The Kimberly Cattle Portfolio “is an established and well-managed asset that provides important diversification in our client portfolios,” said Ben Hawkins, executive managing director at the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), in a Nov. 28 news release.

AIMCo invests globally on behalf of pension, endowment, insurance, and government funds in Alberta.

AIMCo partnered with Australian agriculture investment management firm New Agriculture on the deal. It followed a public tender process and is subject to regulatory approvals, the release said.

The portfolio consists of Yougawalla Pastoral Co and Argyle Cattle Co. It’s a large-scale cattle breeding business spanning nearly 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) or largely leased land in the Kimberly region of Western Australia, AIMCo said in the news release.

AIMCo previously acquired Australian mixed farming business Lawson Grains in January of 2022. The corporate grain operation farms over 90,000 hectares (a bit more than 222,000 acres), according to the company’s website.

Haydn and Jane Sale are staying on as managers of the portfolio, the release said.

Haydn Sale told Australian media that AIMCo is planning to expand on natural assets, like approval for nearly 500 hectares (1236 acres) of irrigation, and frontage on a few major water sources.

“Ensuring we can grow fodder to further value-add cattle has been a big key focus for us and the new buyers coming in really saw that as a big upside for the business,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

“They’re very much behind getting that development done,” Sale added.

AIMCo bought the portfolio from Hong Kong property developer Hui Wing Mau, according to the Nov. 29 ABC report.

—Geralyn Wichers is associate digital editor of AGCanada.com. She writes from southeastern Manitoba.

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“Genetic selection is really about putting DNA into production,” said Vermilion-area beef producer Sean McGrath. “You’re buying DNA and you’re selling performance — and really, it’s about what performance fits your ranch and what performance your ranch can support.

“I really get a kick out of trying to match cattle to the system rather than adapting the system to the cattle.”

When producers bring in new genetics through bull purchases, they don’t always think about how those genetics will fit into their operation long term, McGrath said during a Beef Cattle Research Council webinar last month.

“What we’re actually buying when we’re buying bulls is DNA that’s going to go into our cow herd and produce something that hopefully fits our environment,” he said. “A bull is just an automated delivery system for the DNA that we’re buying. So we really need to focus on the DNA that those sires contain.”

Think about the environment those cattle will be raised in and source your genetics accordingly, said Stacey Domolewski, the council’s research and innovation co-ordinator.

“When you match your environment to the class of livestock that you have, it just makes more sense. It’s less input from both sides,” she said.

Take Brahman cattle, for instance.

This breed is built for hot environments and doesn’t do as well in Canada’s cold winters, so they may require extra bedding, shelter, and feed to survive the cold.

“It takes a lot more effort on the behalf of the producer to make sure they grow and are managed in a way that is both good for their welfare and their performance.”

Sometimes, though, the mismatch is less obvious, she added.

“Usually it’s minor things. Maybe there are certain cows that just don’t do as well in their pastures, or that won’t maintain condition as well,” said Domolewski. “Sometimes you’ll have to feed a cow through the winter more than all of the rest of them.

“It tends to be not glaringly obvious things, but those little management things that add up over time — and their costs add up over time.”

Shooting at the right net

The first step to fixing that is looking at your production environment and comparing it to your goals for your genetics.

“It’s really down to understanding your environment and knowing what you’re going to put those cattle through, and selecting accordingly,” said Domolewski.

McGrath likens it to making sure you’re “shooting at the right net.”

“There’s no point in buying genetics that have performance that our environment won’t support,” he said. “There are some that will be happy medium in your operation that will work really well.”

And ‘environment’ doesn’t just mean weather conditions, added Domolewski.

“It can be anything and everything about your operation and how it works,” she said. “What are some of the things that are unique to your area that you want cattle to survive and thrive in?

“Then think about what traits you’re looking for that will thrive in the conditions that you’re going to provide for those animals.”

On McGrath’s operation, for instance, feed availability is limited, so he’s selected genetics that will accommodate things like reduced milk production.

“Our cow herd looks like our cow herd because we’re on 85 per cent native rangeland. We have very minimal cropland resources,” he said. “We’ll be selecting a totally different profile in terms of what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Other producers might focus on feet and leg structure for animals that are walking long distances, added Domolewski.

“If you have big, huge pastures where they have to walk a long ways to water, that’s a lot more important than it would be in a smaller pen.”

But choosing the right traits ultimately comes down to “prioritizing what’s most important to you on your operation.”

That includes management practices that make your life easier.

