B-C Ranch & CJ Ranching Field Day held in July near Meadow Lake, SK.  Photo: Bluesette Campbell

It was a blessing to bring everyone together to reconnect, to share and to learn.  Here's to more of that in the weeks, months and years to come. 

The two words that stand out this summer are hot and dry. This has created some” interesting” conditions to manage.

I have had the privilege of seeing a good percentage of Saskatchewan and all of Manitoba in the last few weeks. What I see as I drive is management does matter and soil health does increase resiliency. Side by side you see one crop faltering and right beside it the other looks much better. I see similar conditions with grazing, one bare and cattle hungry, the other still reasonable considering the conditions.

In both cropping and grazing, we need to remember the four ecosystem processes. We have to capture sunlight, have an effective mineral and water cycle, and encourage diversity of all species.

Specifically, in cropping the principles are: keep the land covered, keep a living root as long as possible, minimize tillage, increase diversity and incorporate livestock. Tillage has been very negative this year and in a many cases it dried out the soil profile resulting in poor emergence and less moisture available. I have seen many crops with diversity (8 or more species) that are somehow holding on where, right beside, the monoculture crops are poor or dying. My observations are telling me that less tillage and more diversity in cropping are paying big dividends this year.

In grazing, the principles of drought management are to combine herds and slow down, grazing more severely. These two actions give the plants more time to recover. Combining herds to one and slowing down will give you more days of recovery. In dry conditions grass grows very slowly so more recovery time is critical.

The other principle is to cull the herd early if you will be short of grass.  The earlier you cull, the less you have to cull. If you are getting worried do some measurements and calculate out how many days of grazing you have left. Be realistic and make a decision. Procrastination is your worst enemy. The sooner you cull the better off you will be. 

If you feel you will be short, get a neighbour or a holistic educator to come and help you make decisions. Many heads are better than one when making decision like this. 

Most areas will be tight for feed and it will be pricey. Look for alternate sources. See if you could get on some neighbours stubble after harvest or earlier if his crops are written off. Take a serious look at chaff collection. Read this pdf from Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture about the economics of chaff and collection.

Drought can be overwhelming. You are not alone. It is a huge area that is being affected. Get some help and come up with a plan to make it till next spring.
Take the opportunity to observe. Adverse conditions are always better teachers than good conditions. Try to figure out why that area is so much better than the rest of the field.

These conditions can be hard on us mentally as well. So take care of yourselves. Take some time for family time. You are the single most important part of the business. Do some maintenance on yourself!!!

 Enjoy the challenge!
 

 

John and Deanne Chuiko sharing their story at the B-C Ranch & CJ Ranching Field Day.  Photo: Bluesette Campbell