Lower lambing losses
Research in Scotland on lambing losses has emphasized the need for investigating abortions. They are occasionally due to maternal failure but often the result of an infection in the flock.
First abortions should be diagnosed and appropriate control measures should follow, said Alaistair Greig, who is investigating outbreaks for the Scottish Agricultural College in Aberdeen. He recommends that the aborted material be examined from up to 10 percent of ewes which have aborted, and that regular checks are made through the season as ewes lamb.
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Managers must be prepared to deal with imminent or actual cases, using disposable arm-length gloves, plastic bags for aborted lambs and afterbirth, and making disinfected isolation pens available.
Risks to humans should never be taken lightly, he said, and pregnant women should not be allowed to help with lambing. Other abortion agents such as salmonella, campylobacter, listeria and Q-fever can also infect humans. Hand-washing and disinfecting footwear and protective clothing are necessary.
John Robinson, also of the Scottish Agricultural College, emphasized the need for ultrasonic scanning to identify fetal numbers so feed can be matched to the production needs of individual ewes. This limits oversized singles and losses due to lambing difficulty.
Good ewe nutrition is vital. Preventing stress among indoor flocks, adequate intake of colostrum by lambs soon after birth, spraying or dipping lamb navels with antibiotic or iodine, tipping ewes forward to deliver single lambs and using plenty of lubricant are other measures needed for successful lambing.
– British Farming News
Wheat on flax stubble
In 1986, Agriculture Canada started a study at the Indian Head experimental farm to answer basic questions about zero tillage.
The main objectives were to determine the performance of crops under different tillage systems and how tillage affected water conservation, grain production, production economics, weeds and plant diseases when different crop rotations were used.
Focusing on winter wheat seeded on flax stubble, three four-year crop rotations were employed in this study:
- Fallow, spring wheat, spring wheat, winter wheat.
- Spring wheat, spring wheat, flax, winter wheat.
- Spring wheat, flax, winter wheat, field peas.
In order to use flax stubble for winter wheat production, the flax must be seeded early, preferably during the last week of April or at the latest, the first week of May. Flax was found to be tolerant to early spring frosts.
To avoid further delays in maturity, it is recommended flax be seeded at 50 lb./acre (56 kg/ha), which gives uniform maturity and better competition against weeds.
The flax crop was desiccated twice to make sure it could be harvested in time for the winter wheat, seeded before Sept.10.
In one of those years Roundup was used, more as a means to control Canada thistle than to desiccate the crop. In the case of flax produced using zero till, Canada thistle was controlled in plots by spraying with 2,4-D in the fall and Buctril-M in the spring, which resulted in good suppression of the weed until August. Then Roundup was used pre-harvest.
The study showed crop soil moisture use is an advantage of seeding winter wheat on flax stubble.
More than 90 percent of the soil moisture used by flax comes from the top 71 cm (28 in.) of soil. Winter wheat can root much deeper than flax and make use of water below this top layer. It can also better use nitrogen that may have leached or escaped the flax crop.
Other advantages of the rotation include minimal transfer of disease, because flax has few diseases in common with winter wheat. Volunteer flax is non-existent in winter wheat when compared to other spring crops, due to winter wheat’s competitive ability.
Major drawbacks of the rotation include harvesting the flax crop early enough to seed the winter wheat and removing the straw from the field – another operation during a busy time of year.
– Saskatchewan Winter Cereal Grower newsletter
