I am fortunate to travel across wide stretches of Manitoba and have observed the explosive growth of soybean acres over the last decade. From 2005, only about 100,000 acres were planted and this acreage has steadily increased to about 1.3 million acres, today. Recently, I asked many dairy/soybean producers, why they grew this crop. Most […] Read more
The Dairy Corner: Soybeans have excellent fit in dairy diets
Sometimes more expensive, but they can put more milk in the tank
Pay attention to post-weaning programs for dairy cattle
You want replacement heifers to grow at an optimum rate, but not too fast or too slow
Almost every time I visit a dairy barn, I make a point of looking at post-weaned replacement heifers as well. Raising young dairy heifers can be one of the greatest challenges even on the best-run dairies. I believe implementing a good post-weaning heifer program makes good sense and contributes to their future success as high-milk-producing dairy […] Read more
Money to be made in creep feeding calves
At least pencil it out for your farm — you could be leaving $85 per head on the table
As a beef nutritionist, I have advocated creep feeding spring calves for years. That’s because as feeder cattle prices have steadily risen, there was a real profit due to creep feeding as well as some decent side-benefits. I haven’t changed my position for 2015 and advise each cow-calf operator to calculate their own situation and […] Read more
Help cattle cope with the three Bs of heat stress
If cows and calves aren't eating, overall performance and weight gains are down
I always feel sorry for beef cattle in an open field that cannot escape the hot summer sun. The other day I was driving a pasture with about 30 Black Angus cows and spring calves. Not a tree or waterer in sight. All the animals were crowded together, none were grazing and their calves were […] Read more
Test for, treat ketosis early in dairy cattle
It is easy for cows to slip into a negative energy balance and lose condition
Years ago, I would lean over the feed bunk and smell the breath of a ketosis-suspect dairy cow. It convinced me that it had either bad breath or glue (acetone) breathing ketosis. Since then, I’ve come a long way. Dairy nutritionists like myself and dairy producers now have access to modern BHB (Beta-hydroxybutyrate) milk tests through […] Read more
Tips to help keep horn flies off your cattle
Even a couple hundred of the tiny horn flies can knock 20 pounds off a calf
A few years ago, a friend in Saskatchewan asked me to help him treat his beef cows before they went on pasture with pour-on insecticide for horn flies. His job was to push up the cattle in the chute and my job was to use the applicator-gun and squirt pour-on liquid along each of the […] Read more
Magnesium deficiency can lead to grass tetany
Lush pastures can be a perfect setting for fatal conditions
Every time I drive past lush green May pastures I think of grass tetany in beef cows. That’s because it is essentially a magnesium deficiency in lush pasture that can have fatal effects upon a cow herd. Who wants to come across a dead pregnant or fresh cow in a field due to grass tetany? […] Read more
Mud is a hotbed of disease and poor eating habits for dairy cattle
As little as four inches of mud can slow performance and it can be an excellent environment for disease affecting cattle health
Once I was checking the spring ration for a dairy producer who raised a group of replacement dairy heifers in a drylot. The mud was about a half metre deep and with each step toward the feeder, it was slow going. About half-way along, my boot got stuck and by struggling, I buried it. Abandoning […] Read more
Late spring calving can pack a profit
There are management issues, but also several pluses by waiting ’til mid-May calving
I remember not too long ago, cow-calf operators in Western Canada calved most cows by mid-March. This century-old tradition allowed cows to nurse their calves and put heavy weaning-weight over the course of the summer and then calves were sold to feedlots by the end of October. This doesn’t seem to be the sole case […] Read more
Replacement dairy heifers need good nutrition
Feeding and management should be relatively simple
Many weaned dairy heifers have gone from eating high-quality milk replacer and calf starter in a nice cozy calf barn to being kicked outside in the arctic weather and being fed leftovers from the lactating cows. It’s a shame that many replacement heifers are fed in this way and thus fail to reach their full […] Read more
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