EDITORIAL: QFA EDITORIAL :

Is your farm business worth transferring?

Chris Judd

QFA Vice-president

When we look around our communities and towns, most of us can find some very successful, multi-generational farm businesses. We can probably see many that started from scratch and turned only a few dollars and resources into quite a successful family farm. However, many of us can also remember some agricultural operations that didn’t make it through transferring to the younger generation.

Where did those unsuccessful farms go wrong? Or, more importantly, where did their neighbours “go right”? What is it that makes one farm flourish after being transferred, while another flounders? In both cases, did the owners look at the business’s current and potential financial positions? And did they consider the expectations of the future owner or partner? Perhaps the recipe for success lies in having a plan for the future, and asking the right questions about your farm operation.

Questions like “is the Net Farm Income decreasing or increasing?” How about considering the labour income per operator? Is the return on assets better than the bank rate? Is your savings account growing with each passing year? Are cash withdrawals increasing or decreasing? Are your soil tests showing that you’re maintaining the quality of the earth, or are you mining your soil to survive? Your debt-to-asset ratio could be around 50 per cent, but if you haven’t built a new barn or bought a whack of quota lately, then it would be healthier at under 25 per cent. Remember, our finances can always change thanks to circumstances beyond our control. If Canada doesn’t fare well and the upcoming WTO talks and quota values crash, what will happen to the average debt-to-asset ratio of our dairy farmers?

But the questions we have to ask ourselves to plan a successful farm transfer aren’t just about money. We also have to think about how we manage our farm. Is a “strategic business plan,” and a yearly financial analysis a priority that must be done, or would you rather not bother with such things? Do you “partial budget” before investing? Do you like working with people and managing employees, or would you rather not? At a management conference I once attended, it was wisely said that if you would rather do the job yourself than pay an employee $12 and hour then you have just set your own wage.

As you look to the future, check the basics: have you lots of water from a conveniently located well, or have some of the neighbours drilled some “dry holes”? Is there nearby land that may soon become available, or is it all tied up? Will your PAEF allow expansion? Is your manure storage big enough or easily expandable without relocating it? How about your livestock’s “genetic bank”? Can you put a plan in place to increase revenue 10 per cent per year and support more families? What about in ten or twenty years? Where will the industry be? How will your farm get there?

If you have read this far you are clearly concerned about the future of your farm, so it’s time to get involved in its transfer and to look at motives and goals. Ask yourself: do I really want this career? Do I want it on this farm in this business situation? Can I work with my dad, my son, my brother, or whoever it may be, to bring together a working business plan? And can I work with them all day, and then still work as a family at Sunday evening dinner? Can the whole family make it a priority to listen to each other’s desires and hopes and respect their thoughts and values? Can you “bare your soul” to your partners? You must know your partners’ thoughts and dreams well as you know your own―and spouses must be included too!

We must always think about our families as well as ourselves. Do you want a new 4 x 4 every year, or should you put that money towards indoor plumbing? Is it important for you that your children learn basic values by working with you on the farm? Can your spouse be happy on the farm or will you live in town? Will you be able to make decisions from day one, or will dad gradually hand over the reins? When dad retires, will you get the farm through a one time buy-out, or pay a regular monthly cheque? After handing over the business, will dad take off in a motor home? Will he want to come back and help as his health allows?

The time to talk it over is today! Many large farms started out with humble beginnings, but succeeded because their owners had a vision of where the farm had to be when the kids wanted to make their decision. Parents have been known to dismantle the farm because they didn’t think Johnny could run it; many viable farm businesses have been left idle because Johnny didn’t think it was worth taking over. No matter who is running it, your farm will look different in 20 years. You can decide who will be running the business.

Strahl relaxes imports and criticizes farm bill

Andrew McClelland

Advocate Staff Reporter

Canadian Minister of Agriculture Chuck Strahl had a few critical words for the United States Department of Agriculture earlier this month, citing that the newly proposed changes to the U.S. farm bill are still too generous to American agricultural producers.

