The Rural Voice, 1998-09, Page 23have started selling off yearlings. At
the end of August farmers were
getting $0.98-$1.08 per pound for
yearlings off grass, that's close to six
cents less than last year. And a cow -
calf pair is now selling for close to
$1,000.
Kuhl expects prices to drop in the
fall when farmers begin a tough
culling program for their cows.
Doug Dickie, livestock advisor at
the Markdale OMAFRA office
agrees. Due to the severe pasture
situation in Bruce County, Dickie
said, most of the decisions farmers
make to move their cattle is based on
the amount of hay they have.
Finding hay and feed for livestock
is proving to be a serious problem.
Carl Spencer, a beef producer in
Tara, has started supplementing his
cattle's feed.
"We don't have enough winter's
feed, we're feeding winter feed
now," he said.
Spencer said they haven't had to
sell any of their cattle yet because
thcy have been rotating them on
pasture, "but there's only so long you
can shuffle them for," said Spencer.
With his second cut of hay a third
of what it usually is, Spencer is
looking for feeding alternatives, such
as oat straw or corn stover, because
he knows he won't have enough feed
come March. He is afraid the hay
will be in short supply. Even if there
is enough hay to go around, Spencer
wonders if farmers will be able to
pay the steep prices for it. Hay is
rumored to be selling for $40 per four
by five foot round bale.
Joan McKinlay, a soil and crop
advisor at the Markdale OMAFRA
office, said it is the farmers with
livestock who have suffered due to
the disastrous forage crops. On the
other hand, some crops have done
well this year despite the poor
weather conditions, she said. Winter
wheat crops including both hard and
soft red varieties had an average to an
above average crop this year, spring
canola and cereals were also good
crops.
McKinlay attributed their success
to the fact that they were planted in
the early early spring and had a
chance to develop good root systems.
She said aside from the forage and
corn crops, soybeans have also been
affected. Farmers won't know until
they harvest their soybean fields how
badly the crop has been affected.
McKinlay said, for the most part corn
is stunted with little pollination.
There are many corn fields
throughout the counties where the
corn has not developed a cob.
Even without a cob there remain a
lot of nutrients in the stalks,
according to Brian Hall, soil and crop
advisor for OMAFRA in Clinton. He
said 70 per cent of the feed value in
corn is in the stalk, so if the corn
can't be used for seed it can be
turned into silage.
However, both Hall and McKinlay
warn farmers in the worst drought -
stricken areas to watch their corn.
When corn is stressed it increases the
number of nitrates in the plant.
Farmers should be cautious about
feeding corn directly to their cattle
because it can be toxic. Once corn is
made into silage it decreases the rate
of nitrates. In the silo, farmers have
to be cautious of silo gases produced
by corn.
Hall said, despite the little rain,
barley and oats in Huron County had
a good average crop. Barely crops
yielded 70-80 bushels per acre and
90-110 bushels per acre for oats.
One farmer in the central part of
Huron County who keeps rainfall
records for OMAFRA noted that in
terms of rainfall the drought has been
worse this year than in 1988.
Between May and July in '88, 90 mm
of rain fell but in the same period this
year the township received 41 mm.
Realizing the drought has already
done the worst of its damage, farmers
arc looking to their insurance
companies for help. Murray Emke,
one of Agricorp's territory managers
for Bruce County and parts of Grey
County, said insurance adjusters are
out looking at corn fields in his arca.
For farmers who took out coverage
on their corn fields and will be not be
able to harvest the grain due to the
drought, their insurance program will
be adjusted, if they decide to turn it
into silage instead.
Bill Quipp, Agricorp area
representative for south Huron
County, said of the farmers with corn
crop in the three counties affected by
the drought, 1,200 farmers will be
eligible for an adjustment.
The problem Agricorp is facing is
that its forage crop insurance
program has not been effective so
many fanners didn't take out forage
insurance for this year. A forage
review committee consisting of
farmers, representatives from
Agricorp, OFA, members of the
various associations such as, cattle,
soil and crop and dairy are looking
into ways to improve the forage
insurance program for next year.
The problem farmers sec with
Agricorp's forage program is that it
Cattle on Lloyd and Pat Mitchell's farm near Annan, can' t find green pasture.
SEPTEMBER 1998 19