“Sometimes that early calving season is important to producers because they’re also grain farmers and they can’t be calving at the same time they’re seeding,” she said.

“For them, that management practice isn’t movable, whereas for other producers, it could be and might work better for the class of cattle they have.

“It’s about prioritizing the parts of your system that need to happen a certain way because of your lifestyle.”

Good record-keeping can help with that.

“It can help you to identify some of these things so you can really do a good job of tweaking those genetic input choices,” said McGrath. “Your records are… there to help you understand your own ranch. If you understand your ranch, you can start to understand what cattle fit in there better.”

But the genetics you choose today can take a long time to bear fruit, so it’s important to be thinking about the long-term plan you have for your operation, he added.

“It doesn’t take long until we’re four or five years down the track with what we’re trying to plan,” said McGrath. “It’s important to think about how we’re going to be producing and marketing cattle in five or 10 years. That should really be part of your decision on the genetics you’re sourcing today.”

The post Matchmaking: Select cattle genetics that are a fit for your operation appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“A lot of people might think, great, I got greater than 90 per cent (pregnancy rate), that might mean success,” said veterinarian Dr. Blake Balog, who owns Bow Valley Livestock Health in Brooks.

“To me, it doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot if I haven’t defined how long that breeding season is or the calving distribution.”

For Balog, who presented as part of a recent Beef Cattle Research Council webinar, the metrics that define reproductive stress are based on average breeding season and calving distribution targets. For cows, the breeding season should be around 60 days, or roughly three cycles, whereas for heifers, that number drops to 45 days.

“With that, if we’ve got normally fertile bulls and cows and heifers, we should see a 95 per cent preg check on a 60-day exposure and 85 per cent on a 45-day exposure,” said Balog, adding that some producers tighten up that timeline even further.

“We have a lot of clients around here doing anywhere down to 20 or 30 days, just pushing that reproductive momentum a little bit harder and selecting for the most fertile heifers.”

Calving distribution also plays an important role in determining reproductive success. Typically, 60 to 70 per cent of calving should be completed in the first cycle, as older calves generally weigh more when it comes time to sell.

“If we look at the metrics in terms of profitability, the herd that has the better calving distribution had about a $75-per-head advantage just from having a better calving distribution,” he said of one case study.

“So there are dollars and cents to having this better reproductive momentum.”

It’s also important to know what the average postpartum interval is, he added.

For a cow, that interval should be between 50 to 80 days, while for a heifer, it’s about 80 to 100 days.

“If we’ve done something wrong on those heifers — like dropped our body condition score — that’s going to delay the time frame that they’re going to get back cycling again,” he said.

“It also makes you think maybe we should be doing something with those heifers to get them to calve a little earlier than the cows we know have a little more time to catch back up.”

To that end, producers should be “paying a lot of attention to their heifers,” making sure that their body condition score is around 2.5 or 3.0 and that they’re on an “inclining plane of nutrition.”

“That’s where our momentum starts,” he said. “That means developing our heifers to an adequate weight — that usually means in the range of 55 to 60 per cent (of mature weight) and making sure they’re calving out at a reasonable weight as well.

“It’s really important for those critters you’re developing and for the cow herd you’re maintaining too.”

Breeding heifers early will also put some selection pressure on fertility, he added.

“It irks me when guys get a higher open rate and then the next year they figure they just want to put the bull out for longer. That’s really not the solution at all,” Balog said.

“The solution is putting better selection pressure on fertility in that herd and paying attention to nutrition.”

But every herd will have physiological, as well as regional, limitations, so producers will need to work closely with their veterinarians to optimize the reproductive success in their own herds.

“Every person’s situation is unique,” said Balog.

“We try to achieve the best situation that biology dictates is possible, but everyone’s herd-level dynamics will change things quite a bit.”

The post Timing is (almost) everything when it comes to reproductive success appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Heifers experiencing dystocia or a difficult calving are less likely to mother up and breed back and more likely to wean lighter calves. Assisted calves are more likely to become sick or die before weaning.

Proper heifer bull selection is absolutely crucial. Here are some tips to help identify the perfect heifer bull for your operation.

Understanding EPDs

Expected progeny differences (EPDs) are used to evaluate the difference between one animal’s progeny compared to another’s.

For many years, birth weight EPDs were the go-to tool for heifer bull selection. A bull with a birth weight EPD of +3 indicates that on average, calves sired by that bull will weigh three pounds more compared to a bull with a birth weight EPD of 0.

