Using alternatives | Some producers are feeding more straw than they would normally, or should, says a pasture expert
Manitoba Beef Producers and the provincial government are asking producers to carefully assess their feed situation and sell cattle if necessary to prevent malnutrition this spring.
The province is experiencing a widespread feed shortage, and five to 10 centimetres of snow that fell April 15, on top of the 25 cm still on the ground in certain regions, means it will be weeks before cattle can graze on pasture.
As a result, cattle producers will need to manage through an extended feeding season and the possibility of pasture flooding this spring.
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“Both Manitoba Beef Producers and Manitoba Agriculture have fielded calls with questions about stretching forage supplies through to spring pasture,” the MBP noted in a joint news release with Manitoba Agriculture.
“In certain situations, you need to market livestock such as feeders, stockers and replacement heifer calves now prior to a complete ex-haustion of feed.”
Pam Iwanchysko, a Manitoba Agriculture forage specialist in Dauphin, said a few producers in the area have already sold feeders and older cows because they don’t have sufficient feed to last until pastures green up.
Unlike previous years, when one region of Manitoba was short hay and other regions had a decent crop, the shortage this year is widespread, Iwanchysko said.
In her time with Manitoba Agriculture, Iwanchysko said she has never seen hay stocks at such low levels.
Hay stocks going into last spring were already below average in certain regions due to several years of overland flooding drowning out alfalfa acres. A hot, dry summer then severely cut hay yields in eastern Manitoba.
Cattle producers in the northern Interlake are also struggling to find adequate feed, said Tim Clarke, Manitoba Agriculture’s range and pasture expert in Ashern.
“They’re scrambling. They’re feeding more straw than they would normally, or should,” he said.
“They’re bringing in pellets. It’s just not a great situation.”
Heinz Reimer, who manages an 800 head cow-calf operation for Hylife near La Broquerie, Man., said he has also been forced to supplement the herd’s diet with straw.
“We’re feeding hay but we’re feeding 20 percent of the diet as straw. At this time, we wouldn’t like to do that but that’s the way it is.”
Most producers in his area of southeastern Manitoba probably have sufficient feed to make it until the end of April or early May, Reimer said.
However, it could become a tough situation if the adverse conditions stretch into May, he added.
On the plus side, the excess moisture is welcome because a drought in southeastern Manitoba last summer depleted soil moisture reserves and dried up dugouts.
Reimer said his cattle might be on pasture by the third week of May if the six-week cold spell in Manitoba finally snaps.
“I think by the May long weekend, we might have a chance by then.”
Manitoba Agriculture has received a number of calls over the last couple of months from ranchers seeking creative ways to feed cattle.
“Questions about feeding alternative feeds such as hemp screenings, pea flour, and oat hulls, these will all work in beef cow rations, but they need to be formulated correctly,” said the Manitoba Agriculture and MBP release.
“Your local MAFRI GO Office is one source to consider for assistance with formulating rations to ensure animal requirements are being met.”
Iwanchysko said it could be challenging for Manitoba cattle producers to rebuild hay stocks because a large chunk of alfalfa land has been taken out of production and is now used to grow canola. As a result, provincial hay stocks won’t bounce back immediately even if 2013 is a decent year for forage crops.
