Drought threatens to unravel generations of herd-building

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/07/2021 (1154 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Cow-calf producers are a bit of an anomaly in modern agriculture because of their love of wide-open spaces and their stubborn resistance to being homogenized.

Producers of competing meats such as pork and poultry have moved production indoors to bio-secure, controlled-environment facilities.

They also rely on a narrow genetic pool, having zeroed in on a handful of breeds that produce desired traits such as leanness, rapid growth and standard carcass size and weight. The decisions about which genetics the farmers use are made for them in vertically integrated production chains.

About 40 per cent of Manitoba farms raise beef cattle and remarkably, each one of those 6,400 herds is unique because of how each individual chooses the animals that make up the breeding herd, often selecting from the annual calf crop.

There are 26 breeds of beef cattle commonly produced in Canada. The Canadian Beef Breeds Council says while the base of the Canadian herd is built on traditional British breeds such as Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn or Galloway, breeds from continental Europe, often referred to as “exotics,” became popular through the mid-to-late 20th century because of their growth rates, size and feed efficiency.

Many of the commercial herds in Canada feature crosses between different genetic lines as producers buy stock and select from within their own herds to suit their ranch’s unique environmental features and their own management.

Producers who use bale or swath-grazing to feed their herds through the Prairie winter select genetics that are resilient and feisty enough to paw through the snow to the forage waiting for them, compared to those that have better feed conversion rates in a feedlot.

While most of the beef you buy is from cattle who start their lives on pasture and then go to feedlots for finishing, grass-fed beef producers aim to keep their cattle on grass until they are processed. Through observation and selection, they build herds that perform better on grass.

Others look for lines that are known to have less trouble calving so there are fewer vet calls and calf losses. Some types produce meat that has more marbling, while others are noted for their leanness.

Building these herds is a career-long process and the succeeding generation often picks up where his or her parents left off.

That’s the backdrop to the tragedy that’s unfolding as drought continues to tighten its grip on the region this summer.

Dried-out pastures combined with a hay crop that’s likely to be less than 50 per cent of normal is threatening to unravel generations of herd-building efforts as producers cull their herds significantly — or sell out altogether.

One option many are exploring is harvesting drought-damaged field crops for feed, which is a viable option as long as the value of keeping the herd intact outweighs the cost of having less crop to sell. To that end, the federal government announced measures this week to make annual forages more available.

Others are looking to harvest non-traditional sources of forage, such sloughs or roadsides. That has extension advisers warning to check those areas for toxic weeds. Species such as burdock can be an irritant if livestock accidentally consume them in dried forage. Other species, such as water hemlock or wild parsnip can be deadly if accidentally consumed. In addition to the palatability and toxicity issues, there is also the risk of spreading invasive species such as leafy spurge or herbicide-resistant weeds into new areas of the province as feed gets shunted around.

Ensuring livestock have access to enough good-quality water is also proving challenging because as water supplies dwindle, the potential rises for toxic infestations of algae to develop.

The federal government also announced this week it is allowing farmers forced to downsize their herds or sell out altogether to defer the tax on those sales so they can use the cost of herd renewal to offset. However, it’s unlikely a farmer nearing the end of his or her career will start over.

More likely is a significant, long-lasting reduction in the Western Canadian cow herd — and an awful lot of heartache.

Laura Rance is vice-president of Content for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.com