File photo of cattle on pasture northeast of Calgary. (James_Gabbert/iStock/Getty Images)

Alberta to lengthen public leases for ‘exemplary’ ranching

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ranchers who display “exemplary” stewardship as tenants on Alberta’s public lands could soon be eligible for double the term of the usual lease. The province announced Tuesday it expects the new policy to come into effect in late autumn this year and “in the coming months” will release new guidelines on what would be considered […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Manitoba to open up Crown lands for grazing, haying

Reading Time: 2 minutes Some Manitoba Crown lands not generally used for grazing or haying will be made available for temporary lease to producers this summer and fall. Citing “dry conditions in parts of the province,” the Manitoba government announced Monday that livestock producers “will temporarily be allowed to cut hay and allow animals to graze on Crown land […] Read more


Wheat in southeastern Saskatchewan on May 31, 2019. (Leeann Minogue photo)

Saskatchewan extends greenfeed seeding deadline

Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan farmers who still want to put in cereal crops for greenfeed with crop insurance coverage will get an extra couple of weeks to do so. Saskatchewan Crop Insurance on Wednesday announced an extension on the June 30 deadline for seeding crops for greenfeed, to July 15. Producers who have crop insurance will now be […] Read more

Barley south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 3, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Feed weekly outlook: Shortages expected for Prairie barley

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Sales have slowed for feed grain buyers in Western Canada, as concerns continue to mount about feed shortages. “The confidence from the farmer is not (there anymore). He just wants to see some crop come into his bin. So we’ve definitely slowed in our buying,” said Brandon Motz, sales manager at CorNine […] Read more


Setting the operation up for year-round grazing also gives the Finns opportunities for off-farm work.

Environmental success

Alberta’s Graeme Finn combines his business and his environmental farm plans, and comes up with a paying strategy

Reading Time: 7 minutes Peer out from Graeme Finn’s back door and of course you’ll be struck by the Rocky Mountains in the distance, but it’s the rolling hills covered in diverse pastures of mixed grasses and legumes that are the real attraction at Southern Cross Livestock near Madden, Alta. It’s all part of the philosophy that the operation […] Read more

(GullLakeSK.ca)

Wildfire-damaged grazing areas up for Saskatchewan aid

Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan’s provincial disaster assistance program (PDAP) will be opened up to cover southwestern grazing areas damaged by this fall’s wildfires. The province’s government relations minister, Larry Doke, on Wednesday announced producers who incurred wildfire damage on “tame and native lands” intended for grazing may now apply for assistance to get feed for affected livestock. Winds […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Hay shortage could make for difficult winter

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Many cattle producers looking for local feed this winter might have a difficult time, according to a Saskatchewan provincial forage specialist. However, producers further north in the grey and black soil zones, and those in Alberta producing high-quality feed for export, saw near-record hay production. Terry Kowalchuk of Saskatchewan Agriculture in Regina […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Saskatchewan offers provincial pasture leases to patron groups

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cattle producers using provincial pastures heading into the final three years of the Saskatchewan Pastures Program (SPP) will get the first chance at leasing them. The province announced in March it would wind down the SPP, kicking off a public consultation process. Based on those consultations, the province confirmed Thursday it will grant the 50 […] Read more


Deciding on cover crop blends

Deciding on cover crop blends

Figuring out what to use in a cover crop blend can be an intimidating process. What species to use? What seeding rate? When should they be seeded? All would influence how the blend would look, work, and the success of it. There is some science involved, but making it work is as much art as[...]
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The forage value of cover crops

The forage value of cover crops

Western research shows cover crops can be worth their weight for grazing or even baling

Reading Time: 6 minutes Extended drought has forced many farmers across Eastern Canada to seek alternate feed sources for the coming winter. It’s even got some producers thinking about the cover crops on their farm and on neighbouring farms. The growing popularity of cover crops among grain farmers may have come at just the right time for cattle farmers[...]
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