Drought

Alberta Tame Pasture Scorecard

click here for Government of Alberta/AFSC news release: Producers to benefit from greater flexibility on 2009 crop insurance

Assessing Drought Management Strategies for Cattle

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/econ12721 This one is from the Alberta Agriculture’s Ropin’ the Web web site.

Drought on Grazing Livestock

http://www1.foragebeef.ca/$foragebeef/frgebeef.nsf/all/ccf78 This is from the Forage Beef.ca web site of the Western Forage/Beef Group out of Lacombe in Central Alberta. The page also has links to over a dozen other papers relating to drought management.

For those interested in the other resource papers from Forage Beef.ca their home page is: http://www.foragebeef.ca/app33/foragebeef/index_body.jsp

Alberta Environment’s Rainfall Website

Keeping dry pastures in good shape

One issue many cattle producers are facing due to the dry conditions is feeding their animals and how best to manage their pastures. Caitlynn Reesor, of Alberta Agriculture’s Call of the Land radio program caught up with Ken Ziegler, beef forage specialist at the Ag-Info Centre, at the “Knowing Your Options” meeting in Ponoka, to find out the keys to keeping pastures in as good a shape as possible. Click on the link below to go to the Call of the Land website and the audio link.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/newslett.nsf/all/cotl15185

Click here for the list of special producer meetings - Managing Dry Spring Conditions.

More “Understanding Your Options” meetings have been added to help livestock producers faced with dry conditions. There will be a meeting at the Vegreville Elks Hall on Thursday, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Meetings are also in the works for July 2 and 3 in the Grande Prairie and Peace River areas, again from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Bill Chapman, crop business development specialist with Alberta Agriculture, says meetings have gone well so far. Meetings this week are as follows: tonight at the Buck Creek Community Hall in Drayton Valley, tomorrow at the Westlock Inn, Wednesday at the Senior Citizens’ Hall in St. Paul, and Thursday at the Elks Hall in Vegreville. Meetings run from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., except for Vegreville, which runs from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. To listen to the Call of the Land program on the meetings, go to http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/newslett.nsf/all/cotl15188

Click here to listen to a Call of the Land interview with Grant Lastiwka on the dry conditions and how the Alberta Government website can help producers find hay, straw and pasture.

Click here for a list of pasture, straw and hay listings through Alberta Agriculture. This list is for producers to post pasture, straw and hay for sale or as wanted.

Click here for help on making drought management decisions during the summer.

For producers looking for information on proper cattle care during the drought, please go to the Alberta Farm Animal Care website at www.afac.ab.ca or call 1-800-506-2273.

Grazing Drought Management

The severity of drought conditions, particularly in Southern Alberta, will affect grazing options for livestock producers. Three fact sheets will provide landowners with information on rangeland health and litter reserves.

Thank you to Public Lands Branch, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development for permission to post these factsheets.