull had an RFI value of -2.56, while the least e&cient bull had a value of +3.20. If feeding a TMR ration with a dry mat-ter of around 50 per cent and a cost of around $0.05/lb. as fed, the cost savings for the most e&cient bull relative to the average bull would be $48 for 178 days on trial.

Feed costs for the least e&cient bull were $60 more than the average bull for this same period. #e $48 represents a 12 per cent savings compared to the average feed cost, while $60 above the average feed cost is 15 per cent higher.

#e savings in feed costs shown by the most e&cient bull represents the immedi-ate result of a low RFI. Us-ing this bull as a herd sire to improve feed e&ciency would result in more e&-cient calves. Previous work has shown that calves of ef-"cient beef cattle are also more e&cient than calves of less e&cient cattle. As well, calves proven to be e&cient maintain that e&-ciency as adults.

RFI has a heritabil-ity similar to other growth traits, around 0.40, which means genetic improvement through selection of e&cient sires could occur relatively quickly. As such, RFI is one of a number of performance traits that should be consid-ered in sire selection.

Feed e&ciency is yet another selection tool to be used in association with traits such as average daily gain, birth weight, yearling weight, or carcass quality when choosing potential breeding stock.

As shown in results from e&ciency studies done in Alberta and Aus-tralia, selection for low RFI can have signi"cant results as follow:

Improve feed conver-sion ratio by 9-15%Improve calf-weight-per-cow feed intake by 15%Lower methane emis-sions by up to 30%

Producers, Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association, Growing Forward, MRAC and ALMA.

For more information on this research or other forage-beef production sys-tems research at the Univer-sity of Manitoba, contact Kim Ominski at [email protected].

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UPDATING THE BEEF CODE OF PRACTICE CANADIAN CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION

#e Code of Practice for Beef Cattle has been going through a renewal process and Manitoba beef produc-ers are encouraged to fol-low the developments and provide feedback.

#e Canadian cattle in-dustry has had a Code of Practice for the care and handling of Beef Cattle since 1991, but the Code has never been updated.

#e Code is now being updated to ensure the latest science is considered and to take into account changes that have occurred since 1991. #is formal renewal is on top of internal work at the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Alberta Beef Producers.

#e update is taking place using the National Farm Animal Care Coun-cil (NFACC) process for updating or writing new codes. Along with beef cattle, codes for seven other species are being written or updated. #e Code for Dairy Cattle was updated in 2009.

#e NFACC process helps to keep all of Canada’s codes similar in several ways. #e most important way is in ensuring the people involved in code development represent all the stakeholders in the in-dustry. For the Beef Code this includes producers in-volved in di$erent stages of production and from di$erent parts of Canada, veterinarians, researchers,

choosing bulls (appropriate to the cows or heifers they will be breeding with) to end-of-life decisions.

#e new Code stops at the farm gate whereas the old document went into auction market and trans-port scenarios. It is ex-pected there will be codes developed for those areas of the value chain at a later date.

#e Beef Code dra! will be ready for public com-ment later this year. #ere will be a 60 day period in

#e "nished Code, as with the current Code, will be used in several ways. It is a reference tool for new and experienced producers. It is an extension tool used by those in the industry to dis-cuss production practices that impact cattle welfare. It is used by enforcement agencies as the industry ex-pected standard.

It also has the potential to be used as the basis of an assessment program if customers are looking for that from their producers.

transporters, processors, animal welfare enforce-ment, animal welfare advo-cacy, as well as provincial and federal governments. #e retail and food service sectors are also very inter-ested in the process, but these groups do not have a representative on the com-mittee.

As with the 1991 Code, the new document will cov-er areas of cattle produc-tion that have implications for cattle welfare. Such implications range from

which anyone can com-ment on the contents of the Code and read the science report that informed the Code dra!ing. #e inclu-sion of the science report is a key step in the NFACC process of ensuring current science relating to priority welfare issues is considered.

Following the public comment period, the com-mittee will consider the comments and make any "-nal adjustments before the completed Code is released in spring 2013.

#is has not happened yet on a general level, but some value chains do have wel-fare components their pro-ducers must satisfy in order to be in their branded pro-grams. #e Code contents also show interested con-sumers and other custom-ers how cattle are raised in Canada.

