Tightening the window: how it works

The analysis used data from nine benchmark farms in the Canadian Cow-Calf Cost of Production (COP) Network and modelled what happens when the calving season is tightened to three defined cycles: 70 per cent calving in the first cycle, 20 per cent in the second, and 10 per cent in the third.

The transition was assumed to take place gradually over five years. Bulls were pulled five days earlier each year, and heifers were bred two to four weeks ahead of the cow herd. Importantly, this strategy did not require additional cash expenses. The primary expected benefit was heavier weaning weights. The goal was to avoid a surge in open cows.

No extra cash expense is needed — just management changes like pulling bulls earlier and front-loading heifers.

Dollars on the ground

According to the COP Network, revenue gains from a tighter calving season ranged from $5 per cow to $30 per cow, depending on the farm’s starting point. (Data was from the 2020 production year — with current prices, these values would be higher.) Operations that began with a long calving season saw the largest benefits, while those already close to the 70-20-10 distribution saw only modest improvements.

For example, farm ON-4 already had more than 85 per cent of its herd calve within the first two cycles. By shifting to the 70-20-10 target, revenue was projected to rise by only about $5 per cow. In contrast, farms with more prolonged calving seasons captured much larger gains as heavier average weaning weights improved total revenue.

Chasing a tighter calving window may not pay off if you already have most calves born in the first two cycles, but farms with long calving seasons stand to gain the most from shifting to a shorter window.

What this means for you

For producers already managing a short calving period, the effort of pushing for even more concentration may not justify the limited gains. However, for those with a longer calving season, the potential to add significant revenue without additional costs makes a strong case for gradually tightening the window.

Management practices like pulling bulls earlier and front-loading heifers are simple adjustments that can help shift calving distribution over time. Tracking calving dates also provides valuable records to measure progress and evaluate the payoff.

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Prices for substitutable feed grains have also been trending upward. Imported U.S. corn was quoted in the range of $310-315 per tonne delivered in southern Alberta. Wheat for feed usage in central and southern Alberta was quoted in the range of $320-330 per tonne delivered. The average elevator bid for No.1 hard red spring wheat with 13.5 per cent protein was $313 per tonne. The price structure encourages farmers with milling wheat to sell into domestic feed channels instead of the elevator system for export movement.

Exports pull supplies tighter

Canadian barley fundamentals are tighter than anticipated as export and domestic demand exceed earlier forecasts. Canadian crop year-to-date exports for the week ending May 17 were 3 million tonnes, up from the year-ago pace of 1.7 million tonnes. Offshore movement to China and Japan is running sharply above year-ago levels. Canadian barley export offers have been competitive with Australian and European offers. Stronger‑than‑expected exports have pulled feed barley out of Western Canada’s non‑feeding regions.

Cattle-on-feed inventories in Western Canada have been running 10 per cent above year-ago levels throughout the spring. According to Statistics Canada’s data, domestic feed usage from August 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026, was 4.9 million tonnes, up 600,000 tonnes from the previous crop year.

Statistics Canada’s March 31 Stocks Report had on-farm barley stocks at 2.4 million tonnes, down 200,000 tonnes from last year. Canadian barley ending stocks for the 2025-26 crop year are projected to come in at 486,000 tonnes, which is a historical low. Given the lower stocks, the market needs to encourage acreage for the 2026 growing season.

The 2026-27 supply and demand picture

Below are Canadian barley supply and demand forecasts for the 2026-27 crop year. Our survey of Canadian farmers and industry representatives shows Canadian barley acres at 6.5 million acres, up six per cent or 365,000 acres from the 2025 seeded area. Using a traditional abandonment rate and an average yield of 72 bushels per acre, production has the potential to finish near 9.4 million tonnes, down from the 2025 crop of 9.7 million tonnes. In 2025, barley yields were above both average and trend.

Given our demand forecasts, ending stocks for the 2026-27 campaign are estimated at 700,000 tonnes, which is marginally higher than the 2025-26 carryout and sharply below the 10-year average. A carryout below the 10-year average will result in prices above the 10-year average.

Given the lower carryout for the 2026-27 crop year, the Canadian barley market will need to trade above prices for substitutable feed grains. We have a bullish outlook for wheat and corn, which will contribute to higher barley prices.

Wheat and corn add fuel

All major wheat exporters will experience a year-over-year decrease in production during the 2026-27 crop year. Canadian and U.S. fundamentals for hard red spring wheat are rather tight for the 2026-27 crop year. The drought in the U.S. Southern Plains resulted in lower hard red winter wheat production, which will enhance U.S. imports of Canadian hard red spring wheat.

