A late-season hailstorm last fall ruined much of Leam Craig’s crop.
Normally that would be a bad news story, but in this case there was a silver lining behind those dark hail clouds.
The cattle producer from Biggar, Sask., harvested what was left of the crop for feed.
“That turned out to be the salvation between getting through this past winter or not,” he said.”If not for that feed supply, we’d have been out on the market looking for hay now.”
While Craig and his 380 cattle have made it through the winter in good shape, that hasn’t been the case for everyone.
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In some parts of the Prairies, cattle producers have struggled to keep their animals fed until they can get back out on the land, which a late spring may delay in some areas.
The long, cold winter forced some producers to feed more over a longer period than they planned for and now they’ve run low on supplies.
For others, a wet fall prevented them from harvesting their usual volume of hay for the winter.
In some areas, drought reduced production and inventories heading into the winter.
As well, strong grain prices prompted some producers to reduce their forage acreage and focus on grain.
Hay is moving in parts of all three prairie provinces, but some producers have chosen to cull their herds rather than spend money to buy and transport feed.
“People won’t choose to keep their animals if the cost of hay gets too high,” said Ken Ziegler, a beef and forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture.
Producers must weigh the cost of bringing in feed versus the value of the cow herd.
“If they can see they’re going to be short feed, they can sell off the bottom 10 or 20 percent into a cow cull market that has stayed strong relative to fall market values,” Ziegler said.
A side benefit of culling is that it can free up hay supplies for other producers.
Hay and forage specialists across the Prairies say while supplies are tight in some areas, there is no general crisis.
However, for individual cattle producers already facing a financial squeeze after several years of poor returns, the feed situation has made a bad situation worse.
“I think a lot of guys are running into a pretty tight supply situation,” said Janice Bruynooghe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Forage Council.
“I wouldn’t say they’re actually running out, but it has really been a stretch to get through this winter.”
She said producers have been hit with a triple whammy: winter came early, it was colder than usual and spring has come late in many areas.
Producers have been using a variety of feeding strategies to get by, such as using screening pellets, feeding lower quality hay and supplementing rations with straw.
The price of hay varies widely according to local supply and demand and quality, but those in the industry agree it has increased throughout the winter.
Farmers in the Interlake and Westlake regions of Manitoba are facing a challenge because rain last fall prevented them from putting up as much hay as usual.
Roger Sheldon, a regional extension specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, said the situation is grim in the area.
“There’s not a lot of hay around,” he said, noting flooding in the Red River Valley has made it difficult to find hay in recent weeks.
“It’s going to be really tight to source.”
Adding to the problem is that many of those in need of hay are in isolated areas with wet, muddy roads.
Sheldon said many producers have taken advantage of a provincial government program that provides transportation assistance of 15 cents per tonne per loaded mile for hay and 20 cents for straw.
He added it could be four to six weeks before it’s dry enough to put cattle on pasture in the Interlake-Westlake regions.
Bruynooghen said extra supplies have been used up, which has implications for the coming year.
“We’ll have very little inventory going into this year, so we’re going to have to rely on this growing season for adequate supplies,” she said.
