For a cow to feed a calf and retain its own body condition requires a good solid intake of essential nutrients. First-calf heifers also need more of the same nutrients to gain a couple of hundred pounds of weight as they grow into maturity.
Tag Archives Cow-calf
Feed an all-star diet to your beef cows after calving
Better Bunks & Pastures: It pays to invest in cows to get them from calving to their next pregnancy
Cattle market volatility increases as tariff uncertainty continues
Resumption of U.S./Mexico cattle trade will temper market upside
At the time of writing this article, the implementations of U.S. tariffs and Canadian retaliatory measures were delayed for 30 days. However, the threat remains. This is the wild card moving forward.
Flipping cow depreciation on its head
Costs of Production: Open cows have a huge effect — especially when they are two-year-olds
I am keenly interested in cow depreciation and in fact have written about it in past Grainews columns. It is one of the largest direct expenses on a cow-calf operation — usually only behind feed — and it is worth touching on again in the wake of current record-high prices. First as a reminder, Figure […] Read more
Good weather holds through harvest
Eppich News: Wandering cows and calves made rounding them up a challengee
On Sept. 30, Gregory drove John and Barb to Saskatoon because Barb was experiencing severe pain in her side. She’s had trouble with her gall bladder for quite a while, but this time it was too much. She was supposed to have emergency surgery that day but ended up being pushed off until the next […] Read more
The fall run: the rancher’s sprint
A Little Bit Western: Most of the revenue, data and calf movement come in the fall
I like to joke that ranching is a marathon, except when it is a sprint, and then it’s that too. There are certainly times when you are racing from one urgent task to another. While it feels like the rest of the working world has three to five business days to respond to a request, […] Read more
Fed cattle market grinds lower
The Markets: Softer demand shows up as North American employment weakens
During the second week of September, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $406-$410/cwt, down from prices of $425-$428/cwt a month earlier. Beef demand appears to be softening as unemployment levels increase. In addition to weaker consumer spending, September and October are two months when beef demand typically […] Read more
It’s not too late to creep-feed spring calves
Better Bunks and Pastures: Analysis says this could be a highly profitable year to creep-feed calves
A friend of mine operates a 300-cow-calf operation. This year, he put out his creep feeders during the end of July and his March-born calves really haven’t eaten much creep-feed in the last month. That’s because his pastures are still lush and his cows are milking well. He joked that he is ready to lock […] Read more
New program focuses on data literacy for cow-calf producers
Case studies and mentoring will help give farm data decision-making power
The Data Literacy for Cow-Calf Producers project aims to give farmers and ranchers the chance to discuss best practices and learn from experts and peers about how to use data to make better business decisions.
Data management has varied adoption in the cow-calf sector.
Beef cows in good condition, feed accordingly
Optimize cows' condition with target diets based on the animals' BCS
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
Automating heat detection
Researchers test whether monitoring technology will predict reproductive cycles
Glacier FarmMedia — Labour challenges on cattle farms could be alleviated by sensors now being tested to help detect females in heat. Dr. Dinesh Dadarwal, a veterinarian and assistant professor in large animal science at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, says the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence tests technology so producers can make […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