U.S. farmers are expected to harvest 406 million tonnes of corn this fall, according to the USDA. This is down from the 2025 output of 432 million tonnes. In a normal year, U.S. farmers in the Midwest top-dress nitrogen in June at a rate of 100-150 pounds per acre. For 2025, the higher prices and limited supply of fertilizer will limit the rate of top dressing. We’re expecting significant yield drag due to lower fertilizer usage. As well, the U.S. drought monitor reflects drier conditions in parts of the Midwest and southern U.S. states. Our 2026 corn production forecast is closer to 395 million tonnes, which is bullish for the corn market.

What it means for feeders

Feed grain prices will be higher in the 2026-27 crop year. This could weigh on the feeder cattle market because feedlot operators will have higher input costs. It may also temper heifer retention for herd expansion in both Canada and the U.S.

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That means microbes circulate in packing plants, too. Most microbes are harmless, but some can shorten the shelf life of beef, and a few (like Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or STEC) can cause food poisoning.

Beef is an excellent nutrient source for people. It’s also an excellent nutrient source for microbes. If microbes establish themselves on conveyor belts and other processing equipment, they have a ready food source to support their growth. As a result, Canadian packing plants work very, very hard to keep their facilities clean and their beef products safe. Facilities are cleaned after each shift.

They start by scraping away visible contamination, then pressure washing the conveyor belts, equipment and floors (step one). Then, a detergent is applied to break down fat residues, and rinsed off (step two). Finally, a sanitizer is applied to kill microbes that may not have been washed off (step three).

Xianqin Yang of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Lacombe research station and co-workers studied how microbial numbers change through the three-step cleaning process (Effects of Sanitation Practices on Microbial Dynamics in Meat Processing Environment).

What they did

In collaboration with a major beef packing plant, the team collected samples from conveyor belts, floor drains and air before cleaning started, after step one (pressure washing), after step two (detergent) and after step three (sanitizing). Bacteria were counted and identified in each sample.

What they learned 

At all time points, there were fewer bacteria in the air and conveyor belt samples than from the drain samples. Wash water naturally flows downward, moving bacteria toward the drain.

Bacterial numbers changed as cleaning progressed through steps one through three, but not in the way you might expect. Bacterial numbers in the drain samples were high before cleaning started and after the initial scraping and power washing step, because large numbers of bacteria from the equipment and floor were being washed down the drain. But bacterial numbers on the conveyor belts were higher after step one than before cleaning started! The same thing happened with bacterial numbers in the air samples after step one.

This helps explain what happened. Anyone who’s ever used a pressure washer (or put their thumb over the end of a hose) to clean anything knows water pressure loosens and removes stuck-on grime and dirt. But it also creates mist. That mist isn’t just water — it also carries fine particles of grime, dirt and, you guessed it, bacteria. The pressure washing step dislodged some bacteria from the belts and drains and launched it into the air. The equipment undoubtedly looked cleaner after step one, but as the mist settled, bacteria from the air recontaminated the conveyor belts. Thankfully, bacterial numbers dropped back to pre-cleaning levels after the detergent had been applied and rinsed off (step two) and remained low after the sanitizer was applied (step three).

The good news is the cleaning steps were most effective against bacteria (like Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter) which can cause spoilage and shorten the shelf life of packaged beef. Most importantly, numbers of E. coli on the conveyor belts dropped continuously as cleaning progressed through steps one to three. In fact, many conveyor belt samples didn’t contain any E. coli at all, and it wasn’t found in any of the air samples. Further, fewer than half of the floor drain samples contained E. coli. This included all E. coli, not just the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) that pose a human health concern. There are hundreds of strains of E. coli; STEC would have been a very small fraction of the very few E. coli they found here.

So what does this mean to you?

Canadian beef packers clean their plants very effectively. Food safety records support this. In 2025, there were 263 food recalls in Canada. Six of these recalls (2.3 per cent) involved beef, and only two (0.8 per cent) were for microbial contamination. These were both STEC, but neither was associated with human illness, and both implicated a grocery store, not a beef packing plant.

Future research may be able to develop improved methods of pressure washing that minimize the number of microbes that enter the air and land on the equipment again. But this is very risky research for commercial packers to do — they are hesitant to experiment with new cleaning methods until they’re confident they won’t accidentally make things worse. That sort of research, development and demonstration work must be done in a pilot-scale research facility before industry will adopt it.

