In case you remember from the 2016 blog called Our Cow/Calf Tagging System, I am a bit particular when it comes to keeping track of cows and writing down records. At the time, we had quite an extensive record keeping system we developed through Excel. As much as we love a good spreadsheet, we were wanting a bit easier system (where I didn't have to write the code) to keep our cow/calf records up to date. Enter, HerdTrax.

HerdTrax is a herd management software developed by Dr. Troy Drake, which allows you access to carcass data. Once you enroll in HerdTrax, you can choose to retain ownership of your cattle until harvest, through Dr. Drake's extensive list of feedlots. Once harvested by Cargill, you are able to see the carcass data from your actual calves, link it back to their dams and sires, and make management decisions that benefit both you and the feeder. The idea is that you can cull the cows that don't make you money, and invest in the cows that do. 

Now. I'm not here to tell you what to do, or even that this is the best software out there. However, I am here to share with our readers what has worked for us. On the data entry side of things, HerdTrax is fairly simple to use. While not in an actual App form, you can use HerdTrax on your phone, ipad or computer, to enter data as you complete work on the ranch. We enter individual treatments, calving records, breedings and pasture movements on the go. Because I am somewhat of a worry wart, I do still write down herd treatments, group vaccinations, etc on paper, entering them into HerdTrax later. I know, I know, I shouldn't be doing that in this day and age, but I am secretly an 80 year old Grandma who doesn't trust my entry skills, or that my phone won't crash and somehow lose all my data (I don't think that can even happen). 

Being an excel gal, I do notice the odd weird glitch or inconvenience in the HerdTrax software, but honestly, whenever I do, I email Dr. Drake and he fixes it. It's an easy to use program, has all the data fields I was looking for, and can even allow you to upload up to 6 photos for each animal (hallelujah!). Overall, I haven't found any other software programs I prefer.

On the data sharing side of things, this software is pretty legit. When we retain ownership of our calves, the data is shared directly with the feedlot and I can see how all my calves are performing right until harvest. I also love the fact that I get carcass data back, allowing us to make management decisions that actually impact our product. Thinking back, it was actually crazy that we were selling a food product, but had no idea how that product yielded, tasted, looked or sold to consumers. WHAT?! In any other industry that would be insane. Only lately, through programs like HerdTrax or the CRSB pilot, is data being shared all the way from producer to harvester. And since all your data is at a click of a button, even if you're not retaining ownership through HerdTrax, you can email that data to anyone that wants it (perhaps a new marketing tool?). All i can say is it was time, beef industry, it was time! 

I couldn't believe the cows that were making me (and the feeder) the most money. Let me tell you, it wasn't always my favorite cow with perfect composition and seemingly high weaning weights. Sometimes it was, but not always. Sometimes its that ugly cow in the corner that surprises you. We need to, as cow/calf producers, start looking under the hide to improve our profit margins.

But, I'll get off my high horse now. Have a read, maybe visit the HerdTrax site, and maybe give it a try. It might not be for you. But i would be going against the reason I started this blog if I didn't share with you guys something I found that works and adds value to our operation. 

Until next time, 

Jess 

In July we are expecting our first daughter and we couldn't be more excited! Enjoy a few of our maternity photos done by the extremely talented Ciara Sandum Photography (check out her page, its seriously amazing!).
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I guess maybe we will have to change the name of the blog soon...

Social media and blogging have been the cause of a lot of flack from people in my life. Many of the people I interact with "in real life" think it's silly that I share so much of my life on the internet and often like to give me a hard time about it. I must admit that sometimes I take that ribbing to heart, but then I remember about all the amazing opportunities my social media life has granted me. One of which is meeting fellow online agriculture advocates form across Canada. At the inaugural Canadian Beef Industry Conference  this last summer (read about that here) I met up with some of my blogging role models, one of which was former Cattlemen's Young Leader mentee and Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association communications Specialist Amanda Broadhagen (@AmandaBrodhagen). She recently tagged me on Facebook to participate in the #BeforeThePlate Challenge, and I of course accepted!