“There's more discipline, but the amounts are still high,” Strahl said.

The minister was quick to add that he commends the United States’ attempts to slowly wean farmers off agricultural subsidies. However, price subsidies, which are giving some American farmers an unfair advantage on the world markets, are still a large part of the U.S. Farm Bill. That has many Canadian producers worrying that their net incomes will not rise from their current position—and many of the world’s leaders worrying that WTO talks will continue to stall if the U.S. refuses to budge.

On January 31, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced a new Farm Bill proposal that would change the way U.S. producers receive compensation from their government. Under current regulations, American farmers are compensated when the market prices for corn, wheat and other crops fall. However, the new plan proposes that those producers would only be remunerated when their own incomes begin to decline.

In a recent telephone interview with the Toronto Star, Minister Strahl noted that with a total price tag of $87-billion (U.S.) over the next five years, the Farm Bill still puts too much money in the hands of farmers.

Strahl noted that the Bush administration is trying to deflect recent claims made by Canada and other countries that the U.S. system of multi-billion dollar subsidies to its agricultural industry is illegal.

In January, the Canadian government made an official grievance to the WTO, accusing the U.S. of stimulating overproduction with its subsidies and driving market prices down. Other nations have joined Canada in the trade challenge, only one of many currently being made against the U.S. at the WTO.

“The Americans are looking for some friends internationally on trade,” Strahl noted.

Strahl mentioned that he sympathizes with his U.S. counterpart, however, explaining that Johanns will have a difficult time convincing the mainly Democrat Congress that subsidization for the nation’s farmers must be reduced.

The fact remains that the U.S. agriculture now faces opposition internationally. With several World Trade Organization challenges before it, the U.S. could be forced into cutting back its rich subsidy programs without gaining any major concessions or trading partners.

“We’ll see what Congress decides,” said Minister Strahl.

The U.S. handed out an estimated $21-billion to farmers last year, including $9-billion to corn producers. Other major beneficiaries include rice, cotton, wheat and soybean farmers.

Meanwhile, Strahl has been leading the way for the USDA’s relaxing regulations for older cattle imports by changing Canada’s own import regulations. In an official announcement on February 2, the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food stated that it would immediately allow greater access for ruminants entering Canada from south of the border.

“Canada’s new government is committed to protecting and supporting our agricultural industry and today's announcement is another example of how we are working to help producers take advantage of market opportunities,” said Strahl.

Now, U.S. cattle can enter Canada without any bluetongue-related import requirements. Furthermore, sheep, goats and other small ruminants, which were previously banned from entering Canada, will be able to be imported for breeding purposes under certain conditions.

“These changes reflect advances in Canada’s disease surveillance capacity, as well as the current international standards, which allow trade to flow as openly as possible while continuing to protect our food supply and the animal resources on which it is based,” Strahl added.

The USDA will present its decision on whether or not older cattle imports will be allowed in their country on March 12.

Mad cow disease strikes again

Andrew McClelland

Advocate Staff Reporter

Canada’s ninth discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy since the closing of the U.S. border was confirmed earlier this month. On February 7, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that a mature bull from Alberta had tested positive for the disease after dying on the farm a week before.

The carcass is now in the possession of the CFIA, who are assuring consumers and the country’s international trading partners that no part of the animal entered the human food chain or animal feed systems.

The CFIA declined to confirm where the animal died or its exact age, but early reports suggested that the bull was found on a farm in the northern Alberta. The agency’s official statement on the case allowed that “the age of the animal falls well within the age range of previous cases detected in Canada under the national BSE surveillance program.”

That could mean that the bull was exposed to a small amount of infective feed in the early stages of its life.

“Where the animal is found at the time of its death is not as important as where it lived in its first year of life,” said George Luterbach, the CFIA's senior veterinarian for Western Canada. “These animals are removed, destroyed, tested and disposed of in a manner that they do not enter the feed system.”

Luterbach stated that the agency is now looking for animals born within a year of the bull that may have been exposed to the same feed source as the infected animal.

