38 Follow us on @PrairieFarming Better Farming | October 2024 Livestock CABEF is a registered charity (#828593731RR0001). For more information on all registered charities in Canada under the Income Tax Act, please visit Canada Revenue Agency www.cra-arc.gc.ca/charities. Contact CABEF today to learn how you can become a “Champion of CABEF” at info@cabef.org Congratulations to this year’s CABEF scholarship recipients. @CABEFscholarship cabef.org Meet the next generation of Canadian agri-food leaders These exceptional students are the winners of the 2024 CABEF Scholarships. We are proud to support each of them with $2,500 for their ag-related post-secondary education. Help us empower more students to pursue diverse careers in agri-food. Strengthen the future of Canadian agriculture and food by investing in the cream of the crop. Become a Champion of CABEF and directly support a scholarship for a Canadian student. Brooke-Lynn Finnerty Sturgeon County, AB Faryal Yousaf Brandon, MB Allison Goodyear Ottawa, ON Emma Bishop Round Hill, NS Emma Pflanz Vancouver, BC Mary Lee McNeil Alameda, SK strategy specific to coyotes. With other predators like pine martens, we still have to use lethal interventions. They will step straight through a fence and devastate lambs.” Her strategy includes an electrified bottom wire to reduce dig-throughs, flashers, and human urine sprayed around the perimeter fence. They also have several livestock guardian dogs. “It wasn’t born of a place of wanting to be altruistic toward coyotes, but it was more about how I can glean the best result for our flock with infrastructure that I can set and forget,” she continues. “I’m okay with front-end-loading work and investing to upgrade the system if I know that for the next few years or decades it’s just maintenance.” Hawkshaw says the system has worked well for them, but they did experience challenges when maintenance was neglected. With life challenges arising and the responsibility shared across too many people, aspects of the approach were not kept up. “There’s only so much you can do in a day, and so much of our losses came from human error and not enough time and human resources.” She says that as the sole manager and improved fences, she can feel more confident that everything has been done correctly. She has invested in electric fence with zone alerts and a remote to turn the fence off for fixes. “If I’m resenting going back and forth, the odds of me missing something are a lot higher if I’m not enjoying it,” explains Hawkshaw. “Having a system that supports me to make good fixes quicker means it’s more likely we will have a better functioning system I can rely on more.” She says their livestock guardian dogs also play a significant role in the system. “If you bring in a livestock guardian dog, they are not a house dog,” says Hawkshaw, who recommends prioritizing training and farm demands before purchasing a dog. “Field size and the way you treat the dogs also matters.” O’Brien also encourages producers to review the dog’s background to ensure they are suitable for the work. “If it’s a producer’s first time buying a guardian dog, what’s typically most available is pups, and they want to make sure they buy a pup from an actual working livestock guardian dog versus someone who chooses to have them as a pet,” says O’Brien. Hawkshaw says that everyone is just trying to do the best they can for their herd or flock. “You do the best you can for where you’re at, and everybody’s experience will be different based on geography, budget, and pressure.” BF
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