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Oil and cattle: When major industries collide

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

There are currently just under 500,000 gas and oil wells in Alberta. Although difficult to find exact numbers, it appears nearly 5,000 new oil and gas wells are drilled across Western Canada every year. Capital investment for the Canadian oil and gas sector could reach $40.6 billion in 2024.  It’s big business and much of it […] Read more

To begin feeding starved cattle, the number involved and feed sources require consideration.

Assessing malnutrition in beef cows: Part 2

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

Through my years in practice and my career afterwards, I could never accept the fact that some producers starve cattle. Malnourished cattle almost always occurred through winter and, inevitably, the lack of care of the cow herd meant all animals on a particular farm or ranch suffered. Horses were bone racks, the farm dog skeletal, […] Read more



“Most fractures we see in young calves are not open wounds or compound fractures, so there’s no infection. But if we don’t do a good job of protecting a broken limb and it becomes open, the chances for survival plummet quickly.” – Dr. Andy Acton.

Limb injury in newborn calves

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

Calving time is just down the road and questions dealing with limb injuries in newborn calves are about to become daily entries in large animal clinics serving beef herds. Next, are dairy calves with crippling limb injuries throughout the year. Many require veterinary care.  Limb injuries fall into the following areas: Most veterinarians agree that […] Read more


It’s much easier to write about treatment than get it done effectively. Many animals die from grain overload.

Grain overload in cattle

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

Only a few calls in practice were totally disheartening. Grain overload in a group of pregnant brood cows three months from calving at -25 C turned out to be one of the worst. By the time producers noticed signs of grain engorgement, cows were often really sick: staggering, down and unable to rise, dehydrated, rumen […] Read more

Producers need to think about how to wean and when to wean their calves.

Decision tree busy come calf weaning time

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

During 2023, work, family events and funerals carried me across ranching country from Grand Prairie in Peace River country to Maple Creek on the Saskatchewan side of the Cypress Hills. The travel took me through a patchwork of pastures alternating from satisfactory to barren depending on precipitation. Cow condition varied from good and sleek to […] Read more


E. coli bacteria.

How did the E. coli outbreak happen in Calgary’s daycares?

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

Debacle is not a word I use much. It’s too harsh, especially when describing disease. Debacle denotes a “violent collapse” or “a fiasco.” However, I’m convinced — based on what I read about what consumed Calgary daycares — that debacle best describes what’s going on across town in one of Canada’s most modern cities, with […] Read more

Vet Advice: Vibriosis

Vet Advice: Vibriosis

Vibriosis is an important venereal disease of cattle caused by the organism Campylobacter fetus. Some refer to the disease as campylobacteriosis. In sheep, it may be referred to as enzootic abortion, not associated with venereal transmission as much as ingestion of contaminated water and feed. Typically, the disease causes female infertility, with an increased number […] Read more


swine fever virus research USDA

Vet Advice: Trust in science, technology needed to fight future pandemics

We ignore the zoonotic aspects of pandemics at our peril

COVID is just over three years old. Based on a World Health Organization (WHO) dashboard, as of June 28, there had been 767,518,723 confirmed COVID cases, including 6,947,192 deaths, worldwide. And it’s not finished. COVID drags on as the mother virus spawns new mutant strains. The scientific community at all levels worries about the next […] Read more

cryptosporidium parvum

Cryptosporidium: A nightmare in the making

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

I turned on the TV a week ago to watch what’s going on south of the border. After taking in the political news, the next channel I turned to relayed the sad story of a young couple with around 300 cows and a horrible outbreak of cryptosporidiosis during their calving season, the treatment nightmare of […] Read more