Weak calf syndrome is exactly as it sounds; newborn calves are born weak, fail to thrive and often never get up to nurse. This is not a new phenomenon, and the industry has been combating it for decades.

Most rural landowners could raise beef on their properties by slapping together a fence, building a shelter, gathering feed requirements and ensuring a constant water supply – if that was all it took. These isolated actions will never on their own drive positive results.

Wowk Ranch near Beauvallon, Alberta, specializes in breeding, training and selling high-quality horses of various breeds and runs 200 commercial cattle that they feed with a team in the winter.

Most dairy farms follow a regular herd health schedule with a veterinarian, commonly using ultrasound every two weeks (or weekly, for the largest herds) to diagnose pregnant cows. However, with the introduction of more accessible, affordable and impactful options, it may be time to reconsider some common assumptions.

From reducing unnecessary culling to enhancing milk production, there are numerous opportunities to improve the efficiency and profitability of dairy farming. Here are five tips to improve reproduction on the dairy.

Feed costs for beef production are the largest expense on a ranch. There is no better time than now to start an annual plan of monitoring feed inputs, so you can know you are getting the most out of them and what is best for the animal.

Early embryonic loss is defined as a loss within the first 42 days of pregnancy and has been reported to impact between 20% and 40% of pregnancies in beef cattle.

The evolution of ultrasound machines, coupled with farmer-friendly training programs, has made ultrasound technology more accessible than ever before.

Cattle producers face a list of virtually unending challenges, tasks and responsibilities, and when tackled without the aid of a bovine veterinarian, they can become overwhelming in both size and intensity.