Cattle producers and veterinarians recognize the need for remote drug delivery devices (RDDDs) when animals can’t be safely caught, handling poses significant risk, or when timely treatment is critical for a positive outcome. In this episode, we explore when RDDD use is appropriate, the pros and cons of these tools, and resources available to help guide decision-making. Learn how to use RDDDs effectively while staying within beef quality guidelines and ensuring safety.

Relevant Links: 

Remote Drug Delivery Devices: What You Need to Know (article)

When and How to Treat a Beef Animal Using Remote Drug Delivery (video)

Remote Drug Delivery Best Practices for RDDD (resource)

Water Systems Calculator (interactive tool)

Producing Dairy-Beef: Starting off on the Right Hood (article)

Dairy-Beef: Shifting From the Parlour to the Feedlot (article)

Artificial Insemination (webpage)

Value of Calving Distribution Calculator (interactive tool)

Every living thing contains carbon, and everything – including cattle and grasslands – plays a role in the carbon cycle. In this episode, we explore how the carbon cycle works, the role beef production plays in it, and how carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions affect beef producers on their farms.

Beef Cattle and the Carbon Cycle (article)

Carbon Cycle and Beef Cattle (webpage)

Environmental Footprint of Beef Production (webpage)

Cow-Calf Record-Keeping Course, Forage and Grasslands Records (course) 

Forage variety matters. A locally developed variety might not be the best choice for your situation and sometimes a variety developed elsewhere might be your best option. Drs. Bill Biligetu (University of Saskatchewan) and Annie Claessens (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) recently evaluated how different forage varieties performed under different growing conditions across Canada.

Relevant Links: 

Choosing Forage Varieties Without Getting Lost in the Weeds (article)

Forage U-Pick (interactive tool)

Forage Species (webpage)

Value of Calving Distribution Calculator (interactive tool)

Cracking the Code on Grazing Management Terminology: Animals Units, AUMs, & How to Apply Them (article)

Carrying Capacity Calculator (interactive tool)

Grazing Management (webpage)

Vaccination of the Beef Herd (webpage)

As humans transitioned from nomadic hunter-gatherers to settled agricultural societies, domesticated cattle became a cornerstone of farming life. Their natural resilience to disease made them an ideal livestock choice. But even hardy animals like beef cattle face health threats. In this episode, we explore common high-risk situations that could compromise your herd's health—and share practical, preventative strategies producers can use to protect their cattle and keep herds thriving.

Relevant Links: 

The Best Offense is Defense: 15 Plays to Keep you Beef Herd Safe (article)

Think You Have a Closed Herd? (interactive resource)

Biosecurity (webpage)

Cow-Calf Record-Keeping Course, Forage and Grasslands Records (course) 

Developing a grazing plan is an important first step to ensure effective grazing management on an operation, and it can help save a producer on their cost of production in the long run. A grazing plan that matches animal numbers to predicted forage yields is something that should be done prior to animal turn out. This episode we will review several key steps that should be included in a grazing plan.

Relevant Links: 

Developing a Grazing Plan: Making the Most of the Forage you Have Available (article)

Grazing Management (webpage)

Managing & Planning Grazing (webpage)

BCRC Carrying Capacity Calculator (interactive tool)

Vaccination of the Beef Herd (webpage)

Food safety underpins consumer confidence and demand for Canadian beef. Canada’s researchers develop effective solutions that help to prevent food safety problems from arising, and the check-off you pay helps fund their work.

Relevant Links: 

Food Safety is Rocket Science (article)

E.coli (webpage)

BCRC Carrying Capacity Calculator (interactive tool)

In this episode, we explore how to rejuvenate forage stands—whether for hay or pasture—by using practical methods to boost productivity. Learn how shifting to higher-yielding, more nutritious forage species can improve livestock health and farm efficiency.

Relevant Links: 

Forage Rejuvenation: Fertilization and the Influence on Soil pH (article)

Rejuvenation of Hay & Pasture (webpage)

Rangeland & Riparian Health (webpage)

Forage U-Pick (interactive tool)

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is a highly contagious virus with serious consequences for the beef industry. Effective on-farm biosecurity measures can help prevent the disease from entering, spreading within, and leaving your herd. In this episode, we’ll highlight practical tools and strategies to support disease prevention, along with resources to help you identify the signs of FMD and take action to stop its spread. These efforts are essential to protecting both your herd and the Canadian livestock industry from the health and economic impacts of foreign animal diseases like FMD.

Relevant Links: