Dry Conditions Also Affecting Livestock Producers

 

Similar to grain farmers, livestock producers are also feeling the effects of the dry weather.

 

Manitoba Beef Producers General Manager Brian Lemon shared some of his concerns.

 

"Concern about how fast the grass is coming and how much nutrients there is out there and how much food there actually is on the pastures and how quick it's going to start growing," he said. "Anytime we're putting cattle out on pasture, if there isn't enough food out there, then we're looking at supplementing it somehow, so those are all feed costs that aren't typical and certainly don't help producers with their bottom line."

 

Lemon says a lack of rain means that hay production is going to be slow and late. He adds the increased risk of fire is also concerning.

 

Video: How the corn-soy diet transformed swine nutrition

At the 2026 ASAS Midwest Section meeting, Dr. Robert Easter, professor emeritus of swine nutrition at the University of Illinois, spoke at the U.S. Soy sponsored Swine Application Symposium, offering a historical perspective on one of the most important developments in modern pig production: the corn-soybean meal diet. What today is considered a foundational feeding strategy was not always obvious or even accepted.