The Prairies’ Crown ag insurance corporations announced Thursday that the deadline to buy WLPIP calf price insurance for 2020 has been extended to June 18.

The new deadline, reset from May 28, gives eligible cattle producers “an additional three weeks to monitor premiums and purchase calf price insurance policies,” Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC) said in a notice.

However, Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC), in a separate release Thursday, noted the extension gives producers just nine extra purchasing days, as available coverage options are published only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The extension only applies to this spring’s purchasing period, AFSC noted. All calf price insurance fall settlement dates remain the same.

Typically, the calf program insures calves born in the spring and sold in the fall; cow-calf producers buy price insurance from February to the end of May, for their intended marketings from September to December.

Available policy lengths range from 16 to 36 weeks, and for each policy length, a range of coverage levels is offered, typically from 75 to 95 per cent of the expected forward price, each corresponding with a premium.

Coverage levels and premiums change daily based on market factors including CME feeder cattle futures, currency exchange rates, barley prices, basis and feeder-to-calf price spread.

The deadline extension was granted “in response to the ever-changing circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic,” AFSC said Thursday.

The “initial reaction” to COVID-19 negatively impacted beef sales through its direct link to the food services industry, AFSC said, and the pandemic has since led to “increased volatility in cattle prices, due to fear of the unknown.”

The extended deadline “will allow cattle producers more time to evaluate and make decisions based on their risk tolerance and their operation,” interim AFSC CEO Jerry Bouma said in Thursday’s release.

“The market is moving in the right direction and should offer the affordability that producers depend on, and give them the opportunity to participate in the calf insurance program.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The majority of scours, or diarrhea, cases occur when calves are three to 16 days old. Untreated calves essentially die of shock from a loss of fluids and electrolyte imbalances.

“Calf scours is most often associated with infectious, environmental and nutritional stresses,” says NDSU Extension veterinarian Gerald Stokka.

A number of infections can cause viral and bacterial calf scours. Viral infections associated with calf diarrhea include rotavirus and coronavirus.

Rotavirus causes the calves’ intestinal tract to secrete fluid into the intestinal tract, resulting in severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. The coronavirus destroys the cells lining the intestinal tract and causes malabsorption.

E. coli and salmonella species are bacterial pathogens associated with calf diarrhea.

A different infectious organism called cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that causes scours.

Conditions leading to scours

“Inadequate nutrition for the pregnant dam, particularly during the last third of gestation, as well as the calf’s exposure to poor environmental conditions, insufficient attention to the newborn calf or a combination of these often result in scours outbreaks,” says Karl Hoppe, Extension livestock systems specialist.

Not meeting the pregnant dam’s energy and protein requirements will decrease the quality and quantity of the cow’s colostrum. Colostrum is a form of milk that mammals produce in late pregnancy. It contains energy, protein, fat and vitamins, plus antibodies to protect newborns against disease until their own immune system is totally functional.

“Inadequate environment conditions, such as mud, overcrowding, contaminated lots, calving heifers and cows together, wintering and calving in the same area, storms, heavy snow, cold temperatures and rainfall are all stressful to the newborn calf and increase its exposure to infectious agents,” says Janna Block, livestock systems specialist.

“Attention to the newborn calf is essential, particularly during difficult births or adverse weather conditions,” Stokka advises. “The calf is born without most antibodies, including those that fight the infectious agents that cause scours. The calf will acquire these antibodies only from colostrum.

“As the calf grows older, it rapidly loses its ability to absorb colostral antibodies,” he adds. “Colostrum given to calves that are more than 24 to 36 hours old will be less than ideal.”

Under range conditions, a calf adapts a pattern of nursing that fills its needs. Calf scours can be the result of anything that disrupts this normal habit.

When the calf eventually nurses, it is overly hungry and the cow has more milk than normal. This inconsistent nursing may lead to a condition known as enterotoxemia. The organism most often involved with this is clostridium perfringens, which has several types.

The disease has a sudden onset. Affected calves become listless and strain or kick at their abdomen. Bloody diarrhea may or may not occur. In some cases, calves may die without any signs.

Treating scours

“The key to successful treatment is identifying and successfully treating a dehydrated animal early,” Stokka says.

