The Bow Slope Shipping Association (BSSA) in Brooks, Alta., dates to 1934 when some local farmers joined to ship hogs. The company was formalized in 1940 and the first auction sales were held three years later from seven pens alongside the rail line. Today, producers can still become owners of the auction market by purchasing […] Read more
Bow Slope Has Owners For Customers
Is Your Herd Free Of Bvd?
“These herds with PI animals may have only a few of them, but they can cause a lot of grief.” Going into its fourth year, the Montana BVD-PI Herd Biosecurity Project has enabled Montana beef producers to screen nearly 200,000 head of cattle. The goal is to provide education and technical assistance to producers who […] Read more
To avoid prolonged testicular infections
The prime reason for vaccinating breeding animals against bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) is to protect the fetus from becoming persistently infected (PI). But, don’t forget about the bulls, says Dr. Dan Givens with Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine in Alabama. Givens recently wrapped up an in-depth study looking at the potential for BVD virus in […] Read more
Is Molybdenum Lurking In Your Forages?
A string of mysterious cow deaths across the dark brown soil zone of Saskatchewan during the 2007 and 2008 calving seasons left 11 producers short 46 cows. Molybdenum toxicity was determined to be the cause. Patty Smith, business development manager with Blair’s Fertilizer at Lanigan, Sask., says that once the problem had been identified, other […] Read more
Your Business Plan Should Match Your Mindset … And Your Resources
Doug and Linda Wray’s business model for their beef operation is unique. So is yours. From the outside looking in, any two ranches may appear to be very different from each other even though the process of developing a farm business plan would have been quite similar. “The whole thing is a mindset,” Wray explains. […] Read more
Thinking Of Swath Grazing Your Calves?
Swath grazing mature cows has become a common practice across the Prairies. But researchers at the Western Beef Development Centre (WBDC) wanted to know if swath grazing would work to reduce the cost of backgrounding weaned calves, as well. WBDC research scientist Bart Lardner expected the calves to do well in a swath grazing system, […] Read more
THE MOST POUNDS OF BEEF PER ACRE?
Five spring-seeded winter annuals went head-to-head in three years of simulated grazing trials at three Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada sites in three different growing zones in Saskatchewan. The Swift Current site represented the brown soil zone; Saskatoon, the dark brown soil zone; and Melfort, the grey-wooded/ black soil zone. The varieties were CDC Buteo winter […] Read more
Canada Gold Beef Takes The Next Step
The Canada Gold Beef Inc. (CGB) pilot project is on schedule to start marketing branded beef in Canada next month. By the end of February close to 22,000 CGB registered calves were in participating feedlots in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. At the other end of the value chain CEO Frank Goetz had one retailer and […] Read more
TWO REPRODUCTIVE SCENE INVESTIGATIONS
Abortions and open cows rob potential income from cow-calf producers every year. Dr. Colin Palmer, associate professor of theriogenology at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, is often consulted when damages mount up. Though reproductive scene investigations aren’t the stuff of high-rated television shows, they certainly capture the undivided attention of his audiences. By following […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