This means that bull birth weight EPDs with a negative value are preferred. However, just because a calf has a low birth weight doesn’t necessarily mean delivery will proceed without a hitch.

Calving ease EPDs are an absolute game changer and have a distinct advantage over simply using birth weight EPDs. They do the work for you by factoring in birth weight, but also the calving ease history of that bull, as well as his sire, dam, grand sires, grand dams, siblings, and progeny if available.

This is where the true value of the calving ease EPD truly lies. Here, factors such as calf shape and gestation length play a role. So don’t be surprised if calves sired by bulls with high calving ease EPD values have a more streamlined appearance and drop a few days earlier than expected. Depending on what you are looking for, it may be important to consider both calving ease direct (abbreviated as either CE or CED), as well as calving ease maternal (abbreviated as CEM or MCE).

Calving ease direct (commonly termed just calving ease) indicates how easily that sire’s calves will be delivered by first-calf heifers compared to calves sired by other bulls within that breed.

Here, positive values are desired.

So a bull with a calving ease direct EPD of +5 will have on average six per cent fewer calves requiring assistance during delivery compared to a bull with a calving ease EPD of -1. But there are many factors determined by the heifer that also impact calving ease. Calving ease maternal can be used in the same fashion to predict how easily a sire’s daughters will calve at two years of age when compared to the daughters of other sires.

If you plan to sell all heifers born to your first-calf heifers, then you only need to evaluate calving ease direct.

However, if you envision keeping some heifers as replacements, then both calving ease direct and calving ease maternal EPDs should be considered. It is important to note, if true calving ease is what you are after, then birth weight EPDs should be ignored. Evaluating both will result in less genetic improvement as you will overemphasize birth weight and underemphasize calving ease, which is the more critical component.

Average calving ease EPDs across breeds are constantly changing.

A true heifer bull will have calving ease EPDs well above breed average. However, in most cases, bulls within maternal-based breeds such as Angus, with only moderately high calving ease EPDs are suitable to use on well-developed heifers within continental breeds such as Simmental. (See table for current breed averages for all calves born during 2018-19.)

A balance of all other EPDs is desired.

Bulls with below-average birth weight and above-average weaning weight or yearling weight EPDs are termed ‘curve benders.’ Expect to pay up for these boys as they likely offer adequate calving ease without compromising on the performance side.

Steer clear (no pun intended) of bulls with exceptionally high milk EPDs or extremely low gestational length EPDs. The age-old saying of ‘too much of a good thing’ holds true when it comes to these two traits. Genetic potential for milk should be matched to environment and forage availability to avoid compromising on feed efficiency or reproductive performance. Though calves born early weigh less and are more likely to be delivered with ease, selecting very heavily for short gestational length and even extreme calving ease is believed by some researchers to lead to slightly premature calves with underdeveloped lungs, reduced vigour, and decreased overall compatibility with life.

That being said, there are distinct breed differences when it comes to gestational length. Here­ford calves typically drop around the commonly referenced 285 days, whereas Angus calves tend to come earlier around 280 days. Continental calves, such as Simmental and Charolais, wrap up closer to around 290 days.

Keep in mind breed averages are constantly changing and EPDs should never be compared across breeds without using proper adjustment factors.

Good conformation and disposition

A bull is only valuable insofar as he can settle heifers. Physical soundness is absolutely crucial. When evaluating your heifer bull prospect at an upcoming sale make sure you get him off the bed pack and on flat ground where he can get out and walk. Evaluate his gait, his feet, and overall structural soundness. Short-strided bulls with inadequate angle and flex to their hock are more likely to endure stifle injuries or turn up lame.

Evaluate the shape of their head and shoulders.

Heavy-boned bulls with a large blocky head or extremely wide, coarse shoulders are more likely to sire calves with similar characteristics that may negatively impact calving ease. Keep your eye out for a bull that is well balanced with a pleasant disposition. Heifers already tend to be more flighty than the mature cow herd. Adding a high-headed bull to the mix can make the group even more difficult to handle, not to mention, their calves.

A clean bill of health

Most heifer bulls make their debut as yearlings and, as such, the value of a breeding soundness evaluation cannot be overemphasized. A satisfactory breeding soundness evaluation result is needed to ensure that bull has reached sexual maturity and is not affected by wart or persistent frenulum that could negatively affect his ability to settle heifers.

Be sure to double-check for adequate vaccination and health history. Bulls should be vaccinated with a modified live or intranasal respiratory vaccine and a seven- or eight-way clostridial vaccine at branding, weaning, and boostered at least once prior to breeding.

