Novices to the beef industry might not appreciate the devastating effectiveness of a cow’s defensive kick. Wry humour from poorly informed people will occasionally refer to some mild discomfort as having been “kicked by a cow,” a cow being seen as a mild-mannered, harmless and inherently awkward animal. How little do they know. The damage […] Read more
Need To Respect A Cow’s Kick
Do What You Love, Love What You Do
Each person’s career choice is entirely one’s personal prerogative and such preference must unquestionably take into account one overriding principle — we need to harbour an intensely burning desire to immerse ourselves in a vocation that seizes the elusive promises of opportunity, personal achievement and innate satisfaction. Whatever occupation we choose must truly typify the […] Read more
Tips For Managing Newborn Calves
The foremost and most immediate health concern after a newborn calf is integrated into the herd is to check its dam’s udder to see that each quarter is being sucked on a continuing basis. If the calf is small and hasn’t breached a teat initially, all is well, that quarter will be safely preserved by […] Read more
Of Mice And Vehicles
Prairie acreage owners and farms likely have one issue in common whatever other matters might divide their interest. The pervasive and persistent intruder, the deer mouse, loves to set up shop in garages, shops and outbuildings every fall. Ignoring for the moment their very real potential for spreading the Hanta Virus we try to focus […] Read more
Some Clear Benefits To Later Calving
The number of variables affecting profit on cattle ranches is staggering and many are circumstances we can do nothing about. The one issue cattlemen can realistically control is the starting date of calving, depending of course on who made the decision to begin breeding last spring, you or the bull. Numbers of producers in our […] Read more
How To Keep Small Engines Humming
Few things are as aggravating as motors that won’t start. Electrical motors are fine, they either work or not. It is dysfunctional gasoline engines that drive me to distraction. There are a host of things that can go wrong with gasoline motors and almost invariably they do. Issues range from faulty battery connections to contaminated […] Read more
Group helps victims through the legal system and provides support
The Alberta Victim Services article of faith is summarized in their watchwords “Victims Deserve to Be Heard” I recognize the editors of Grainews and FarmLife have left their mandate of publishing only materials directly related to farm management by offering to print this article. We agreed the issue of family violence however was not confined […] Read more
It is hard to manage drought when nothing is growing
In looming dry years the arrival in our mailbox of government information on how to “manage” drought is more predictable than rain, even if lightning-scarred clouds are already rolling darkly on the horizon. Community halls are booked and anxious farmers attending are more concerned as to whether or not subsidies, in whatever form, are being […] Read more
A Fit For Acreage Cattle
Traditional breed cattlemen have long tended to view genetically smaller “acreage” cattle (Dexters, Miniature Herefords, Low Line Angus) as an industry novelty. Their practical function remained obscure to those determined to push calf performance numbers progressively higher, which was accomplished primarily by opting for ever larger framed faster gaining sires. In these circumstances acreage animals […] Read more
Fastest Gun On The Range
On occasion, all of us are faced with circumstances we’d prefer not to deal with and some animal health care issues are no different. There are usually numbers of ways of doing things and after weighing our options we frequently tend to gravitate toward convenience over efficacy if results are deemed to be passably comparable. […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