The new BSE case could not have come at a worse time for Canadian beef producers. In January, the U.S. proposed opening its borders to Canadian cattle over 30 months old, a plan currently under public review.

However, Luterbach doesn’t expect that this new case of mad cow disease will negatively affect trade or regulations.

“We are open and transparent with the United States,” he said. “We do not expect that this will negatively impact any of the planned measures proposed.”

Farming the tradition on Calumet Island

Andrew McClelland

Advocate Staff Reporter

Beef producer Bob Griffin stands looking through his kitchen window at the tall metal pole on top of his silo. It’s a rainy, windy morning on Calumet Island, and the grey sky shows not sings of letting up.

“No, it’s not a lightning rod,” chuckles Griffin. “It was supposed to be a flag pole. But on this island it’s impossible to keep a Canadian flag up for more than three weeks. The wind tears it apart—and I’m not about to put a new one up there every time the wind blows it away!”

The wind and weather have always been a bit rough around L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet. Located in the Ottawa River between Campbell’s Bay on the Quebec side and Beachburg in Ontario, the island sits square in the middle of one of the river’s rockiest sets of rapids. During French rule in Lower Canada, soldiers and fur traders regularly had to portage their boats on the far banks; gaining access to the island was a feat for the courageous or the crazy. Local history has it that fur trader and woodsman Jean Cadieux buried himself on Grand Calumet after being pursued by the Iroquois for three days, and a stone monument built in dedication to the legend still stands at the town entrance.

The tiny island could once boast 17 dairy farms operating on it. Now, on its 132-square-kilometres, only one family farm deals in dairy. Griffin himself sold his quota in 2002.

The tradition of agriculture, and the family-run farm, has a long history on Calumet Island. The land that Griffin cultivates has been in the family since 1838, and he is the fifth generation of Griffins to farm its soil. With his wife Grieta, along with their three sons Brooke, Troy and Clay, and daughter Analee, Griffin farms an impressive amount of land. He recently purchased an additional 250 acres to add to the original 700-acre parcel, and rents 200 acres more from his brothers. The Griffins pasture their cow-calf herd of 100 on this land and keep the rest for cash crop.

History is a great part of what keeps Griffin going. Driving along the dirt roads of the island, he points out a faded road sign telling drivers that they are entering into the area of Grand Calumet known as Tancredia.

“That’s named after a settler named Tancrede Tremblay,” says Griffin. “He’s buried right here on the island, in the Catholic cemetery—the Sainte Anne cemetery.”

The Sainte Anne church in the middle of what could be called “downtown” Calumet Island faces across the Outaouais River into Campbell’s Bay, and has the distinction of being the oldest parish in Pontiac county. Built in 1869, the stone church is frequently pictured in the paintings of Gerald Trottier, Grand Calumet’s famous religious artist. For Bob Griffin, the church holds a wealth of memories from the past.

“In that house there was a woman who did some kind of miracle cures,” recounts Griffin, pointing to a humble grey stone house that seems to match the St. Anne church. “Locals always said that she could remove warts, and people from all around would go to her. I never believed it myself. But one day I went to her house, and sure enough, within the next few days the wart that I had cleared right up. I still don’t know how she did it. Even today, I almost don’t believe it.”

Today, Grand Calumet becomes a hotspot for tourists from both Quebec and Ontario, with cottagers and visitors filling out the island’s predominantly agricultural population in the summer months. The turbulent Rocher Fendu rapids have made the island a great attraction to white water rafters and canoeists. But its backbone is still in farming, and that is a future that Griffin believes is worth fighting for.

“I’m not sure what the future of agriculture is going to bring,” muses Griffin. “When you’re selling cattle at the same price as you were 20 years ago, there’s something wrong with the marketing system.”

That’s something Griffin and many farmers in the Pontiac and Outaouais hope to change with the establishment of the Outaouais Valley Fine Meats Co-operative. The producers’ co-op hopes to bring an abattoir and processing facility to the town of Shawville, so local farmers can market and sell their product directly to the consumer.