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A range health assessment is a standardized way to evaluate key indicators of how a rangeland is functioning compared to its potential.

Observers evaluate, for example, the plant community, presence or absence of invasive weeds, vegetation structure, soil erosion and plant litter to derive a score.

Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba each has their own applicable methods for assessing the overall function of rangeland ecosystems.

Saskatchewan range health assessment

Saskatchewan first published a range health assessment protocol nearly 20 years ago, using Alberta’s 2003 version as a foundation. Now, a Saskatchewan-based working group recently published the Saskatchewan Rangeland Health Assessment for Native Grasslands, 2^nd Edition.

The release coincides with the United Nations’ declaration of 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.

The new workbook and all related documents, including reference plant communities, are posted on the Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan website. Chelsey Siemens is a livestock and feed extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, based out of the Kindersley office. She co-chaired the range health working group.

“If we want to have rangeland sustain livestock production into the future, it’s important to know what the range health score is so we’re improving or maintaining it over time,” Siemens says.

“If producers are making management changes to their pastures, they can do a range health assessment to see where they are starting from and see how those changes are going.”

Producers and land managers can use range health assessment results to track successes, note challenges or validate current practices.

An assessment may also help establish eligibility for different funding programs offered by governments or conservation organizations.

Change on the range

The updated workbook guides evaluators through nine questions that focus on five indicators of range health. The resulting score is out of 100 points.

The assessment allocates 60 points to plant species indicators, such as plant community composition, the influence of non-native species, presence and distribution of invasive weeds, expected vegetation layers and shrub encroachment.

The remaining 40 points are designated for soil and plant litter indicators, including bare soil, erosion, and the abundance and distribution of litter.

The working group included professionals from conservation organizations, government agencies, grassroots producer organizations and universities. The group reviewed newly available data and Saskatchewan-based research before incorporating practical, science-based updates.

Siemens says the changes are positive. Score sheet additions, such as noting whether shrubs and trees are spreading into open grassland areas, are useful to track over time.

Trevor Lennox, a range management extension specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture, says the updates will benefit producers, Crown land lessees and community pasture groups.

“In the previous method, (tame) species like crested wheatgrass or smooth brome were viewed in the same light as an invasive weed like leafy spurge.”

From a biodiversity perspective, tame forages are undesirable in a native prairie rangeland, yet they provide some ecosystem functions, whereas noxious and invasive weeds do not.

“When we do assessments, where we bring some of the most value is the invasive weeds side of it,” Lennox says. “We’re another set of eyes and ears on the landscape, and we’re trying to identify things sooner. The approach we like to take now is being proactive.”

Now, the score sheet records agronomic species separately from noxious and invasive weeds, enabling more targeted followup management.

The working group also adjusted the plant litter indicator.

Litter is dead plant residue that may be standing or fallen, and it plays a critical role on rangelands for habitat and soil and water conservation.

Drier range sites often benefit from abundant litter to improve water infiltration, conserve soil moisture and insulate the soil surface. However, too much litter, especially on moist sites, can reduce germination, cut back flowering, tie up nutrients and decrease biodiversity.

The new workbook accounts for both excessive litter and reduced litter levels.

A conversation starter

The South of the Divide Conservation Action Program (SODCAP) has adopted Saskatchewan’s updated range assessment as part of its broader protocol.

Krista Connick Todd is the co-executive director of SODCAP and was a member of the Saskatchewan working group. She says range health is a useful way to connect with ranchers.

“Conversations are important. If somebody invites you out to do a range health assessment, they want to know what the score is.”

For example, if the assessment scored poorly for invasive weeds, it would be an indicator when deciding what management practices to implement.

“It’s also a way of tracking progress,” Connick Todd says.

Lennox says the same approach applies to range health assessments.

“Working through the range health process is very educational. It identifies problems, but it also identifies good things, too,” Lennox says.

“When we’re sharing our results back to producers, we always try to emphasize both sides of it. There are always areas for improvement, but there are also lots of good things that are being done too, and it’s important to share both those stories.”

Interpreting the score

A Saskatchewan range health assessment score between 75 and 100 points is considered “healthy,” a score of 50 to 74 points is “healthy with challenges” and a score of 0 to 49 falls into the “needs improvement” category.

The overall score is more than a grade on a report card, however.

While a big-picture perspective of ecosystem function is important, when it’s time to consider management changes, it can be helpful to look at individual indicators.

“We give producers a score, but really what we’re trying to give them is information on the different elements and the way they change across the landscapes,” Connick Todd says.

