Our Calves 2018-2019
Our Calves 2019-2020
Beef Production Manager - Sean Murphy (gr. 9)
New calves have arrived for our new school year. The steers are a mix of Simmental and Angus Cattle. As part of our student led farm team, Sean Murphy is our beef manager. He arranges for several students each week to work with feeding and caring for the animals.
Our goal for the calves this year is to have one of them ready for sale in June and to use the other one in our hot lunch program. These funds will go towards continuing to support our Ag Program in future years.
Our Calves 2018-2019
Meet Our Steers
Ever wondered what it's like to be a steer in a schoolyard? Curious about how ranchers raise steers?
Follow along here to see our calves grow!
Morning Chores
Each morning two students, along with a supervisor, bundle up and head out to do morning chores. There are quite a few things to take care of to make sure that our steers are happy, warm, and healthy.
Home Sweet Home
Our calves are nice and cozy in their pen. They have a new shelter, thanks to the Altario Ag Society. We keep them bedded down with fresh straw, keeping them dry and warm. They have fresh water every day. Soon, we'll install a heated waterer. We'll be glad to not have to chop water holes anymore!
Feeding Steers
Feeding this pair isn't a simple job. Every morning we weigh out specific feeds to make sure they are healthy, warm, and growing well.
Cattle's stomachs are a complicated system. They require something called roughage to work. Roughage is any high fibre food, like hay or silage, and it is key to jump starting their guts.
Roughage alone isn't enough for cattle to stay warm or gain weight in our cold Alberta weather. They need carbohydrate and protein rich foods on top of their daily roughage ration. Our calves get barley and earlage as well. These two feeds are especially rich, and are perfect for keeping calves gaining and growing in the thick of winter.
The balance between roughage and rich feeds is a delicate one! Too much roughage and the calves won't gain as efficiently as they could. Too much barley and the calves stomachs' won't be able to process all of the food. This leads to bloat, which is a whole bunch of air in their gut.
The calves also get a daily dose of vitamins and minerals each day. This supplement keeps them healthy and adds to their nutrition, just like our vitamins!