“If farmers want to make it better for themselves, they have to work together, and try to stick together,” says Griffin. “We’ve got to get rid of the middlemen in the beef business.”

Amidst all the turbulence and innovation in today’s farming, one thing is for certain: in the Pontiac—and on the rocky shores and rich fields of Calumet Island—the winds of change will never stop blowing.

On the Good Ship Conservative

Barry Wilson

Advocate Canadian and World Agriculture Reporter

In the nautical world, it is common from time-to-time to haul the vessel into dry dock for some inspections and repairs if necessary.

So consider the past few winter months a chance for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a year in office this month, to haul the Good Ship Conservative into the quay for a check on its seaworthiness, its weak spots and its strengths.

It has been a successful year-long voyage in many ways—accountability, decisiveness, tax cuts, not being Liberal—but also there were stormy seas from weak second mates and a resolute captain insisting on steering to the shoals despite warnings of turbulent seas caused by global warming and the hot air winds that blew around the issue.

Few parts of the dry dock inspection will be as crucial as the assessment of how Good Ship Conservative can be reinforced to ensure it can hold the ten rural Quebec seats the Conservatives won in 2006 and build on them.

Conventional political wisdom is that the road to a renewed Harper-Conservative government leads through Quebec like a Duplessis-era pre-election highway and with Liberals holding close to a lock on most federalist Montreal-area seats, the battleground next time will be seats outside the metropolis.

In other words, the Conservative adversary in Quebec is more the Bloc Québécois MPs who tend their rural pastures well, rather than urban Liberals whose flocks tend to be more ethnic, English and content to graze inside familiar fences.

The Conservative Quebec dry dock repair began with the Harper decision that Jacques Gourde would no longer be the main face of the government to Quebec farmers. Gourde, a farmer once touted as a rising star who simply needed some seasoning, was appointed a year ago as parliamentary secretary to English unilingual agriculture minister Chuck Strahl. His job was to represent the open face of modern Conservatism to Quebec, to stress its respect for Quebec farm programs and its support for the all-important supply managed sector.

Instead, Gourde became a lightning rod for critics, an MP who fared poorly in the cut-and-thrust of parliamentary debate, contributed little to parliamentary committees, resorted to crude gestures when heckled in the House of Commons and alienated Quebec farm leaders he was supposed to be enchanting.

Meanwhile, Bloc MPs were making hay with what they said was federal insensitivity to the impact of low grain prices on Quebec farmers. And trade minister David Emerson did not help the cause when he ruminated in a pre-Christmas interview that Canada’s trade negotiating stance must be geared more to promoting export sectors rather than defending sensitive industries like dairy.

Critics pounced, proclaiming this the blueprint for giving up on supply management at trade talks. Bloc MPs were among the baying hounds in rural Quebec.

The government responded with a panicky, off-the-point clarification. Conservatives support supply management, it said, without ever suggesting the trade minister had not cast the shadow that he cast.

It leaves the Conservatives vulnerable to critics’ spinning their worst scenarios in rural Quebec.

Enter 33-year-old Christian Paradis, a Thetford Mines lawyer with little obvious agricultural credential. In early January, he was elevated to the rank of secretary of state for agriculture, essentially a junior cabinet position with the mandate to convince Quebec farmers and their rural supporters that the federal government is sympathetic.

Can Paradis do better than Gourde in fending off the critics and selling the message? Will there be smooth sailing ahead for the Good Ship Conservative? Captain Harper’s Conservatives can only hope so. Some crucial seats are at stake whenever the writ is dropped.

Barry Wilson grew up on a West Quebec farm and has spent more than a

quarter century covering agricultural, rural and trade issues on Parliament

Hill as National Correspondent for The Western Producer newspaper.

