Top experts to speak at Manitoba Beef and Forage event – SteinbachOnline.com

The Manitoba Beef and Feed Conference is set to take place Wednesday at the William Glesby Center in Portage la Prairie, where a full range of ag business booths will be available to producers across the Prairies.

The conference is a popular event where local producers and industry experts from across the region discuss the application of research on farms. Feed and livestock specialist Sean Kabak is one of the speakers and notes that the site will be full of agribusiness booths for producers to visit.

“We have a high-profile speaker schedule, including Dr. Frank Mitlener from the University of California, Davis. He will talk about climate-smart livestock farming: separating science from scare tactics. After Mitlener, we have Patty Duran of Brighttrack Consulting discussing strategies for negotiating low-stress family succession planning. Dr. Cheryl Walter from the University of Saskatchewan will present “Investigating Effective Strategies for Controlling Johne’s Disease in Western Canadian Cow Herds.” Manitoba Agriculture talks about protecting your bottom line and incorporating business risk management tools into your day-to-day operations.”

Kabak notes that many of the speakers collaborated with producers, including Birtle’s Tyler Fulton, who is vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

“He will also be discussing a similar topic. Dr. Stephanie Hansen from Iowa State University will talk about smart minerals and vitamins for feeding stronger beef herds. Another session, “Keeping the Wolf at the Door,” will focus on tools and techniques. to reduce damage from wolves, presented by an expert from Minnesota. Concluding the conference, Dr. John Basarab from the University of Alberta will discuss genomic strategies for improving beef cattle productivity in a changing environment.”

Kabak says these topics are very relevant to beef and cattle producers and says the information will be relevant to ranchers across the province and across the Prairies.

“We are starting to see raids being carried out. Right now a lot of cattle are coming off the pastures and cows are being weaned and sold either directly or in the background. We have a really strong cattle market right now. In the spring we saw record prices for feed, fat and cull cows. The market remains strong, perhaps not as hot as in the spring, but still very good prices. It has brought some positivity to the industry, which is great to see.”

Kabak adds that Manitoba has had plenty of feed supplies this year thanks to above-average humidity across much of the province.

“We have a lot of feed for producers. Some may not be of the best quality, so we encourage producers to monitor feed testing to ensure their diets are balanced. There are many different feeds that can be used for cows, as long as the nutrients are properly balanced.”

The day’s events will begin at 8:00 am.