Amanda challenged me to share some of my favorite moments on the farm where we proudly produce food for Canadian (and international) consumers to enjoy. As commercial beef producers, Clay and I put our heart and soul into supplying healthy, safe, delicious beef products that are raised responsibly and humanely. We love to share the ins and outs of our operation through online platforms, and we welcome questions both in person and on social media. We always vow to answer honestly, and hope that we postively represent Canadian cattlemen.

Calving season is one of my favorite times of year on the ranch. We typically calve in March but there is no right or wrong time to calve your cows, in fact, dairies calve all year round! Each operation will choose the time of year that best suits their herd and needs. While calving may be one of the most stressul, time consuming and hectic times of year at our ranch, it is also the most exciting, rewarding and fulfilling. You just can't help but smile when you are surrounded with newborn baby calves, happy mamma cows and the first signs of spring! Here are some photos showcasing calving season at our place:

It may come as a surprise to some, but land management is also a cattlemen's task that I find so much joy in. We are very fortunate to be able to raise cattle partially on native prairie rangeland. It never ceases to amaze me how truly diverse, adaptable and valuable this natural resource is. And because of that, Clay and I take great pride in balancing the forage needs of our cattle with the unique capacities of the range. We strive to leave this land more abundant, diverse and efficient for our future children than we received it. Here are a few snapshots of the range, tame pastures and hay land that we utilize in our beef operation:

I would be totally amiss if I didn't mention the sense of community in raising beef cattle. Rural life has a way of bringing people together, and those people; well, they are down right amazing! Whether its helping care for calves, feeding cows, baling hay, harvesting, processing cattle or moving pastures, my community has been right beside me every step of the way. Clay and I are so blessed to have such phenomenal friends, neighbours and family that are here to help us at the drop of a hat. And speaking with other cattle producers, this is a common thread no matter where in the world you produce your beef. In honour of the thoughtful, generous, hardworking cattle communities out there, here are some photos of our help. And to all you helpers reading this, THANK YOU! I can never say it enough.

If you are interested in my adventures over the next week follow me on Twitter (@WhiskeyCreek_AB) or check out the hashtags #Farmfair and #CFR43, or the accounts @Northlands, @CFRedmonton for all the Farmfair International fun!  

While I have never been to Farmfair before, I have spent a few days in a cattle show ring in my day and all of the hype of this event has made me reminisce about my show days. I scrounged up a few old photos below from when I showed cattle in 4-H  as a youngin', so have a look and enjoy a good laugh on me!

While I giggled with my husband about my fashion choices, my mind wandered to the popular clubby calf photo that has been going around the internet discussing blow drying cows. While it is true (cattle showers do wash their animals, and dry them!) I thought it might be fun to discuss how and why cattle exhibitors get their animals ready for showing, and maybe how you might get ready for Farmfair too!

Why do some cattle owners spend the time to wash and blow dry their animals, drive them to the city and enter them into huge livestock shows like Farmfair International? The answer is simple- to show off! Cattle breeders, whether commercial or purebred, use these opportunities to demonstrate the quality and characteristics of their animals, not to mention all the hard work and pride that goes into breeding cattle. Depending on the breed, you may see a dairy producer show off the superior milk production of their cows, or maybe an Angus breeder demonstrate the carcass quality of their beef, or maybe even a commercial breeder show off the hybrid vigor of their crossbreds for replacement heifers. That's the beauty of livestock shows- there is something for everyone! Whether you are a fellow cattle breeder, beef consumer or someone just interested in farm life, there is no better place to learn the ins and outs of livestock.

These shows give livestock producers the opportunity to see a tiny piece of many farms in a one stop shop. While I joke about showing off and bragging about your own cattle, shows like Farmfair International do allow producers to share ideas, learn from each other and discuss production methods that would otherwise never be possible. The 'international' part of Farmfair International truly is just that. People from around the world are invited to and attend Farmfair!