Ross and Alleda Nixon: a Townships V alentine

Claudia Villemaire

Advocate Eastern Townships Reporter

They were married in the early fall of 1943, the blush of red and gold forming the backdrop for a simple wedding in a tiny country church. Ross and Alleda Nixon, courting for just under a year, decided they might as well get married. “It seemed the natural thing to do,” recalls Ross, still scanning his memory for the event that prompted him to propose.

“I really can't remember if it was a special day or a special event. It seemed more like a foregone conclusion,” he recalls, a slow smile lighting his eyes as he fondly looks at his bride of 63 years. “I think Alleda asked her mother if it would be okay if we were to marry, but I didn't ask her father. We had dropped that tradition in those days,” he laughs.

“Actually I met him at a dance in South Durham,” Alleda muses. Ross chimes in: “Yes, another girl asked me to dance, and apparently Alleda had asked her to tell me she would like to dance with me,” he says. The memories of those first years together now bring a slow smile to his face.

The young couple moved onto the Nixon family farm where father Dan and mother Laura had worked their living from the land and a herd of dairy cows. “We lived with my parents for three years,” remembers Ross. “We had the use of their car when necessary, but when they moved to Melbourne the car went with them, and our travelling was all done by horse and wagon.”

Just over a year later Rodney, their first child, was born. Seven more babies would follow on this farm where a herd of Jerseys, a farrow to finish hog production, a flock of sheep and 1,500 laying hens would take their turn at keeping this expanding family solvent.

“Those babies kept popping along,” Alleda remembers, her infectious laugh resounding in the tiny apartment they share at the Wales Home in Richmond. “I always blamed the train whistle we would hear almost every night. It was either just as we were drifting off to sleep around 10:30 p.m. or it would wake us around 5:00 a.m—too early to get up and too late to go back to sleep.” They both laugh and nod at this revelation as though they had just figured out the reason for such a big family. “But you know, there were several families right around us who also had eight or nine children and we all blamed it on the night trains you could set your clock by.” Her chuckle is deep now, her blue eyes twinkling.

Ross worked with a passion during those tough years when payment for milk or hogs or eggs was almost an insulting pittance. Both he and Alleda went to work off the farm; Alleda to the Wales Home staff and Ross to Bombardier in Valcourt. “I worked that night shift for ten years, and Alleda worked at the home, spending two evenings a week peddling eggs to private customers,” he recalls. “Making ends meet for such a big family wasn't easy, but today we thank the good Lord for every one of them. They are a great joy to us both.”

Alleda nods and chuckles again, showing off photos of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Bursting with a multitude of talents, this intrepid woman never refused a request for wedding cakes, handmade quilts, artistic silhouettes cut from wood or paper, and gala decorations for local showers or parties. Most Townshippers will recognize Alleda's prowess for writing up the “Wales Home News” in the Sherbrooke Record and the Outlet. But few realize her talents include writing skits, plays and dozens of poems, all laced with wry wit and humour. “When I was a bit annoyed with Ross, I would write a poem about the situation. Oh yes, I've kept them all!" she admits.

“Most of the family went west,” Ross explains. Just one daughter and her husband live in Richmond now. “So, we decided to sell the farm lock, stock and barrel, and move to town. I never have regretted the move or missed living in the country.”

They lived in Melbourne in the same house the old folks had moved to so long ago, until making the move to the Wales Home where they've lived for over ten years.

“Yes, it doesn't seem possible. Sixty-three years we've been together and we've had no major arguments. We've each done pretty well what we wanted, always for the common good and waking to that train whistle helped to make our home a happy place to be,” Alleda says, with a serious chuckle echoing after a moment. “My knees are wobbly and Ross sometimes forgets things, but life is good.”

“Now snuggle up and we'll take a photo,” this reporter suggests.

“What? You mean put my arm around her and look romantic? I don't think I remember how to do that,” Ross quips. Then in the background, almost a whisper, we hear something…

“There must be a train coming round the bend, I'm sure I heard the whistle,” and that chuckle reverberates again as we catch a 63-year-old love light in a pair of blue eyes and a smile that tells the whole story.