Calves that have lost significant amounts of fluid will have skin that “tents” (stays up for more than three seconds when you pull it away from the body), a dry mouth, cold ears and sunken eyeballs. They often have low blood sugar, low body temperature and low urine output, and decreased blood electrolyte levels that adversely affect organ function, particularly the heart. They are visibly depressed.

The critical first step in treating cases of calf scours is correcting dehydration and electrolyte loss. Antibiotics can be administered if your veterinarian deems it to be appropriate.

Stokka recommends using a nipple bottle to replace the calf’s fluids if scours is detected early, when the calf still is standing and relatively bright.

“In these situations, it is best to leave the calf on milk and add several two-quart (two-litre) electrolyte feedings a day,” he says. Calves that are down but alert probably need to have fluids administered with a stomach tube.

Producers may need to provide a heat source as well. Calves that are comatose or lying down must be administered fluids intravenously. Producers need to be thorough when replacing fluids in a scouring animal, according to Stokka.

“First of all, the amount of fluid lost must be replaced,” he says. “It is a common mistake to give the animal too little fluids. A 100-pound calf that is 10 per cent dehydrated will need about 10 litres of fluid a day.

“Also remember that many infectious agents that cause calf scours can cause disease in people as well,” Stokka says.

Good hygiene must be practised and immune compromised individuals and pregnant women should not work with sick calves.

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The nutrition status of the calving herd is one issue to consider in preparing for the upcoming spring calving season.

“Although this should be an earlier concern, throughout the last trimester of the gestation, it is still possible to split the calving herd according to the body condition of the females,” says Yuri Montanholi, Extension beef cattle specialist.

“Females calving with poor body condition (lower than four) may experience difficulty birthing calves, and they may produce lower colostrum quality, which may impact rebreeding,” he notes. “In addition, calves may have low vigour that may delay nursing. Thus, a tiered nutritional management system may improve calf viability and reproductive ability.”

Preparation of the calving facilities is another key issue for successful calving.

“For producers who have their females in outdoor calving areas, it is important to ensure that portions of the area have protection from the wind,” advises Karl Hoppe, Extension livestock systems specialist at NDSU’s Carrington Research Extension Center. “Producers should be concerned with potential extreme weather conditions that could cause frostbite in newborn calves.”

Producers who calve in the barn or uncovered pens must inspect and repair gates, pens, water supply, feeders, alleys and head catches. Barn or pen calving demands a substantial amount of straw for bedding. That’s usually five to seven pounds per cow per day for adequate bedding. Continuously adding bedding is important to keep the calves clean and dry, which helps minimize issues with infections and impacts overall health.

Producers also should have an adequate stock of calving supplies, including plastic sleeves, lube, obstetrical chains or straps, calf-feeding bottles, halters and ropes.

“For those who have a calf puller, make sure it is clean and working properly,” Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist Gerald Stokka recommends.

Producers need to have an adequate supply of colostrum or colostrum replacements as well.

“In situations where the quantity of colostrum is a concern, a colostrum bank or replacers should be used,” Stokka says.

“Due to the practical limitations of harvesting colostrum in beef cows, colostrum replacer can be a good option,” he adds. “Colostrum replacements and supplements are available for purchase. The replacements are much preferred as they contain significantly higher amounts of immunity than do the supplements.”

Calves that nurse a limited amount or experience reduced absorption of passive immunity in colostrum are at a greater risk of illness and/or death.

Producers also should be prepared for problems during calving. Experienced producers may be able to correct abnormal calf presentations and assist the females during calf delivery. However, producers should be aware of their limitations and know when they should call their veterinarian to ensure the delivery and well-being of the cow and calf, Hoppe says.

“An uneventful crop of calves is something cow-calf producers are aiming for after a long winter season,” Montanholi says. “Having a plan and preparing for the calving season will help result in a successful calving season.”

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Occasionally chronic infected quarters (probably emanating from the year previous) are highly visible as large swollen quarters compared to the other three. They will often flare up a few weeks before calving as the colostrum is being formed.

Usually the cow is not sick but even if it is, I will go over treatment and the potential to dry up that quarter. The cow, depending on how she does together with teat conformation, may or may not be culled then or at weaning time. You have options.

My experience tells me that the majority of mastitis occurs in older cows with larger, poor conformation teats and those in which calves have a hard time milking out all the time. The larger producers may even leak milk when nursing and, again, this leads to mastitis problems.

Producers who pay attention to teat and udder conformation rarely encounter a cow with mastitis. We see a much higher incidence on the trader-type cows that go through the auction markets in open cow sales. One large teat indicates there has been milk retention the previous calving season and these cows have a good possibility of having problems in subsequent years.

Producers may calve these cows out with the goal of stealing their calf and grafting it onto a cow that has lost her calf. Just to be sure I like to strip these big-teated cows out to make sure the test canal is patent and that there is no mastitic milk present.

You will find blind teats which will eventually dry up and shrivel up — which is not a bad thing. It has been found that three-teated cows have some compensatory increase in production, so they may not produce that much less milk than a four-teated one. So there might not be a reason to cull unless the other teat conformation is bad.

The Angus association has a teat and udder scoring system which everyone should look at when selecting bred cattle. I say bred as yearling heifers become very difficult to select this way, but those with obviously too large a teat size may be removed.

I would hazard a guess many other criteria are looked at first during yearling heifer selection. Cows with good udders on average should raise heifers with good udders so look at the mothers.

If I find a chronic mastitis, I do what I would do with dairy cattle and treat the cow with recommended antimicrobials and NSAIDs. A one-time treatment dry cow intramammary preparation is often recommended. Check with your veterinarian to see what their exact recommendations are.

In severe cases, I have seen the entire quarter slough off but the cow go on to do OK and be salvageable. Ideally, we don’t want the infected milk leaking and contaminating the area. These may take a long time to heal over and it is best that the cow is treated, dried up and shipped when drug withdrawals are met.

If a cow is producing well, you may want to try and chemically dry up the infected quarter. This is difficult as the other three quarters are trying to produce milk. If you don’t notice the badly infected quarter until fall when weaning, that is an ideal time as the cow is naturally drying off.

The goal is simply to essentially create a chemical mastitis in the infected quarter. You need to strip out the infected milk as much as possible and then infuse the recommended solution (common products are a copper sulphate or silver nitrate solution) into the udder and leave it there. This is often stripped out again in seven to 10 days and the procedure repeated.

The end result next calving would be a fully functional three-teated cow. But I would only recommend this for valuable breeding stock on a high-end cow in the herd. Keep in mind treatments will have various slaughter withdrawals, and the concentration and volumes used of the chemicals will vary between veterinarians so closely follow their recommendations. The udder will swell and get sore on that quarter as you are causing the chemical mastitis.

I have done fewer and fewer of these treatments as producers have selected better and purebred breeders of all the breeds have paid close attention to teat and udder conformation.

However, it happens from time to time and at least you may have a game plan if it happens in your herd. Many early cases of this can be detected if stripping out the teats at calving or if you notice a swollen quarter in the herd at any time.

Happy calving 2020 everyone.

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In addition, cold weather increases the cow’s nutrient requirements.

“Body condition plays an important role in successfully wintering beef cows,” says Yuri Montanholi, North Dakota State University Extension beef cattle specialist. “Late weaning, overstocking, late supplementation, poor parasite control programs and inadequate winter rations all can lead to cows in poor body condition.”

Montanholi and other NDSU Extension livestock specialists say the best time to increase body condition is right after weaning, when nutrient requirements are lowest. The goal is to achieve a condition score of five for mature cows and six for first-calf heifers during this period, and then maintain condition through late gestation and into calving.

“If cows are in poor condition now, it can be more challenging and/or expensive to meet increased requirements,” says Janna Block, Extension livestock systems specialist at NDSU’s Hettinger Research Extension Center. “However, numerous studies have established a relationship between adequate body condition at calving and breeding with subsequent reproductive performance. The period post-calving is less favourable for increasing fatness, as the majority of nutrients are used for milk production instead of increasing body condition.”

Proper care essential

The third trimester has a very large impact on the cows as they approach their due date. Most cows handle pregnancy well; access to the proper feed, good water and a reasonable space with wind protection will keep a cow content. She likes a little independence and has no problem marking her space and waiting for the calf. Those herds are in for a pleasant calving season, especially if the pre-calving practices have been done and no further work is needed to prep the cow, Montanholi says.

But what about cows that are less content? Are they thin, hunched up, standing in the corner, bellowing, walking or distraught? If so, get to know your veterinarian, the livestock specialists recommend. These are signs that trouble is brewing, including calving issues, poor colostrum, mothering challenges, fatigue and, later on, scours, along with associated health problems.

“Maybe some extra feed now is really worth it, especially if formulated according to herd needs,” says Gerald Stokka, NDSU Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist. “Contact your county agent for further support.”

Reducing nutrient intake prior to calving will not reduce calf birth weight or the incidence of dystocia or calving difficulty. Low planes of nutrition have been shown to have no effect or only slightly decrease birth weight.

Conversely, calving difficulty typically increases with reduced nutrient intake because the cow tends to be weaker. In addition, this practice results in weak calves that are less active immediately after birth, which can compromise their survival or productive performance later in life, Stokka notes.

Calf housing and management

Don’t overlook calf housing and dynamics as part of pre-calving considerations, the specialists advise. The second most relevant cause of calf death is calf diarrhea (also known as calf scours). Scours prevention focuses on two key areas: the health of the calf and cleanliness of the environment.

Optimal calf health is achieved through proper care of the cow prior to calving and ensuring calves have adequate colostrum intake at birth. In some scenarios, vaccination against scours is helpful. Producers should ask their veterinarian about vaccinations.

Because scours prevention is related to cleanliness, producers could consider approaches to ensure that the calving area is clean. Calves may be exposed to pathogens through direct contact with muddy or dirty teats, so calves will not be infected from the ground or even from dirtiness found in their cows’ teats.

A potential management tool to minimize the issue of scours is the Sandhills Calving System. Typically, calves born early in the calving season do not have calf scour problems. However, after several waves of calves have been born, pathogen levels reach an infective threshold and calf scours can become a major problem. The Sandhills Calving System incorporates the use of multiple calving areas on pasture.

Cows are calved in a calving area, and after seven to 10 days, pregnant cows are moved to a new area to calve and the cow-calf pairs are left behind in the area in which they calved. The next group of cows will calve in a fresh, clean environment for seven to 10 days and then move on.

Soon, the wet, struggling calf will arrive with a strong desire to nurse and receive a good amount of colostrum. Chances of survival are increased once a calf is dry with a full supply of milk. However, some cows don’t produce an adequate amount of colostrum or of desirable quality, which may be related to an inadequate nutrition plane during the pre-calving period.

“Pre-calving management is a key component for a successful cow-calf operation,” Montanholi says. “There are no shortcuts because cows have requirements.

“Management means meeting all the requirements in a cost-effective manner,” he adds. “This will pay dividends in terms of cow performance and calf health. Are the cows content? They should be, and the results will be evident when pregnancy checking them and when weaning their good-looking calves.”

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Dr. Keri Hudson Reykdal, of Ashern, has noted alarmingly consistent open rates between 20 and 30 per cent, four to six times what she would expect in a normal year. Hudson Reykdal estimates a normal open rate for the area might hover around five per cent.

“It’s been a big issue, for sure — some herds worse than others… it’s pretty ugly,” she said.

Why it matters: Ranchers likely planned to cull open cows first to stretch winter feed. Unfortunately, it looks like there will be plenty to choose from.

It is yet another legacy of Manitoba’s second year of drought-like conditions. Forage yields once again dropped well below half of normal in some areas, leaving feed supplies critically low. Pastures have also been hard hit after yet another year of hard grazing, provincial feed experts have warned.

The looming feed shortage caused 16 municipalities in the Interlake and Parkland to announce a state of agricultural disaster and sparked continued calls for government aid. At the late-November meeting of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, impacted municipalities suggested culls might easily reach 20 per cent of herds in the area.

• Read more: Protecting cattle pregnancies

Reproductive misses have added yet another hit, although not an unexpected one. According to the Beef Cattle Research Council, a cow that drops one point from a body condition score of three takes over a month longer between calving and first heat, faces a 14 per cent lower conception rate, produces lower-quality colostrum, and is at higher risk for both abortion and stillbirth.

Vets and livestock specialists raised the alarm on conception rates as early as spring 2019. In July, Dr. Nathan Erickson of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine told the Manitoba Co-operator he was, “kind of living in fear,” of the fall. He warned that the entire herd might conceive later, extending the calving season. At the same time, producers were warned to review herd nutrition, even in the belly of the grazing season, or risk a reproductive wreck.

The problem has hit even worse than many producers expected, Hudson Reykdal said. Cows already at risk for poor conception, such as “second calvers” and old cows, have felt the brunt, she added, particularly if those cattle are in poor body condition.