After gaining the trust of your show animal, the next step is getting show ready! I would start by clipping. I used very quiet electronic clippers to do the job. My hubs is still jealous that I used nicer clippers on my cows than on him! The point of clipping is to highlight the best features of your show animal. You can clip to varying degrees, but I typically concentrated on head, top line and tail head clipping. It's important to note that clipping does not equal shaving- just minimal trimming that emphasizes the best qualities, while still looking natural. (Disclaimer: I had some amazing friends and family that always helped me clip my 4-H steers! They did a top notch job and I am still very appreciative of all the hours of hard work they put in!).

Posted By: Jesse Williams

As Penny Patton, Cattlemen’s Young Leader program graduate, puts it- our land is our place of doing business. We need to make sure it’s available for us to use in the future. Our land is our renewable resource in ranching, but the media often twists our story. So how does ranching make a POSITIVE impact on our environment? I can’t speak for everyone, but I can give you an insight into one project we have been doing on our ranch since we started in 2012.

Our ranch is nestled in the Special Areas of Alberta. This unique municipality received their name in the 1930’s when a huge majority of settlers in the area packed up & abandoned their homesteads due to extreme drought and impossible farming conditions, forfeiting the brown soiled land back to the government. So if there is anybody that knows about the importance of water on the prairie, its Special Areas residents. So much in fact, that my hubs made water our primary business, drilling water wells, providing solar watering options and completing livestock watering systems to ranchers in our area.

To protect our water sources, the wildlife & riparian species that depend on them (including us!), we have been fencing off our riparian areas (areas next to lakes, wetlands, springs, sloughs, etc.) to limit access to livestock during ecologically sensitive periods. This helps to keep the banks strong and lush with many vegetation species and clean water sources for all those that access them. In turn, we have been using solar watering systems to pump the water out of the riparian areas into troughs nearby. The interesting part is that cattle seem to prefer to drink out of troughs than in riparian areas, because the water is cleaner & free from their own contamination. How cool is that!?

Above: Photos of the Whiskey Creek natural catch basins that the creek fills, September 2016

The benefits to protecting riparian areas are many. If you follow my social media accounts you may recall seeing a picture I posted this summer of the Whiskey Creek flooding (below). While I said above that we are typically very dry, we had an unusually wet year this year. Our tiny little creek flooded vastly outside its normal creek bed, but luckily because it was a relatively healthy riparian area, the water was captured by vegetation, soaked into our soils and not lost to run off. The varying types of vegetation with different root systems and depths allow for healthy soil, good infiltration and strong, stable banks. We were very happy to see our water stay in our pasture soil and recharge our aquifers than run off as waste!

Top: The Whiskey Creek flooding on August 3, 2016 after 20"+ of rain this year.
Bottom: The Whiskey Creek on September 30, 2016, dried up, which is typical for this time of year. It will fill up again next spring to fill natural catch basins that are full year round.

Whiskey Creek’ flows through, we keep cattle off until after freeze up. This gives us a great hard grass feed source in the fall before we have to start supplementing with bales, plus once the banks are frozen  the cattle do a lot less damage to the banks, vegetation and riparian species. We take the cattle off of that native pasture before it thaws in the spring to ensure cattle aren’t mucking up the banks when they are at their most sensitive. This system works great in our pasture rotations plus it conserves our sensitive, ecologically significant riparian habitat. And the wildlife species that share this particular habitat are many.  

I think it’s important to remember however, that our riparian area management is forever evolving. This post is not meant to make people think we have it all figured out or that all the riparian areas at Whiskey Creek Ranch are 100% (they’re not). We are constantly working on improving our riparian management and sustainability, and decreasing our footprint. My favorite saying is “you can’t manage what you don’t measure” and I think that is essential in livestock production, including the ecological side of it.

Organizations like Cows & Fish are dedicated to helping ranchers meet the needs of their livestock operations while benefiting the ecosystem and in most cases, improving it beyond its natural state. Cows & Fish helped us come up with a list of considerations before fencing our riparian areas to ensure we were meeting the needs of all species, not just the cattle. There are also lots of local organizations to look into if you are interested. In my area we have the Chinook Applied Research Association (CARA) who has staff on hand to help with riparian area assessments for FREE! We have plans with them this fall to do a formal riparian health assessment on the Whiskey Creek, prior to completing our fencing, so stay tuned for blogs about our progress! CARA is part of ARECA- the Applied Research Extension Council of Alberta- and have partners across the province dedicated to the same type of work. Check them out!

As much as this post is about what we are doing on my ranch, I want to stress that we are not alone. Ranchers have been doing this for generations, but it is only recently that we have been talking about it as consumer concerns have escalated, watering technologies have evolved and ranchers are under more pressure to show their conservation efforts to the public. I also want to emphasize that this is just one tiny part of ranchers’ conservation and sustainability strategies that I am sharing today. If you are curious about what ranchers are doing, just ask! We love to talk about our land because as Penny said, it is our business, it is our renewable resource, it is our life. It is why most ranchers took up this occupation! And if you are a rancher reading this, I encourage you to share your sustainability stories. I know you have many! Why not take part in #AgMonth16 this October using the hashtag #OurFoodHasAStory? Or search it and see what others are doing. As the old 4-H adage goes “Learn to do by doing!”.

Interested in learning more? Caring for the Green Zone: Riparian Areas & Grazing Management is a great resource from Cows & Fish to start with! (PDF available)

This post is inspired by the Cattlemen's Young Leader Program as part of an advocacy challenge. Help me win that challenge (please!) by watching & sharing Penny’s video & you could help send me to the National Western Stock Show and NCBA-CYL/YCC Round Table in Denver!

Stats from: AgMoreThanEver.ca

This means, that for every 1 person involved in Canadian Agriculture, 7 people are completely removed from our industry. That's alarming, isn't it? I have to admit that statistic scared me! And with 7% unemployment rate in Canada (as of August 2016), and a rising 8.4% in Alberta specifically, now seems like the perfect time to encourage people to have a look at what our amazing agriculture industry can provide.

I am challenging each and every one of you to share, tag or show Ben Campbell's Ag Story video to SEVEN people in your life that aren't directly involved in agriculture for every ONE person in agriculture that you share it with. Then challenge your ag friends to do the same! For most of us, it is easy to get likes or shares on an ag photo or video, because we're preaching to the choir. But let's challenge ourselves to get the ag story out there to people in the cities, children in schools and beef consumers in the grocery store. Let's make an effort to tell our story to those 7 out of 8 people who may not know that ranchers give the back pocket of their jeans to make a cow more comfortable (see video, I'm not crazy!) or that a rancher doesn't have to wear a cowboy hat and ride a horse to take care of their livestock. Let's show Canadians what modern agriculture is all about!

Share the video & use the hashtag #CDNagchallenge
so we can see just how far it goes!

But don't stop there, you can show the video in classrooms, at a local event, in your office, to your family and on the street. Stay tuned to see where I pop up in my community to share our Ag Story!

To make it easier, here are some pre-typed Tweets & Posts you may want to copy & paste. The video link will make the video visible once you post!

For every 1 in ag/food careers in CDA, 7 are not. I challenge you to show 7 non-aggies this video #CDNagchallenge goo.gl/M7Ep6I

 DYK? 1 in 8 Canadian jobs are in ag & agri-food, employing over 2.1M Canadians! Yet, it is projected that from 2011-2020 there will be 38% of Canadian Ag jobs go UNFILLED! So I am challenging YOU.

Let’s share Ben Campbell’s story about his ag career below using the hashtag #CDNagchallenge. But let’s not stop there. Because for every 1 ag job there are 7 job options unrelated to agriculture, tag, share or show 7 people who normally wouldn’t be interested in an ag career and encourage them to do the same! Let’s shout ag from the rooftops, people! Let’s show Canadians how fulfilling careers in Canadian agriculture can be!  goo.gl/M7Ep6I

This Challenge is inspired by the Cattlemen's Young Leader Program as part of an advocacy challenge. Help me win that challenge (please!) by sharing the video & you could help send me to the National Western Stock Show and NCBA-CYL/YCC Round Table

Posted By: Jesse Williams

I have had a lot of questions about how we structure our cow/calf management tags in our herd, as I have posted a few pictures of making tags and our DIY Tag Board, that seemed to confuse people. This leads me to believe we must be doing things rather different than anyone else (which could be a good or a bad thing) and so I thought I would take a few minutes to share what we do and why. I would LOVE to hear how you do management tags on your operation because there is always room for improvement!

