A backburn set between the Thomas ranch and the wildfire on the first night of the fire.

A rangeland up in flames

Another record-breaking summer of wildfires in B.C. suggests the need for a new approach to fire prevention and management

The wildfires that upended Chris Haywood-Farmer’s world last summer are likely still smouldering this winter, deep in the roots of the charred rangeland. For safety reasons, parts of this vast Crown range were closed for public recreation throughout the fall, a reminder of what the fourth-generation rancher and his family faced earlier that year. “We […] Read more

Researchers hope that an ocular vaccine, currently in trials, will deliver a more effective tool for managing pink eye in herds.

Eye drop vaccine for pink eye in cattle under development

Researchers hope ocular vaccine will elicit a greater local immune response

University of Saskatchewan researchers have their sights set on an innovative solution for a costly cattle disease. Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis, or pink eye, remains an unpredictable, highly contagious disease that can lead to large outbreaks within herds, and current treatment options are inadequate. This prompted researchers at the university’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), […] Read more


Joe Leathers, general manager at the Four Sixes, has worked for the ranch for over two decades.

The Four Sixes stampedes into the millennium

While this Texas ranch has a rich history and strong traditions, ranch management is looking to the future

As the cow camp cook’s triangle rings before dawn, cowboys jump up out of their bedrolls like biscuits rising in a Dutch oven over a campfire. They amble over to the chuck wagon for a biscuit with a couple of pieces of bacon slapped inside, and a tin cup filled with piping hot coffee. With […] Read more

While cattle often shoulder the blame for methane emissions, the reality is that other industries emit more methane in Canada.

Curbing methane emissions will take a team effort

The beef industry has made big strides in reducing its contributions, but there is more work to do

When Karen Beauchemin began researching ruminant nutrition more than two decades ago, the conversation around greenhouse gas emissions was just beginning. Dr. Beauchemin, a research scientist at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, felt early on there was an environmental angle to her work in addition to improving animal nutrition, productivity […] Read more


Checking cattle at a feedlot. Recent research suggests that controlling inflammation may reduce cases of bacterial pneumonia.

Research may yield new approaches to managing pneumonia in cattle

Researchers are now focusing on inflammation’s role in pneumonia cases in cattle

University of Guelph research could lead to revolutionary new approaches to preventing pneumonia in beef cattle while reducing the use of antibiotics. Dr. Jeff Caswell, a professor in the pathobiology department at the Ontario Veterinary College, says the traditional thinking has been that risk factors such as weaning, transportation, inclement weather, castration and viral infections […] Read more

When started purposefully, with meticulous planning and consideration for safety, fire can restart the life cycle.

Working with fire for grassland conservation

Prescribed fire can be a useful management tool but must be handled carefully, says Canada’s first prescribed fire exchange group

The implications of a grass fire are rightfully terrifying in most situations. When it’s started purposefully, however, with meticulous planning and high safety standards, fire can act as a beneficial conservation and pasture management practice. “I think we need to relook at how we perceive fire and look at fire not as a destructive force […] Read more


The reality of running a large animal practice set in about eight years out, with hours of driving and countless caesareans in cold barns and hay shed lean-tos.

Too young to feel this damn old

Veterinary Case Study: Conducting a caesarean in a barn when it’s -38 C is not a pleasant task

I graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 1970, a farm boy’s dream that never faded from 12 years old onward. The day I walked across the stage six years after starting university and received a rolled-up degree wrapped in ribbon, I whispered to myself, “I’ve done it. I will be a large […] Read more

Laura and Ryan Plett’s Black Angus cattle “with a Hereford influence” graze a highly forested area of the Sawmill Creek Livestock. Laura Plett says the cattle grazed in heavy bush for about a month this past summer because — thanks to the moisture-preserving shade provided by the trees — those were the only areas still producing grass.

There’s power in a pencil for cow-calf operations

Cattlemen’s Young Leaders participant refines her cow-calf operation with the help of mentorship

Stead, Manitoba is not the easiest place to operate a cow-calf operation. The highly forested landscape requires extensive land clearing before grazing cattle, and even then you might not have the pristine grasslands one might see in cattle country. Both early and late frosts are common and there are never-ending bugs that drive cattle nuts. […] Read more


Grizzly bears are a reality throughout much of B.C. Reducing conflict with livestock continues to be a challenge for the BCCA LPP.

Spring calving heralds beginning of predator season

As bear, cougar and wolf populations rebound, ranchers are working with conservation officers, wildlife specialists and researchers to pinpoint and mitigate problems

Predators have always been a challenge when raising livestock. But with more herds calving on pasture in the spring and recovering wildlife populations, many ranchers in the West are seeing more predators than in times past. Jim Lynch-Staunton of Antelope Butte Livestock, in the foothills of southern Alberta, is one of those ranchers. “We’ve had […] Read more

The Wrights’ calving camera, installed in one of their barns. Because the cameras are connected to Wi-Fi, Jim Wright is able to monitor the cows with his cellphone at work and rush home if needed.

The ins and outs of calving cameras

For producers whose herds calve in the winter, cameras offer several benefits, ranging from fewer trips outside to allowing producers to work off-farm during calving

Using cameras to monitor cows during winter calving saves time and labour, and also saves ranchers trips outside during cold weather. Three ranchers from northwestern Saskatchewan share their experiences with and tips for using calving cameras. Nesset Lake Angus Julie and Ivan Demmans of Nesset Lake Angus have 170 registered Black Angus cows and 100 […] Read more