Cattleman’s Corner & Production Tips

Phosphorus can be too much of a good thing

The Dairy Corner: Following recommendations can save $3,700 a year in feed costs for a 100-head dairy herd

By Peter Vitti May 9, 2014

Maybe it started when an infertile cow was seen licking and then eating dirt in a field? Eating dirt was often associated with a phosphorus deficiency in cattle and somewhere along the line, phosphorus became associated as “a health and breeder mineral.” Consequently, feeding phosphorus to dairy cows, over and above their essential phosphorus requirement […] Read more

Old fluorescent light shrouds make a trough for feeding poultry.

Cattleman’s Corner, Farm Life

”Repurposed” materials can be practical and fun

By Debbie Chikousky May 7, 2014

The current theme in urban life seems to be repurposing. To rural folks this isn’t at all new. In fact, looking back at my childhood, recycling has always been alive and well down on the farm. In this theme our family would like to share a few of the livestock supplies that we built out of what […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Protein and energy demands jump after calving

By Peter Vitti May 1, 2014

While some cows are fortunate to freshen in a draft-free barn, others drop their calves outside on straw pack, in a pole barn or open drylot. Regardless of where they calve, most cows return or remain outside to not only brave the arctic cold, but must meet the challenges of nursing a new calf and […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Animal welfare remains beef industry priority

By Angela Lovell April 30, 2014

Growing consumer interest in where and how livestock is raised is bringing animal welfare issues to the forefront in many different ways. Explaining to non-farming residents and consumers the basics of proper livestock production practices is one part of the challenge, but also researching and adopting improved animal welfare practices is another important part of […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner

Cold temps no guard against dairy mastitis

By Peter Vitti April 16, 2014

Mastitis flareups occur any time mastitis organisms are given the chance to enter the teat canal. While many dairy herds have had outbreaks during hot weather, a serious mastitis problem can occur any time, including during the coldest winter months of the year. Whether dairy cows from the milkline spend their off-milking hours in an […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Crops

Winter cereals pressed into double duty

By Lee Hart April 10, 2014

Scott Lehr’s winter cereal seeding plays a double-header. It serves as winter pasture for his bred cow herd, and the next summer he usually harvests a productive silage crop off the same stand as feed for backgrounding calves. It’s a system that may not work in all areas of Western Canada, but for the southeast […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock, Rancher’s Diary

A few tips for grafting calves

By Heather Smith Thomas March 31, 2014

Occasionally a cow loses a calf at birth or a calf loses its mother, and you need to “graft” the orphan or a substitute calf onto another cow. Or, a cow might have twins and can’t raise both and you want to put the extra calf onto a cow that lost her own. Sometimes it’s […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner

Piglet arm makes processing easier

By Meristem Land & Science March 17, 2014

Manitoba hog barn manager Helmut Janz recently won an award for a tool he developed to improve handling for baby pigs at processing. Janz, a barn manager for Maple Leaf in Zhoda, Man., has developed what he calls a “piglet arm” after seeing the need for a better way to process baby piglets. In barns […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner

An appreciation for cow herd depreciation

By Sean McGrath March 11, 2014

Generally, one of the largest costs in any average cow-calf operation is cow herd depreciation, although it is often overlooked. Depreciation means the value of an asset goes down as you use it. In other words, as something wears out it has less potential future use. A good example is a baler. I see lots […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner

Handling system easy on cattle and people

By Lee Hart March 11, 2014

Graeme Finn has come up with a low-manpower cattle-sorting system that allows him to sort about 200 head in an hour, is easy on the livestock, and perhaps equally importantly brings harmony to the processing day workforce. Anchored around a partial wagon-wheel layout, the sorting system enables one person to stand in the “hub” of […] 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

Phosphorus can be too much of a good thing

”Repurposed” materials can be practical and fun

Protein and energy demands jump after calving

Animal welfare remains beef industry priority

Cold temps no guard against dairy mastitis

Winter cereals pressed into double duty

A few tips for grafting calves

Piglet arm makes processing easier

An appreciation for cow herd depreciation

Handling system easy on cattle and people

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