Stalled spring pressures farmers to turnout cattle early

Prolonged wintry conditions have forced Prairie cattle producers to draw longer on their feed supplies, but experts warn against using related extra costs to justify turning their cattle out to pasture too soon.

“This year’s late spring means turnout onto pasture has been delayed and as a result, producers are cutting into reserves,” says Brian Lemon, general manager, Manitoba Beef Producers. “This increases the cost of production, making margins tighter and giving producers less room for error.”

Manitoba enjoyed favourable growing conditions last year, allowing farmers to harvest high yielding quality forages. But prolonged periods of dryness in parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan in summer 2017 caused feed shortages, forcing some ranchers to put their cattle out onto frozen dormant pastures.

Risks

Turning cattle out too early can be detrimental to pasture health, explains Trevor Lennox, a forage specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture.

Soggy fields can sustain hoof damage, killing off forage species and allowing weeds to invade, according to Barry Yaremcio, Alberta’s provincial beef/forage specialist.

Brian Lemon says grazing plants before they reach the three- to four-leaf stage causes fewer tiller buds to develop, resulting in fewer leaves available to support the plant and causing lower yield potential.