“Any time you’re potentially losing 25 per cent of your calf crop in one year, that’s a big hit, because you’re not just losing those calves,” she said.

Many of those open cows are now bound for market, creating a double hit for the farm’s reproductive gains next year, she noted.

Auction marts in Manitoba have seen an influx of cattle as producers cull heavily. Heartland Livestock Services in Brandon reported sales over 4,000 head in November, while the smaller Ashern Auction Mart peaked at over 3,300 head in the start of that month and was still reporting sales up to 2,900 as of the start of December.

The bred cow cull, however, may have yet to really start, according to Art Jonasson, reeve for the Municipality of West-Interlake. Jonasson’s area is among those serviced by Hudson Reykdal and has also announced a state of agricultural disaster.

“People haven’t really sold their cows yet that they’re going to cull,” he said. “It just makes their cull list easier to figure out.”

Those cows are hitting the market as preg-checking results come back, he said.

Other regions dodge

The reproductive wrecks taper off in less impacted areas.

Dr. Tanya Anderson of the Gladstone Veterinary Clinic says she has only noted a one to two per cent jump in open rates this year.

She is, however, unsurprised that rates have skyrocketed in the Interlake.

“I had the opportunity to drive through that area in May and then in the fall; pasture conditions were horrendous,” she said. “In my neck of the woods, many of my clients also crop land and were able to plan their crops to allow utilization for greenfeed, silaging, etc. Dramatic feed shortages were not common, though many have little or no carry-over reserve.”

Producers in her more grain-heavy region also partnered with neighbours to fill their feed gaps, she noted.

Pre-pregnancy culls may have also muted open rates. Producers in Anderson’s area proactively culled old cows or those with health issues like arthritis or poor udder configuration. Those cattle may have brought open rates up had they still been on farm, she suggested.

She has seen three herds with wrecks this year, although Anderson noted that a certain number of wrecks occur every year, regardless of growing conditions. Of this year’s incidents, two were traced back to an issue with the bull, while the third was linked to insufficient mineral or nutrition.

“It is important to note that, that herd had brought in cattle from another geographical area and had bought from two other local-sourced herds, so likely changes in management/grass conditions would have been a factor. Forage availability over the summer was not thought to have been a concern in this instance,” she said.

Farms with a high priority on nutrition have also largely dodged the issue, Hudson Reykdal said.

“Even though it’s been drier conditions, they’ve known that and they’ve done something about it by feeding extra or keeping the animals in, but anybody who just has their cows out on pasture in the Interlake, it’s a problem,” she said.

Farmers can only hope now that 2019’s wet fall heralds a break in the two-year dry spell. It will be a bleak time in the Interlake if the region gets another year like this one, Hudson Reykdal said.

“Unless we start irrigating,” she noted. “B.C. and some places irrigate, but that drives up cost significantly and I don’t know that that’s ever feasible here.”

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The majority of scours, or diarrhea, cases occur when calves are three and 16 days old. Untreated calves essentially die of shock from a loss of fluids, say production specialists from North Dakota State University.

“Calf scours are most often associated with infectious, and environmental and nutritional stresses,” says NDSU Extension veterinarian Gerald Stokka.

There are a number of infectious causes of calf scours, both viral and bacterial. However, an organism called Cryptosporidium is a parasite that causes scours. Cryptosporidia usually is found in conjunction with other scour-causing bacteria or viruses.

“Unfortunately, this organism presents management problems as there is no vaccine or licensed therapeutic agent available,” Stokka says.

Conditions leading to scours:

• Inadequate nutrition for the pregnant dam, particularly during the last third of gestation, as well as the calf’s exposure to poor environmental conditions, insufficient attention to the newborn calf or a combination of these often results in scours outbreaks, he notes.
• Not meeting the pregnant dam’s energy and protein requirements will decrease the quality and quantity of the cow’s colostrum. Colostrum is a form of milk that mammals produce in late pregnancy. It contains energy, protein, fat and vitamins, plus antibodies to protect newborns against disease until their own immune system is totally functional. Deficiencies in vitamins A and E, and trace minerals have been associated with greater incidence of calf scours.
• Inadequate environment conditions, such as mud, overcrowding, contaminated lots, calving heifers and cows together, wintering and calving in the same area, storms, heavy snow, cold temperatures and rainfall are all stressful to the newborn calf and increase its exposure to infectious agents.

