Taking Some of the Guesswork Out of Winter Feed Challenges

This column usually focuses on research projects funded by the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) through the Canadian Beef Cattle Checkoff that producers pay when they market cattle. But most individual research projects are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Some of them may look interesting on their own, but they’re almost always a lot more informative when they’re put together with the other pieces of the puzzle to show the bigger picture.

That’s what extension (or “knowledge and technology transfer”) is about – turning science into cost-effective, useful solutions for producers. Historically, provincial agriculture departments were major players in extension, but many have pulled back from extension and redirected their staff towards government program delivery instead.

Private industry has partly filled this gap, but many producers remain skeptical about whether a sales rep’s advice is unbiased. As well, some production practices like grazing management and low-cost winter-feeding strategies aren’t “for sale.” There’s no profit motive for anyone but the adoptee, so there’s no clear driver for private industry to encourage their adoption.