VOL 1 ISSUE 3 | W I N T E R 2013

A P E R I O D I C N E W S L E T T E R P R O D U C E D B Y G R A N D V A L L E Y F O R T I F I E R S L T D .

GRAND VALLEY FORTIFIERS LTD. 486 Main Street East, PO Box 726 Cambridge, ON N1R 5W6 1-800-567-4400 www.grandvalley.com

Ian Ross, President | Jim Ross, ChairmanClarke Walker, VP & COO Mark Bowman/Jeff Keunen, Ruminant NutritionistDavid Ross/Dan Goertz, Publishers

Beef GristBeef GristJim Ross, Chairman

Dear friends,

After a long rainy fall the harvest is pretty well in the bins and producers are generally happy with the yield and quality of their crops. Corn andsoybean yields have been outstanding in some areas with producers reporting corn yields of over 250 bushels per acre and lots of soybeans yielding60 bu/acre and more. After last year’s disappointing harvest it’s great to have increased feed supplies this year across Ontario and our 3 prairie provinces as well. We are now utilizing the services of Activation Laboratories of Ancaster, Ontario for all our feeds and feed grains toxin texting. Activation Laboratoriesis a new high tech facility that has become an extension laboratory of Dairy One Labs in New York state. Give us a call and we’ll arrange for youto take advantage of this good management practice of testing your feedstuffs for mycotoxins. Remember our Assure product. This winter edition of“The Grist” has a number of great articles that I hope you enjoy. Wishing you good farming, Jim Ross

Be Prepared!As we enter the New Year we often find ourselves looking forward with anticipation and a renewed sense of enthusiasm. When we look back at the beef industry in 2013 we would be hard pressed to call it a “normal year.” With that said 2014 will bring about optimism not only from a new year but a renewed situation that points to more profitable production. Still I can’t help but think we need to be prepared to ensure we have a successful year and to be ready to face the challenges that might greet us.

A few tips and reminders to help prepare for the year ahead.

Feed testing and ration formulations As harvest has slowly finished this fall make sure you know what exactly you have in storage. Testing feed samples can help identify where money can be saved in a ration, feed supplies can be extended or more efficiently used to obtain goals set for production. Our experienced ruminant nutrition team can offer insight where a feeding program may be modified to suit your operation’s needs. Whether you balance a ration for least cost, optimal production, or conservation of a feed supply , all help you to be prepared for the future.

Mineral and Vitamin supplementProduction, reproduction, immunity or meat quality, mineral and vitamin premixes help your animals be prepared. Make sure the premix you use meets the objective of your feeding program and that adequate levels are provided to keep animals healthy and productive. If one of Grand Valley’s quality premix formulations does not meet your needs a custom premix can be easily designed to suit your operation.

VaccinationsHand in hand with a sound feeding program, vaccinations are an important preparation for your animals. Make sure you have your risks identified and vaccinate to help prevent disease. A healthy animal will

better utilize their feed, a well fed animal will build a stronger immune response to vaccination. Sick animals do not preform and underfed animals will not respond to vaccination.

EquipmentBe prepared for the tasks of your farming operation, check out the Farmers Farmacy which carries hundreds of items that are used every day on farms like yours. The new Beef flyer is now out with a focus on being prepared for calving and the 2014 catalogue is also now available. From calf warmers and blankets for those cold calves at birth, needles and syringes for vaccinations and treatments, ear tags and tattoo pliers for identification, calving jacks and esophageal feeders for those tough starts, injectable vitamins, milk replacers, antibiotics, or vaccines make sure you are prepared. As a reminder orders from the Farmers Farmacy can be shipped with your Grand Valley Feed order or couriered to you the next day. Orders over $350 are shipped for free by courier.

Creep FeedingGrand Valleys 16% Classic Creep feed pellet with Bovatec helps nursing young calves be prepared for stress from disease, stress from weaning and better prepared for a more productive lifetime weather sold after weaning or remaining in the herd as breeding stock.

