Cracks in the hoof wall are fairly common in beef cattle. Dr. Chris Clark, associate professor of large animal medicine at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, says many older cows on the Prairies in Western Canada develop cracks in the hoof but you might not notice this unless the cow is lame. […] Read more
Don’t fret too much over sand cracks in hooves
They look bad but rarely cause lameness
Direct marketing grass-fed beef is a family business
Family farm in Alberta made the decision to go certified organic in the 1990s
After Tim Hoven and his wife Lori took over the management of his family farm at Eckville, Alta., in 1998 they made the decision to go certified organic. It seemed like a natural next step to him. His parents had become involved with holistic management in the late 1980s after taking a course with Don […] Read more
Not all lameness is foot rot
Animal Health: Two things need to be present for foot rot to occur
Foot rot is an infectious disease that causes swelling, pain, heat and inflammation in the foot, resulting in severe lameness that appears suddenly. The opportunistic pathogens require a break in the skin, however, to enter the foot. The main bacterium we deal with is Fusobacterium necrophorum. Importance of diagnosis Lameness may be from a nail […] Read more
The pros and cons of grazing cover crops
Cover crops have traditionally been used to help hold the soil when transitioning between different types of cash crops, and are often plowed under before planting the next crop — to add organic material and fertility to the soil. Farmers with livestock often select cover crops that can be grazed, adding an additional benefit as […] Read more
Learning to grow more grass in Saskatchewan
Art McElroy has been farming in southern Saskatchewan, about 50 miles east of Alberta, since 1996. He started seeding some of the place back to grass in 1998. In 1999 he and his oldest son took the Ranching for Profit class as a home study course and started doing some rotational grazing. In 2005 he […] Read more
Storage and care of livestock vaccines
We can’t always control how an animal responds to the vaccines we give (in terms of immune response, which can be affected by many factors including health issues and stress levels) but we do have complete control over how we handle and store the vaccines, to make sure they will be optimally potent. Russ Daly, […] Read more
Getting first-calf heifers rebred on time
It can be a challenge to get first calvers rebred without losing ground. They often calve later the next year or come up open. The two-year-old is nursing a calf, still growing, and needs good nutrition and body condition to cycle on schedule after calving. Two-year-olds need more care and management than mature cows. Dr. […] Read more
Proper care of syringes and needles
Dr. Steve Hendrick of the Coaldale Veterinary Clinic, Coaldale, Alta., urges his clients to clean their syringes every time they are used. “For the syringes and pistol-grip syringe guns we use for administering killed virus vaccines, bacterins, toxoids or the products that give protection against bacterial pneumonia, we can clean with a mild dish detergent. […] Read more
Take precautions when feeding salvage crops to cattle
In drought years it’s often hard to locate adequate forage for cattle so producers sometimes turn to alternatives like drought-stressed pulse, oilseed or cereal crops that normally wouldn’t go for feed. These emergency feeds can be a godsend in a dry year, but both Barry Yaremcio, a beef and forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture and […] Read more
Satisfy the protein needs of pregnant cows
Cows require different nutritional levels at different stages of gestation. Nutrient requirements in early gestation are not much different from maintenance requirements, but as the fetus grows larger the cow’s nutrient needs increase. And if a cow is lactating, she needs a much higher level of protein and energy than when she is pregnant. Protein […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