We do follow the international tag lettering system for our COWS. This handy dandy little system gives your cows a letter for their tag that corresponds with the year they were born. This is super convenient when buying cows at the auction mart- IF (and I stress, IF) the previous owner follows that same international standard. I am learning more every day that there are less and less people following it, which I always ask myself 'Why not?'. If you have any insight into that, please let me know!

As mentioned above, we give all cows their letter corresponding to their year of birth, followed by a management number. We simply started at 100 when we began our herd. This is because we have very similar cows to our family members, who we also sometimes run in the same pastures or management groups. By starting all our numbers in the 100's, (their's start in the single digits), we can easily identify whose cow is whose.

We also use a different colored tag for every year of birth. This is simply another aid to allow us to identify a cow at a quick glance. Sometimes you may only be able to see the number on the tag because of long hair, but if its orange you know that is likely a 'B' cow, for example. It is probably over kill (and does make for a LOT of extra tags always hanging around in every color) but it does work well for us.

In order to save a bit of money we reuse the same calf tags every single year. At weaning we cut the button off the back of each tag, saving the tag for the next calf crop. We do this when the calves are in the chute ready to load onto the liner to the auction mart. We simply lean over the chute with a tag cutter and remove the tags. Now this is easier said than done and I'll be the first to admit it. In previous years we had an old rickety chute that had bars across the top. Those bars were just in the right spot to bonk your head when you weren't paying attention. We do have a better chute now, but it is still somewhat inconvenient and been a topic of discussion in our house for some time. I guess the cheap side of us won over because we are still doing it!

After weaning, we take the tags in the house, wash them in soapy water to remove any old dirt and use a knife or pen to pop out what's left of the old button. We then use a tag pen to trace over the existing letter and number to make sure it is vibrant and readable for the next year.

Economics on reusing tags:
*These are the actual costs of tags and buttons we purchased in 2015. Tax not included.

Large Allflex 2 piece tags/buttons: $30.44/ 25 tags & buttons ($1.22/head)
Allflex buttons: $14.59/ 25 buttons ($0.58/head)
Savings: $15.85/ 25 head ($0.63/head)

For a herd that produces 100 head of calves continuously, you would be saving $63.40 per year (or $0.63/head). Now that doesn't sound much, and it really isn't, but 63 bucks is 63 bucks in my opinion. My father in law loves to say that when you are young, you trade work to save money, and when you are old you trade money to save work. Clay and I are still young so I think we will continue to take the extra few minutes to remove tags, wash them and reuse them each year, at least for now.

Note: We have a very low tag loss rate in calves. In 100 head, we might lose one per year, if that.

While this is the way the hubs' family has been doing it for years, my number one concern when I was introduced to it was the increase in time/work to tag replacements twice, plus the stress of two tagging steps for replacements, or the removal of the tags for calves going to market. They have to be tagged at some point in their life, but the second tagging for replacements is usually done in the chute when the heifers are receiving annual vaccinations. And because we use the same hole that their original tag was in, I think the stress is fairly limited.

For the calves being sold to market, I think it would be fair to say there is some stress on weaning day and adding an additional few minutes in the chute trying to wrangle a tag out of their ear likely adds to it. However, I don't know how much stress or how much shrink that would equate to, and if it would be enough to cancel out the savings from reusing tags.

The other option I see a lot of producers use is to tag at branding rather than at birth. I am not particularly fond of this method just because it is hard enough to know which calf goes with which mother when they have corresponding tags. Without tags for a few months before branding would always make me worry I have the wrong calve/cows matched up. This would wreak havoc on my record keeping system as my data would no longer be reliable. If a cow lost her calf and adopted another (which most certainly happens), and I use the adopted calf's data as that cow's progeny, I could have very skewed results as to the genetic characteristics that mother throws.  

At the end of the day, this is how we've been using management tags in our herd. It may or may not work for you herd but we sure would love to hear how your system might differ. Leave a comment or send us an email!

