Beef

Mike Buis’ use of year-round field cover and grazing is lowering his feed costs and earning him recognition for his extensive conservation practices

by PATRICIA GROTENHUIS

Grazing animals on a field planted with winter cover crops can have numerous benefits, as Mike Buis, the owner of Van Mar Farms of Kent County, has discovered.

It’s not just the higher Canadian dollar that is taking a toll on beef exports to the United States. The CFIA will have to re-examine the rules, say industry reps, to level the playing field

by DON STONEMAN

Trade in beef with the United States has changed and it isn’t likely to improve unless there are strategic changes, says Ontario Cattlemen’s Association director Doug Kaufman of Woodstock.

With the Livestock Financial Protection Board rejecting 15 of 16 claims for compensation, some producers are asking for a more liberal interpretation of the rules

by MARY BAXTER

Last year, several Ontario beef producers learned the hard way that they must follow the rules if they want the security of a provincial financial protection program. But do these rules need to be changed to provide coverage for new beef marketing ventures?

Research and practical experience show that protein or mineral supplements for late gestating cows can add substantially to weight gain for their young

by SUSAN MANN

The nutrition pregnant cows get during late gestation can affect their offspring’s future production, even having an impact on the fat deposition in finishing steers that determines their quality grade, according to a new University of Nebraska study.

Quebec is raising the bar for minimum calf weight to meet its revenue stabilization program, ands the effects may spill across the border to
Ontario producers

By DON STONEMAN

Quebec has changed how it pays out on its Assurance-stabilization des revenues agricoles (ASRA) program. And that is likely to change how some Ontario beef producers, like Earlton’s Allan Aitchison, do business.

Infrared technology may be able to help detect which animals are giving off more heat in the rumen, an indicator of poor feed efficiency

by DON STONEMAN

A link has been established between feed efficiency and the heat emitted by cattle after they eat, says University of Guelph animal scientist and geneticist Steve Miller.

Cattle that produce more heat – and methane – require more feed to get to market finish.

The program will use ‘puts’ and ‘calls’ to allow producers to lock in a minimum return for cattle they are feeding

by DON STONEMAN

Beef producers can buy futures protection against fluctuations in cattle prices and in currency, but locking in the basis – the difference between prices in Canada and the United States – is a different story, for now at least. 

More protection is needed both for producers and innovators, say beef producers who were left out of pocket after All County Feed & Grain’s local beef marketing scheme went under

by MARY BAXTER & DON STONEMAN

Some Grey and Bruce County beef producers’ recent woes with a local beef marketing scheme reveal loopholes in the system intended to safeguard producers, says a Ravenna-area beef farmer.

With the program slaughtering up to 1,700 head a week in late 2008, there are opportunities here for smaller operators

by DON STONEMAN

Once considered to be a relic from an agricultural past, small and medium sized-feedlots are on their way back in, and that’s good news for small cow-calf operations.

Feedlots feeding typically 300 to 500 head are the mainstay of the Corn Fed Beef program, says Jim Clark, executive director of the Ontario Cattle Feeders Association, which sponsors and promotes the branded program.

When a Grey County operator offered beef producers well above the going rate for cattle raised on an ‘all-natural diet,’ even the local MPP got excited.  But then the payments slowed and stopped

by MARY BAXTER and DON STONEMAN

A well-publicized scheme which promised Grey-Bruce farmers $2,000 for a steer that would fetch less than $1,400 in regular markets has collapsed. One producer claims that he’s owed more than $100,000. Industry leaders caution producers to look before they leap.