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First-calf cows need to be able to feed their calf, continue to grow and become ready for breeding, which means they need special treatment.
Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Take care of first-calf beef cows after calving

Keep them separate from older cows and a different ration could make sense

By
Despite some market volatility, the good value of all cattle is holding for the time being. That’s a good thing because last year, many cow-calf operators bred more replacement heifers that are now calving or about to calve. Some of these producers told me they throw them into their main cowherd if they are big […] Read more
First calf heifers are maturing, feeding a calf, and often going through teeth changes at the same time.
Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf

The teenage years, beef cow edition

First-calf beef heifers are going through the biggest challenges of their lives and need some support

By
Anyone reading this column who has been a teenager or has raised one can appreciate how challenging and interesting those years can be. Even good teenagers can be expensive. In our beef cattle production systems, the teenage role is filled by replacement heifers, and like teenagers a bit of understanding about the changes they are […] Read more
The shortage of veterinarians often becomes most apparent during calving season. |
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

How to manage in a veterinarian shortage

Hauling an animal to a clinic is one solution, as are larger clinics with satellite sites

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There’s huge talk about the shortage of veterinarians — especially large-animal, but also small-animal and emergency animal care. There was a recent announcement that the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) will raise the number of training seats to 100 from the current 50, when an expansion is completed next year. I would […] Read more
Beef cows’ TDN energy maintenance requirements generally increase about two per cent for every degree Celsius drop in temperature below freezing.
Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Beef cows in good condition, feed accordingly

Optimize cows' condition with target diets based on the animals' BCS

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A warm start to winter has caused many beef cows after weaning to come off pasture in decent shape. Some of these cows are not truly obese, but they retained a lot of flesh. Those beef cows in optimum body condition should be put on a nutritious feeding program that maintains them until they calve […] Read more
cow with newborn calf
Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf, Livestock

Use an NSAID for the right reasons

Mitigating pain makes sense in many areas of cattle production

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Pain medication may be accompanied by treatment with antibiotics, but sometimes this is unnecessary. If your veterinarian prescribes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain, he or she may choose one based on label claim, experience in the field, price per treatment, duration of activity, ease of administration, advice of associates or slaughter withdrawal. There are […] Read more
Hopefully the beef herd remains healthy, but when there is a case of illness or injury getting a proper diagnosis as well as prognosis for recovery will help determine whether treatment is warranted.
Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

To butcher or not to butcher that cow?

Animal Health: Have a proper diagnosis of a sick or downed animal before administering any treatments

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Which bovine conditions might prevail if butchering the animal to salvage the meat would produce the most practical or successful outcome? We often think of this after the fact when products such as antimicrobials or painkillers have already been administered. That is where the dilemma begins. What is the slaughter withdrawal period if you plan […] Read more
The first profit driver for many operations is to increase yields of biodiverse forages.
Cattleman’s Corner

Looking at key ranch profit drivers

Beef production is a bit more involved than having cattle eat grass, but putting efforts into management produces the best return

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I often think that the ranching business is very simple until you get humans involved. At the most basic level, sun and rain grow forage, cows consume forage and reproduce and ranchers sell the offspring. Pretty simple, until it’s not. Fundamentally, this simple picture does provide some insight into what drives profit on most cow-calf […] Read more

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