Fluctuation In Temps Creating Challenges For Livestock Producers

Feb 04, 2022

The cold snap is creating challenges for livestock producers.

Carson Callum is the general manager of Manitoba Beef Producers.

"This cold weather really results in cattle eating or requiring a lot more feed," he said. "We were already in a feed deficit going into the winter and producers having to source a lot of external feed and this long stretch of cold weather is just adding to that demand on each individual operation. That's the main challenge among other things. Trying to ensure that they have proper shelter and all the important things that producers focus on with managing the natural landscape."

Callum added the fluctuation in temperatures also leads to challenges.

"It can lead to health related challenges, getting pneumonia and those type of things," he noted.

Click here to see more...

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

JOIN THE BARN TALK NEWSLETTER AND GET LIVE EVENT ACCESS: We're on a mission to hit 10,000 subscribers, and when we do, we're hosting a live event at the barn. Sign up for exclusive access to tickets and details.