Reading Time: < 1 minute Blogs on copper deficiency, pain control products, and drought management strategies topped the most popular list on the Beef Cattle Research Council’s website in 2017. Other most read articles dealt with checkoffs, swath and bale grazing, beef’s environmental footprint, and using body scoring to boost calf profits. The council published 70 blog posts last year, […] Read more
What cattle producers are reading
Who’s your daddy?
A study that used DNA testing to determine the siring success of individual bulls produced some surprises
Reading Time: 3 minutes DNA testing can help you know which bulls are siring calves and make better management decisions. “There was a lot more variation in what bulls were actually doing and which bulls were siring calves than we thought going into this,” Stacey Domolewski said during a recent Beef Cattle Research Council webinar. As part of a […] Read more
Attend this forage webinar in person
'In-person' webinar Dec. 12 at Olds College Bell-E Learning Centre
Reading Time: < 1 minute The webinar season is underway, but that can be a challenge for those who’ve never participated in these online learning events (or those with poor internet connections). So the Beef Cattle Research Council is inviting producers to attend its Dec. 12 webinar on forage diseases in person. The webinar on forage diseases that affect yield, […] Read more
Video offers ranchers’ side of the environmental story
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s Kelly Hall and Hugh Lynch-Staunton are among the ranchers featured in a new video on environmental sustainability from the Beef Cattle Research Council. “What beef producers need to know about environmental footprint” offers both a cinematic look at Canadian cattle production and the sector’s response to its critics. Hall, Lynch-Staunton, and three Ontario cattle […] Read more
Three tips for swath and bale grazing this winter
Match your cows and your feed, leave a ‘snowshoe’ if mud is an issue, and make those swaths wide and high
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you’re planning to swath or bale graze cattle this winter, here are three pieces of advice from Agriculture Canada research scientists Vern Baron in Lacombe and John Duynisveld in Nappan, N.S. Match animal and forage Successful extended grazing matches the energy requirements of the cow with the true quality of the forage and/or supplement […] Read more
Are your bulls actually siring calves?
Reading Time: < 1 minute For producers who breed cows in large pastures with multiple bulls, it’s often assumed that all of the bulls will sire roughly the same number of calves. Research shows a surprising variation in the number of calves sired by each bull. A Nov. 16 webinar examines how DNA parentage testing can help determine sire value […] Read more
Three approaches to managing first- and second-calvers
Their methods differ, but these three ranchers are all focused on maintaining body conditioning
Reading Time: 2 minutes Because they graze year round at Deseret Ranches near Raymond, Darren Bevans manages first- and second-calvers separately from the cow herd on winter swath grazing. “Managing these groups separately allows us to provide a little bit of extra nutrition, which can make all the difference to body condition and future pregnancy rates,” said Bevans. “Really these […] Read more
Opinion: Why the cattle checkoff should rise
Canada’s beef industry has a bright future but innovation is key and costly — and the current levy simply isn’t enough
Reading Time: 3 minutes As cattle producers, you and I have been helping to fund Canadian beef research since 2002 by paying checkoff every time we sell an animal. The work that’s been done with that money has benefited the industry as a whole and at the individual farm level because of the information and innovations that come as […] Read more
Two Lethbridge researchers chosen for mentorship program
Program will give Robert Gruninger and Stacy Singer a chance to know the beef industry better
Reading Time: 2 minutes Two scientists from Ag Canada’s Lethbridge research centre and one from the University of Saskatchewan have been chosen for the Beef Cattle Research Council’s mentorship program. The program pairs up-and-coming applied researchers with innovative cattle producers or other industry professionals for a one-year mentorship. It provides researchers with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of […] Read more
Will feeding open cows cost — or make — you money this winter?
Use an online calculator and pencil in your numbers before deciding to preg check this fall, says beef economist
Reading Time: 3 minutes Preg checking your cattle is important — but it’s hard to know if you should cull open ones now or feed them through the winter. Beef economist Kathy Larson of the Western Beef Development Centre doesn’t always recommend feeding open cows. “It’s a costly venture, particularly when we have tight feed supplies,” she said. “In […] Read more
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