LOCAL beef cattle producers who recently undertook a study tour of Canada marvelled at how different production methods can be, but also how many of the same issues occur.
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The trip organised by the Singleton Beef & Land Management Association had 22 particpants including two Local Land Services Officers and a NSW DPI Beef Development Officer (Armidale).
A wide variety of farms, ranches, feedlots and a research station were visited.
One of the major differences in beef production is the seasonal conditions with Canadian farmers having to cope with severe winters (last winter it was -30 to -40 C across most of the area). Breeding cattle are fed hay and silage through winter in most areas once the snow gets too deep for them to dig through to reach the pasture. Nearly all the cattle are finished in feedlots.
Jill and Kevin Cox said they thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
“As far as the trip goes, I think it showed that all farmers, wherever they are, have similar problems to overcome be it weather, government regulations, cost of production or the price they receive for their product,” Mrs Cox said.
“I am glad I don't have to go outside in the snow when it is 30 degrees below zero and feed animals. On the other hand I would love to have the seemingly endless supply of water there is in some places.”
Todd Andrews (DPI Armidale) noted that climate change means different things to different people/places. In western Canada it means that it has been getting progressively colder over the last 30 years. It has also become wetter with some farming areas failing to get a crop planted for 3 out of the last 4 years due to flooding.
Severe flooding was occurring while we visited the Manitoba and Saskatchewan areas. Many crops and pastures were flooded and some areas received further rain after we left, he said.
Yet, on the western side of Canada, there were raging fires and some heat wave conditions (35 C) in the Rockies and hinterland.
Neil Nelson (Agricultural Consultant, Singleton) said it was interesting to see not just the variety of crops grown but that they are all grown at the same time.
He said, “most of the breeding cattle graze extensively on native or ‘tame’ (sown) pastures on their ‘rangelands’ and are finished in feedlots. Alfalfa (Lucerne) was popular in pasture mixes with fescues and brome grasses. Alsike, red and white clovers are also common.
In Canada cattle prices are the best they have been for many years, with Canadian and USA cattle numbers down following a run of difficult years following BSE outbreaks.
Bison (or Buffalo) are also farmed. When asked about mustering buffalo, a gruff Canadian rancher said: “No problem, you can take a buffalo wherever he wants to go!”
Neil Nelson visited a local cattle auction sale at Rimbey, Alberta. Cows and calves averaged $2,127 and store type steers 300 kg to 320 kg averaged $5.20 per kg or $1,650 per steer. As Todd Andrews noted, these prices are reflected in the prices of finished steers from feedlots which are receiving >$5 per kilogram carcase weight or $3,000 to $3,500 each.
At the Scott Brothers family operated feedlot, which finishes 8,000-12,000 head each year, risk management is one of the key business strategies. Todd Andrews points out that contracts, hedging and forward sales were all used by the Scott Brothers in their feedlot business. Obviously finance plays a large role in cattle purchases for such a large scale business.
Canadian farmers and ranchers are like us, having to learn to live with mining in their area.
Neil said in Alberta there were oil well derricks around every corner and gas wells in many paddocks. While these had less impact on the grazing area than our open cut mines, many of the same issues arose, such as lack of farm labour as tradesmen headed to the oil or gas companies for work, an increase in the cost of living due to inflated mining wages, environmental issues regarding spills and land and native vegetation disturbance.
It seems the attitudes to the mining varied depending on whether royalties were being paid on mineral rights. Access agreements and disturbance allowances were attractive and provided many farming families with another source of reliable income.
The hay making season was in full swing in grazing areas (especially Alberta) where most haymaking was in large round bales. This is because of their ease of handling and the fact that most of the hay is used on-farm and little is transported very far. In fact, new research in Alberta is looking at leaving the hay in the paddock for winter grazing or even leaving the swarths of hay in the paddock for the stock to access through the snow to save baling costs.