Those with a history of any disease should be avoided.

If the bull is from an operation that is not on a vaccination program guaranteeing against the birth of calves persistently infected (PI) with BVD, then the bull should also be tested for PI status before purchase. Negative status for other infectious diseases such as Johne’s or carrier-free status for common genetic defects such as arthrogryposis, hydrocephalus, dwarfism, etc. are also ideal.

Purchasing a virgin bull to use on heifers is preferred. Non-virgin bulls should be tested for trichomoniasis, regardless of the age group they are turned out with. New additions should be isolated and quarantined for 30 days.

Final considerations

The value of crossbred bulls and positive impacts of hybrid vigour should not be ignored.

A crossbred heifer bull has the ability to give you the calving ease you need to sleep at night while still packing enough punch to help your calf crop tip the scales. Luckily, we are seeing more crossbred heifer bulls on offer in sale catalogues with each passing year. Talk to seedstock producers about their value and versatility.

Regardless of the breed or breeds you buy, always keep in mind that a heifer bull’s residency on a ranch may be short lived. Heifer bulls no longer suitable to use on replacement heifers (either because of large size or risk for inbreeding) may not be economical to use on the mature cow herd. Though there are true curve benders out there, you are likely giving up too much performance to justify keeping a true heifer bull around. This is something that should be considered when establishing your budget.

Also consider the number of replacement heifers a bull is expected to cover, which is roughly equivalent to their age in months. For example, a 16-month-old bull should be able to cover 16 head in a 60-day breeding season. This rule of thumb holds true until a bull reaches his maximum breeding capacity at approximately 36 months of age.

Lastly, have fun!

Bull sale season is a great opportunity to get out, admire some fantastic bulls, eat good food, and visit with friends. Here’s to wishing you the best of luck and the top bid as you search for that perfect heifer bull candidate and a restful, dystocia-free 2020 calving season.

Elizabeth Homerosky is a veterinarian and partner at Veterinary Agri-Health Services in Airdrie and operates a small commercial cow-calf herd near Cremona.

The post A guide to selecting the perfect heifer bull appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Do you have the time to heat detect or do you want timed breeding? Cost is a consideration, as timed artificial insemination programs require more financial commitment and more passes through the chute.

We will explore three main synchronization programs that I personally find the most successful. There are numerous options available now, and your veterinarian or semen sales rep may have programs they recommend. Also, talk to neighbours to see which programs they have had success with.

The key is to have one that is not too complicated, and to write the protocol down so nothing is left to chance. Success depends on dealing with all the details and following the protocols as closely as possible.

With any synchronization program, cows and heifers must be in good health and have a sound nutritional program. All the factors that lead to a high conception rate with natural breeding are the same ones that must be incorporated into a synchronization program.

Synchronization is not a substitute for poor management.

Heifers must be at two-thirds of mature weight in order to breed. Adequate energy and trace minerals must be in the ration. A good body condition score of 2.5-3.5 is necessary. Have the cattle vaccinated for the reproductive diseases that are in your area (such as BVD and IBR). Recently calved cows should be gaining weight on a rising plane of nutrition and be at least 60 days postpartum. If the semen is of high quality, the only thing left is to fine-tune the synchronization programs, so please read on.

If labour is not an issue and the skill level for heat detection is high, the original program of two shots of prostaglandin is still very effective. The two shots are given 10 days apart and cattle are observed very closely for heats for two to five days after the second shot, and then bred accordingly.

Most prostaglandins, including the commonly used one estrumate, have a two-cc dosage. Always, always, give these products with a long needle (at least 1.5 inches) as you must get this low-dosage product deep into the muscle. It is preferable to use the neck muscles for all these injected products.

The only other slight variation to this program I use is when a producer wants to observe and breed off heats picked up after the first shot of prostaglandin. If they are cycling well previously, approximately 70 per cent of the cows will cycle in the first several days after the first shot. Any that aren’t bred after the 10 days are then given the second shot.

This cuts your cost but increases labour as you are breeding over a longer period of time.

An excellent program — but only for heifers — is the MGA (megesterol acetate) program. MGA is a progesterone compound, which was primarily used in feedlots to keep heifers from cycling. Heifers are fed 0.5 mg/hd/day for 14 days (most feed mills will have this mixed in a small amount of grain or in pellet form, making it easy to administer the proper amount). This is fed for 14 days exactly and then stopped. Since the progesterone source is removed, almost all of the heifers will come into heat in two to six days.

