I live in Manitoba and continuous flooding rains since our heavy snows melted have delayed corn planting to the point that much of our corn silage this fall will be wet and immature. However, I travel to other parts of the Prairies and many dairy farms need rain. I suspect that much of these corn […] Read more
Working dry corn silage into dairy diets
It's important to have it tested, regardless of feed moisture levels
Revisiting hairy heel warts in dairy cows
Proper nutrition and good sanitation in the barn help to reduce disease risk
About five years ago I worked with a 350-dairy cow operation with a significant hairy heel wart (HHW) problem. At the time, this dairy manager often had a series of lame lactating dairy cows at different stages of this disease. The foot problem was affecting feed consumption, milk production, reproduction and the general well-being of […] Read more
Beware of liver fluke invasion on wet pastures
Parasite infection can result in animal weight loss and reduced body condition
Most of the high water across the eastern Prairies will recede in the upcoming weeks, if they haven’t already. When cattle can be returned to these once-flooded pastures, the ground will probably be soaked, which will likely expand the territories of many cattle parasites such as the common deer liver fluke. To combat this invasive […] Read more
How does creep feeding pencil out for 2022?
There may be a profit, but producer needs to decide if it is enough
Spring calves can be creep-fed in several ways, from home-made grain rations to well-balanced commercial feed pellets. All can be directed into a traditional creep feeding program, which can add extra saleable weaning weight by fall. Unfortunately, this premium growth may not always be nutritionally necessary or profitable. A little homework is necessary to calculate […] Read more
Vitti: A common-sense high-forage diet for dairy cows
It's about finding the proper balance between grain and forage components of the ration
High-forage dairy diets have become very popular in the last few years. That’s because many dairy producers feared too much grain was being fed to their high-producing cows, causing digestive upsets and lameness. I have reviewed many of these former high-concentrate diets and agree that many were clearly unacceptable to feed. Yet I have also […] Read more
Don’t let cattle performance get stuck in the mud
Letting cattle stand in muddy conditions is just asking for health problems
In early May a few years ago, I left the safety of the highway and turned onto a muddy summer road. There was a farm on the south side that had about 50 beef cows with little calves living in knee-deep mud. While there was lots of green hay in a bale feeder, the cows […] Read more
Don’t overlook zinc in a well-balanced dairy cattle diet
It’s a mineral that plays an important role in so many aspects of livestock production and growth
Zinc is one of about a dozen trace minerals essential to the good life and productivity of dairy cattle. Yet unlike some of the other essential trace minerals, zinc is not easily forgotten in a well-balanced dairy diet because it performs so many different functions in dairy cows, and in so many different ways. Much […] Read more
Keeping calved cows in top condition
Four producers describe their cow-feeding program once calves hit the ground
I took this photo of a beef cow that had just calved in a drylot holding area. She is in good shape and health so I would expect that once her newborn calf is up on wobbly legs, it will get its first taste of colostrum. Within the next few hours, this new mom will […] Read more
Producers share ration tips for breeding bulls
It’s important to prepare bulls for the demands of breeding season
Beef bulls make up only a small portion of the average beef herd, yet contribute to nearly all its genetic progress. Such responsibility dictates that we want to give bulls the best possible chance to be fertile and healthy, just before being released onto breeding pastures. This means that certain nutritional goals must be met […] Read more
Adjusting diet in dairy cows to prevent fatty liver syndrome
One important clue/cause is over-conditioned dry cows
All dairy cows go through a state of negative energy balance (NEB) right after calving. When a cow breaks down too much of her body fat to cover this energy gap in such a short period, accumulation of fat in the liver or fatty liver syndrome results and is detrimental to her health and milk […] Read more
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