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

cattle and sheep

Vet Advice: Disease control ineffective when puzzle pieces missing

Knowledge gaps remain on a bacterial pathogen known to affect sheep, but also found in cattle

Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi or Movi) is a respiratory pathogen associated with variable degrees of pneumonia in domestic sheep and goats. Movi first appeared in 1972 and has been on the list of respiratory diseases for sheep and goats since. Healthy bighorn sheep populations, originally naive to Movi, suffer severe outbreaks of mixed microbial pneumonia […] Read more


A beef specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach says producers should try to keep calving areas well drained.

Fighting mud at calving season

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

Muddy corrals in early spring are unacceptable for calving. Mud can be a sign of neglect or the unfortunate result of late spring snow storms severe enough to backfill crowded corrals to the point calves are trampled and smothered, or forced to live in the squalor of mud, cold and discomfort. Mud, if not managed […] Read more

Vet Advice: Putting out fires

Vet Advice: Putting out fires

It would be wonderful if reason and common sense would govern everything we try to accomplish. Unfortunately, one of the greatest myths of common sense is that everything that seems obvious at first is. Things only become obvious after you know all the answers, and they never all come. A complicating reality is that humans […] Read more


While experience and training improve your ability to eyeball a cow’s body condition score, looks can still be deceiving.

Thin cows cost money

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

Any discussion about getting ready for calving season should start with an evaluation of the body condition of pregnant cows and heifers. There are also significant economic factors to consider.  Several issues recently shifted priorities away from routine body condition scoring, such as beef supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 and sudden swings in cattle. […] Read more

If a cow loses weight before calving, colostrum quantity — and possibly quality — will be compromised.

Plan ahead for winter calving

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

In Canada, cold weather potentially spans five to six months. Generally, December, January and February are considered cold months, although winter weather can start in November and last through late March or early April. Successful management of calving in cold weather requires planning.  Consider the nutritional needs of bred heifers and cows before calving. Adequate […] Read more


A northern gannet colony at the Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula. (Benedek/E+/Getty Images)

Vet Advice: Viral storms endanger wildlife

Wildlife health is an indication of the health of the environment on which we rely

Listening for blue jays call in early mornings in need of peanuts is a favourite pastime. I sit with Addie, our golden doodle, within a foot or two of what’s offered, coffee in hand and watch my friends wrap a beak around whole peanuts, then squirrel them away in adjacent spruce. The routine stopped midsummer […] Read more

The only way a society can avoid being crushed by the burden of its idiots is if the non-stupid work even harder to offset the losses of their stupid brethren.

Can we banish stupidity?

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

We often hear and use the term “stupid” without understanding what stupid really means and the negative connotation stupid can have on those it might be directed toward. In its simplest form stupidity describes behaviour that shows a lack of good sense or judgment. One need not search far to understand why human beings are […] Read more


Each time anthrax hits the news, the veterinary community goes through a list of questions.

Anthrax: A maverick killer for livestock that never grows old

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

Ancient Greece and Rome were well acquainted with anthrax many famous scholars from those times mentioned it in their writings. Today we continue to write about anthrax, partially because the soil-borne pathogen continues to surface as a livestock killer, mostly in small outbreaks, but makes remarkable news when discussed in the context of biological warfare […] Read more

Viewing COVID-19 from a veterinary practice perspective

Viewing COVID-19 from a veterinary practice perspective

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

COVID-19 changed the world. It changed perceptions in animal care, human responsibilities regarding animal health management and how humans will think about their own health down the road. Opinions on what the future offers vary widely between individuals. Personal opinion, level of understanding about issues and acceptance of what’s right and what’s wrong in the […] Read more