As we prepare for the year ahead I would like to also extend you best wishes for the new year and thank you for your business this past year. If I or any of the GVF team can be of service to your operation please do not hesitate to call. n

As calves get older, use Grand Valley Fortifiers’ Classic Beef Creep Feed pellets to ensure growth in your calves, and ease the transition into weaning while adding value and profitability to your operation.

Call me at 519-588-2241 for more details!

ARE YOU FEEDING CHEAPLYOR FEEDING EFFICIENTLY? By: Jamie O’Shea, Beef Specialistjamieoshea@grandvalley.com | 519-588-2241

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By: JAMIE O’SHEA, Beef Specialist, Grand Valley Fortifiersjamieoshea@grandvalley.com | 519-588-2241

Thought for the Day “Love Came Down” Love Came Down The world was blessed at Christmas with a miracle of love… a guiding star and angel choir rejoicing from above.

They pointed to a tiny babe within a cattle stall – a Savior bringing peace on earth – the greatest gift of all.

Wishing you a season of overflowing Joy and Peace.Sincerely, Jim Ross and staff of Grand Valley Fortifiers

Like us on Facebook to find out about upcoming events, new products & exciting promotions.www.facebook.com/grandvalleyfortifiers

Marketing cows because they are open, calved late, or their conformation is breaking down are easy decisions. Marketing cows

or retaining heifers based on productive efficiency definitely requires more thought.

Biological efficiency is not always the same as economic efficiency. In a cattle production system, efficiency is often a combination of those two measures. How we optimize efficiency will depend on: • the genetic potential of the cowherd, • the environment in which the cattle are raised, and • the marketing strategy utilized by the producer.

Selection for the type of cattle that perform best in the feedlot (i.e. produce the most amount of beef in the shortest period of time) may not produce the ideal replacement animals in a grazing environment, yet selection for improved growth rates has increased average mature cow weights from 1000 lbs to 1400 lbs over the last 30 years (Weaber, Cornbelt Cow-Calf Conference 2012). Almost all producers underestimate the size of their cows, unless or until they weigh them.

Maintaining herd performance records can take some of the guesswork out of defining which cows are efficient producers. Adjusted 205 day weaning weights remove the age bias and are quite useful in a tight calving period. However, during long-drawn out calving seasons (which are inherently inefficient) adjusted weaning weights will tend to favour light, late born calves – that may or may not continue to grow the way the adjustment predicts.

Determining cow productive efficiency by using weaning weight as a percentage of cow body weight is definitely biased towards smaller cows, and not a true measure of efficiency. An 1100 lb. cow weaning 60% of her body weight weans a 660 lb. calf. A 1400 lb. cow that weans at 50% of her body weight is weaning a calf that is 40 lbs heavier. Heavier cows tend to wean heavier calves, and a heavier cow will bring more at auction when it is time to ship her.

But a heavier cow means increased maintenance requirements for feed, and the same amount of pasture will carry fewer big cows than smaller cows. This is not a linear relationship, however. Increasing cow weight by 27% (from 1100 lbs to 1400 lbs, assuming a high lactation level for both weight classes) only increases maintenance requirements by 20% (NRC, 2000); and for that reason, seventy-eight 1400 lb. cows require about the same amount of feed for maintenance as ninety-three 1100 lb. cows (Johnson, BIF 2010).

The total feed energy required increases as cows get bigger, but the amount of energy required per lb. of body weight actually decreases, making a 1400 lb. cow 5.5% more efficient than a 1100 lb. cow, assuming similar milk production (Hamilton, Virtual Beef 2010; NRC, 2000). Perhaps obviously, cows with higher genetic potential for milk production will have increased maintenance requirements, but also produce a heavier calf at weaning.

What needs to be penciled out is whether the potential increases in weaning weight and salvage value from larger, heavier milking cows offset the costs of increased feed and decreased carrying capacity. The answer here depends almost entirely on the environment (quality and quantity of forage resources), cost of supplemental winter feed, and marketing strategy.