Gaspé f arm develops fish compost

Back in the mid 1980s, money was tight on Pinecrest Farms, a 1000-acre beef and dairy farm owned by brothers Joey and Garry Hayes of Shigawake, in Quebec's Gaspé region. But the two were determined to diversify their operation.

What happened back then was the development of an idea for a compost mix, which today, is spreading throughout the world. The brothers thought about the manure on their beef and dairy farm and they knew about peat bogs and fish processing plants in the area.

Their idea? A compost mix that uses fish offals (fish scraps) mixed with peat moss and livestock manure, a perfect nutrient rich combination to ensure strong plant development.

It all began as far back as 1980 when the Hayes brothers experimented with fish as a soil conditioner. They discovered it was a powerful nutrient for cereal crops such as oats and barley.

Eventually they worked with Agriculture and AgriFood Canada (AAFC) to develop the product, sold under the trade name “Seagro” and every year for the past four years, sales have doubled.

Why has Seagro proven to be so effective? Joey Hayes, who handles marketing, explains: “Traditional fertilizer can more easily evaporate when it rains or in very windy conditions. Not only do you lose your fertilizer, the resulting runoff can cause environmental problems.”

But the addition of peat and the blending of the various materials (composting) produces a much more stable product, staying in the soil for up to two to three years. Nutrients are released slowly, with plants taking the nutrients as needed. The result, says Joey, is, “improved drainage, aeration and nutrient retention.”

The composting is done naturally with no chemicals added, black earth is not used as filler and the natural ingredients help increase the biological life of the soil.

Seagro is not without competitors. Peat moss developers have caught on to the idea of composting and are now marketing various value-added products. Seagro, says Joey Hayes, was doing composting from the beginning and that early adoption has helped it stay highly competitive today.

With such a great environmentally-friendly product, you would think garden supply stores would have been begging to stock bags of Seagro. But in the beginning, it didn't work that way.

Distributorships, the only way to go

“To deliver our product to stores, we had to drive bags down by the van load,” said Garry Hayes, who oversees the production part of the business. “But we found garden centres to be reluctant to pay for the transportation, cutting into their profits.” The retail average is to sell for twice the amount of cost, but if transportation costs are too high, that becomes difficult to do. Retail outlets are also reluctant to purchase too much stock for fear of it not selling and taking up valuable space.

The solution? “We're trying to sell distributorships. That way, bags can be warehoused locally and sold to stores as needed.”

Today, Seagro has distributorships in Toronto, the Atlantic provinces, the United States and Singapore. Each markets Seagro's three main product lines: marine compost mix, grower mix and potting soil.

For more information on farm management, consult the web site of the Canadian Farm Business Management Council at www.farmcentre.com

Transport hay—there’s rules to follow

When you are dealing with marketing hay, you must also take into account its loading and transport. While the size of bales, their density and storage are important factors to consider for any farmer wishing to sell hay, transportation is also an essential aspect. Therefore, before hopping into your pick-up loaded with hay, you had better be sure you’re following the rules.

As explained by Guy Desrosiers, an officer working for the Service de la normalisation technique, a division of Transports-Quebec (MTQ), rules can also change periodically. And this is precisely the case with regard to the transportation of goods by road, where the regulations were modified in July 2005. For anyone who ignores these rules, there could be some unhappy consequences.

According to Order in Council 583-2005, published on June 29, 2005 in the Gazette officielle du Québec, there is now a distinction made between light vehicles (that is, a truck or pick-up weighing 3,000 kg or less) and heavy vehicles, weighing more than 3,000 kg. This classification can also cause confusion, because there are pick-up trucks in both categories. It is therefore important to know to which group your vehicle belongs.

Loading cargo

According to the law, any cargo transported in or on a vehicle, hay included, must be immobilized or stowed in a manner to prevent it from falling, overturning, becoming unfastened from the vehicle, from being blown away by the wind or shifting in a way to compromise the stability or maneuverability of the vehicle. Also, since a pick-up has sides, it can be considered as a confined-cargo vehicle, which means that the tie-down system must be strong enough to resist the forces that could come into play if the sides are too low or too weak during transport.

