The definition of scours is diarrhea, but diarrhea alone only means the calf has loose feces. The important question when a calf has diarrhea is whether it is making the calf sick. “It’s not as simple as saying, the calf has diarrhea, therefore, it has scours. You need to compare groups of observations, consider the […] Read more
Calf health: The diarrhea diaries
TEXT from Moocall: Cow 37 is calving
Equipment: News Roundup from the January 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
The text message woke Vern Luther at Craik, Sask., in the wee hours. Jason Evashenko, about a half-hour north near Kenaston, received the exact same text a month later while out for a family supper. As inconvenient as the timing was, neither minded the interruption because it meant a new calf on the way. The […] Read more
A simple vigour test for newborns
Give it two fingers to suck… that’s step one
Two simple observations at birth can tell you whether a newborn calf has the vigour to quickly suckle enough colostrum to achieve the protection of passive immunity. “Measuring calving ease and suckle reflex is a quick and easy method to identify beef calves that are unlikely to consume colostrum by four hours after birth,” says […] Read more
Grounds for a failed feedlot audit
Canadian feedlot animal care assessment — Part 7
Animal neglect generally brings to mind images of pets and farm animals lacking adequate feed, water and shelter. While these are serious acts of neglect, so too is trying too hard to keep failing animals alive. The Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program places “failing to euthanize a distressed animal in a timely manner” at […] Read more
Mycotoxins know no bounds
DON is the No. 1 mycotoxin found in several Canadian cereal crops
Awesome turned awful as September rolled into October with its short wet days and longer wet nights downgrading many cereal crops to feed quality across the Prairies. To make matters worse, a lot of grain that did make it into the bin was infected with fusarium and to a lesser extent with ergot. The fusarium […] Read more
When Johne’s hits home
Dr. Meaghan Crawford’s empathy for the family that discovered Johne’s disease in their young beef herd was evident as she spoke about her involvement with the case during her time as a veterinary student at Calgary. A cow and two heifers showing severe weight loss and diarrhea were brought into the rural clinic where she […] Read more
Opportunities in the retail meat case
Seventy retail store visits and more than 21,000 packages of beef later, findings from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s National Retail Meat Case study are coming together. This is the first big-picture view of how the beef you produce is being marketed to Canadian consumers. “Asking consumers what they would like to buy is not always […] Read more
Cut cereal crops later, feed more cows
Support for cutting barley, oat crops at the hard-dough stage grows
The recommendation to cut barley crops at the early-dough stage and oat crops at the late-milk stage for silage has by default been the standing recommendation for stage of maturity to cut these cereals for greenfeed and swath grazing as well. Findings by a University of Saskatchewan team of researchers with the animal science and […] Read more
For the love of animals
Animal care is at the forefront for veterinarian Dr. Bob Evenson
Dr. Bob Evenson made a swift entry into the real world of veterinary medicine the first morning of his career when he delivered a calf by C-section only to return to the clinic to find out that another case 30 miles north would be the second of what would add up to more than 4,000 […] Read more
Benchmark brings feed efficiency home
Seedstock: Munton family aims to raise the bar on bringing up bulls
Benchmark Angus near Warner, Alta., has worked diligently to earn its reputation as “your carcass source.” Not content to rest on Benchmark’s laurels of consistently raising top-ranking marbling and muscling bulls in the Canadian Angus Association’s registry, the Munton family is aiming to up the bar by doing it more efficiently. A year ago this […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
