Cattleman’s Corner & Production Tips

Colleen Biggs of TK Ranch near Hanna says listening to their customers has guided them toward animal welfare certification.

Animal Welfare label confirms TK Ranch commitment

Alberta ranch finds the opportunity to reinforce their values of proper livestock production practices

By Shirley Byers March 10, 2015

One of the advantages of direct marketing is receiving feedback through direct contact with the people who will be eating your product. Colleen and Dylan Biggs have been marketing ranch-finished beef and other meat products from their east-central Alberta ranch since 1995, and listening to their customers. About five years ago, they recognized there was […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf

Dealing with broken bones in young calves

For a young calf with a hind leg fractured above the hock, a dog splint may be all you need

By Heather Smith Thomas March 4, 2015

Occasionally a young calf suffers a fractured limb, which needs to be cast or splinted for proper healing. Accidents sometimes occur, such as the cow stepping on her calf and breaking a leg. You might not see it happen, and just find the calf unable to get up, or very lame. You might discover the […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner

Basic steps to increasing grazing profits

Knowing how much cow-calf pairs eat and properly managing  their grazing program helps to reduce grazing costs

By Sean McGrath March 4, 2015

As we progress through the spring and into grass season, many of us have the temptation to “kick the cows out to grass.” After feeding, calving and doing chores all winter, turnout is a welcome relief. While grazing is generally cheaper than feeding, turnout also represents the beginning of a season of lost profit potential […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner

There is a fit for grass-finished beef

Some on-farm experimenting shows genetics plays a big part in tenderness

By Debbie Chikousky February 27, 2015

When we started raising grass-finished cattle, part of the decision was based on a reduction of input costs. We don’t grow grain and feeding it would involve a lot of infrastructure (troughs and equipment) as well as feeding labour. Since the cost of feed grains was increasing we were sure there had to be a […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, The Dairy Corner

Avoid too much fat for early-lactation cows

By Peter Vitti February 26, 2015

In the last year, there has been a few supply-management incentives for dairy producers to increase milk and milk fat yield in their milk cows. Because nutrients such as energy largely drive dairy performance, many people are increasing dietary energy density by adding different types of edible fats to early lactation diets. Despite being a […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Markets

Crude oil price has little impact on cattle market

A review of the numbers fails to show any correlation between the two

By Jerry Klassen February 25, 2015

Over the past month, I’ve received many inquiries from cattle producers in regards to the relationship between crude oil prices and the cattle market in Western Canada. Cattle prices have remained near historical highs while crude oil values have dropped by nearly 60 per cent since the summer of 2014. Often we are confident that […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner

Managing yardage — The silent profit killer

By Sean McGrath February 25, 2015

I was running rations on Cowbytes beef management program the other day, which is an interesting and important process around our ranch. Through proper feed testing and ration balancing I can correct and solve potential dietary deficiencies ahead of time and also have enough lead time to find least-cost solutions to one of our largest […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner

The beef industry wants cattle producers to be more efficient

By Lee Hart February 18, 2015

A new project across the Canadian beef industry has set as one of its goals to help producers increase overall beef production efficiency by 15 per cent over the next five years. The recently announced National Beef Strategy is a collaborative effort among key sectors of the livestock industry. It actually has a number of […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Dairy Cattle

Proper rations key to milk production and reproduction

Better rations before and after calving produce a bigger calf and set  cows and heifers up for the next breeding season

By Peter Vitti February 17, 2015

Beef cows after calving require a higher plane of nutrition compared to previous months of gestation. Much of this heightened nutrition is geared to drive milk production, help first-time mothers grow and prepare the entire cow herd to cycle and get rebred within 80-90 days, postpartum. Therefore it is important to feed them well-balanced diets […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner

Thawing ‘oven’ speeds digging post holes in frozen ground

By Heather Smith Thomas February 17, 2015

Sometimes a person has to build fence in challenging conditions. When ground is frozen it’s almost impossible to drive posts, and very time-consuming and difficult to dig holes. Some people have put an old tire over the spot that needs to be thawed, burning the tires at night, to have the ground thawed underneath them […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn fall on harvest pressure

U.S. livestock: Hog futures slide in technical correction

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Acknowledging the past, seeking a better future

GFM Network News

U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn fall on harvest pressure

U.S. livestock: Hog futures slide in technical correction

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Acknowledging the past, seeking a better future

Cattleman’s Corner

Animal Welfare label confirms TK Ranch commitment

Dealing with broken bones in young calves

Basic steps to increasing grazing profits

There is a fit for grass-finished beef

Avoid too much fat for early-lactation cows

Crude oil price has little impact on cattle market

Managing yardage — The silent profit killer

The beef industry wants cattle producers to be more efficient

Proper rations key to milk production and reproduction

Thawing ‘oven’ speeds digging post holes in frozen ground

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