calves on pasture

Calving records support decision-making

Start simple by tracking two or three things to help make decisions when it’s time to pick replacements or cull the herd

Late March and early April come around for another year and on many farms in Western Canada, the chaos of calving ensues. In the wet and slushy weather of early spring, producers often find themselves wandering in the dead of night, breath still billowing in front of them, to check on a calving cow. The […] Read more


Prioritizing nutrient use in pregnant and lactating cows

Prioritizing nutrient use in pregnant and lactating cows

Nutrition with John McKinnon

As we head into the new year, many of you will be thinking about calving and the upcoming breeding season. From a nutrition perspective, this involves planning a feeding program that accounts for the needs of pregnancy and lactation. It is well established that cows that lose condition in the last trimester of pregnancy will […] Read more

Proper planning is always a part of getting through calving season successfully.

Why calving season is different this year

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

The first major event facing cattle producers in 2019 is planning for calving season. This year there is a new wrinkle in managing animal health programs on the ranch: establishing a veterinary-client patient relationship with a veterinarian. This provides an avenue to access medically important antimicrobials through a prescription as needed. There are few ranches […] Read more





Search for simplicity when planning for calving season

Search for simplicity when planning for calving season

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “The chief work of civilization is making the means of living more complex.” In the cattle industry, striving for optimum production and managing change sparks a counter-impulse toward simplicity. Preparing for calving season is always a chance to look for simpler ways. A big part of getting to “simple” is […] Read more

Taking stock of your vaccines

For some, calving season has already started. Others find themselves on final approach to one of the busiest times of year: calving, preparation for breeding season and spring processing of calves and cows before going to pasture. This is an important time to plan herd health programs for the year, make final adjustments to nutrition […] Read more



a calf laying on the ground

Necrotic laryngitis or calf diphtheria (barker calves)

Veterinarians use various treatments depending on what they've found is most effective

I am sure most producers over the years have had calves develop a throat infection on a sporadic basis. These are the calves which have an extremely loud, inspiratory and expiratory sound which can be heard across the pen. They generally extended their neck to breathe and are in various forms of respiratory distress. The […] Read more