Grazing Cows

[roly]

Hello boys
I am a new comer to farming in canada can any body tell me how many cow calf pairs i could keep on a section seeded with new alphalfer in the Ituna area. This would include growing my own feed.
Also what breed of cattle are populare to buyers.

[pandiana]

Where is Ituna? Stocking rates vary tremendously depended on the area. Genrally they are higher in the northern parts of the country where they might be 10:1 or higher. In the south, short grass areas 50:1 is not uncommon.

Alberta Agriculture puts out some very good books on cow/calf production and forage management. These would be a good investment to familiarize yourself with agriculture practices in this area.

This tends to be a hot topic with lots of bias, but here goes. Breeds that are popular from the conventional buyer perspective are British:Contentental cross. For example, Angus, Hereford, or Shorthorn could be crossed with Simmental, Gelbvieh, Charolais or Limosin. If you keep replacements, maternal lines like Simmental and Gelbvieh are popular because they are selected for milk and mothering, whereas Charolais and Limosin tend to be terminal breeds on calves that will be marketed for pounds. There are many other breeds that can be successfully marketed depending on your objectives.

[kato]

Basic advice we got from the cattle buyers... long bodied wide backed big butted calves will bring the money. There are a lot of ways to combine breeds to get that, but whatever the breed, that is the type of calf that gets a premium...today.

One thing you will learn as time goes by is that things are always changing, and we are always adjusting to the market.

We are all learning here, and will be as long as we are in this business.

As for pasture rates, your neighbours are the best source of information. They know the land in your area, and what does and doesn't work. Climate and soil are as important as the grass type. Find a neighbour who is a real good operator, and ask him lots of questions.

Best of luck, and welcome to the wonderful world of cattle.

[grassfarmer]

roly, As a relative newcomer to Canada myself it helps to know what your background is. Where did you come from and did you run cows before? Are you experienced in growing and grazing alfalfa (i'm not)with it's potential to cause bloat?.

[roly]

Hello Gassfarma

I am from North England and I am in the process of buying a farm in Ituna central Sasks. I have been farming on rented land in a small way with 30 cows and 100 sheep for the past 7 years. I worked on a farm when I was younger and farming has always been in my blood, but I could never afford to buy a farm in England. ASs 50 acre with a house would cost you at the very least £300 - 400,000.00 at least. I have never grazed alfalfa and I believe you can even graze rye in Canada but it is all new to me. A friend of mine introduced me to Agri-ville who lives in Craik Sasks and I thought I would start using it to get some tips, I know I am probably jumping in at the deep end but with a bit good advise I hope I can make it.

Thanks for your feedback,

Rolly.

[kato]

We graze alfalfa/brome mix. The trick is to accustom the cows to the alfalfa when you let them out. We let them out with full stomachs, and make sure it's a dry day. Wet lush alfalfa when they are hungry is a bad combination. Cows are not nearly as prone to bloat as feeder/grassers are, though.

Some fellows we know will use Rumensin boluses in feeders to help cut down on bloat. Alfasure is another new product out that seems to work pretty well, but they need a water supply that can monitored because the alfasure goes in the water.

The gains on this kind of pasture are very good. It works best if you can rotate. (As most pasture does).

[grassfarmer]

Roly,
I'm from SouthWest Scotland so our experience won't be that different - the prairies are more like the East coast of the UK than the west though with the colder drier conditions. "How many cows can I run?" was one of my first questions too but over time I'm thinking on it less. We are used to targeting high stock numbers due to the headage subsidy we got in Europe but here it takes a bit of re-adjusting to as I feel we should seek optimum numbers rather than maximum numbers. I don't know how Ituna will be placed for moisture and grass growth but you will be in amongst plenty cheap feed - I was told by someone very knowledgable that I shouldn't attempt to grow feed as you can always buy it cheaper than you can produce it - given land prices here (Central Alberta) I'm inclined to agree. Since coming here i've moved to a later calving season (mid April onwards) and use an intensive grazing management system to extend the grazing season. If you don't you will not match UK grass production and will be feeding for 7- 8 months of the year. I reckon my good land will carry a cow per 3.5 acres for an 8 month grazing season once we get fertility sorted out and cows downsized a bit. On the cow side I initially bred Angus cows to a Simmental to get female replacements but this land grows them far too big. Now I'm concentrating on straight "British" breeds with an outcross to a terminal sire to produce fattening calves. I don't want to hog this forum but if you are interested in sharing my experiences please email me at "ieaitken@hotmail.com"

[grassfarmer]

Roly if your Rural Municipality in Sask. has an Agricultural Fieldman they are an excellent source of advise on all agricultural matters pertaining to your area.
As far as breeds of cattle go, you certainly need to raise what the market demands, and even more important in my view you need easy calving cattle. Calving ease genetics can be found in each breed....of course I have a bias but I won't share it because each breed has good and bad points.
As for getting advice from the neighbours, you can't go wrong, and you can also get excellent advice from the folks here on Agriville.

[roly]

Thank you for your advice it is a frightening thing moving to a strange country when you are 53 and got very little money is there a market for calves at the moment with the BSC and how much are thay making at say 8 months
old.

[roly]

PS Grassfarmer tried to send you e-mail but it returned
mine is

rolgibson@btinternet.com