“Attention to the newborn calf is essential, particularly during difficult births or adverse weather conditions,” Stokka advises. “The calf is born without most antibodies, including those that fight the infectious agents that cause scours. The calf will acquire these antibodies only from colostrum. Because of this, any effort to prevent scours by vaccinating cows is wasted unless the calf actually receives colostrum, preferably before it is two to six hours old.

“As the calf grows older, it rapidly loses its ability to absorb colostral antibodies,” he adds. “Colostrum given to calves that are more than 24 to 36 hours old will be less than ideal as antibodies are seldom absorbed this late in life.”

Under range conditions, a calf adapts a pattern of nursing that fills its needs. Calf scours can be the result of anything that disrupts this normal habit, such as a storm, strong wind or the dam going off in search of new grass. When the calf eventually nurses, it is overly hungry and the cow has more milk than normal. This inconsistent nursing may lead to a condition known as enterotoxemia. The organism most often involved with this is clostridium perfringens of which there are several types.

The disease has a sudden onset. Affected calves become listless and strain or kick at their abdomen. Bloody diarrhea may or may not occur. In some cases, calves may die without any signs being observed.

Treating scours

“The key to successful treatment is identifying and successfully treating a dehydrated animal early,” Stokka says.

Calves that have lost significant amounts of fluid will have skin that “tents” (stays up for more than three seconds when you pull it away from the body), a dry mouth, cold ears and sunken eyeballs. They often have low blood sugar, low body temperature and low urine output, and have decreased blood electrolyte (sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, chloride) levels that adversely affect organ function, particularly the heart. They are visibly depressed.

The critical first step in treating cases of calf scours is correcting dehydration and electrolyte loss. Antibiotics can be administered if deemed appropriate by your veterinarian. Stokka recommends using a nipple bottle to replace the calf’s fluids if scours is detected early, when the calf still is standing and relatively bright.

“In these situations, it is best to leave the calf on milk and add several two-quart electrolyte feedings a day to replace the fluid that is being lost through diarrhea,” he says.

Calves that are down but alert probably need to have fluids administered with a stomach tube. They will need two quarts of a high-energy electrolyte solution containing glucose several times a day. Producers may need to provide some heat source as well.

Calves that are comatose or lying down must be administered fluids intravenously.

Producers need to be thorough when replacing fluids in a scouring animal, according to Stokka.

“First of all, the amount of fluid lost must be replaced,” he says. “It is a common mistake to give the animal too little fluids. A 100-pound calf that is 10 per cent dehydrated will need about 10 litres of fluid a day just to replace fluid loss.”

Diagnosing scours

• Send samples to a laboratory as early as possible.
• Consult your veterinarian about collecting appropriate samples.
• If your veterinarian is not available, collect a fresh fecal sample from an untreated calf. Place this sample in a sterile plastic container and submit it to the lab chilled for analysis.
• If you have a dead animal, submit it to the lab within 24 hours of death.

Prevention strategies

• Maximize the calves’ ingestion of colostrum immediately after birth.
• Maintain the cows’ proper nutrition and body condition.
• Minimize the dose of an infectious agent to which the calf is exposed.
• Minimize the density of susceptible calves.
• Keep calving premises clean and dry.
• Isolate sick animals. Don’t commingle them with uninfected calves.
• Sanitize equipment.

“Also remember that many infectious agents that cause calf scours can cause disease in people as well,” Stokka says. “Wear gloves and wash your hands. When working with sick animals, treat them last, and wear dedicated coveralls and boots that can be washed.

“Individuals with any disorder of the immune system and pregnant women should not work with sick calves in any way as they are more susceptible to zoonotic disease,” he notes.

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When that calving season is done varies, but the objective of any operation is to try to keep the calving interval as short as possible, according to Manitoba Agriculture.

Some producers calve at a particular time of the year because that’s how it’s always been done on the farm, while others have chosen a particular calving season because it best fits with their other farm commitments (i.e. multi-enterprise operations) or to reach certain production targets (i.e. purebred breeders). To decide what’s best, cattle producers must consider a number of factors.

Terrence Woychyshyn of Woychyshyn Farms, situated between Oakburn and Vista, is among producers who opt to calve in the winter — over January, February and March, however, he does take February off.

