All the hard work and feed you’ve invested in your beef cows for the last few months in order to get them ready for calving should finally pay off with a healthy newborn calf. For the next two months, your fresh cows will need even more help from you to produce lots of milk for […] Read more
Tend To The Cow After Calving
Heifers Need Best Nutrition Knowledge/Care
We’ve all heard good-growing dairy heifers are the future of our milkline, yet once they leave the calf barn, many are put out with dry cows, and if they are housed alone may be fed leftover feed from the milk cows. Such supervision by convenience is not a particularly good idea. Rather, dairy heifers require […] Read more
Prepare For Successful Calving
Calving season sure has changed on the typical western cow-calf operation. Some cow herds start dropping their first calf at the beginning of February, while others have their beef cows freshen well into April, even into May. One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is the need for good nutritional preparation in the crucial […] Read more
Managing Dairy Calves In Winter
It doesn’t take us long to grab our long johns when January arctic winds blows snow across the farmyard. Baby dairy calves housed outside might feel the same way, but they don’t have much a choice when it comes to what to wear to stay warm and comfortable. They can grow a thicker hair-coat, but […] Read more
Watch Out For Mouldy Hay
BETTER BUNKS AND PASTURES Picture this: it’s the middle of winter and a couple of months from calving. You go to where your haystacks are stored and go through the morning feeding routine. As bales are rolled out, much of the hay is white and dusty, sure signs of mould. You pick out one or […] Read more
Shop Around For Minerals
BETTER BUNKS AND PASTURE Experience and balanced budgets largely determine the type of overwintering beef cow mineral that is purchased by producers, now and for the next six months until spring calving. Despite their final choice, the main ingredient in designing any successful overwintering mineral program for gestating beef cows is one that never overlooks […] Read more
Extra Fat Helps Boost Milk
Energy, the single largest nutrient requirement of most lactating dairy cows, is often in short supply for several weeks after cows calve. In this state of “negative energy balance,” high milk-producing dairy cows cannot consume enough forage and grains to make up the deficit, and breakdown their own body reserves to cover the energy shortfall. […] Read more
Pay Attention To Forage Fibre
As kids, one of the first things we learned about dairy cows is they have four stomachs! It was inconceivable they would need all those stomachs to eat and digest food, but we were later taught dairy cows have a truly special digestive system. In particular, its special fermentation vat or rumen, gives them the […] Read more
Remove The Risks Of Feed Wheat
Wheat has often taken a backseat to barley and corn in feeding beef cattle in western Canada. The latter grains have been in relatively good supply and more economical to put on good weight gains. Furthermore, compared to wheat, barley and corn do not carry a misleading reputation as a “hot grain” for cattle. Therefore, […] Read more
Lick Tubs More Than Convenience
The cattle lick tub critics say that lick tubs are an expensive way to supplement cattle on pasture and there are more economical alternatives. They always seem to add that cattle producers are paying for convenience. Under bright and sunny skies, they might be right, but when you open a mineral feeder and it’s full […] Read more