Homemade wire holder with components for rolling out 
used wire.

Made-on-the-farm device for handling wire

Used parts here, sucker rod there, 
and a bit of welding

Building new fence can be a big job and can require different tools that a rancher or farmer doesn’t always own. For example, new fence requires a system to unroll the wire. Rather than purchase an unroller, we decided to try to make one. My father-in-law, John, built a very simple unroller that we could […] Read more

U.S. cattle herd still growing, but at a slower pace

U.S. cattle herd still growing, but at a slower pace

Market Update: Numbers indicate we're still a couple of years away from contraction

The USDA cattle inventory report in late February showed cattle inventory and calf numbers were above a year ago, but the expansionary phase appears to be slowing. Canadian feeder cattle exports to the U.S. for 2018 had a year-over-year increase of 65 per cent. The larger U.S. calf crop may temper demand for Canadian feeder […] Read more


Proper ration 
helps dairy cows avoid negative energy balance.

Proper feed intake keeps dairy cows milking

Dairy Corner: Good management avoids negative energy balance

A good dry matter intake or DMI plan is really a foundation of building optimum energy intake by early-lactation dairy cows. This energy drives good milk yield (and milk fat) at peak production and over the rest of their lactation. Unfortunately, there is a natural lag time between peak milk production and subsequent peak DMI […] Read more




Thompson Rivers University student Chris Solecki testing out a drone which columnist Roy Lewis says can play a practical role in livestock management.

Using new technology to monitor cattle

Animal Health: Stationary cameras and drones can be used in many ways


Technology has advanced for monitoring the health of cattle both at calving time and on pasture. Two operations I deal with during the calving season have used advanced cameras in the last several years. I have also seen demonstrations and heard a few presentations on drones for checking and monitoring cattle. It appears to be […] Read more


Gregory making sure cattle have feed, good bedding and shelter during the February cold snap.

Spring pasture fenced and ready

February got cold and then got colder

January turned out to be a decent month for a variety of projects. On Jan. 14 the temperature was liveable and the wind was down so we decided it would be a good day to skin an old, crippled cow for our friends Bill and Betty. We were supposed to get to her earlier so […] Read more

Improved conception rates tell the story

Improved conception rates tell the story

Good-quality mineral mix got this herd back on track

The four principal trace elements essential to successful beef cow reproduction, are copper, zinc, manganese and selenium. All too often, they are either deficient in forage or bound by compounds also found in forage, which makes them biologically unavailable to cattle. I instruct beef producers to plan the best mineral-(and vitamin-) feeding program to their […] Read more


Feed grain supplies down, then up by fall

Market Update: Late 2019 may be a good time to think about backgrounding

The price of feeder cattle is influenced by two main factors — the expected fed cattle price when the feeder is finished; and the price of feed grains. Let’s have a look at the fundamentals for Canadian barley as well as a brief overview of the corn situation. As of early March, Lethbridge-area feedlots were […] Read more