Canadian Beef Cattle Podcast

With winter taking a foothold across Canada, it is important to monitor how cattle are coping with the cold and how it is impacting their ability to remain productive. Learn six tips for managing beef cattle during cold weather.   Relevant Links:  Six Tips for Managing Beef Cattle in Cold Weather (article) Winter Management of Beef Cattle (webpage) Water Systems for Beef Cattle (webpage)   Body Co...

There are many aspects of a producer’s day-to-day life that are out of their control. The weather, including precipitation, winds and plummeting temperatures, can test the best-made plans in the most organized of operations.     Relevant Links: Ready or Not Calving is Coming – Plan Ahead for a Streamlined Calving Season (article) Biosecurity (webpage) Steps to Reduce Disease in Newborn Calves (web...

Are smaller cows more efficient? They need less feed and wean calves that are a higher percentage of their body weight. In contrast, large cows need more feed, more pasture, and wean calves that are smaller relative to cow size. But what is the right size cow for your operation?   Relevant Links:  Big Cows and Big Questions? (article) Record Keeping for Tracking Genetic Improvements (e-course) Gen...

The Sandhills System involves moving pregnant cows on to different “clean” ground while leaving freshly calved pairs in the field they were born in. This method helps minimize direct contact between older calves and younger calves and reduces the transfer of viruses and the build-up of disease-causing pathogens in the calving area.   Relevant Links:  The Sandhills Strategy (article) How to Simplif...

Just as every farm operates with an independent set of circumstances, and every farmer is unique themselves, calving season is going to look different on every operation. There is no one right method or time of year to calve a cow herd.   Relevant links:  Calving Season Timing and Transition (article) Calving and Calf Management (webpage) Calf 911 Resources Records for Tracking Genetic Improvement...

In beef production, genetics play a critical role in management and profitability. To overcome challenges in accessing data to make breeding and feeding decisions, the Canadian Beef Breed Council (CBBC) embarked on an initiative called the Canadian Beef Improvement Network (CBIN), which will help to standardize information across breeds.     Relevant Links: Genetic IQ: Defining Traits That Matter...

University of Saskatchewan researchers evaluated the performance of mature, pregnant cows winter-grazed on snaplage residue, high-moisture corn stover or whole-plant barley over a two year period.   Relevant links:  Extended Grazing (webpage) Evaluating Forage Species for Stockpiled Forages (fact sheet)

Harvesting, storing and delivering a beef herd’s winter rations are the largest expense for most operations. Even small improvements in a winter feed system can result in significant feed cost savings.   Relevant Links:  11 Ways to Avoid Feed Waste This Winter (article) Feed Quality, Testing and Analysis (webpage) Stored Forages (webpage) Extended Grazing (webpage) Body Condition Scoring (webpage)...

With winter rolling in across Canada, you may be turning to extended grazing to help keep cattle out on pasture longer. Grazing standing corn has many benefits, including being a high-energy forage, but can also pose animal health risks if not managed properly.   Relevant links: Seven Tips for Grazing Corn (article) Extended Grazing (webpage) Strategies for Fall and Winter Grazing (article) Feed Q...

Corn is a standard ingredient in feedlot diets in Eastern Canada. With ambitious breeding efforts underway to develop short-season corn varieties, new research has evaluated replacement of barley ingredients with corn in Western Canadian feedlot diets.   Relevant Links:  Feed Grains for Beef Cattle (webpage) Nutrition in Beef Cattle (webpage) Optimizing Feedlot Efficiency (webpage)

The benefits of minimizing stress for beef cattle are wide ranging. The good news is reducing stress is entirely possible. In many cases, inexpensive changes or tweaks can benefit herd – and family – dynamics.   Relevant Links:  Patience, Silence & Observation – Practical Tips to Reducing Stress When Handling Cattle (article) Cattle Transport (webpage) CowBytes Ration balancing Software

The revised Transportation of Animals regulations require longer and more frequent feed, water and rest stops during long-haul transport. Research data suggests that those rest stops may post a risk to calves.   Relevant Links:  Do Transport Rest Stops Put Calf Health at Risk (article) Transport (webpage) Stored Forages (webpage)

Lameness is the second leading reason that feedlot cattle are pulled and given antibiotics. Understanding the cause of lameness is important to making appropriate treatment decisions.   Show Note links: Lameness in Beef Cattle (webpage ) Transport (webpage) Mycotoxins (webpage)

Bale grazing is a method of extensive wintering grazing. Cattle graze bales on pastures and hay fields, typically through controlled access by electric fence. Bales can be purchased or grown on-farm and placed strategically in cells or “bale pods.”   Show note links: Beat Costs and Boost Yields With Bale Grazing (article)   Extended Grazing (webpage) Feed Quality, Testing and Analysis for Beef Cat...