Producers are encour-aged to voice their opin-ions during the upcoming public comment period. It is very important that as many producers as possible read through the dra! and share concerns with the committee. Go to www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice for more information about the code process.

Code of Practice up-dates initiated from 2010 to 2013 are part of the proj-ect “Addressing Domestic and International Market Expectations Relative to Farm Animal Welfare”. #is project is being funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agricultural Flexibility Fund as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

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THE BOTTOM LINERICK WRIGHT

As I sit down to write this column, the calendar says September 21. #e yearlings are all but gone and the fall calf run is on the horizon.

Early calf sales have brought in higher prices than expected which has been a pleasant surprise for producers. Feedlots that were waiting for feed grain prices to go down are still waiting, and it looks like there is to be little relief in the near future.

Corn stays over $8 per bushel and barley over $6 if you can "nd it. Dried distillers grains are a little lower than a month ago but still over 50 per cent higher than a year ago.

Backgrounding feed-lots are looking at gains of somewhere between 90 cents and a dollar per pound based on 2.5 pounds per day for over 100 days. Finishing ra-tions to take the cattle from 900 pounds to fin-ished weight could be as much as $1.25 per pound in Manitoba, with higher prices in the east and slightly lower costs in the west.

Live cattle futures for the finished cattle have improved with January and February at approxi-mately $1.32 (USD) before basis, transportation and grades. April is currently the high at approximately $1.35 (USD) before de-ductions. The fundamen-tals and future contract prices for finished cattle do not support current prices of calves combined with the strong Canadian exchange rate and feed costs.

Something has to give, and my gut feeling is the calves will have to come down in price when the bigger numbers come to market. I don’t expect a 15 cent adjustment but some-thing more in-line with last year’s fall prices.

I expect smaller vol-umes of calves again this fall, mainly because of the growing trend in Manitoba to calve later in the spring and hold those calves over winter to sell into the grass market. #e spring mar-ket for the grass cattle has been strong over the past "ve years and that trend will continue. Despite

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disappointing gains of 1.4 to 1.6 pounds per day on the pasture, the yearling operators still made mon-ey this year; if they took advantage of some of the early contracts, they really clipped a coupon!

I have had many re-quests for contract prices and information on De-cember and spring forward contracts for feeder cattle. At this time, feedlots are reluctant to o$er competi-tive prices on the contracts. #e daily swings in the feed prices have not encour-aged feedlots to purchase additional feed, and there are very few willing sellers when they think the mar-ket has upward potential. We need a stretch of steady pricing in the grain mar-ket combined with some

predictability in the cattle futures before the basis for the feeder cattle contracts will fall in line.

On another note, the fallout from Big Sky and Puratone hog operations "ling for creditor protec-tion has already started to a$ect the cattle industry. Western Manitoba cattle producers have taken ad-vantage of an abundance of hog trucks coming into Brandon and Neepawa to haul cattle back west at re-duced rates. #e number of backhaul trucks will be re-duced due to the number of "nishing operations closing down.

One would expect that if a number of major op-erations close, the number of hogs coming to market will be reduced. In turn,

supply and demand should mean less meat and higher prices in the stores. Rising pork prices should allow a little upward movement for the retail beef sector, which is much needed to support the higher costs of produc-tion.

Many producers ask me why I reference the Ameri-can market so much when doing this article. A recent study by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) determined that our export trade to the U.S. accounts for 85 per cent of all exported Canadian beef and cattle. An interesting note was that the remain-ing 15 per cent of Cana-dian exports have a higher value than the total amount exported to the U.S. #e message is clear: we need to

develop more export mar-kets. Not an easy task, and until then, whatever hap-pens in the south will have a direct impact on the Ca-nadian market.

Since 2005, the U.S. has increased its exports by 159 per cent in pounds and 280 per cent in value. On the other hand, Canada’s exports outside of the U.S. increased by 13 per cent in volume and 45 per cent in value. #e Americans use our cattle and meat prod-ucts to "ll the domestic gap created by their exports.

#e other issue is the synergies that are created by the processing sector on the products that we bring back into Canada. #ere

are many reasons the pack-ing and processing business in the U.S. is more competi-tive than Canada. Make no mistake, this is not an ad in support for the MCEC, just a business fact.

