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Cow-Calf

Ideally, a cow’s body condition score should be evaluated and corrected right after weaning, as that is the period of lowest nutrient requirement.
Calving, Cow-Calf, Nutrition

Post-calving nutrition to maximize conception rates

Evaluating body condition score can be difficult and requires training

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With the current price of calves, targeting high pregnancy rates should be a priority on any cow-calf operation. In addition to remaining pregnant, they must conceive early in the breeding season to maintain a 365-day calving interval and ensure a uniform calf crop. This will promote better returns for the weaned calves and profitability for […] Read more
Two calves on pasture. The Sandhills system works by lowering the pathogen load newborn calves are exposed to on calving grounds.
Cow-Calf, Livestock, Scours

Shifting to the Sandhills calving system to cut scours in young beef calves

While it’s not for every operation, the Sandhills calving system can reduce diarrhea in young calves 

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Cow-calf producers across North America face wide-ranging challenges each calving season but scours and neonatal diarrhea often top the list. Various systems are used to help prevent what can become devastating losses when these pathogens gain a foothold.  An established approach still growing in popularity is the Sandhills calving system, designed to separate newborns and […] Read more
Minor changes to a mineral and vitamin feeding program can make a big difference to animal health and productivity.
Calving, Cow-Calf, Livestock, Nutrition

Changing feeding programs after calving

Nutrition with Barry Yaremcio

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Cows and bred heifers require 25 per cent more nutrients after calving than during late pregnancy. Milk production peaks eight weeks after calving. Feed intake increases until 12 weeks after calving. The increased feed intake is the result of the digestive system expanding to fill the space that was occupied by the fetus and reproductive […] Read more
Surviving scours
Calving, Cow-Calf, Livestock, Scours

Surviving scours

Prevention is the best medicine, but when you’re in the middle of an outbreak, it’s all about getting through it

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Scours. It should be a four-lettered word, for all the misery it causes on cow-calf operations. Even with the best preventative practices, outbreaks can pop up in herds. And in the middle of an outbreak, the focus is on survival, for calves and humans alike. During an outbreak, producers are generally going to see a […] Read more
Jose Alcivar, graduate student and researcher at the University of Saskatchewan.
Cow-Calf, Livestock, Research

Using reproductive tract scoring to pick replacement heifers

A project at the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence is comparing conception rates of replacements to earlier reproductive tract scores

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In Canadian beef cattle systems, increased efficiency accompanied by higher levels of performance is largely dependent on the female herd delivering live calves within a desired time frame. Most commercial operators retain and develop heifers for potential replacements. When adding numbers and quality to the herd, these yearlings become a critical piece of the puzzle. […] Read more
A cow and young calf caught in a spring snowstorm in Saskatchewan. Shifting or condensing the calving season requires careful consideration.
Breeding, Cow-Calf, Livestock

What to consider when changing the breeding season

Producers tightening or shifting their breeding season should consider everything from economics to feeding programs

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Trudging through slushy snow in April is a scene many producers know well. One day there’s a hint of summer in the air, with birds chirping in trees overhead as a farmer checks on newborn calves frolicking near puddles. The next day, the farmer is rushing through pastures as hard sleet slashes his face, trying […] Read more
Livestock nutritionist John McKinnon examines three scenarios at how byproduct feeds can be used in cattle feeding programs.
Cow-Calf, Livestock, Nutrition

Using byproduct feeds to influence profitability of backgrounded calves

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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In my last column, I wrote about some of the challenges facing producers who background cattle, both from a marketing and production perspective. Concerning marketing, emphasis was placed on differences between custom and owner-operated businesses. From a production perspective, both knowledge of cost of production and identifying goals of the nutrition program were stressed. Concerning […] Read more

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