Most fences for cattle utilize barbed wire, especially for large pastures, since a good barbed-wire fence is effective and much cheaper to build and maintain than rail fences or netting, and will last longer if properly installed. Jason Nelson has a ranch near Longview, in southern Alberta, and does custom fencing for many ranchers in […] Read more
Tips for rough ground
Building fence is more challenging in rocky, frozen or swampy ground when it’s impossible to dig post holes efficiently, or pound posts. Michael Thomas of Thomas and Son Custom Fencing, at Baker, Idaho, says options in rocks include chipping or prying the rocks out with a hand bar, or using a hammer drill. “This works […] Read more
Stephen Hughes’ family has operated the Chinook Ranch near Longview, Alta., since the late 1940s. It consists of 5,000 acres, roughly half in Crown lands, and most of it in tall grass prairie to carry 500 cows year-round plus 500 yearlings in the summer. It was a traditional operation, raising hay to carry the cows […] Read more
Cover crops and holistic management practices on the Richards' farm in Saskatchewan
Garry Richards is seeing positive results from holistic management on the farm where he grew up near Bangor, Sask. He and his wife Lynn and three children are making it work with little outside input. “This farm was homesteaded in 1902 by my grandfather. My mother and father farmed here, then I went away to […] Read more
Animal Health: Management is your best bet at preventing infection
Newborn and young calves are often vulnerable to systemic infection if they fail to obtain adequate passive transfer of temporary immunity from the dam’s antibodies in the colostrum. Systemic infection results when bacteria or their toxins overwhelm the body’s defenses and spread throughout the body via the bloodstream. According to Claire Windeyer, an assistant professor […] Read more
Health with Heather Smith Thomas
Some diseases affect reproduction, interfering with the cow’s ability to carry a calf to term. It’s best to try to prevent these diseases by making sure cows and bulls have adequate immunity before breeding season. These vaccinations will vary, depending on specific risks in a certain herd, and timing will vary, depending on the calving/breeding […] Read more
A family-run, fourth-generation ranch in Alberta
Mark and Ingrid Tannas, their son Luke and his wife Ceanna run 300 purebred Angus and 125 commercial cows at their ranch west of Water Valley, Alta. Mark is the fourth generation on the ranch. “Our family has been here about 50 years, and we built our first calving barn about 40 years ago. It […] Read more
Jordan Buba manages the calving at Lewis Farms near Edmonton, Alta. She is a fourth-generation family member at the farm. “We run about 1,000 cows along with the farming — grain and seed potatoes. We have two calving seasons, with two groups of cows. We calve about 400 cows in December-January and about 600 in […] Read more
There are many options for setting a broken bone
Occasionally cattle suffer fractures, and it’s generally a leg bone. Often it’s a young or newborn calf, and the fractured limb should be cast or splinted for proper healing. When Dr. Andy Acton with Deep South Animal Clinic at Ogema, Sask., gets a phone call from a producer about a possible fracture, he asks about […] Read more
Longview, Alta. ranch in operation since 1950
Stephen Hughes raises beef cattle near Longview, in southwestern Alberta. “Our family has been here since the late 1940s. My grandfather came from England in 1928 and had this ranch put together by 1950. My dad, Jim, is still involved in the day-to-day management of the ranch. I am third generation, and when I got […] Read more
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