#e "nal conclusion of the CAPI study mentioned above suggests there is a lack of long-term strat-egy in the beef business throughout the entire beef production chain. #e study also challenged the current leadership, or lack of leadership, in the beef industry. I am interested in the response from the Ca-nadian Cattlemen’s Asso-ciation and other industry sectors.

Until next time, Rick.


growing, so then the nutri-tion of that plant is always at a fairly high plane.”

Dennis’s own experience supports research which says that grazing 40 per cent or less of the grass will allow it to recover quickly, generally a!er around 60 days during periods of fast growth and 90 days dur-ing periods of slow growth. If 80 per cent of the plant’s leaves are removed the root stops growing for 12 days. And if 90 per cent of the leaf material is removed it will stop growing for 18 days.

“If you graze too hard at the best growing time of the year you lose a lot of pro-duction,” says Dennis.

#e health of the land also re%ects in the mineral requirements of the cattle. Dennis has cut supple-mental mineral consump-tion by 90 per cent since implementing holistic management and planned rotational grazing. Recent carbon testing on Den-nis’s farm showed that the land where he has been using planned grazing has around 10 per cent organic matter, compared to three

Getting the greatest nu-trient value out of each blade of grass is every livestock producer’s aim, and those who use some form of inten-sively managed, planned ro-tational grazing system gen-erally believe they are doing a better job achieving that goal than those using con-ventional grazing methods.

How do they know this?#e "rst indicator for

most producers is the pro-ductivity they are getting from the land resource based on the carrying capacity and animal performance. When both of these increase, it is a good sign that animals are getting the nutrition they need to produce more pounds of beef per acre.

Neil Dennis farms near Wawota, Sask., and he has been using a holistic man-agement system on his ranch since 1998. He rota-tionally grazes his animals through varying degrees of intensity depending on the situation and what he wants to achieve.

Dennis measures the success of his system by carrying capacity and weight gain. In 2004, each animal required over three acres of pasture per sum-mer, and by 2010, thanks to his managed grazing sys-tem, only one acre per ani-mal was needed.

In 2006, he achieved 1.71 pounds of weight gain per day, per animal.

“I produced 152 pounds of beef per acre,” says Den-nis. “#e neighbours pro-duced 68.75 pounds of beef per acre under con-ventional grazing on the same amount of land. I got

to four per cent on land that has not been used for planned grazing.

Corcoran has also found that the biodiversity in his paddocks has improved the mineral cycling of his soil to the point where he doesn’t provide any supplemental minerals or salt to his cattle.

“#e cows are get-ting the minerals they need from their diet,” says Corcoran. “#e di$erent species of plants all have roots at di$erent levels, so they are bringing up di$er-ent minerals from di$erent levels in the soil. “By giving the plants proper recovery time we have a good root system to continue to bring up those minerals.”

In essence, says Den-nis, using a well managed, planned rotational grazing program is like having free land.

“#ere’s not one sil-ver bullet, everything just works together,” he says. “And then you start get-ting extra pounds of beef per acre and you are not spending as much on min-erals because your land is healthier.”

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almost 84 pounds of beef per acre more because I was using smaller paddocks with higher stock densi-ties and moving the cattle frequently to ensure good recovery.”

Planned rotational graz-ing takes animal impact under consideration and balances grazing and re-covery time to improve soil health and animal

nutrition. Dennis recently gave a holistic management presentation in Pipestone, Man. to discuss his grazing system with area produc-ers. #e workshop was part of an ongoing educational program, organized by the Manitoba Forage Council in association with Ducks Unlimited Canada. #is program gives producers a chance to learn about

production techniques, such as planned rotational grazing, from practitioners who are using them.

Matching the productiv-ity of the plants to the time they should be grazed is a crucial aspect of animal nu-trition.

Alfalfa growers cut the crop when they see the "rst blooms appearing because at that stage the plants have higher protein content. Turning the cows onto a pas-ture at a similar stage in the crop’s development achieves much the same thing. By not grazing too heavily and leaving a lot of plant mate-rial behind to kick start the growth phase again, the plant can be tricked into re-peating its cycle.