“From a purebred Black Angus standpoint, targeting the yearling bull market, calving season takes place in January,” said Woychyshyn. “Fifty cows then, and another 50 commercial cows start to calve as of March 1.”

According to Dr. Bruce Waddell of the Shoal Lake Veterinary Clinic, the largest percentage of calving in Shoal Lake and area is done in March, although for the 20 per cent that begin calving in January or February, the 2019 calf crop has already been welcomed.

There are advantages and disadvantages of each of the four calving periods in a year: winter (January, February, March), spring (April and May), summer (June and July), and fall (August, September, October).

“In winter, producers must be willing to check very frequently throughout a 24-hour period, as calves can suffer from hypothermia if born in extreme cold or excess snow,” said Waddell. “Truthfully, I’m not sure if consumers truly know what it takes to calve in the coldest part of the winter. Frozen fingers and faces come with the territory.”

There’s also the possibility of a calf not sucking, a cow not interested in her calf, a cow laying on her calf and injuring it, and frozen ears or tails, or even a dead calf.

Additional problems requiring the assistance of a veterinarian — also on call 24-7 throughout calving season — may be an added expense to the producer but also a cost-saving measure if a cow can be saved in the calving process.

Labour requirements are greatest for winter calving operations because along with constant vigilance, there is a need for good calving facilities. There’s also the increased risk of neonatal diseases due to higher animal density because of confinement.

Manitoba Agriculture says all management systems can be made to work, as no one calving system has all the advantages. By factoring in the land resources, equity position, labour availability, and wants and needs of the operator, success can be seen when a producer combines all variables. Winter calving is the most common type found in Manitoba, as the cow-calf enterprise doesn’t interfere with the cropping enterprise and calves have extra months to put on weight prior to sale.

For Woychyshyn, and hundreds of cattle producers like him, thanks to the extreme cold experienced this winter, he’s definitely ready for spring, looking over a young healthy crop of bull and heifer calves.

Raising cattle is one of the primary incomes for a number of farms in the area and across the Prairies. It is a job, a choice of occupation, and a family livelihood. Most people know that cattle farmers raise beef as an income, but few realize the time and dedication involved in getting that beef from birth to their table.

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This winter’s heavy snowfall and dangerous wind chills have created calving conditions that are difficult to manage and put the ears, feet and life of newborn calves at risk. However, calving indoors also has its drawbacks.

“When calving indoors, and with a number of animals producing heat and humidity, the temperature changes can produce poor air quality, leading to efficient transmission of potential pathogens and increasing the risk of neonatal calf diarrhea or pneumonia,” said Gerald Stokka, NDSU Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist.

Newborn calves have two internal mechanisms to help them cope with cold weather. First, calves are able to shiver, which is the involuntary muscle movements designed to increase warmth by expending energy.

The second mechanism is the non-shivering response that allows fat to be used to increase the calves’ metabolic rate by two to four times the resting rate to help them cope with colder temperatures. This special kind of fat is known as brown fat. It is readily available to the newborn to provide energy to cope with the sudden change in the calf’s environment at birth.

“Calves born to properly fed dams come equipped with this remarkable cold-coping mechanism,” Stokka said.

The newborn calf’s ability to cope with cold weather means the calf needs to rise quickly after birth and find its food and life source through the dam’s colostrum. Colostrum is a form of milk that mammals produce in late pregnancy. It contains energy, protein, fat and vitamins, plus antibodies to protect newborns against disease until their own immune system is totally functional.

Calving ease and excellent mothering ability are critical to the calf’s ability to stand and nurse quickly. In colder temperatures, calves born without some environmental protection or born to poor mothers with poor-quality colostrum will be at greater risk for infection from disease-causing pathogens.

“These may be pathogens that cause calf scours or pathogens associated with respiratory disease,” Stokka said. “In either case, the pathogens are simply taking advantage of a calf with a compromised immune status.”

To determine whether a calf has nursed, observe the dam’s udder and teats for evidence of nursing and feel the inside of the calf’s mouth. A calf with a cold mouth has not nursed and needs attention.

Minimizing disease risks

Stokka advises that if calving outside this winter, extra bedding is necessary as protection from the wind. However, cows delivering calves usually leave the herd and find secluded locations for giving birth, so producers need to be extra diligent when looking for calves that are cold and slow to get up.

