This fall I visited three similar dairies milking between 100 and 150 cows. It was about 10 a.m. in two barns (different days) and midafternoon in the third. In each case I noticed less than 10 per cent of resting cows (three-quarters were lying down) were not chewing their cud. I reviewed the TMR in […] Read more
There’s a reason if cows aren’t chewing their cud
It's important to look at the structure of fibre in the ration
Providing proper mineral mix the first step to meet cattle nutrient needs
It's one thing to put it out there, but another to make sure they eat it
Many commercial cattle minerals can be fed on a free-choice basis to gestating beef cows until calving. But even the best of these products fail if cows don’t eat enough, or engorge themselves. Mineral intake problems must be corrected quickly so cows can either maintain or build a mineral (and vitamin) status which contributes to […] Read more
Canola meal makes milk on Canadian dairy farms
Dairy Corner: It’s readily available and priced better than some other proteins
If there is anything that defines a truly Canadian crop, it’s canola. Much of its intense breeding work started in the mid-60s by Drs. Downey and Stefansson. By the late 1970s, they successfully eliminated high levels of anti-nutritional components from rapeseed oil and turned it into a valuable food for humans. Likewise, canola meal, a […] Read more
Minerals take centre stage in winter ration for beef cows
Prepare a well-balanced blend and make sure they eat it
As a beef nutritionist, I take a practical approach to formulating overwinter cattle minerals: complement macro-minerals of a nearly all-forage gestating cow diet, meet the gestation cows’ trace mineral and vitamin requirements and put it into a package that most cows will easily consume at a constant daily rate. In this way, I have done […] Read more
Impact of heat stress in dairy cows can last for months
Dairy Corner: A few hot days in summer can have a significant impact on reproduction and milk production
Good research demonstrates that summer heat stress reduces the performance and health of lactating and dry dairy cows. The funny thing is most people forget that a good bout of heat stress during the summer can cause many problems that extend into the cooler autumn months. Therefore, we should be aware of the ways that […] Read more
Start planning a proper winter ration now for your cattle
Feed requirements are fairly low in fall, but it's not the time cut corners on nutrition
After spring calves are weaned, early-gestation beef cows require the lowest amount of nutrients compared to the rest of the year. Some see this as a sign to save money by putting them on low-quality pastures or other poor feeds. Rather, it should be seen as a springboard to map out a good winter-feeding plan, […] Read more
Economics of backgrounding didn’t pencil out
With high feed costs, this example of adding 300 pounds over winter was a losing proposition
Years ago, I took one of my first beef marketing courses from a professor who wore a clean white lab coat to class. There was nothing wrong with that, but his previous class was a red meat-cutting class. One of the first thing he taught us is how to determine background-feeding profit. If its expenses […] Read more
Balancing variable corn silage quality to a ration
Dairy Corner: Always recommended to start with a feed analysis to know what you have
I am amazed on how each summer differs in Manitoba. Two summers ago, we had severe drought, last summer was extremely wet and this year started with record heat, then cooled down to night-time single digits. Luckily, temperatures picked up again, all the while with spotty thunderstorms. Such climatic difference presents a patchwork of knee-to […] Read more
Delivering a knockout punch to pinkeye
There are several tools that help reduce the risk of disease outbreak
Summer is not over and the pastures are full of flies, so when I drive down the highway and see cattle bunched up in a pasture, they are either trying to get away from the heat or from these annoying pests. One of the most notorious pests is the face fly, the leading culprit for […] Read more
Keep foot rot locked out of the breeding season
Manage high-risk conditions and be prepared to treat as needed
Most cow herds have been grazing green pastures for the last few months. Many are still in the midst of the breeding season, and I believe just by sheer probability that most producers have already successfully treated one or two cases of foot rot. To me, that’s a good thing, because lame cows and bulls […] Read more
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