Reading Time: < 1 minute The Beef Cattle Research Council has a pair of new how-to videos. One focuses on the carrying capacity (grazing capacity) of a pasture. It gives an overview of the four keys to grazing management, features a Saskatchewan beef producer talking about his approach, and looks briefly at how to use the Carrying Capacity Calculator developed […] Read more
Calving and pasture capacity videos
Seven tips for calving season
Reading Time: < 1 minute Calving can be an exciting but challenging time. Whether in the middle of calving season or planning for the next, the Beef Cattle Research Council has several helpful calving resources to set producers up for success. It has posted on its website, beefresearch.ca, a series of seven tips with short articles and videos on subjects […] Read more
Often a tranquilizer makes things easier for cattle and their owner
There is a non-prescription product that has many uses and can be administered by producers
Reading Time: 3 minutes There are many times when tranquilization makes it easier on both cattle and the operator. The main tranquilizer I am talking about is acepromazine, a member of the phenothiazine tranquilizer family. It is not a prescription product and producers can be trained in its usage and in the way it is delivered. Since the dosage […] Read more
Splitting up the nursery can have a big health payoff for calves
The Sandhills calving system is a simple way to lower the risk of scours
Reading Time: 4 minutes The Sandhills calving system can help producers reduce scours during calving season. Eight client ranches are trying the method, which is used south of the border but isn’t too common in Canada, said Dr. Tommy Ware of Veterinary Agri-Health Services. So far, it’s been a success. “Sandhills is our way of managing scours risk. Instead […] Read more
Show me the money – and how to resuscitate a newborn calf
Profitability was a popular topic on the Beef Cattle Research Council website but not the most-read posting
Reading Time: 2 minutes Profitability was a recurring theme when it came to the most popular articles offered by the Beef Cattle Research Council in the past year. But the most popular blog post by far was a story and accompanying video offering calving tips, including why people shouldn’t hang calves upside down if they need help breathing. “The […] Read more
A computer program called BETSY could be your next ranch hand
It’s AI, but the other kind — an artificial intelligence system for detecting abnormal activity in animals
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s arrived: facial recognition and 24/7 video monitoring of every movement. That may sound like a science fiction movie, but don’t worry. It’s not for you. It’s for your cattle. An artificial intelligence system named BETSY has been developed by OneCup AI, an Alberta-based tech startup. The company is offering it to producers willing to […] Read more
Get out your calving season to-do list — and check it twice
Being well prepared not only saves headaches during calving but can prevent future problems
Reading Time: 3 minutes For the vast majority of you, calving is underway or will be shortly, so a quick review of a few points may lead to more live calves and minimizing disease problems. First, review your list of calving supplies and make sure you have extra on hand. You know what you have needed in the past, […] Read more
More calves in the first round is a winning formula
Research council urges producers to consider the payoff from tightening the calving season
Reading Time: 2 minutes According to experts, the winning numbers in the calving lottery are always the same: 60-25-10-5. And the Beef Cattle Research Council wants producers to test that theory by using its Value of Calving Distribution Calculator. Calving distribution is the percentage of calves born in each 21-day cycle during the calving season (which is 63 days […] Read more
Good calving data can deliver dollars, but first you need to record it
Collecting more info during calving can reveal issues you didn’t know you had, says vet
Reading Time: 4 minutes There is a lot of information that can be collected during calving season. But what data is worth spending time recording? And why should we be collecting data to begin with? A bare-bones record — such as how many cows and how many calves they had — doesn’t get you very far if you’re looking […] Read more
You gotta know how to hold ’em when inserting a feeding tube in a calf
Tube feeding a calf is often a critical intervention but you need to have a good technique
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Beef Cattle Research Council has released a new video called “The Ins and Outs of Esophageal Feeding.” The title is a reference to one of the main points of the video, namely that when tube feeding a calf, the feeding tube should go easily into the esophagus — and if not, you need to […] Read more
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