In the table below, we can see that heavier milking, bigger cows are more efficient in some situations, while moderate, lighter milking cows are more efficient in others. A similar table can be found in the latest Beef Improvement Federation Guidelines.

Environments such as the shortgrass parts of the country favour small to moderate cows without extreme milk production, while the parkland region tends to favour larger, heavier milking cows. An early Agriculture Canada study (Smith, 1987a,b) illustrates this point. In Brandon, MB, a

BIGGER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER: FINDING THE RIGHT SIZED COW By: Karin Schmid, Beef Production SpecialistAlberta Beef Producers

fertile area where feed resources were abundant, heavy milkers were most profitable cows. However, in the Manyberries, AB area, where feed resources were more limited and the environment is more stressful, light to moderate milkers proved to be the most profitable.

MW = Good for multipurpose herds when calves are sold at weaningMY = Good for multipurpose herds when calves are retained & sold as yearlings or at slaughterTW = Good for herds with terminal crossing when calves are sold at weaningTY = Good for herds with terminal crossing when calves are retained & sold as yearlings or at slaughter

Feed efficiency is one trait that has the ability to dramatically influence the type of cows you match to the environment. A big cow may eat the same as a smaller cow while raising the same size calf and maintaining the same reproductive cycle and body condition. The way that cows utilize feed (especially in pasture or forage situations) has not been studied to the same extent as feed efficiency in feeder animals.

A project funded by the Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) intends to provide a reliable method of measuring feed efficiency in replacement heifers by comparing residual feed intake (RFI) measurements in confinement and on pasture, while also quantifying the relationship of RFI with first calving fertility and productivity.

Another project funded by ABP and the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) under the 2nd Beef Cattle Industry Science Cluster aims to demonstrate how to build a feed efficient cowherd, without sacrificing reproductive performance, while maintaining or improving progeny carcass traits. Results are expected in 2016.

There is more to cow efficiency than size, and while bigger is not always better, it might be in some situations. Selecting cows that are the best fit for their environment, available resources, and your marketing strategy will optimize production efficiency and improve profitability.

Reprinted with permission.

!Feed  ef;iciency  is  one  trait  that  has  the  ability  to  dramatically  in;luence  the  type  of  cows  you  match  to  the  environment.    A  big  cow  may  eat  the  same  as  a  smaller  cow  while  raising  the  same  size  calf  and  maintaining  the  same  reproductive  cycle  and  body  condition.    The  way  that  cows  utilize  feed  (especially  in  pasture  or  forage  situations)  has  not  been  studied  to  the  same  extent  as  feed  ef;iciency  in  feeder  animals.  !A  project  funded  by  the  Alberta  Beef  Producers  (ABP)  intends  to  provide  a  reliable  method  of  measuring  feed  ef;iciency  in  replacement  heifers  by  comparing  residual  feed  intake  (RFI)  measurements  in  con;inement  and  on  pasture,  while  also  quantifying  the  relationship  of  RFI  with  ;irst  calving  fertility  and  productivity.      !

Optimal  Mature  Size  &  Milk  Production  Potentials  for  Various  Levels  of  Forage  Availability  &  Marketing  Strategies  

(Schafer,  Arizona  Beef  Day  2009)

Mature  Size  Potential

Forage  Availability  &  

Milk  Production  Potential

Large  (>1400  lbs) Medium  (1100-­1400  lbs)

Small  (<1100  lbs)

High  Forage  Availability

High  Milk MW TW TW

Medium  Milk MW,  MY TW TW

Low  Milk MY TY Avoid

Medium  Forage  Availability

High  Milk Avoid Risky TW

Medium  Milk Avoid MW,  MY TW

Low  Milk Risky MY,  TY TY

Low  Forage  Availability

High  Milk Avoid Avoid Risky

Medium  Milk Avoid Risky Risky

Low  Milk Avoid Risky MW,  MY