Posted By: Jesse Williams

I am counting down the days until our cows are supposed to start calving- and I am pumped!! Is there any better time of the year when new calves are hitting the ground? I can't think of one. And because I like to be (or attempt to be) organized, I have been preparing for this season almost since last calving season ended. To make things a bit easier I developed a check list of items I like to have on hand in case we need to intervene. It isn't very often we need to, but I would rather be prepared and know what tools I have to work with rather than be scurrying around looking for something I haven't seen since last year. There are probably a lot more items I could add but I think this is a great list for beginners. Add as you go!

Download a customizable PDF version here
Download the Excel worksheet here

Did I forget something? Feel free to comment with your suggestions!

It's been almost 4.5 years since I married my best friend- and rancher- Clay. While I had strong agricultural influences growing up, our ranch was quite small and our focus was 4-H projects, rather than large scale cow/calf production. So when I married this true blue, rodeo cowboy fresh off his purebred Gelbvieh operation, my eyes were somewhat opened (and continue to be, every day!). Feeling rather reminiscent last night, I came up with 25 surprising things that I have learned to adjust to since our wedding day on August 20, 2011...

I could literally go on forever with this list, as my wonderful husband has opened up my eyes and heart to a new way of living that I would never give up. I joke about the 'sacrifices' I have to make, but if I am being completely honest, I am happy and proud to do so. Most of the time, the party I missed wasn't nearly as satisfying and enjoyable as an evening on the back of my horse chasing a stubborn bull with foot rot into the corrals. And the sleep I'm lacking? I'd trade a cozy bed for a healthy calf and a happy cow after a difficult birth, any day.

I am sure other ranch wives can come up with some great additions to the list. Feel free to share them so we can all have a laugh. Because let’s face it, some days we need it!

Posted by: Jesse Williams

2015 was truly a whirlwind of a year for us, both on and off the ranch! We saw some major changes including Clay quitting his engineering gig to start his own water well drilling company,Legacy Drilling (yes, that was a shameless plug!) while I changed jobs to be based closer to home and more in my field of expertise. Clay also earned his Professional Engineering status from the Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of Alberta- an honor he worked hard to deserve.

We FINALLY sold our acreage in Strathmore, after being on the market for over a year and struggling with renters and the challenge that two home bases bring. I was SO excited to sell our acreage that 13 hours (literally) after the ink had dried on that deal, Clay and I bought our forever home, which will be moved in three pieces onto our new farm site south of Hanna in June 2016. Can I get a WAHOO!?!?

We increased our herd size this year, adding more yearling heifers to the bunch. We also added two new Charolais bulls for our cow herd to put some serious pounds on the ground with tan calves for 2016. Our heifers were bred Gelbvieh, a family favorite, of course. We sold our first crop of calves at Balog Auction in October, and were very pleased that they sold in only 3 bunches. Certainly no complaints here!

Our farm site sure looks different now than when 2015 was rang in. We added utilities (gas, water, power), built a calving barn/three-sided shed combo, moved an arch-ribbed shop onto location and now have a passable driveway (yay!).  We spent a lot of time cleaning up an old farm/junk site just northeast of our new yard, and hopefully 2016 will bring the rest of it up to par.

Writing down all of the changes that happened this year doesn't seem as hectic as it really felt. I feel like I haven't put my feet up all year! Regardless, this has been our best year yet and we are so happy and proud to have shared it with amazing family and friends. There are so many people that have helped make our year what it was, and we are ever so grateful.

Here is to you & yours. We wish you all the best in 2016 and hope you stop by for a coffee. The door is always open!

-Clay & Jesse Williams

You may have known that Clay bought me a camera in 2014 for Christmas. Well, I have been snapping photos all year long and decided to put together a snapshot of our year on the ranch to have as a keepsake. Now of course, it is obnoxiously long with way too many cow photos, but that has been the center of our life this past year so I couldn't shorten it up! Have a browse through, as Clay assures me that nobody but us can watch cows for 9.5 minutes ;)

Click here for the mobile version (no music)