A big word of caution here is this is NOT a fertile heat. We then go in with a prostaglandin shot (remember the dosage difference), 19 days after the removal of the MGA. The heifers will be in standing heat two to five days after the injection and are then bred according to heat or are all AI’ed in 72 hours. This program does not work on cows even when a higher dosage of MGA was used, so do not under any circumstances use this program on cows. The results are way too inconsistent.

The advantage of the MGA program is that the cost is reduced and only two passes through the chute are required (when we count the one pass to AI them).

With any of these programs one could use natural breeding, but bull power is critical as many more animals are cycling over a short period of time. Natural breeding will work with fertile bulls in small breeding groups. The MGA program (if you do the math) needs to be started 33 days (just over one month) before you wish to breed the first heifer. Some larger producers will synchronize their heifers in two groups to avoid a large number of heifers calving very close together.

The last program involves the use of CIDR (controlled internal drug release) and fixed-timed AI (where all cattle on the program are bred at a specific time). The advantage is that labour and management are put to efficient use. If hiring a technician, the whole group is AI’ed together.

CIDR is a vaginal implant, which releases a controlled amount of progesterone daily. There are probably 15 different programs using CIDR out in the industry today. I will outline one that I feel gives good results and is the easiest to follow.

On Day 0, the cattle are run through the chute and the CIDR placed in the vagina and they are given a shot of GnRH. There are several brand names of GnRH on the market including, but not limited to, Fertagyl, Cystorelin, and Fertilene. These GnRH products will get a follicular wave started and the CIDRs will induce cyclicity on those cows.

The string tail is often clipped off when used on heifers so they aren’t pulled out. Tuck the tail neatly inside the vulval lips. On Day 7, the CIDRs are removed and a prostaglandin is given at the regular dosage. The animals are given a second shot of GnRH at the time of AI (which is for heifers 54 hours plus or minus two hours). This means you don’t synchronize more than you can comfortably AI in two to three hours.

The real advantage of this program is the timed AI. The sacrifices are it is a more expensive program and the cattle are run through the chute a total of three times, including the one to inseminate them. Some will separately AI those heifers, which cycle real early or re-AI’ing those which come in standing heat after the timed AI. Although a bit more work, this will help to boost conception rates.

All three programs have merit. Ask your veterinarian which one he/she would recommend for your circumstances. The goal is getting as high a conception rate as possible in as short a period of time.

Conception rates with all these programs depend on attention to detail but should be very close to those achieved by breeding off of natural heats. We often say 50 per cent to be conservative but others approach 70 per cent.

Hopefully breeding season goes well and if contemplating synchronization, discuss it with your herd veterinarian.

The post Attention to detail is key in a synchronization program appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

As the breeding season approaches, some producers will use artificial insemination (AI) and estrous synchronization in their breeding herd.

But others won’t because of the extra time, labour, and management required in an AI program; the perceived costs; or because they are unaware of the potential advantages.

This article compares the costs and benefits of fixed-time AI and natural service, and how recent changes in breeding bull and butcher bull prices affect the cost of breeding programs. It will also look at a recent study that addresses the question of how many cleanup bulls are needed in a fixed-time AI program.

Compared to natural service, an obvious potential advantage of fixed-time AI is to have more calves born in the first 21 days of the calving season, which allows producers to market larger, more uniform groups of calves. Some studies have shown as much as a 10- to 17-day calf age advantage and 20 to 44 pounds more per calf at weaning as a result of estrous synchronization. Despite the extra costs, a fixed-time AI is estimated to have a net benefit of $11,110 for a 40-cow herd compared to natural service because of improved conception and wean rates, as well as heavier weaning weights.

Early calving as a result of AI may also affect the productive longevity of the cows. A 2014 study of 2,195 cattle showed that early-calving heifers remained in the herd 5.1 years on average, compared to only 3.9 years for heifers that calved after the first 21 days of the calving season.

In another group of 16,549 cattle, heifers that calved in the first 21 days, second 21 days, and later had an average longevity of 8.2, 7.6, and 7.2 years respectively.

With increased longevity, early-calving heifers can produce at least one more calf in their lifetime, compared to late-calving ones. The net return of an early-calving cow with six calves is estimated to be eight per cent higher (or $132/cow) than a late-calving cow that delivers a total of five calves during her lifespan (using the 10-year average calf price of $1.80/cwt, a weaning weight of 550 pounds, and annual maintenance costs of $730/cow, but excluding the potential increase in revenue due to heavier weaning weights).

