You probably won’t make money by using pain control, but your calves will feel better, pair up faster and you’ll be doing something that promotes animal welfare in your industry, veteriarian and researcher John Campbell says.
Tag Archives Beef Cattle Research Council
Calves recover quicker with pain control at castration
Animal Health: A recent survey showed 85 per cent of cattle farmers were castrating calves at less than three months
Follow these tips for safe cattle injections
Administering medications properly can improve efficacy and decrease risk
Over the last two decades, great strides have been made in standardizing beef cattle injection techniques and methods. Today, there are animal injection best practices that have become widely known in the beef industry as “just the right thing to do.” These cattle injection techniques are recommended to help farmers produce safe beef for the […] Read more
Beef sector aims for new 2030 targets
Organizations involved in Canada's National Beef Strategy have announced new goals for the beef sector for the next decade
The Canadian beef industry has new benchmarks to reach for in the next decade. The organizations involved in Canada’s National Beef Strategy — the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canada Beef Breeds Council, Beef Cattle Research Council, Canada Beef, The National Cattle Feeders’ Association, Canadian Meat Council and Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef have announced new 2030 […] Read more
Are you really running a closed herd?
You can’t be ‘a little bit pregnant’ or ‘mostly closed’
(Editor’s note: This column, written by Karin Schmid, Research and Production Manager with the Alberta Beef Producers, first appeared as a blog post on the Beef Cattle Research Council website at beefresearch.ca) A surprising proportion of producers believe they run a closed herd. The 2017 Western Canadian Cow-Calf Survey requested reasons why certain management practices […] Read more
Defuse the potential for agriculture ‘Madvocacy’
Even with the facts, sometimes it is important to just listen
It seems that every day we are inundated with many opinions and ideas on what primary agricultural producers really need to do to improve the environment and serve our many masters. Based strictly on demographics, many of these intentions come from folks with little to no farm involvement or even those with an axe to […] Read more
Getting newborn calves off to a good start
Colostrum intake soon after birth is critical in first few hours
The most important day of a calf’s life is the first one. There are key factors that play a role in whether a baby calf gets off to a good start and research has demonstrated that the first 24 hours of life are critical for a calf to survive to weaning and beyond. Dystocia, or […] Read more
Applying economics to bull selection
Which of the EPD traits improve returns, reduce costs?
Editor’s note: The Beef Cattle Research Council has put together an excellent four-part blog series on bull selection. You can find the full series on their website at www.beefresearch.ca. The following are among key points from part three, which looks at a bull’s EPDs and determining which are the most economically relevant traits (ERTs). The series points out that ERTs are just one […] Read more
Keep cow-calf pairs moving at calving
Separating newborns from older calves reduces scours risk
Editor’s Note: This is part of a feature blog article produced by the Beef Cattle Research Council on the value of developing a calving system that separates newborn cow-calf pairs from older calves to reduce the risk of disease spread. The concept is known as the Sandhill Calving system although there are variations on the theme. Doug Wray believes […] Read more
Bring calving pens to the pasture
It’s a good idea to give heifers lots of space when calving
Editor’s Note: What works for beef producers? The Beef Cattle Research Council has asked a few Canadian beef producers about changes, production practices or new technology they’ve made or use that make a difference in their day-to-day management. Good ideas can range from improving pasture watering systems and regularly testing winter feeds, to reducing costs […] Read more
A vision of what the beef industry needs: Part 1
Big Picture Thinking Part 1: The Canadian beef industry needs to think big to optimize its potential
Editor’s Note: This is part one of a three-part series by Alberta rancher and consultant Sean McGrath with his vision for the Canadian beef industry. A vision statement can be one of the most powerful tools available to a company. It sets the big-picture goal for a business and provides a framework for communication. A […] Read more
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