Use available feedstuffs to their best advantage
Good-quality forage for beef cows is in short supply this winter and the price of grain is still relatively expensive across Western Canada. The good news is well-balanced rations still can be put together for late-gestation beef cows to prepare them for a good calving season. This is a good reminder I received recently, when […] Read more
From breeding to good feet it plays an important role
Recently, I was talking to a feed mill operator I occasionally do some beef nutritional work, and he told me many customers are requesting the best level of zinc added into their cattle mineral. We realize many pastures and harvested forage from this summer’s drought might likely be zinc-stressed, so we made sure to formulate […] Read more
Keeping cows properly fed while reducing costs
First came the drought, then through September and early October a foot of snow, a weekend of autumn and finally winter. Not exactly the best weather for harvesting good-quality forage and grain for most beef cattle. At least we had a return to good fall conditions by mid-October. Fortunately, what grain that was taken off […] Read more
Supplements need to get cattle ready for calving and rebreeding
After several months of a hot and dry summer, who would have imagined that we would have snow showers by the end of September. It wouldn’t have been so bad if some pastures had bounced back, yet they remain deplorable. Of the many fall/winter pastures I have driven past or walked through, most show the […] Read more
From either blocks or in loose form, a beef animal now needs about 50 grams per day
What could be easier than throwing a salt block off the back of a truck for each group of grazing cattle in a cow herd? Or filling a part of a mineral compartment with loose salt? Then coming back in a week or so and putting out salt in one of these ways, again? It […] Read more
Dairy Corner: Not only disease, but even heat stress can quickly take its toll
It might be a scouring sick dairy calf or an otherwise healthy one suffering from stress, but death can be minutes away if either calf loses more than 10 per cent of its bodyweight in fluids (water and electrolytes). Fortunately, we can save many of these dairy calves by recognizing the symptoms of dehydration and […] Read more
It’s a hot dry summer out there in many places — any grass just isn’t doing it
Western Canada is having one of the hottest and driest summers in 30 years. It might not be the widespread drought of the past, but this year’s pastures are either simply nonexistent or filled with nutritionally hollow grass. As a result, cattle performance is likely to be compromised now and in months ahead with a […] Read more
Understand how it is spread to keep cattle healthy
I’m hearing about more cases of pinkeye in cows and in their calves than in the last few years. A few milder winters might have had something to do with it — not enough overwintering face flies (that spread the disease) were killed off. Each cow or calf infected with untreated painful pinkeye (caused by […] Read more
Barn cleanliness as well as nutrition can be among the contributors
Many dairy cows come down with a uterine infection after calving. Some are slight but some are more serious. While there are host of factors which cause them, some reasons such as a dirty calving area are obvious, other reasons such as persistent metabolic problems are not so clear. Fortunately, a good spring-cleaning and improvements […] Read more
Too much heat along with pests can affect breeding success
I am no stranger to the effects of summer heat stress in cattle. Back when I was working on my master’s thesis at the University of Manitoba (the effect of molybdenum on copper status in beef cattle nutrition, 1983), I had 35 Shorthorn/Angus crossbred yearlings on full feed. During that particular summer, after July 1 […] Read more
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