Knowing which production practices producers are adopting in different regions of the country, which they aren’t (and why) helps us target our producer-focused extension efforts better. The official report isn’t out yet, but here’s a sneak peek at some seasonally relevant results.   Show Notes links: Results of the Inaugural Canadian Cow-Calf Survey (article) CowBytes ration balancing software

Although many regions of Canada received rainfall this spring, there are still areas that are experience moderate to severe drought conditions. The following tips and considerations can help to get lightweight calves started off on the right foot.   Show notes links: Tips for Starting Lightweight Cattle on Feed (article) Weaning (webpage) Alternative Feeds (webpage) Preconditioning (webpage)   Sto...

The inaugural Canadian Cow-Calf Survey collected data from six hundred producers across nine provinces on the 2022 breeding season through the 2023 weaned calf crop, as well as reasoning and rationale for some practices. Results will be used to help the BCRC prioritize research and extension strategies funded by the research allocation of the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off to support producers wit...

When we hear stories of farms from previous generations, mixed operations are often the tradition, where people grew crops and had some cattle and other livestock as well. With economies of scale and farm size increasing, farms have generally become more specialized. However, recent rises in input costs and climate crises such as drought have many producers rethinking integrated farming operations...

As we move into late summer, planning ahead for the coming fall and winter months is always time well spent, especially when considering the nutritional needs of the beef herd. Winter feeding can be costly and labor-intensive work.     Show notes links: Strategies for Fall and Winter Grazing: Eastern Canadian Perspectives (article) Extended grazing (webpage)

Local alternative feeds can be effective and economical additions to beef cattle rations. However, careful management is required to avoid potential problems and to ensure the nutritional requirements of the type of cattle being fed are met.     Show note links: Considerations When Using Alternative Feeds – Have You Done Your Homework? (article) Alternative feeds (webpage)   Feed Quality, Testing...

The cattle you raise and the beef they produce are the result of two factors – their genetic potential, and the environment they’re raised in.   Show note links: Genomics and Genetic Testing (webpage) EPDs: What Do All Those Numbers Mean?(article) Beef Quality Grading (webpage) Genomics 101 (webinar) Genetic IQ: Defining Traits That Matter in Your Beef Herd (article)  Genetics Record Keeping (webp...

Cattle that consume feeds contaminated with the plant disease ergot can have reduced feed intake, gangrene of extremities, lameness, loss of pregnancy and heat stress.   Show note links: Ergot in Feed (article) Mycotoxins (webpage)  Feed Quality and Testing (webpage)  

Regional variation in the trace mineral content of forages and soils creates high risk areas where trace mineral deficiencies in beef cattle are more likely to occur. Therefore, supplemental mineral sources need to be provided to prevent production declines, animal health events or reproductive wrecks.   Show note links: Nutrition in Beef Cattle (webpage) Be Mindful of Minerals (article) Copper De...

 Polycrops, intercrops, cover crops and cocktail crops are different terms that all encompass planting mixed crop species for livestock feed.    Show Note links: Polycrop Potential: 12 Tips for Using Mixed Forage Crops (article) Setting Goals and Adding Diversity is Key for Intercropping (article) Cover Crops (webpage) The Benefits of Bringing Cattle and Crops Together (article) Feed Quality, Test...

Across the country, a growing number of dairy-beef cross calves sourced from Canada and the United States are appearing in Canadian feedlots, a sight that has raised understandable concern for many cow-calf producers. One of these concerns has been how their feeder calves will compete for feedlot spaces against less expensive dairy-beef crosses.   Relevant links:  Dairy-Beef: Shifting From the Par...