HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1998-08-12, Page 5Lucknow Sentinel,, Wednesday, August 12;1998 - Page, 5
It may be time to look to Plan B or Plan C
"Hold ent or fold ern"
Pastures are ,pretty well
history in Bruce for 1998.
Even if it does rain, the
new grass will be soft.
Besides, the pastures have
a ao,J to do to get then -
selves ready for winter
without being chewed
down to the dirt again. For
many stocker cattle pro-
ducers, it is time to look at
"Plan W" or maybe it is
"Plan C" for some.' It
probably boils down 4o
either feed them orsell.
thein. If the decision is to
sell them, then that`s it for
this bunch.Take your loss,.
lick your wounds and get
ready to start the eyeie
again. at the fall calf sales.
If you decide to feed them,
• then the Tray supply needs
to be thought about. is
there enough hay to dry
'feed these cattle and still
have,enough to get you
through the winter with
new cattle and still have a
bit of reserve in case itis a
late spring in '99? If not, it
The Boss of Bikes.
i8 'Coming to town
The .boss of bikes ••ts
coming to. Lucknow.
• It's .a 50 -foot long, 30 -
seater bicycle and. it's
•going on 'a 3 km ride on
Aug. 15• to raise money fpr
the . Heart and Stroke
Foundation of Ontario,
Stroke Fund.
The Big Bike Ride for
Stroke is a pledge -based,
community event that is
novel, wacky, and •encour
ages team spirit. To ride
• the Big Bike, each rider•is:
asked.' to raise a minimum
of $50 in pledges. .
.Participants earn prizes.
on-site and Organizations,
.,'bertefitrfrdnt the pubbcity;
and camaraderie generated
by this fun, highly ' visible:
event..
The Huron •Cllapterof
the . Heart and Stroke
Foundation is hoping to
raise $25.,000 from this
event which will go direct-
ly•into the Stroke Fund
which was developed to.
specifically support stroke.
research and healthpp-
. programs. '
Bach year, about 50,000.
Canadians have a•stroke.
One-third ,of these victims.
are between the ages of• 35
and 66 years of age. The
cost to the health are sys-
tem if43 billionannually.
The Huton Chapter is
recruiting teams of 29 rid-
ers as well as individual
riders to participatein the
Big Bike for Stroke Events
'Anyone interested should
call ,Shannon Craig. at 17
$88»287-7775 or Debbie
Moran locally, at 528-3025'
is better to be buying hay
now than next March,
There is surplus hay in
parts of Ontario, but not
around here. That means
that ,ihere is serious truck-
ing involved. They say
that the first 100. feet is the
big part of trucking east so.
don't be timid about. being
far front home- Another
consideration is the rate of
gain on. these cattle. You
certainly want to keep
thele moving ahead so it
will take a bit of grain.
Not everyone is set up to
limit feed a grain.mix in
the yard. You may end up
deciding that your "first
loss is your best loss" and
let this bunch go. This is
especially true if.you are
preoccupied with water
supply problems.
u!linig
criteria for your
• beef herd
Drought in. •specific
regions, of the province
have prompted beef pro-
ducers in these areas to
consider downsizing. their
*cow herds. The shortage
of pasture, lower" hay.
yields this summer and lit-
tle or no surplus hay carry
over from last winter will
result in higher than nor-
mal prices for forages in
the affected regions. Many
producers are already
feeding valuable hay
inventory due to lack of
moistureand limited pas-
ture regrowth. This ;is the
tine tg review your cow
inventory and identify
candidates for culling.
Your list of candidates
should .start with, open
cows and heifers.
Pregnancy checking and
culling open cows :has,,
'sown tip return $30,00. per
cow exposed. With for-
ages: at a shortage and
expensive to purchase
there isdefinitely no justi-.
•fication for retaining and
.feeding ,open ,cows. until
the next breeding season.
Cows, with a history -of
health or structural prob-
lems (i.e. poor feet or
udders, eye problems,
hard calves) should be
next on the removal list.
They will put -a drain on
feed supplies, increase
your vet bills and their
health ,and value may
:decline rapidly duribg the
winter months. Review
your adjusted weaning,
weights for the past few
years and' identify cows
that are continually pro-
ducing below herd aver-
age. Select the bottom 10
per cent to be added to
your list of .culling Candi-.
dates, they areonot gener-
ating as many dollars as
others in the herd and may
not be working efficiently.
If your cow, inventory is
still too high for your win-
ter feed inventory andpur-
chasing feed is .noteco»
nornicai: increase the num-'
ber of below average pro-
ducers •t0 be culled.
Heifers .represent large
investments in labor,leed
and 'managernent<.
Turn to page 6
it wag a great season for swimming this sunt
mor et the Lucknow anddistrict avvitnming
pool: The 'pool staff this year includes Tasha
Maier., Adella Andrew, . Caley Moore, Shelly
Johnston, Margo Abbott and April Numan*
(Livingston photo)