Some indicators, like native plant species composition, shift slowly over time. Other indicators change from one season to the next.

“Litter is a parameter of range health that will change year over year,” Connick Todd says. “It’s something you have some control over, and management can impact it.”

Siemens echoed her statement.

“If a rangeland is under pressure following a fire or very dry conditions, an indicator like litter can be a good signal of when the pasture is ready to put livestock back on the range,” she says.

Scores, indicators and categories can be helpful for fine-tuning management and guiding observations. However, rangeland ecosystems are living landscapes with complex nuances and subtleties.

Science and data informed the development of the second edition of the Saskatchewan Rangeland Health Assessment for Native Grasslands; however, range management remains as much an art as it is a science.

Tara Mulhern Davidson is a writer and a beef and forage consultant. She ranches with her family in southwestern Saskatchewan.

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When he and his family shifted calving to May and June, they discovered a better way to work with nature.

“We’re calving in sync with nature. You couldn’t pay me enough to go back to calving in February,” he said, as he stood between the house and barn at the four-generation homestead.

Lehmann and his daughter Morgan’s home quarter was the second of two stops for the June 15 Guardians of the Grasslands Tour.

The Saskatchewan Cattle Association hosted the day-long event, which involved a bus load of producers, industry representatives and forage specialists.

It was designed to highlight the role of beef farmers and ranchers as modern pastoralists and long-term stewards of Saskatchewan’s grazing landscapes.

It coincided with the United Nations declaration of 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.

Challenging convention at Circle L Ranch

“This event highlighted the importance of Saskatchewan’s grasslands and the role of ranchers as modern-day pastoralists. Participants explored how well-managed grazing lands support healthy ecosystems and species at risk, while gaining a firsthand appreciation for the passion ranchers have for caring for their land and livestock and for passing it on to the next generation,” said Jenna Sarich, technical consultant for Public and Stakeholder Engagement, a division of the Canadian Cattle Association.

Lehmann said it’s necessary to challenge convention, which has become a defining characteristic of their operation, SaskValley Shorthorns and Circle L Ranch near Rosthern.

The cow-calf operation runs commercial and purebred Shorthorn cattle, backgrounds its calves and grasses its yearling heifers.

Four generations of the Lehmann family built a cattle operation grounded in stewardship, innovation and long-term thinking.

Lehmann said their success is measured by more than pounds of beef or market prices.

“As a farmer, we have to pass this land on to the next generation in as good or better condition than we received it,” he said.

“The second thing is the well-being of people and livestock. The third thing is we have to be profitable. It’s a business.”

Those principles guide every decision on the ranch, from grazing management and pasture rejuvenation to winter feeding strategies and succession planning.

The family story stretches back nearly 140 years.

“My great-grandfather emigrated from Germany in 1888 and he homesteaded three miles north of the town,” said Barry.

“He bought this land in 1915.”

The end of February calving

Today, Lehmann and his brothers operate the ranch alongside a new generation that is preparing to take over. Among them is daughter Morgan, a graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan, whose passion for cattle and grasslands is helping shape the ranch’s future.

The move away from February calving marked an important turning point for the operation around 2000.

“When I was a kid, Dad had probably 70 cows or so, and we calved in February, normally, because that’s just what everybody did,” said Morgan.

As the herd expanded, the family faced a choice of rebuilding facilities or calving at a different time of year.

The decision transformed their operation.

“Labour is the number one thing,” said Barry. “The fact that I don’t like getting up at two o’clock in the morning and checking if calves have been born in 30-below weather or not, that’s a big one.”

Looking back, he understands that tradition often kept producers like him tied to practices that no longer made sense.

“It’s partly a case of human nature. This is the way we’ve always done things, so we’re just going to continue doing them that way,” he said.

Farmer experiments on the pastures

It’s the same willingness to rethink old assumptions that shapes the family’s approach to grazing.

Much of the ranch consists of tame pasture, and the family also helps manage community pasture land near the South Saskatchewan River.

Father and daughter said they are constantly experimenting with ways to improve forage production while protecting soil health.

“You’re looking at somebody who is always interested in learning. I do all kinds of what I call farmer experiments,” said Barry.

One of those experiments involved investing in a sod-seeding drill to rejuvenate aging pastures with minimal soil disturbance.

“We’ve only been trying it for a few years,” said Barry.

“A few things haven’t worked, and a few things hopefully are working.”

“Eventually we’re going to figure out how to rejuvenate our pastures without disking them up and seeding directly into the sod.… it’s a good thing for the land if you can get a better stand of grass without cultivating.”

