PONOKA, Alta. – Beef producers were told at a special meeting in Ponoka that they must protect their cash flow and make business plans for a future of uncertain markets.
“We will have to manage costs a lot more carefully and manage our exports differently,” Lorne Erickson of the Western Forage Beef Group said during an Oct. 28 meeting that attracted more than 300 people looking for tips on how to save the farm this year.
Most cow-calf producers managed over the summer because they did not have to sell much when commerce halted due to a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. This fall there is a depressed market for cull cows and bulls while calf prices are more buoyant.
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It may be too late to make wholesale changes, but breeding herd decisions are still possible.
“We may have to do some things we are not really comfortable with,” Erickson said.
Producers need to know what they have in their herds and need to develop a uniform herd in terms of size, type and colour.
“The day of anonymous production and straight commodity production may be behind us,” he said.
Calculating break even and production costs is critical before deciding whether to hang onto calves, sell now or background them.
Erickson suggests selling heifers and keeping culls cows as long as they are healthy and can rebreed. Heifers are more expensive to feed and it takes them about four years, or 21/2 calf production cycles, to start earning money.
“When the cull market is low, we have to get more longevity out of our cows,” he said.
“When prices were good we had the luxury of turning our herd over more often.”
A bred cow is good value if it is healthy and its cost of production is lower than the expected price for its calf.
Bred heifers can bring in $900 as opposed to $200 for a mature cow.
As well, Erickson advised against cutting back on veterinary services or vaccinations to save money. A healthy herd is more economical and could reduce the mortality rate among cows and calves.
Fat cows are cheaper to feed in the winter because they eat less and are healthier than thin ones.
Feeding options can also save money. Forage costs double by the time the feed is packaged and delivered to livestock.
“Cows can walk, forage can’t,” Erickson said.
Putting up hay is more expensive as opposed to swath grazing or stockpiling forage.
“Every time we harvest forage, store or feed it, it is subject to waste. This is a cost,” he said.
Cows can also handle a straw diet over the winter, while heifers require better quality feed.
Forage specialist Duane McCartney said straw types differ in nutritional value and palatability.
“We know now depending on the geographical area, weather and the genotype of the species of the straw, it will affect the quality of that straw.”
Two-row barley straw has 4.4 percent protein compared to six-row barley with 3.7 percent protein.
Forage specialists also know from taste tests that cattle have certain preferences. Finely cut flax straw was the favourite followed by two-row barley, wheat and canaryseed straw. Cattle gained best on the barley and flax straw.
The researchers also found cows seem to prefer old straw over fresh straw, probably because it is softer and easier to chew.
As well, cattle will eat more straw if it contains green stems, was combined tough or has been broken up.
A mature cow can eat between 11 and 13 pounds of dry matter straw. It should also have some hay, free choice mineral and about six lb. of grain daily.
Chaff is a good feed but handling can be a problem. Feed value is more variable, and modern, more efficient combines don’t throw much grain out the back.
Swath grazing is another money saving approach, which some Alberta producers have been doing successfully for 30 years.
The crop is seeded in June and cut at the soft dough stage in mid-September before the first killing frost. Nature can act as a refrigerator to preserve it. Spare hay should be available as a back up.
Producers should use electric fences to force cattle to eat all of the swathes rather than picking and choosing the best quality first. It is also advisable to save some spring grazing. McCartney said too many people turn out their cattle to pasture too soon and grass does not get a chance to grow properly.
Some years there is no snow so water must be provided.
Wind protection is required if there are no trees nearby.
Bedding is necessary because otherwise cows will lay in the swathes, which wastes about 25 percent of the available feed. When bedding is provided, waste is cut back to five to 10 percent.
