GFM Network News

More News →

Tag Archives bulls

Checking bulls after breeding season can help determine if they just need rest or perhaps should be culled.
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Putting bulls through a post-season checklist

Find the ones you want to keep, and help them to recover

By
Planning and good observations are necessary when pulling bulls. They may give us a clue as to how the breeding season went. Because bulls are stressed during breeding season and have lost lots of weight, they are in a way a sentinel animal for disease and both external and internal parasites. Bulls are now going […] Read more
Calves are dropping at about 
70 pounds but they quickly begin to gain weight.
Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf

Breeding program favours short-gestation bulls

Little or no calving difficulty as calves get off to a good start

By
For southwest Saskatchewan ranchers Barry and Anne Wasko, switching the heifer-breeding program a few years ago to select for shorter-gestation bulls is producing smaller but vigorous calves while reducing concerns about calving difficulty. By breeding their Hereford/Red Angus-cross heifers to Black Angus bulls selected for EPDs showing shorter gestation, heifers are calving about 10 days […] Read more
Applying economics to bull selection
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Applying economics to bull selection

Which of the EPD traits improve returns, reduce costs?

By
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
This young Angus bull has been bred with forage efficiency and good maternal traits in mind.
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Producing good working bulls

Most don’t have ‘papers’ but still deliver the genetics

By
Traditionally bulls have been confined during winter and fed grain as well as hay, but some producers are wintering their bulls in larger pastures and letting them grow (or maintain) under more natural conditions. This often leads to better health, better fertility and longevity. Arron Nerbas of Nerbas Brothers Angus, near Shellmouth, in western Manitoba, […] Read more
It’s a farm full of look-alikes — red and black Simmental and Angus cattle and excellent crossbred cattle as well.
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Lazy S Ranch marks 50th anniversary

Simmental and Angus cattle part of long-established breeding program


By
Stewart and Doreen Ainsworth and their children and grandchildren operate a family farm that has been supplying exceptional genetics for bull customers for more than 50 years. Although they’ve ranched for many years at Mayerthorpe, north of Edmonton, Stewart and Doreen both grew up near Byemoor, Alta., southeast of Stettler. Stewart graduated from Vermilion College […] Read more
The first Angus/Hereford cross bull calf of the year, doing well.
Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf

The bulls and the bees

The purchase of a heifer bull stirs excitement for next season

By
Sometimes opportunities come up and you just have to jump on them. We have been hauling our cows to pasture in a two-horse trailer, just waiting for an opportunity to purchase a bigger one. Then a friend showed Gregory an ad. The used trailer was in rough shape but the price was good, so Gregory loaded […] Read more
Bulls should be in god athletic condition, but not fat.
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Be leery about buying fat bulls

It may look good in the sale ring, but too much fat can lead to permanent damage

By
Most of the bulls that go through a sale ring are over-conditioned to some extent. Fat is beautiful because it covers up a lot of conformational faults, but it is also very detrimental for reproduction, good health, and future soundness. Many young bulls have gone through a bull test/feeding program to measure rate of gain […] Read more
Does it pay to put weight on cull cows?
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Does it pay to put weight on cull cows?

To decide best time to sell, pencil out the cost of feeding for a couple of months

By
Most producers have walked through their cow herds after the weaning season and picked out candidates for a cull group. Many of these are first-calf heifers and cows that were preg-checked and found open, while a smaller group were culled due to poor feet, legs and other structure defects. Even a few cows destined for […] Read more
Don’t semen test bulls too young
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Don’t semen test bulls too young

Animal Health: What are these droplets in young bulls really telling you about semen quality?

By
Many commercial producers and purebred seed stock cattlemen often start to question the appearance of lots of droplets appearing on the semen evaluation forms of young bulls. It can lead to frustration when bulls have to be retested. These droplets collectively are probably the most numerous defects we as veterinarians see when performing breeding soundness […] Read more

AgCanadaTV

AGCanadaTV: In case you missed it; your national ag news recap for July 11, 2025

Sponsored By:
More Videos →

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast

Latest Market News

More Market News →