WINNIPEG – It’s been a challenging year for livestock producers in many parts of Manitoba, as wet conditions delayed hay cutting and degraded the quality of feed in the province.
Joe Bouchard, a cattle producer in Fisher Branch, Man., didn’t cut hay until the last few days of July.
“A lot of our tame hay land, we’re making the first cut usually on the fourth or fifth of July. (This year), we were starting on July 25.”
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
Bouchard’s hay quality is average to below average this year but some of his neighbours have hay that is poor to awful.
Bouchard tested his feed to make sure the supplements satisfy his animals’ nutrition needs but he has other worries regarding his 2010 hay crop.
An early and heavy snowfall fell on Manitoba in November before he was able to haul a portion of his round bales. The snow insulated the ground and prevented the soil from freezing so he will have to plow trails to his bales.
Once the bulk of the snow is removed, the ground under the trails will freeze, which will allow Bouchard to haul bales back to the yard.
Many other Manitoba producers also have hay in the field because record amounts of rainfall delayed baling and hauling. Winnipeg, for example, recorded 630 millimetres of precipitation from April to October, breaking the old record of 625 mm set in 1977.
This fall, many fields remained too wet to support the weight of a load of bales. Producers hoping to haul feed after freeze up were caught off guard when nearly 25 centimetres of snow fell in mid November.
The deluge of rain affected hay quality in many parts of the province, especially east of Winnipeg and from Dauphin to the northern Interlake.
Livestock nutrition experts are urging farmers to test their hay.
“If I don’t have a test, it’s hard for me to tell the extent of their problem,” Kopp said during her presentation at the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association annual general meeting in Winnipeg.
Each test is $25.
“It is really good insurance to actually know what you have and feed to what you require. You could save yourself some money in the long run.”
Kopp said one nutritional factor to consider in a year like 2010 is making sure cattle and other livestock get sufficient vitamins in their diet. Animals need vitamins D, E, K and thiamine and especially Vitamin A.
“In the wintertime, when I’m doing rations, I always pop it in there,” Kopp said. “Sometimes people think it’s already in the mineral, but it’s not.”
