Learning how to manage cattle as a herd the way nature intended allows producers to more easily move their animals
Cattle evolved as herd animals, grazing together as they moved. Domestication and confinement disrupted herd dynamics and only recently have people learned how to best manage them in pasture. Rotational grazing was a start, followed by mob grazing. The latest but oldest management tool is instinctive migratory grazing. Bob Kinford of Van Horn, Texas, gives […] Read moreStories by Freelance writer
Corn develops density tolerance over time
Researchers believe selection for general stress tolerance has enabled modest increases in plant density and higher yields
Sweet corn thrives in its own crowded company and, when planted at high densities, its yield potentially increases. Recent research from the University of Illinois looked at the historical tolerance of corn density since the 1930s and results showed it has steadily contributed to genetic yield gain in field corn. The study focused on crowding […] Read more
Alta. producer group focuses on farm programs
Resolutions at recent Alberta Federation of Agriculture meeting suggested changes to how reference margins are managed
Improved business risk management programs, insurance for truck drivers, standardized grain contracts and continued forage research were some of the resolutions discussed at the Alberta Federation of Agriculture’s annual general meeting. The need for investment in business risk management programs is a key priority for the AFA and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said AFA […] Read more
Solar energy companies flock to Alberta as sector booms
More individuals install panels on their property, but large projects of more than five megawatts are also popping up
Improved technology, a dramatic drop in the cost of solar panels and provincial and federal goals for greener energy have created a massive demand for solar power, the head of Alberta’s solar organization told Alberta’s general farm organization. In the past 10 years, the price of solar panels has dropped 90 percent, making home and […] Read more
Colostrum window closes quickly
Quick action needed because most antibody absorption will occur in the first two or three hours and diminishes after that
Human babies can derive antibodies from mothers but calves have no such advantage. That’s why colostrum is so important to newborn calves. “A calf is born with almost no antibodies against disease pathogens. Survival is dependent on receiving those antibodies from colostrum, before gut closure,” says Dr. Deborah Haines, founder of the Saskatoon Colostrum Company […] Read more
Choose colostrum substitutes with care: vet
In a perfect world, every newborn calf would jump up and suckle, absorbing valuable colostrum that protects it from illness. The world is not perfect. As ranchers know, sometimes a cow dies or a heifer rejects its calf or the calf gets too chilled to function normally. That’s when saved colostrum or colostrum substitutes enter […] Read more
Trip with Farley was not for the faint of heart
A drive to town in the neighbour’s truck always left one perspiring profusely and smelling faintly of horses and hogs
Waiting for a parcel from Eaton’s mail order catalogue was better than waiting for Christmas. Three times a week the train came puffing into town from the East, dumping bags of mail from the baggage car onto the station platform. Three times a week I left school during noon hour and hurried across the tracks […] Read more
Opposition arises to solar plan for farmland
140-acre solar farm near Calmar, Alta., is one of three that the Voltarix Group wants to build in the province
CALMAR, Alta. — Carol Ann McKell was an environmentalist before it was cool. The former schoolteacher taught her students how to sew cloth shopping bags, took them on outdoor nature hikes and talked about the importance of wind and solar power almost 30 years ago. McKell and her husband, Robert, support green technology, but do […] Read more
Prairie ranches take bull sales online
Pandemic forces producers to learn how to build websites, create Instagram accounts and make videos of their bulls
CAMROSE, Alta.— The annual tradition of buyers gathering at a sale barn, eating beef on a bun, possibly having a drink or two and bidding on a bull has been put on hold for some farms. COVID-19 has changed many things, including the way farms sell animals. Arika Kathol has spent hours building a website […] Read more
Researchers improve on the science of in vitro
Recent research has uncovered new ways to improve birth rates among cattle bred through in-vitro production. Research from the University of Kent and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and L’Alliance Boviteq Inc. based in Quebec have found a method to significantly improve IVP in cattle by removing irregular embryos from the gene […] Read more
