
Tag Archives University of Calgary

Intranasal vaccines get around maternal antibodies
Animal Health: Maternal antibodies unpredictable
Calves are born without fully functioning immune systems, making them reliant on passive immunity from maternal antibodies for disease protection. As a result, we assumed for a long time that vaccinating calves at an early age was a complete waste of time and money as the maternal antibodies would attack any pathogens introduced in the […] Read more

Friends of Canadian Simmental Foundation auction raises $100,000
Purely Purebred with Mike Millar: News about you from the September 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
We announced this last month in another part of the magazine but I just wanted to pass on my own congratulations to Bob Switzer and John Willmott, two men who are closely tied to the Angus breed in this country, who will be inducted into the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame November 6 at the […] 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

Pneumonia: the disease that won’t go away
The three categories of pneumonia and how to tell them apart
Environment, germs and immunity are top of mind when thinking of all the risk factors that could set the stage for pneumonia in cattle. The forgotten factor is one beyond producers’ control and the reason why pneumonia will always be a problem — anatomy. Bovine lungs are very small relative to the animal’s oxygen requirements, […] Read more

The lowdown on preconditioning calves
Preconditioned calves are healthier, grow faster, and grade higher — but can cow-calf producers make money on the practice?
Can you make money preconditioning feeder calves? The answer depends on whom you talk to. Attendees at a University of Calgary conference last month were told about an Indiana producer who pocketed an extra $80 per calf by preconditioning his animals. “The producer realized that the more days he preconditioned those calves, the more money […] Read more

Cull cow transport study offers some surprises
A recently published Alberta study on the transport of cull cows during winter upturns some previous findings on causes of bruising, as well as common industry beliefs about boarding over some of the ventilation holes in stock trailers during cold-weather travel. The study gives the first indication that issues in cull-cow transport may be related […] Read more

Bov-Innovation: Putting Theory into Practice
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
There is no shortage of beef industry conferences, workshops and meetings for Canadian beef producers to attend throughout the year. These have included the Canfax forum, the Canada Beef forum, Cattlemen’s Young Leaders forums, industry golf tournaments, tours, national, provincial and breed association meetings, the International Livestock Congress, and many more. Although they are valuable […] Read more
Feedlot operators named 2016 Outstanding Young Farmers
Newsmakers from the March 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
Ryan Beierbach of Whitewood is the new chair of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association; Rick Toney of Gull Lake is vice-chair. New to the board is Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association (SCFA) representative Chad Ross of Estevan, replacing outgoing chair Bill Jameson. Brad Welter returns as the other SCFA rep, as do Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association representatives […] Read more

Monitoring the suckle reflex in calves
Some recent research has revealed a test that easily predicts which calves should receive supplemental colostrum at only a few minutes old. It was the result of some work by Dr. Elizabeth Homerosky, a veterinarian at the faculty of veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary, as she was comparing various testing procedures to determine […] Read more
Research: A living lab
News Roundup from the September 2015 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
First-year test results from the Western Canadian Cow-Calf Surveillance Network are going out to participating producers as the research team gears up for the second cycle of this five-year project. The foundation was laid by recruiting herds into a network intended to inform industry on the health status of the western herd and pertinent management […] Read more