Perennial legumes such as alfalfa and cicer milkvetch play a key role.

“Legumes have the ability to literally grab nitrogen (nitrogen fixation) out of the air, funnel it through the plant and into the ground,” said Barry.

“The grasses then get the benefit of having nitrogen available for them.”

The family is also increasing grazing intensity while extending rest periods.

“More animals on a smaller piece of land for a shorter duration is so much better for your grass management,” said Morgan.

“It encourages rejuvenation and promotes longer rest.”

Added Barry: “We will probably leave the cows on anywhere from one to two weeks, depending on the size, the number of cows, the stand of the grass. There are all kinds of variable factors that come into play…. I would absolutely love if we could take a big patch and not touch it for a year.

“I think that would be good for the root system. The general rule of thumb is the more plant material above ground, the better your root system. I think it’s good for the plants if you were able to let it rest for one year.”

From 3,000 bales to 300

Their focus on efficiency extends into winter feeding. Twelve years ago, the ranch began using standing corn as a winter feed source.

“Years ago, we used to bale about 3,000 round bales. Now we bale about 300,” he said.

Instead of hauling feed daily, cattle graze standing corn behind temporary electric fences.

“In an hour and a half, we’ve got our herd fed for three or four days,” he said.

“The amount of labour, the amount of fuel, the amount of wear and tear on equipment has gone down drastically.”

The approach supports both profitability and stewardship.

“Regardless of your profitability, you have to maintain your land, your grasses, your infrastructure,” said Barry.

“If we were to abuse our grass and overgraze it, when the time came, we wouldn’t have the ability to carry the number of cows that this place could carry.”

That long-term mindset also shapes how the family views variations in cattle markets.

“You want to be profitable long term. You have to take a long-term approach in all aspects of ranching, not only just the financial side, but the grass side, the cattle side, everything.”

The next generation returns

Morgan has adopted the same outlook through graduate research that examines how extreme weather affects cow-calf operations.

“After I’ve done my master’s, my plan is to come back to the farm and farm full time,” she says.

“I’m very, very excited to come back.”

For Barry, that commitment represents the ultimate measure of success.

“I’m looking forward to the day when I can retire and turn this place over to somebody a lot smarter than me,” he said with a smile.

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The Memorial Day long weekend is now well behind the market, and it appears beef retail demand was softer than expected. The holiday is traditionally one of the strongest beef consumption periods of the year. Packers will be hoping that June produces stronger results and the shorter production week around the holiday boosts boxed beef cutout values and allows beef processors to continue reducing their losses. Losses from the last week of May were $295.56 per head, according to HedgersEdge.com. Packers continued to struggle to buy live cattle at lower prices as the market entered June.

Early reads and descriptors for retail activity over the Memorial Day weekend came in as “okay” and “adequate,” hardly the exceptional readings that were hoped for or needed, says Bob Wilson of HedgersEdge.com. The other reports that came in saw lower-priced items move better, as consumers traded down celebration items from steaks to hamburgers, from burgers to hotdogs and from beef to chicken wings, he says. The expectations remain that beef cutout values will be able to advance in the near-term because of Father’s Day and the 250th anniversary of the July 4 Independence Day holiday, both of which are expected to support seasonal beef demand. Seasonal demand patterns continue to play an important role in the market.

Wilson says an analysis of the May Cattle on Feed report makes one hard-pressed to see the report as anything but negative. The growing concern about reduced marketing levels (down 630,000 head for the year and 888,000 head under the five-year average) is compounded in looking ahead, as May had one less marketing day than last May. Declining marketing levels are one thing with smaller on-feed totals and quite another when on-feed numbers are increasing, says Wilson.

Front-end cattle supplies of 150-plus days-on-feed project to remain above last year’s levels into the end of the year, says Wilson. The total on June 1 was an estimated 3.437 million head, which would be up 14 per cent from June 1 last year. This supply is not projected to drop below 3.25 million head through the end of the year. May 1 posted the level of cattle on feed for more than 180 days at a record high for any month in any year. The unusually large number of long-fed cattle has pushed the average days on feed back above 200, he says.

According to Wilson, the CME Feeder Cattle Index price continues to hover near the all-time high prices posted in April. From the COVID low in the spring of 2020, the advance has measured a staggering 330 per cent. Despite border closures caused by the specter of New World screwworm, a livestock pest capable of causing severe production losses, to the south and reduced numbers from the north (a result of tariff effects), the U.S. feeder cattle and calf supply outside feedyards posted higher levels. The April 1 totals were 416,000 head above April 2025 and higher than April 2024. It was the first year-on-year gain during April since 2020.