Despite the benefits, only 18 per cent of western Canadian producers use artificial insemination and 11.3 per cent use estrus synchronization, according to the 2014 Western Canadian Cow-Calf Survey.

Low adoption rates may be due to several reasons.

Compared to natural breeding, AI requires more intense knowledge and management as well as increased investment in labour, facilities, equipment, semen, estrous synchronization drugs, and animal handling. Hurdles include limited time, labour, and availability of land. Cattle need to be near handling facilities for AI, which is a significant hurdle for producers with multiple breeding pastures spread out over a large area.

There is also uncertainty around the quality of semen purchased. There is a wide range in price, with no guarantee that higher-priced semen comes from high-quality animals. It is recommended that semen be examined before use or purchased from a reputable source and properly handled (including storage and thawing).

Bull prices have fallen in Alberta and Saskatchewan (from a 2015-16 peak of $5,500 to $8,000/bull to $4,500 to $6,500 in 2017-18) but some of those savings could be lost if butcher bull value moves lower at the end of the bull’s useful life. Depreciation costs for bulls increased from $2,400 to $2,800 during the 2015-17 period of the study.

Depending on the protocol employed, fixed-timed AI, semen, additional labour/infrastructure, and cleanup bulls have been estimated to cost $10 to $20 more per bred female than natural service. Although fixed-time AI could have a higher cost per bred female than natural breeding, keep overall goals in mind, and compare the benefits of AI (cow longevity, faster genetic improvement, and heavier weaning weights) against the higher costs to determine the best options for your operation.

The recent decline in breeding bull prices appears to favour the use of natural breeding over AI, but it should be remembered that bull prices can also affect the cost of an AI program due to the use of cleanup bulls. As cleanup bulls are expected to breed 40 to 50 per cent of females in a short period of time, they need to be physically fit and ideally their genetic makeup should be comparable to the AI sires. One study put the cost of cleanup bulls at $42 per cow (based on the assumption of a 50 per cent conception with AI), which accounted for about 30 per cent of the total cost of fixed-time artificial insemination at $130/cow.

A concern regarding cleanup bulls is that more bulls are needed to cover the synchronized females that did not become pregnant from AI because these females will return to estrus around the same time as each other. If the same bull-female ratio is needed in an AI program as natural breeding, the estimated cost of AI would increase significantly.

But is this concern valid? How many cleanup bulls are needed after estrus synchronization and AI?

A recent study provides a preliminary answer to this question.

The study summarized data from published studies reporting AI and final pregnancy rates, and the bull-to-female ratio, and found that final pregnancy rates following estrus synchronization and AI were similar for different bull-to-female ratios. One cleanup bull per 20 females had similar results as one bull per 60 females. Bull age is an important factor to consider as experienced bulls are more efficient breeders.

While the study provides evidence that fewer bulls are needed in an AI program compared to natural service, there is a lot of variation in terms of the optimum cleanup bull-to-female ratio depending on the efficiency of the bull, pasture size and terrain, the length of the breeding season, and so on. For example, operations with larger, more rugged pastures may demand more cleanup bulls.

The post Is artificial insemination better than natural service? appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

A Nov. 16 webinar examines how DNA parentage testing can help determine sire value on your operation. The Beef Cattle Research Council webinar will be recorded and available online but those who log on live (at 7 p.m.) can ask questions and offer comments.

To learn more and to register, go to the Beef Cattle Research Council website.

The post Are your bulls actually siring calves? appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The province on Tuesday put out a call for proposals from farmers to take on a five-year contract handling a herd of five breeding cows for “research and development purposes.”

The request seeks proposals from “existing commercial farmers or new farmers who have had past experience in raising beef cattle (and) who would like to help advance the genetic diversity of the beef industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

The deadline for proposals is 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 23.

Rising beef prices have boosted interest in the beef cattle industry in the province, the government said in a release.

The province said it hopes to “expand the level of breeding available so that there is less need for producers to acquire superior-quality, purebred beef cattle from outside the province.”

Bringing in purebreds “will eventually allow producers to look within the local industry to acquire breeding stock and to produce quality beef without the additional high costs of transportation from outside the province.”

The province’s fisheries and land resources department, which oversees support for the ag sector, last year partnered with a Daniel’s Harbour dairy farm to raise five beef cattle.

“Initial assessments of the growth and health of this herd at Spruce Grove Dairy Farm have been positive to date,” the province said Tuesday.

