Farmers urged to make winter feeding plans

Oct 21, 2021

The temperatures outside might be still mild for the mid-fall but the winter season is closing in bringing challenges for farmers feeding livestock.

Today marks one month since fall officially began and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture is prodding farmers to get ahead start on their winter feeding plans.

"To start with it's good to get an inventory of what feed you have on hand," Jessica Smith, a livestock and feed extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, said. "Feed tests are important so you know the quality, and weighing your bales is also helpful so you know how much you need to put out there."

Due to the drought across the prairies this year, feed shortages are common and it's becoming increasingly tougher to find livestock feed.

"It's definitely more difficult than in a normal year," she said. "We're even hearing when you're wanting to order pellets, they're even back-ordered on that side of things too, so good to try to build up your inventory now if you're lacking feeds."

Smith stressed feed tests are key, especially this winter when producers don't have much margin for error in feed spoilage.

"Because then you know exactly what you're putting out, you're able to match what you're feeding to your animal's requirements so that you're not overfeeding, and you're saving on that feed stack," she said.

She reminded farmers to monitor livestock closely during the winter and if they're downgrading, closely examine what they're eating day-to-day.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.