Cattle prices in 2027 are expected to be modestly higher than the records currently forecast for 2026, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. This is based on a smaller anticipated calf crop in 2026 and more heifers retained for breeding, which will further tighten supplies available for placement in feedlots in the years ahead. Economic Research Service’s forecast for feeder steers weighing 750 to 800 pounds at the Oklahoma National Stockyards is $382 per cwt, a one per cent increase from 2026. Its forecast for slaughter steer prices in the five‑area marketing region is $253.75 per cwt, a two per cent year‑over‑year increase.

Despite emerging signs that consumers are trading down to lower-priced proteins, tight cattle supplies are expected to keep cattle prices near record levels going forward.

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Veterinarians in other cases see reduced weight gains, lacklustre haircoats and diarrhea. This condition can be rather insidious to start. If you see one case, you must assume the rest of the herd has some level of infection. Death can be due to liver failure and the amount of liver damage done by the liver flukes or the association with Clostridium hemolyticum, or Redwater. The latter is a clostridial disease brought on by liver damage and we often see both these diseases hand-in-hand, meaning if we see Redwater we will look closer for liver flukes and vice versa.

This article will review the prevalence diagnosis life cycle and very treatment of this somewhat emerging disease in Western Canada.

Elk vectors

More positive diagnosis was more common when we had big numbers in the elk industry. It might have spread then to the wild populations of elk in some areas, although that may be just conjecture, but it does make some sense.

This is another example of veterinarians working with wildlife people. We need to communicate with each other as to what is going on with the species we deal with. It has even been documented in bighorn sheep where they graze in very low land in British Columbia, so it covers a wide range of species.

Where flukes lurk

Liver flukes are more prevalent in wetter conditions and climates, as they rely on the snail as the intermediate host. Those snails hang out in low-lying areas on pasture. The general saying is, if you find low land and snails, liver flukes may be in the equation and worth watching out for.

In Canada primarily, I have heard of the deer fluke or giant liver fluke (Fascioloides magna). Another name we rarely hear of is the common fluke, Fasciola hepatica. The uniqueness of the deer fluke, both in cattle, bison, bighorn sheep and other species besides the deer species, is that it is a dead-end host. No further spreading of the flukes happens. The reproductive phase stops. No eggs pass out into the environment.

The issue is then that there is really no reliable diagnosis until one closely examines a dead or slaughter animal and cuts sections through the liver, exposing the liver flukes. This helps further spread, but the snails are the multipliers that get the infectious parts into the water supply.

I can’t stress the importance of doing autopsies on sudden deaths enough, but this should also be one on poor-doing animals, checking all internal organs and especially the liver.

Identifying Redwater

Death from Redwater will give characteristic cartwheel shaped necrotic areas, or you find the flukes themselves or abscesses from bacteria showering into the blood stream and essentially being filtered out by the liver. All these things cause varying damage to the organ and, when bad enough, the liver fails. The key is, if finding one of these things, they can be to a lesser degree in the rest of the herd.

The proper diagnosis is essential for treatment for the rest of the group and prevention. Prevention will involve treating at the right time and with the appropriate medication.

Once found, consider flukes endemic in an area and yearly treatment will likely be the recommended practice. Avoiding low land where snails’ habitat is great is best but likely not possible when large grazing areas are used with multiple low spots and access to water. Veterinarians find once you have it, routine treatment is necessary.

In countries such as Ireland and Scotland, you will see lots of medication for flukes in the veterinary clinics for use on cattle and sheep especially. It is a routine thing to treat.

Keeping farmers in the loop

I do really hope if any evidence of flukes are found on slaughter animals that it gets communicated back to you the producer. Having a liver condemned on slaughter animals is one thing, but the inciting reason or cause of the liver condemnation is what we need. Years ago, I knew of an extension veterinarian in Manitoba who gave demonstrations on cutting into the liver specifically to look for liver flukes.

In the other countries there is a lot of the common liver fluke so the common products as a flukicide are available. In Canada, treatment now involves bringing in a product that will get both types of flukes and that was triclabendazole. One trade name was “Fasinex.”

The issue is, it needed to be brought in under an emergency drug release. This meant being diagnosed by your vet and getting an import permit for your herd specifically. Most recently, a company is compounding it in Canada. Your veterinarian can bring it in and have it in stock until needed and the prescription is made to your herd when dispensed. It will make it much easier to get now in Canada if it is diagnosed. Oral product is generally given by drench. Two companies, Elanco and Solvet, are the only ones now able to get this very specific treatment in Canada.