These calves may need some type of additional heat source and supplemental colostrum. This may mean the newborns need to spend a few hours in a calf “hot” box or just in a warmer environment that’s out of the wind.

In some cases of severe hypothermia, dry heat may not work well enough and a warm-water bath is necessary.

“However, supplemental heat alone will not be sufficient to warm a calf,” Stokka said. “The calf must receive colostrum.”

The dam’s colostrum is optimal. The next best options are frozen stored colostrum or one of a number of commercial colostrum substitutes. The commercial colostrum substitutes need to contain a minimum of 100 grams of immunoglobulin (IgG) per packet. IgG is an antibody absorbed through the calf’s small intestine and provides protection against disease-causing pathogens.

Cold-stressed, immune-compromised calves also may require a little extra care with vaccination protocols. In populations of immune-compromised calves, a significant number of calves may not respond adequately to vaccination procedures. Booster doses, which are the second and third doses given within a defined time frame, may be important this year to prevent respiratory disease during the summer and fall weaning season, Stokka said.

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That’s the message that Dr. Craig Dorin of Airdrie, Alta., had for producers as the early calving season gets underway. Dorin was one of two veterinarians to touch on colostrum during a recent Beef Cattle Research Council webinar.

The Alberta veterinarian identified a critical four-hour window after birth, in which a calf should get at least two litres of colostrum, either through nursing or human intervention. Heavy milk breeds may need more than two litres within the first four hours, Dorin said, although he added that colostrum could be separated into multiple feedings.

Why it matters: Calves that don’t want to suck are at risk of not getting enough colostrum, along with all the health problems that implies. A test minutes after birth may let you know that calf is going to need intervention.

Dorin cited work by Alberta veterinarian Elizabeth Homerosky, which found that calves with a weak suckle reflex were 41 times less likely to get enough colostrum on their own.

Farmers should make a suckle reflex test part of their usual calving routine, he argued, and a calf should latch onto a finger brushing the roof of its mouth within minutes of birth. If that reflex is weak, the producer may have to start looking at supplements or tube feeding.

That test may be particularly important in the case of a hard pull, according to Homerosky. Her work found that the amount of calves that nursed normally within four hours of birth went down, and both bottle-fed and tube-fed calves increased, as births became more difficult. Under 40 per cent of the 14 hard pulls in the study went on to nurse on their own, compared to over 80 per cent of the 22 unassisted births.

Not all feeding types are made equal, attendees also heard. Producers were urged to nurse if they could, but failing that, were told that bottle feeding will give better colostrum delivery than tube feeding. The latter comes with both the risk of aspiration and relies on overflowing a calf’s digestive system until fluid reaches the final stomach, Dorin said. In contrast, suckling uses the esophageal groove to shunt milk to that final stomach, and requires less product.

Dr. Lisa Freeze, of Moncton, N.B., also warned producers to consider the source of their colostrum, if it’s not coming from the mother. A rancher can source colostrum from another cow in the herd before turning to supplements, she said, or get milk from another farm. Freeze regards that last option with a degree of caution. Although she has heard of farmers running to a neighbouring dairy farm for extra colostrum, that farm may have different micro-organisms or may not be clean, she argued.

“Colostrum from your own herd is the best,” Dorin also said. “A second choice would be the commercial products that are available. We’re reluctant to recommend dairy colostrum, partly because you need a higher volume to get the same amount of IgG (the main immunoglobulin in cow milk) because it’s a more dilute product. And then, of course, there’s always the potential of introducing outside disease into your herd.”

Freeze also warned producers to watch the label if they turn to commercial products.

“Is the product you’re using a complete replacement, which means that calf will be perfectly fine if it gets zero other colostrum other than that packet of powder, or is it a supplement, which means that your calf is still supposed to receive some sort of colostrum from the cow or it probably needs multiple packages of that product in order to completely replace the antibodies it would get from its mother?” she said.

A producer may want to look ahead to buffer against future nursing problems, according to Freeze.

Colostrum can be harvested from a farmer’s own herd and frozen for a year, she said, although it should be carefully warmed before use.

“You do have to make sure that when you’re thawing it, it’s a slow thaw, that it’s not in hot, hot water, because you are going to cook the antibodies that are in that colostrum,” she said.

Microwaving colostrum will do similar damage, she warned.

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