A three-year study looked at alkaloid concentrations and the effect on lamb performance and behaviour
RED DEER — Toxins in ergot infected grains can seriously affect sheep productivity. “If the concentration and the duration is high enough, you can have death. There are a huge variety of symptoms to make it tough to tell if it is ergot,” said researcher Kim Sandford of Alberta Agriculture. “Because ergot has such really […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Proper rations make flock healthy, not fat
RED DEER— Feeding lambs the right stuff gets them off to a good start in life. A nutrition program could include creep feeding and it must pay extra attention to protein and energy levels, said researcher Paul Luimes of the University of Guelph. “What you do to that lamb will impact her for the rest […] Read more
Producers urged to complete cow-calf survey
The second western Canadian cow-calf survey is slated to start this fall. The survey collects information on herd sizes, pregnancies, weaning weights and other production statistics from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. A complementary report allows participants to compare their operation with benchmarks in a given region. For example, results could show individual operators […] Read more
Reducing feed waste lowers production costs
RED DEER — When feed supplies are short, it is time to sharpen the pencil and do some tough calculations. Lamb producers need to figure out what it costs to keep a ewe, said Dr. Paul Luimes of the University of Guelph in Ontario. “This time of year, if you are short on feed, you […] Read more
Beef check-off truce likely
INNISFAIL, Alta. — Beef producers in Alberta may be approaching an agreement on how to handle a $3 levy collected on every animal sold. Nothing is official but a plebiscite may be proposed to create a beef industry development fund and an agreed upon division of money among industry groups. “The biggest hitch is, where […] Read more
Scottish farming about managing marginal land
EDINBURGH, U.K. — Farming in Scotland’s rugged terrain has been going on for thousands of years and the challenges never diminish. Eighty percent of the land in Scotland has an agricultural use, but only eight percent of it is arable. “The vast majority of Scotland’s agriculture land has some sort of disadvantage from an agriculture […] Read more
After Brexit: how the United Kingdom is coping with a new trade landscape
When voters in the United Kingdom decided to sever a 40-year-old relationship with the European Union last year, few of them likely considered the potential consequences of punishing tariffs and the loss of free access to the European market of 500 million consumers. STONELEIGH PARK, U.K. — Voters in the United Kingdom may have decided […] Read more
Irish farmers worry about loss of U.K. market
DUBLIN, Ireland — Ireland and the United Kingdom may have had their differences over the years, but the two share a strong interdependent business alliance. Bound by cultural ties, proximity and a common language, the two are each other’s best and largest trading partners. As the U.K. prepares to withdraw from the European Union, that […] Read more
Uncertainty reigns in Scotland as Brexit looms
EDINBURGH, U.K. — British farmers need to start preparing for all contingencies once the United Kingdom gives up membership in the European Union. “If farmers stopped thinking about the politics of Brexit and started getting some business planning in place so that when the implications of Brexit actually do come to rest, their mindset is […] Read more
Corn is high energy feed but costly to grow
Putting cattle out to graze standing corn is becoming more common on the Prairies. New hybrid corn varieties that require less heat have offered more alternatives for winter grazing. It is a high energy, nutritious feed with respectable yield potential that maintains quality through the winter. Research has shown 1,790 pounds per acre of forage […] Read more