The securing system used to tie down cargo in a pick-up must always be appropriate for the type of use. Therefore, for the transportation of hay bales, ropes may be used; or straps, which are even stronger.

A question of common sense

According to the current regulations, a load of hay must be firmly immobilized or tied down in the transporting vehicle, by means of a structure of adequate strength, a blocking device, stiffeners, supports, tie-downs or a combination of the above. Although fittings and other equipment may be necessary to accomplish this, it is not necessary to modify the vehicle, at least for pick-up trucks weighing 3,000 kg or more. In this case, it is not necessary to equip the vehicle with additional suspension or higher performing brakes. However, if your pick-up is in the 3,000 kg or less category, it might be a good idea to do this in order to avoid premature wear or breakage.

It should be noted that, according to article 474 of the Highway Safety Code, a police officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that the load on a vehicle represents a danger can demand that the vehicle be driven to a convenient location for inspection, at the owner’s expense, until the situation has been corrected. It is therefore better to ensure that the bales are tied down in a manner above reproach.

Desrosiers sums up that for the transport of hay, the bottom line is to use common sense to guide your safety measures. “Farmers are given enough leeway concerning transportation. Many methods are accepted during police inspections, as long as they are safe and well-suited.”

This article was originally published in Utili-Terre magazine.

Vaccination protocol changes for feeder calves

Eve Martin, agronome

Development agent and feeder calf marketing

André Cécyre, veterinarian

FPBQ veterinarian expertise programme

Since October 2003, all calves sold through specialized auctions have to have been vaccinated according to the vaccination protocol recommended by the Fédération des producteurs de bovines du Québec (FPBQ). The objective of this mandatory vaccination is to improve the immune response of calves before they enter the feedlots.

Quebec is at the forefront of the industry with its mandatory programme, but other provinces are quickly following suit. The number of specialized auctions reserved for vaccinated calves is on the increase, as much in the West as in Ontario. The vaccination programmes proposed during these auctions should enable the calves to develop a more thorough immunity before they enter the feedlots. It’s been noticed that certain protocols seem to be better adapted to buyers’ needs than the ones proposed by Quebec. In order to adapt the vaccination programme when the calves arrive at the feedlot, buyers look for calves with a similar immune status, no matter where they come from.

This situation, along with other issues raised by Quebec industry partners, prompted the feeder calf marketing committee to undergo a serious revision of the current feeder calf vaccination programmes.

Once the research process was completed, the producers who are members of the feeder calf marketing committee decided to revise the vaccination protocol and to modify the programmes for feeder calves sold through the specialized auctions, starting in January 2008.The new protocol is aimed at offering calves at specialized auctions whose immunity is more complete. Table 2 shows the modifications, which will come into effect starting January 2008.

Table 1- The current vaccination protocol for feeder calves for the specialized auctions, 2006-2007 season.

Table 2- The new vaccination protocol for feeder calves sold through specialized auctions, starting January 1 ^st , 2008.

The disappearance of programmes 1 and 3 has become necessary because, even though the vaccination is done under the proper conditions, these programmes do not enable the calves to develop as complete an immunity as with programmes 2 and 4―and even the latter had to be modified.

For example, the younger the animals are vaccinated, the shorter their immunity will last! Our current state of knowledge confirms that calves which are vaccinated young must absolutely have a booster at weaning in order to be protected when they enter the feedlots.

The simplification of the protocol aims to ensure that calves sold through the specialized auctions have a more complete immune status. Moreover, these two programmes will enable some testing and data gathering based on random blood tests in order to measure the levels of antibodies.

We would like to remind you that the regional annual meetings for beef production have begun and that they are an excellent venue to discuss the main issues of the cow-calf sector, namely vaccination.

We’ll be expecting you in large numbers at the annual general meetings of the regional beef syndicates. Here are the dates, places and times of the meetings. We look forward to seeing you there!