“When a plant comes into seed it has done what it is supposed to do for the year,” says Ralph Corcoran, who also uses planned rota-tional grazing at his ranch near Langbank, Sask. “We consider a plant to be fully recovered and ready to be grazed again when it starts to %ower or bloom a little bit. By grazing it again at that stage you can keep it


SNACKING: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE TASTY ADRIANA BARROS

CANADA BEEF INC.

For some, snacking has become a big part of their dietary habits.

#ere are so many mixed messages %oating around about maintaining a healthy body weight with or without daily snacking.

Since for many indi-viduals snacking is a key part of their routine, this article suggests examples of healthy snacks which fol-low Canada’s Food Guide and explains the bene"t of healthy snacking in order to keep the metabolism up throughout the day. Also, "nd out how to take it easy this Halloween season with a list of examples for keep-ing treats below 100 calo-ries.

Confusion about snack-ing is a common occur-rence, especially when it has been reported that snacking makes up 25 per cent of our total daily calories (Victoria Shanta Retelny, 2012). To main-tain a person’s body weight the formula is calories in should equal calories out.

#e energy added to the body with food should be equal to energy burned throughout the day; this will maintain your body weight.

According to Canada’s Food Guide, consuming a healthy daily food portion, from each food group is considered a terri"c mea-suring tool for determin-ing healthy meal servings. Health Canada suggests counting snacks towards the recommended Food Guide Servings. Like meals, snacks should fuel your body with nutrients and energy.

Here is a list of snacks that follow Canada’s Food Guide and are perfect to grab and have at school, work or on the go.

-ally packed containers of cut up fruit

-ing carrots, peppers, zucchini, cherries or grape tomatoes

examples of popular Hal-loween treats and how many pieces will keep candy consumption to 100 calories per snack.

candies

Candy Corn

M&M’s (Women’s Health, 2011)Snacks are essential for

keeping the metabolism up and running smoothly. Snacking is good when choices are healthy and sizes reflect daily activity levels.

Following the Food Guide and including snacks as part of your food servings is the best route to healthy snacking. Avoid a traumatic mid-day snacking emergency which often leads to visit-ing a vending machine!

The featured recipe for this issue is Southwestern Beef Steak and Kidney Beans, courtesy of Cana-da Beef Inc. This is a per-fect recipe for work and school lunches.

Mark your calendars and tune in to CTV’s Great Tastes of Manitoba on November 3 at 6:30 p.m. for fabulous new family dinner themed recipes. Have a healthy and happy fall!

Works CitedHealth Canada. (n.d.).

Smart Snacking. Retrieved 09 19, 2012, from Health Canada: www.hc-sc.gc.ca.

P. Honkanen et al. (2011). Reflective and impulsive influences on unhealthy snacking. Appetite , 6.

Victoria Shanta Retelny, R. (2012). Healthy Snacking Rules. Environmental Nutri-tion , 2.

Women’s Health. (2011, October 28). 100-Calorie Candies. Retrieved Sep-tember 20, 2012, from Women’s Health: www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition.

wheat pita triangles with hummus

with peanut butter and banana

fruit with low fat yogurt or in a smoothie

melted cheese and apple slices (Health Canada)One recent study

showed that purchasing unhealthy snacks is o!en caused by impulse buying (P. Honkanen et al., 2011). Perhaps blame the super-markets which place their unhealthy, well marketed snacks near the cashier counters to target us when we are most vulnerable. Fight back; prepare ahead and carry healthy snacks with you.

#e key to a healthy me-tabolism is keeping your blood sugar level stable for e&cient calorie usage in the body. Stable blood sugar levels contribute to build-ing a fast metabolism. #is is done by eating something every two to three hours in between main meals.

We have all heard that eating breakfast will rev up our metabolism at the start of the day and help it run e&ciently—this is de"nite-ly true. A dip in blood sug-ar levels, caused by waiting too long in between meals, results in feeling hungry, ir-ritable and tired.

Keeping snacks be-tween 100 to 150 calories and ensuring they fit into at least three out of four of the food groups is a good start. Having a snack such as almonds is a good choice; they contain pro-tein, fibre and unsaturat-ed fats that will keep you satisfied for much longer than a typical coffee shop muffin.

