I had a National Geographic poster of “Ice Age Mammals of the Alaskan Tundra” on my bedroom wall when I was a kid. It showed herds of prehistoric muskoxen, horses, wolves, lemmings, bears, lions, mammoths, camels, sabre-toothed tigers, mastodons and humans marauding across a vast, grassy expanse 12,000 years ago. The muskoxen, bears, wolves and […] Read more
Adapting to a changing climate
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
Calving records will be especially valuable in 2022
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
Last month’s column profiled a beef cow productivity study that coincided with the massive 2001-02 drought that had an impact on most of Western Canada. That study got less attention than it deserved, because Canada’s entire beef industry became preoccupied with BSE in 2003. But research is an investment, and the lessons learned from research […] Read more
Cut costs in your herd carefully
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
Research that’s underway now won’t solve this year’s drought, but it should help us deal with the next one. By the same token, research done during the big drought of the early 2000s provides some valuable lessons about managing the cow herd in today’s drought. Dr. Cheryl Waldner of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine […] Read more
Protecting one of your greatest investments – your calves
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
Producer surveys suggest that five to eight per cent of calves typically die before weaning. High winter feed costs mean you’ve already invested a lot in the 2022 calf crop. That investment is lost when calves die before weaning. Scours and respiratory disease are two leading causes of preventable disease and death in young calves. […] Read more
Feeding decisions are important breeding decisions
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
When life gets really stressful it can be hard to remember what you already know. This column probably won’t tell you anything new, but it might remind you of some important principles that can be overlooked in the scramble to buy feed and make important financial decisions. Winter feed costs are a key financial make-or-break […] Read more
Always look a gift cow in the mouth
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
This year’s feed situation is forcing many cow-calf producers to make very difficult decisions. Those who are short of feed may cull their herds harder than usual or look for alternative feeding arrangements to winter some or all their cows. Others with feed carryover from previous years may be tempted to custom feed other people’s […] Read more
Growth promotants and the environment
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
Growth promotants dramatically improve the growth rates and feed efficiency of beef cattle. Trenbolone acetate (TBA) behaves like testosterone and is used in several feedlot implants (Component, Revalor and Synovex). Melengestrol acetate (MGA) behaves like progesterone, a pregnancy hormone. Some feedlots feed MGA to suppress estrous cycles and riding activity in heifers until a few […] Read more
Is this a good investment?
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) projects featured in this column are funded by the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off. When the check-off increased a few years ago, the BCRC’s budget rose from around 15 cents to 67 cents per head marketed. This allowed us to start some new research programs. Now that we’re a few […] Read more
Today’s forage research provides tomorrow’s solutions
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
Today’s research won’t help you weather this year’s drought, but the practical information and advice you’ll read elsewhere in the September issue of Canadian Cattlemen (and at beefresearch.ca) will. Those tips, covering everything from alternative feeds to weaning, all originate from past research done by scientists and refined by producers. But producer-funded research underway today […] Read more
… Survey says?
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
In last February’s column, I encouraged you to fill out our online beef research survey to help the Beef Cattle Research Council and other industry and government funders develop a clear set of priorities to guide our funding decisions over the next five years. Thanks for responding — we had nearly twice as many responses […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