Avoiding resistance

With all parasiticides, we want to only use if diagnosed and prescribed by your veterinarian.

The triclabendazole is in the family of benzimidazole dewormers but really specific in its effect on liver flukes. I am always hearing it is the magna species being diagnosed in all species. The triclabendazole is given orally and mainly in the fall of the year once the immature stages of the liver flukes have been picked up from the water where the snails are.

Severe infestations may require more treatment, but that is where working with your veterinarian with the best treatment, timing and prevention comes into play.

I know the eastern slopes of the Rockies where we see Redwater disease and a few areas of Manitoba are the prime locations in Canada for the issue. Again, though, it is diagnosed more and more by veterinarians.

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BFO is donating $10,000 each to the Ronald McDonald Houses in London, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa, to purchase Ontario beef. BFO board members and staff are also volunteering to prepare a meal for families at each house in August.

“As farmers, we understand the importance of caring for others and the role a nutritious meal can play in bringing comfort and connection,” said Jason Leblond, president of Beef Farmers of Ontario. “We are honoured to support Ronald McDonald House Charities and the families who rely on these houses during some of the most difficult times in their lives.”

Each year, Ronald McDonald House Charities assists thousands of families, allowing them to stay close to a hospitalized child, easing the emotional and financial burden of accessing medical care away from home.

Farmers encouraged to get involved locally

Leblond said the organization hopes its initiative will inspire other local associations and farmers across the province to support their local Ronald McDonald House through donations, volunteering and community fundraising efforts.

“We know the impact local support can have on families facing difficult circumstances,” he said. “We encourage others across our sector to find ways to get involved and make a difference in their own communities.”

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“We’ve been on a run for about six solid years, so the questions out there abound in terms of how high or when the peak is going to be,” said analyst Brian Perillat from More Than Just Feed.

Herd sizes in the United States and Canada remain record low, and the industry is meeting demand, even at record high retail prices, with carcass weights now averaging about 1,000 pounds.

Perillat said the dramatic herd consolidation has flattened with significantly reduced cow slaughter and “hints” of heifer retention, but the rebuild will be slow. There are fewer heifers on feed and going to slaughter.

“One thing to keep in mind when we talk about cattle markets is the supply trend drives the market trend, but it’s demand that really ultimately drives how much magnitude you see in those price changes,” he said at the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association convention.

Both supply and demand have worked in favour of cow-calf producers the last few years, but Perillat cautioned that if the supply trend starts to change, the market will react.

U.S. herd drives the outlook

The Canadian industry is driven by what happens in the United States.

The beef herd south of the border is the smallest in 70 years, and Perillat said the beef-on-dairy trend has helped strengthen the industry and made bull dairy calves more valuable. He expects that to continue.

It has also kept the total calving herd about the same.

Still, beef cow numbers are going to remain very tight, even into 2027, he said.

Better weather in the U.S. is also something to watch. Many areas have suffered through drought, and some are still quite dry. Forecasts suggest moisture in the fall, which is when heifers will be retained, said Perillat.

Feedlots full, packers slowing

Cattle-on-feed numbers have “remained pretty stout” despite fewer animals. Packers have slowed processing because of the shrinking herd.

Perillat said some cattle are on feed for five or six months because it’s more profitable to feed them longer and to heavier weights than to take the risk of buying new feeders to fill pens.

There are more cattle on feed in both the U.S. and Canada than a year ago, and he said more could be coming to market in the fall. Any weakness in the fed market could affect calf prices.

As well, there is the potential effect of the New World screwworm on markets over the summer. The supply of cattle heading north could tighten.

U.S. becomes a massive beef importer

The U.S. has become a massive importer of beef, with imports accounting for 19 per cent of consumption. Just a few years ago, it was a net exporter and now it imports more than Canada produces, Perillat said.

“This is a good news story. Our prices are so strong it’s going to bring product here,” he said.

“If our imports drop off, it means our prices aren’t very strong and the beef goes somewhere else.”

There are concerns about South American imports, particularly around the quality of middle and primal cuts and consumers’ eating experiences. However, North America does need ground beef and will take lean trim and manufacturing beef from South America, Australia and New Zealand to blend.

“We’d rather them move from a steak to a hamburger than from a steak to a pork chop, or from a steak to a chicken breast,” he said.

Brazil has become the world’s largest beef producer, supplanting the U.S., although there are suggestions it can’t maintain the level of growth it has seen. Perillat said productivity improvements are possible; in some areas, pregnancy rates are only 50 to 60 per cent.

