Sheep and Goat Production

Sheep and Goat Production

Discussing current topics in Ontario sheep and goat production

All posts by Delma Kennedy

Wide Swath Haylage

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in ForageLeave a Reply

This article was originally posted on Field Crop News. Written by Joel Bagg. Wide swath haylage to achieve “haylage-in-a-day” and improve forage quality is a management practice that more dairy farmers in Ontario are adopting. This is contrary to the more traditional practice of using the mower-conditioner to place the swath in a narrow windrow for a day or two of wilting, and then chop directly. Wide swath haylage requires some innovation and significant changes in both equipment and management, but research indicates that improvements in forage quality can be quite impressive. Respiration Losses Rapid wilting after cutting is critical to minimize the often significant respiration losses of sugars in high quality haylage. This is especially true for higher yielding…

Read

Packing and Covering Bunker Silos

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in ForageLeave a Reply

This article was originally posted on Field Crop News. Written by Joel Bagg. Bunker silos offer many advantages over tower silos for the storage of haylage and corn silage, but require careful management to minimize fermentation and spoilage losses. Along with proper harvest moisture, length-of-cut and the use of a research proven silage inoculant, additional attention must be applied to proper site selection, sizing, filling, packing, covering, rodent control and feed-out of horizontal silos. The invisible dry matter and quality losses as a result of poor packing and covering, in addition to the more visible spoilage losses are much more significant than we realize. With high production costs and forage values, these losses are expensive! Fill Rapidly Filling silos as rapidly as…

Read

Frost Damaged Corn and Post-Emergent Herbicide Applications

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in ForageLeave a Reply

This article was originally posted on Field Crop News. Written by Mike Cowbrough. With three consecutive days of morning frost in many parts of the province, the two most common questions are 1) Will the corn be alright? and 2) When can I start to apply herbicides? Frost injury on the morning of May 27th, 2013. The third morning in a row with frost. Question 1 is answered nicely by Greg Stewart in this story (the abbreviated version is that things will be fine but if you are nervous person like me its best to go away for a week before you look at the field again).  But when is it alright to go in and make herbicide applications in corn…

Read

Spring Frost Damaged Alfalfa

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in ForageLeave a Reply

This article was originally posted on Field Crop News Written by Joel Bagg. Alfalfa frost damage can sometimes occur in the spring after growth has started, resulting in damaged growing points. Some wilting can be visible about 24 hours after frost or some yellowish or brownish discolouration 3 or 4 days later. The top of the stems will typically bend over with a “shepherd’s hook”. Damage is often minimal and plants will grow out of it, but some yield loss and development delay can result. Thin alfalfa stands are more susceptible to frost damage. “Light Frost” Damage The extent of frost damage to the alfalfa will depend on the severity of the freezing. Temperatures in the plant canopy level are usually…

Read

Handbook for the Control of Internal Parasites of Sheep and Goats

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in Health & Nutrition2 Replies

If you are planning to pasture your flock, it is a good time to review your parasite control program.  Several research projects have been conducted in Ontario over the past 4 years in order to understand the effect of lambing season on the periparturient egg rise, the overwintering survival of gastrointestinal on Ontario pastures and to determine the level of  anthelmintic resistance in Ontario sheep flocks.  The information learned from these projects has been incorporated into a handbook.   This handbook covers the basics of controlling internal parasites of sheep and goats in Canada. Click on the link below to access information from the handbook: Handbook for the Control of Internal Parasites of Sheep and Goats

Alberta Lamb Producers Management Modules

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in Health & Nutrition, ReproductionLeave a Reply

The Alberta Lamb Producers have worked with Alberta Agriculture and other organizations to create comprehensive management modules.  The modules that have been created to date are:  The Busine$$ of Sheep and Flock Snapshot, Sheep and Goat Management in Alberta – Reproduction, Sheep and Goat Management in Alberta – Health and Sheep and Goat Management in Alberta – Nutrition.  These modules can be downloaded from the Alberta Lamb Producers website.  To view the web page, click the link below: Alberta Lamb Producers Management Modules Web Page

Market trends and perspectives for sheep meat in the world and Quebec

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in UncategorizedLeave a Reply

Baba Amina Khelil, M.Sc., Agronomist and Marie Ève Tremblay, B.Sc., Director General of the Federation of lamb and sheep producers in Quebec (la Fédération des producteurs d’agneaux et moutons du Québec) recently published a presentation on market trends and perspectives for sheep meat in the world and Quebec.  This presentation outlines a brief history of sheep production, flock size and marketing in New Zealand, France and Quebec. Some interesting information from this presentation is as follows: Page 6 graph shows the change in export volume, production and export value in New Zealand lamb from 2003 to 2011.  2008 shows a peak in production and exports with a slow decrease in both production and exports from then through 2011. New Zealand…

Read

Understanding Lamb Mortality

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in Health & NutritionLeave a Reply

The Ontario lamb industry consists of diverse production systems, breeds and markets. This diversity creates many opportunities but makes it more difficult for producers to determine what production results are “normal” or “good.” Every flock has lamb mortality. Because there are so many reasons lambs do not survive, it is difficult to determine what changes in a flock could improve lamb survival. Even when post-mortems are done on all dead lambs, the results are often inconclusive. An extensive 1999-2000 health study done in Quebec (Belanger, 2001) found that 68% of the post-mortems conducted on lambs that died in the first 2 days of life were inconclusive. Here is a link to a factsheet produced by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture,…

Read

Forage Report – August 23, 2012

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in Health & NutritionLeave a Reply

Report originally posted on Field Crop News by Joel Bagg Cutting Alfalfa This Fall? With reduced forage inventories, it will be very tempting to cut some alfalfa this fall. The decision and the immediate need for forage should be weighed against the increased risk of alfalfa winterkill. The Critical Fall Harvest Period for alfalfa is the 6-week rest period preceding the average date of killing frost. Not cutting during this period allows alfalfa plants to re-grow and build up sufficient root reserves to survive the winter and grow more aggressively in the spring. When cut, early in the period the alfalfa will use the existing root reserves for regrowth, “emptying the tank”. Later in the period, the alfalfa uses photosynthesis…

Read

2011 Genetics Survey Results

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in GeneticsLeave a Reply

A 2011 Genetics survey was circulated to GenOvis participants and to the general industry in English and in French.  This survey was done to gather information for the research project “Genetic evaluation and selection tools for profitability improvement in Canadian sheep production” underway at the Center for the Genetic Improvement of Livestock at the University of Guelph with funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency and the Centre D’expertise en Production Ovine du Quebec. The response to the survey was excellent with a total of 375 surveys completed. 78 GenOvis participant surveys and 297 industry surveys were filled out.  The average flock size of those participating was 208 ewes with representation…

Read