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Cattleman’s Corner

Cattle grazing on a range infested with velvet lupine in eastern Washington state. Producers will want to know in advance about any potentially hazardous plant life before turning cattle out on unfamiliar land.
Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Prevention and responsibility can be shared

Animal Health: Crop growers and cattle producers can benefit by working together

By
In writing for the past several years for Grainews it was nice trying to create articles that had application to the cattle, grain and mixed farmers out there. Better long-term solutions are created by looking from both sides of the fence at a problem. These create win-win situations, where both sides of a deal, trade […] Read more
cattle grazing corn
Cattleman’s Corner, Columns, Corn

Corn fields emerge as good forage for overwintering beef cows

Better Bunks and Pastures: Cows will need supplements to make sure they get balanced nutrition while grazing corn

By
Corn fields grown especially for overwintering beef cows are a patchwork across our Prairies. Whole corn plants can provide substantial nutrition to maintain precious body condition of gestating beef cows. Yet, nobody should open the gate to any field and allow cows to stampede into it. That’s because there are still some issues in order […] Read more
When a heifer calves, she’s hopefully worth at least as much as when she was a bred heifer — and probably retains that value for at least a couple of years.
Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Flipping cow depreciation on its head

Costs of Production: Open cows have a huge effect — especially when they are two-year-olds

By
I am keenly interested in cow depreciation and in fact have written about it in past Grainews columns. It is one of the largest direct expenses on a cow-calf operation — usually only behind feed — and it is worth touching on again in the wake of current record-high prices. First as a reminder, Figure […] Read more
feedlot strathmore alberta
Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Columns, Markets

Feeder cattle prices should remain at historical highs in 2025

The Markets: Heifer retention is expected this year in both Canada and the U.S.

By
At the time of writing this article in the latter half of December, U.S. and Canadian feeder cattle prices were trading at or near historical highs. I’ve received many inquiries from cattle producers regarding the price outlook for feeder cattle in 2025. The benchmark for the western Canadian feeder market is central Alberta. During December […] Read more
Gregory cut the slough hay and I followed right behind with the baler. The slough hay will be used on really cold days for extra feed or bedding.
Cattleman’s Corner, Columns, Forages

Fall work, a visit from family, then snow

Eppich News: The last of the slough hay finally was baled just before the snow arrived

By
The weather was very nice for the end of October and the beginning of November. We had quite a bit of fall work and different projects to do. On Nov. 6 the last of the summerfallow was worked before winter. That same day, Gregory started working on the fence over at Landis. There had been […] Read more
As cattle have gotten larger, their requirements for water grow.
Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Larger cattle need more water

Animal Health: Long-term trends in the beef sector continue to evolve

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The only constant is change and I have seen a lot of changes in beef production; this article will outline some of them. With lots of evidence of warmer summers, water access is paramount in most of our eyes. There’s more capacity for access by all classes of cattle, including from newly designed water troughs […] Read more
Acidosis, whether subclinical or acute, can have significant effects on a dairy herd’s health.
Cattleman’s Corner, Columns, Dairy Cattle, The Dairy Corner

Dear Dairy Diary: SARA in lactating dairy cows

Dairy Corner: Changing the effective forage fibre resulted in subtle but important improvements

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Dear Dairy Diary, June 24, 2024: I received a call from a dairy producer who milks about 200 dairy cows. Several of his lactating cows were lethargic, quit eating and milking and had severe diarrhea. The producer moved a bubbly loose pile with his boot and noticed a lot of undigested corn and what seemed […] Read more
new world screwworm fly
Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Columns, Markets

Lots of unknowns keep cattle market interesting

The Markets: Several trends have a floor under the cattle feeder complex, for now

By
During the last week of November, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a live basis at $243-$244 per hundredweight, f.o.b. feedlot in southern Alberta. The fed market has been relatively flat over the past month. The Canadian slaughter has been running below year-ago levels but the year-over-year increase in fed cattle exports has kept […] Read more
There’s more labour needed to manage artificial insemination, but it can improve the rate of genetic gain.
Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Increasing AI use has many advantages

Animal Health: There are improved technologies for breeding and synchronization, for which AI makes more sense

By
Over the last decade or so, artificial insemination (AI), not to be confused with the other AI (artificial intelligence), has seen an upsurge in the commercial cattle population. This has been happening for a lot longer in the purebred cattle industry and a lot of the reasons are the same. If one is considering AI […] Read more
Gregory and his mare, Reba, go around the cows as we round them up to sort their calves off to take to market or take home for weaning.
Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Good weather holds through harvest

Eppich News: Wandering cows and calves made rounding them up a challengee

By
On Sept. 30, Gregory drove John and Barb to Saskatoon because Barb was experiencing severe pain in her side. She’s had trouble with her gall bladder for quite a while, but this time it was too much. She was supposed to have emergency surgery that day but ended up being pushed off until the next […] Read more

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