Saskatchewan Forage Council

Join us on February 10th @ 2pm for a webinar focusing on finding the right forage species for your soil. Hear from SFC President, Tamara Carter, Austin Baron, and Shanna Quilichini. Register at the link below: https://register.gotowebinar.com/regist/4403905121490427663

Steve Kenyon shares some the greatest learning opportunities he has taken over the years that have contributed to his knowledge and success. What is the best "mind-blowing moment" you have experienced? #lifelonglearner https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/fro/mind-blowing-moments/

Register for Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference happening this week - January 27 & 28. Get up to date on #skbeef happenings, new research, and other helpful information. Schedule and sign up information can be found at the link below: https://www.saskbeefconference.com

Dehydration is one of the biggest health problems new calves can face early in life, and can accompany many illnesses, especially scours. Knowing the severity of dehydration and how to intervene is key to helping calves overcome this issue. http://www.beefresearch.ca//dealing-with-dehydrated-calve/

SFC director, Holly Thompson and her family share the story of their operation, Tee Two Land and Cattle Co., and why soil health and sustainability is at the forefront of their operation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWrFgfDdIMI&feature=youtu.be

We are often quite good at managing cows and grass, but many operations face large challenges when it comes to managing the people part of the business. Read below for some tips on farm family communication and transition planning. https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca//minimizing-family-conf/

Three BCRC council members share management practices that have benefited their operations. What practises have you implemented on your operation that have made a difference in your business? http://www.beefresearch.ca//meet-the-council-implementin/

NDF - Neutral Detergent Fibre - is a measure of the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in feed. These are the fibrous components of the plant, and while cellulose and hemicellulose are digestible by the bacteria in the rumen, lignin is not.

Read how producers are developing relationships to benefit both cattle and cropping operations. http://www.beefresearch.ca//the-benefits-of-bringing-catt/

With the heat wave occurring over the last month, be sure to monitor dugouts and other surface water bodies for blue green algae. This species can produce toxins when dying or stressed that can cause liver damage, gastroenteritis and death in livestock.

One of the major things that is important to derive from a feed test is the energy content of the feed. Beef feed tests may give a variety of measurements from a gross energy value, total digestible nutrients (TDN), digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME) or net energy. Gross Energy (GE) represents the heat produced upon combustion of the feed. However, not all energy is available for use by the animal. There are fecal, urinary, gas, and heat losses that occur before the energy is actually retained for use. TDN is adapted from digestible energy, which is GE-fecal losses, and also accounts for digestible protein. TDN = 4.4 Mcal DE. Net energy is the energy actually available to the animal after the losses are accounted for.

Do you test your feed? What benefits have you seen from it? Over the next couple of weeks we will be tweeting about what different measurements mean and how to make it useful. http://www.beefresearch.ca//its-time-to-start-thinking-ab/

Really interesting way to use the Batt-Latch for high density grazing. #worksmarter https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca//automatic-fence-lifter/

If you are an SFC member and interested in tuning into our virtual AGM on Wednesday August 19, please contact the email at this link. http://www.saskforage.ca//293-saskatchewan-forage-council-

Congratulations to Ricky and Chad Seelhof and family, of B.C.’s Woodjam Ranch, on receiving the national TESA award at the 2020 CBIC, as well as Dr. Karen Beauchemin for receiving the award for outstanding research. https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca//researcher-ranchers-re/

One of the principles of grazing is using an appropriate stock density for the carrying capacity of the land. To make that happen, you need to know 2 things for a starting point: how much forage does your land produce and how much does your cow eat. An Animal Unit Month can begin to help figure out the latter of the equation.... An AUM takes into account the size of the animal based on a 1000 lbs cow being 1 AU, and the premise that she will eat 2.6% DM of her body weight each day. http://www.thecattlesite.com//using-the-animal-unit-month/

Interested in how producers are using density as a grazing tool to benefit their operation? Give this episode of the Working Cows Podcast a listen. https://workingcows.net/ep-147-stuart-austin-and-john-cole/

The man who grasps principles can successfully handle his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.- Harrington Emerson https://ranchmanagement.com/good-grazing-shouldnt-be-contr/