With Halloween just around the corner, snacks will be readily available and likely will not be very nutritious. Here are a few

SOUTHWESTERN BEEF STEAK AND KIDNEY BEANS1 tsp (5 ml) EACH Cajun spice and ground cumin

1/4 tsp (1 ml) EACH salt and hot pepper !akes

1 lb. (500 g) beef grilling steak, " in. (2 cm) thick

2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil

1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped red onion

1 sweet red pepper, diced

1/2 cup (125 ml) EACH salsa and frozen corn

1/3 cup (75 ml) tomato ketchup

19 oz. (540 ml) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Lime wedges

1. Combine Cajun spice, cumin, salt and pepper #akes in small bowl. Set aside half of mixture. Sprinkle both sides of steak with remaining mixture.

2. Heat half of the oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat; cook steak until medium, about 5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. Remove to plate; cover loosely with foil. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.

3. Meanwhile, reduce heat to medium; add remaining oil. Cook onion, red pep-per and reserved spice mixture, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 4 minutes.

4. Add salsa, corn, ketchup and beans; heat through, about 4 minutes. Toss with steak slices and serve with a squeeze of lime.

WATCH MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS ON CTV’S GREAT TASTES OF MANITOBA

Saturday, November 3 at 6:30 p.m.MBP beef expert Adriana Barros and host Ace Burpee will o!er up fabulous new family dinner recipes. Tune in!

Visit www.foodmanitoba.ca for the recipes.


Manitoba Beef Produc-ers is set to host a series of workshops that will be of interest to beef producers across the province.

#e "rst of these half-day workshop events will be split into two sessions. #e workshops will fo-cus on the Beef InfoX-change System (BIXS) and Veri"ed Beef Produc-tion (VBP) or Biosecurity. Each session will begin at 1 p.m. and wrap up around 6 p.m.

#e Biosecurity work-shop will focus on helping beef producers prevent and mitigate diseases from entering or spreading to operations that contain livestock.

The various tools and risk management prac-tices that beef produc-ers can apply to keep livestock healthy will be covered. Additional Biosecurity workshops

Agriculture in the ClassroomMBP District 8 Director Glen Campbell (right)

presented to students at Agriculture in the Classroom - Manitoba’s Amazing Agriculture Adventure. Glen showed students a cow-calf pair and shared his story about how he raises cattle on his ranch near Onanole. His fellow presenter was Brittany Dyck of MAFRI (left). Special thanks to District 5 Director Ramona Blyth who also presented at the beef station.

will be held in 2012-2013.

MBP is partnering with the Canadian Cat-tlemen’s Association to bring the BIXS workshop to Manitoba. BIXS is a national voluntary web-based database designed to capture and exchange data linked to an indi-vidual animal’s unique electronic ID tag num-ber, known as the Cana-dian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) tag or radio frequency identifi-cation (RFID) tag. BIXS will relay carcass yield and grade back to the primary producer.

Veri"ed Beef Produc-tion (VBP) is Canada’s veri"ed on-farm food safety program for beef—a dynamic program to up-hold consumer con"dence in the products and good practices of this country’s beef producers.

Enjoying the sun in cattle country.

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34th Annual General MeetingVictoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre, Brandon

February 7-8, 2013

MBP’s Annual General Meeting is a unique opportunity to promote your business to Manitoba’s top beef producers.

MBP o#ers a sponsorship option to suit your needs. Please contact us at 204-772-4542 or [email protected]. Thank you for

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UPCOMING PRODUCER WORKSHOPS

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OODS PHOTOGRAPHY

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Schedule:Wednesday, Octo-

ber 17: Victoria Inn, Brandon, MB - Work-shop on BIXS and VBP

Thursday, Octo-ber 18: Ste. Rose Jolly Club, Ste. Rose du Lac, MB - Workshop on BIXS and VBP

Friday, October 19: Canad Inns, Portage la Prairie, MB - Work-shop on BIXS and Bi-osecuity

Producers are asked to register in advance. !ere is no fee to at-tend. To register, contact MBP at 1-800-772-0458 or [email protected].

published by manitoba beef producers vol.14 … · · 2013-06-28beef producers generally...

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