China, which is the world’s largest importer, was Brazil’s biggest customer, but tariffs have the South American country looking north.

Perillat said China represented Canada’s highest-value market when beef imports resumed.

Demand strong, but prepare for adjustment

Beef demand in North America remains strong, outperforming other proteins “by a mile,” he added.

Ground beef is in higher demand than middle meats, which have been sluggish this spring.

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At first glance, cattle are mildly uncomfortable, yet as the THI moves above 80 there is a progression of reproductive losses. Pushed to high THIs, extreme conditions may lead to a few fatalities. Whenever I see a THI chart, I try to place myself on it and get a slight glimpse of what cattle might be going through a hot prairie summer. To combat my heat-stress, I can simply turn on the air conditioner, but the best practical solutions to keep breeding cattle comfortable are a lot more challenging.

How cattle handle the heat

Humans cope with hot weather by sweating yet breeding cattle sweat very little. They rely heavily upon panting, which turns them into a heat-exchanger — mouth-breathing hot air in and releasing heat/water vapor from their lungs and out of their bodies. Heat-stressed cattle tend to visibly pant rapidly, all the while standing around in one spot — sometimes bunched up under any available shade. If natural shade is unavailable, I have seen them stand in each others’ shadows.

The losses you can’t see

Unfortunately, heat-stressed cows cannot show you what happens inside of their reproductive organs. For example, a high THI (plus 80) causes a lack of cow standing heat and thus her acceptance of the bull. This is often due to her shortened estrus cycle compared to the same thing under more mild weather. Furthermore, there is a decrease in specific hormones in her blood, which otherwise would support normal ovulation. Rather, heat-stress causes abnormal follicular waves and undeveloped dominant follicles, which leads to temporary infertility.

Even if a heat-stressed cow gets bred by the bull and is luckily enough to conceive, there might be more bad news. That’s because these cows suffer from a high probability of early embryonic deaths at two different stages of pregnancy: zero to seven days (loss of developing embryo), and from day 25–45 (early fetal loss). Cows that experience early embryonic loss during the first week of pregnancy quickly appear as repeat breeders (return to estrus cycling), because the embryo is affected by the cow’s elevated body temperature and thus a failure of implantation on her uterine wall. Cows that experience fetal death later on might be initially confirmed as pregnant, yet come back as open cows after the breeding season.

Bulls feel it too

Breeding bulls suffer from heat-stress too! It causes their temporary sterility by damaging developing sperm cells to a point where there is not enough viable sperm to fertilize the shed egg of the cow. Bulls that suffer from any extended period of heat-stress do not fully recover for 60 days, which coincides with the natural process of full sperm production and maturation. Years ago, I witnessed a 20-month-old Simmental bull that failed to breed 18 replacement heifers during a month of 35 C weather. Several months later, the bull successfully bred each one of them, which transferred them into a fall-calving herd.

What you can do about it

When such scorching heat strikes these breeding pairs, there are a few things that we can do in order to help reduce its negative impact upon their general well-being and reproduction:

Water, water and more water. Lots of cool clean water must be provided (10 litres per 50 kilograms of body weight). Water drinking surface should be sufficient for a large number of cattle to drink at the same time. Plus, water flow within the waterers and tanks must be able to be replenished water in minutes. Note: water temperature above 25 C will contribute to heat-stress in cattle.

Cattle should have access to trees and other forms of shade. Open buildings and pole-sheds with light-coloured roofs can provide good shade, yet watch out for good air movement. Windbreaks will provide some shade, but they often reduce air movement and often contribute to heat stress.

Pasture management should be adjusted. Rotate cattle through pastures more quickly. This shortened timing allows cattle to graze new digestible forages. If dried-out pastures are supplemented with other feeds (hay), feed them near dusk, which allows cattle to consume forages during lower evening temperatures.

These are good points that I try to implement during hot weather. Last July, I completed a 10-kilometre hike in a western park. The temperature was 37 C with a humidity of no more than 10 per cent. According to the chart, my THI was 78, which should have put me under mild heat stress. Consequently, I carried plenty of cool water bottles, rested under several trees and sat down on the odd patch of grass. Sorry to say — I was very heat stressed. Once I got back to my SUV, I saw my park pass had literally melted on the dashboard. No problem — I cranked up the AC to a good Canadian winter.

Peter Vitti is an independent livestock nutritionist and consultant based in Winnipeg. You can reach him via email at vitti@mymts.net.

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