Spruce Grove Dairy Farm’s Shawn Perry said Tuesday the project has “resulted in significant growth and development in our operation” and that “as opportunities to improve the genetics of provincial beef herds arise, this will be a game changer for the beef industry.”

Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture president Mervin Wiseman said the move “represents a significant building block in the establishment of a viable beef industry for the province.” — AGCanada.com Network

The post Newfoundland seeks beef cattle breeder appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

With the odds of 50 per cent of the twins being mixed sexes, it is no wonder freemartins are not an uncommon occurrence. Remember though that being twins of mixed sexes is not a guarantee the female will have no or undeveloped reproductive organs. In eight per cent of cases, a normal intact heifer is the result, which if kept could reproduce normally.

Freemartins become a bit of a management headache for several reasons. They are often the ones orphaned onto another cow and their identity as a twin may be lost. Because of their masculine characteristics, they grow very well and most often end up in the upper 25 percentile for growth — and so inadvertently will be kept as replacements. If in the feedlot and identified, they should be given a steer implant as their hormonal profile more closely mimics a steer. The issue here is they tend to get ridden lots if put in the steer pen and are the more aggressive ones if put in the heifer pen. Sometimes they end up in the chronic pen and stay there until finished.

Veterinarians can pick out these freemartin heifers if you have them palpated to select for breeding soundness next spring. Several beneficial things are accomplished at palpating. As mentioned, the freemartin heifers are identified and removed as well as any pregnant ones (teenage pregnancies), ones with abnormally small pelvises, or those which are reproductively underdeveloped. One must remember any twin intact heifers genetically have more of a predisposition to twin themselves. If you want a higher incidence of twins in your herd, select them as replacements and if not, cull them. The choice is yours.

If you don’t palpate heifers before selection, the management issue is keeping track of these freemartin heifers. The first is identifying them for sure. There are several ways to do this. Most have abnormally developed external genitalia with a very prominent protruding clitoris and what I describe as feathery vulval lips. There is a small instrument which measures the depth of the vaginal vault or a person can use a plastic test tube. Measure some normal heifers to get the average depth. Freemartin heifers will be considerably shorter to the point of having no vaginal vault. This measurement is made within a few days of birth. Then identify these freemartins with a distinct tag or notch their existing tag. The bottom line is making them distinguishable down the production line. Blood or DNA tests can also be done for freemartin determination and is useful if their external genitalia looks normal and they are potentially valuable breeding stock.

The huge loss that comes with freemartins is when they are kept, and kept, and kept not having a calf and remaining in the herd. I have personally palpated several four- to five-year-old freemartins with the producer wondering why they have not calved. If you purchase heifer replacements, again keep in mind some may be freemartins. When palpating in the heifer shows pen of 10- or pen of five-type competitions, it is not uncommon to find some freemartins present. They are selected because, as already mentioned, they have superior growth.

A good rule when selecting heifers is always remove the top five per cent of your heifers for growth as they may have higher levels of male hormones and similar to freemartins will have poor fertility or be totally sterile.

If you see dairy heifers for sale, do an about face as they most likely are freemartins (as most intact dairy heifers are kept as replacements with the high culling rate in the dairy industry). It would be nice to have a standardization of tagging across the industry for freemartins, but that will probably never come to pass.

I have looked at some triplets and the same principal applies — most are freemartins if there is a bull calf in the mix. Other bovines such as bison have had freemartins documented even though twinning is less common than cattle. Most bison bottle-fed babies are likely twins and they should be checked before keeping them as replacements.

We also rarely see hermaphrodites (intersexes) in the cattle industry and these should be put in the same category. They are sterile and should be fed out as slaughter animals. But the beef in all these animals is of high quality and has no bearing on taste or tenderness. If a bull calf survives in a set of twins to 60 days gestation and then is resorbed, then the surviving heifer calf’s reproductive organs have already been affected and it may be born a freemartin.

In the purebred industry you may want to have freemartins checked out because, as mentioned, about eight per cent will have a complete uterus and will breed. This is one other criterion to consider when selecting your replacement heifers. At the same time your other heifers can be palpated for small pelvises, unwanted pregnancies, scarring, or internal abscesses.

This will hopefully eliminate problems down the line and increase the longevity of your heifers when they calve or are sold as breeding replacements.

The post Don’t let freemartins become a management headache in your herd appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“One of the philosophies that we have here at CL Ranch is we’re not breed specific — we’re trait specific,” said Copithorne-Barnes, CEO of the 23,000-acre ranch near Calgary.

