Verifying assumptions | Information from livestock producers will be used to develop research programs and extension courses
CROSSFIELD, Alta. — A wide-ranging survey of cow-calf operations has been launched in Western Canada.
No study of this kind has been conducted since 1999, and that one was available only in Alberta.
Government, researchers and producers groups agreed it was time to find out what is happening on beef operations across the four western provinces.
“The industry has changed a lot since then, and we decided it was probably time to do another one of these surveys. Most of the questions are directly relatable to that 1999 survey,” said Karin Schmid of Alberta Beef Producers.
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The information can be used to develop research programs and extension courses and may also confirm shifts that have occurred on many operations.
“We think that calving dates are moving back, but we don’t know by how much,” she said. “It is to verify things we think we know but don’t really know the specifics.”
The audit includes questions about when the breeding season started, length of calving times and calving problems and death losses. Weaning weights and the number of calves that survived to that time are also included.
New questions relate to modern practices such as swath grazing and pain control for dehorning and castration.
The questionnaire asks for producers’ gender, how long they have been in the business and their ages to see if there is a shift in the demographics of western ranchers.
It is suspected that most are growing older with fewer young people joining the business.
Individual results will not be shared, but interested producers can request an individual report to compare their operations to others.
The deadline to submit a written or online questionnaire is Feb. 28 with results expected in late spring.
The last survey found nearly half of cows calved within the first 21 days of the season, that the average weaning weight in 1998 was 576 pounds and that one-third of producers tested their feed.
Hard copies of the questionnaire will be available at beef events or by calling the numbers below. The online copy may be found at fluidsurveys.usask.ca/s/WesternCdnCow_calf_survey/