“We are synthetic cross-breeders, and we’re building calves to match this environment.”

And the environment is a unique one. Nestled in the rolling foothills near Kananaskis Country, CL Ranch has more than 2,000 head of grass-fed cattle that need to be sturdy enough to survive droughts and snowstorms.

For that, size matters.

“We’ve found that the ideal size of cows out here is about 1,250 to 1,300 pounds, and no bigger than that,” she said. “Our base herd — which was Hereford and Simmental with a little bit of brown Swiss — was really getting too large and was losing a lot of muscling in the hind end.”

So Copithorne-Barnes introduced an “old, traditional English breed” into the mix — the Sussex.

“From a characteristic perspective, personality, and carcass traits, they’re almost exactly like an Angus,” she said. “But it brought in some of the more compact characteristics that we need for these cattle.”

Sussex can “survive on a low-cost, forage-based ration and still perform.”

“We’ve got to be sure these cows can handle this grass, whether or not it’s green and lush,” she said. “They have to be able to forage out here for as long as possible, and their ability to forage and gain three pounds a day is really good.”

Solid feet, legs, teats, and udders are a must.

“We don’t allow for excuses. We aim for the perfect breeding, and we go from there by watching those phenotypic (observable) traits.”

But on their own, Sussex cattle are too small to stay competitive in the Canadian market. That’s where cross-breeding comes in.

“For that reason, we’re not married to any specific breed. We’re just trying to get that perfect cow that we know will do well out here,” said Copithorne-Barnes. “We’re breeding for traits, and traditional breeding has been done for bloodlines and characteristics within those bloodlines. We’re actually going after the individual phenotypic traits.”

But that approach comes with challenges, she said.

“The genomic side of things is coming and is advancing, but because of the different variations on the breeds that are going in, the heritability on it isn’t quite there yet. The science is getting better and better with each generation of equipment that’s being used. But unless you have 2,000 samples, they can’t guarantee that the genes are going to express themselves the same way it would if it were line bred.”

So simple observation remains key.

“We’re still on the phenotypic side, but we are very closely monitoring and learning that, through genomics, some of these traits are in fact holding true.”

Million-dollar genetics

It’s a different story at Rocky Mountain Holsteins, which specializes in — you guessed it — purebred Holstein cattle.

“We’re a little different than most dairies. We are what we call an elite breeding genetic barn,” said farm manager Ron Churchill.

“We don’t make our money by our milk cheque. We make our money off our breeding stock.”

The Cochrane operation — owned by David Chalack and Glenn Hockley — runs its 180-head dairy cattle herd on 240 acres of prime real estate. But they’re not in the dairy business.

“We only milk 30 cows, and probably 80 per cent of those are very elite genetic cows that we use for breeding stock all over the world,” said Churchill.

“We put a lot of money into our animals, and we get a lot of money out of some of them.”

Rocky Mountain Holsteins focuses almost solely on breeding stock — primarily embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization — but live animal sales are lucrative as well.

“Every two years, we have a genetics sale. In July, we sold 104 animals, and the average was $9,000,” said Churchill, adding one cow sold for $197,000.

In a two-year cycle, Rocky Mountain Holsteins makes around $1 million in sales, between embryos (which can run around $1,500 a pop), royalties on their bulls, and live animals.

But it takes money to make money, such as paying $60,000 for a single calf. But it was a profitable transaction — she eventually sold for nearly twice that after being bred and flushed of embryos for around 15 pregnancies.

Selling stock is never a challenge for the group.

“We do a lot on Facebook, and we have a website that we keep updated,” said Churchill, adding most genetics sales are into international markets.

“There’s people who know our cow families, and they’re following us. If we put on that we’ve got a cow we just flushed and got embryos out of, the phone’s ringing and they’re gone pretty quick.”

But how did Rocky Mountain Holsteins develop such a high-demand Holstein line? Through genomics, said Churchill.

“We test the calves for their DNA and what traits they would pass on,” he said. “What we hope is that when we DNA test them, we’ll get a good one or two out of the bunch that we can either breed from or market.”

Unlike the rest of the dairy industry, which looks for herd health traits like easy calving and good feet, Rocky Mountain Holsteins breeds for, well, breeding.

“When we’re breeding, we’re not breeding for a cow that’s going to stand in a barn,” said Churchill. “We’re breeding for a bull that’s going to work in a 3,000-cow dairy. We don’t want to make big cows. We want to make nice cows that milk hard and have less problems.”

The post The perfect cow: Two different approaches to getting the best genetics appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.