Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

U of G OVC Student Veterinarians Share Experiences Working With Animals in Local Clinics - Externship

Diagnostics, clinical skills, problem solving, and working with clients are all critical pieces in a student veterinarian’s education. This summer, five student veterinarians have been blogging during their practical experience (externship) at veterinary practices.

Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Ministry of Rural Affairs (OMAF and MRA), students must complete an eight-week Externship Course between third and fourth year in a rural (companion and food animal or companion and equine) practice.

This week student-veterinarian Lindsay talked about the broad knowledge required by dairy veterinarians. Check out www.ovc.uoguelph.ca/externship for the latest blog and click on each student's photo to access all of their blogs.

Many factors contribute to dairy herd health

After completing three years of veterinary school I feel like I have been taught a lot of information! However, going into a career of dairy medicine requires knowledge about so much more than just dairy medicine.

One important component of dairy farming that is important for vets to know about is nutrition. Nutrition affects production and transition cow health and therefore is very important for a vet to know about. There are several vets at Heartland Veterinary Services that are very interested in nutrition and I have learned a lot talking with them and walking crop fields to know when they are ready to be harvested.

One aspect of dairy farming that I am very interested in is barn design. Many farmers ask veterinarians about their opinion when building a new barn so it is something I would like to learn more about. There are five key things that need to be assessed when building a new barn: cattle resting space, cattle walking space/flooring, water sources, feeding space and ventilation. Within each of these categories are many aspects of barn design to think about. Now when I go into a barn with a veterinarian I try to remember to assess the barn for these five things.

Another thing key to being a good dairy veterinarian is being able to assess production traits. Many dairy farmers use a milk recording service called CanWest DHI. This company collects production data on farms to be used for management purposes. Things that are recorded include: herd average milk production, fat and protein production, individual cow measurements, somatic cell measurements, average age at first calving, longevity, etc. These values are used to assess how the dairy farm is doing and how it can be improved. The veterinarian plays an integral part in this!

Growing up on a dairy farm I was lucky enough to be exposed to many of these components of dairy farming, but I still have lots to learn!

 

Views: 110

Comments are closed for this blog post

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

U.S. Opens Door to Additional Beef Imports in Bid to Lower Ground Beef Prices

U.S. has unveiled a temporary measure allowing additional imported beef into the United States without higher tariff penalties.

Crop Report for the Period August 11 to 17, 2026

Harvest progress remained slow last week, reaching four per cent complete as scattered rain showers and thunderstorms moved across the province. While the moisture was welcome in some regions, early-morning humidity shortened harvest windows and created poor desiccation conditions. Producers noted that warmer temperatures are needed to help advance crop maturity. Rainfall was variable across the province last week. Some areas reported receiving significant precipitation from scattered showers and thunderstorms, while others recorded trace or no rainfall, resulting in uneven moisture conditions across crop districts. The highest rainfall was reported in the Browning area, with 115 millimetres (mm) of rain, followed by the Enniskillen area with 106 mm and the Coalfields area with 102 mm. The Reciprocity and Meadow Lake areas reported 73 mm. Localized showers resulted in slight improvements to topsoil moisture conditions across the province. Cropland topsoil moisture is: 2 per cent s

Hail, harvest & inspection strips

With harvest fast approaching in some areas of the province, producers with hail-damaged crops are starting to wonder if Agriculture Financial Services’ (AFSC) claims adjusters will make it to their farm before they need to start harvest. “Our adjusters are working hard to assess hail damage,” said George Kueber, AFSC Claims Adjusting manager. “This year’s storm season is a bit unprecedented. We had two large scale hail events back-to-back on July 4 and 5. We haven’t had claims volumes like this since 2016. “We can’t get to everyone immediately,” said Kueber, adding that there are 2,951 outstanding hail inspections as of August 18. “We prioritize our work based on a number of factors and with harvest getting underway across the province, we will be asking clients to leave representative strips.” Producers with hail-damaged acres can harvest before the crop is assessed, provided they contact their preferred AFSC branch office for approval to leave inspection strips before starting a

Making memories with Meals in the Field

It started over breakfast. And by the time it was over, George and Gail Slusarczyk had welcomed a circle of their friends to their farm to share a meal, watch some live entertainment, and to catch up with one another. “I filled out the form over breakfast one day and submitted it, and walked away from the idea to never think of it again,” explained Gail, during a recent phone conversation. “Then one day, he (George) came in the house and said, ‘We’re getting company.’ And I’m going, ‘Who?’” The answer was the 840 CFCW Meals in the Field crew, including Jackie Rae Greening, Stella Stevens and Dan Davidson, as well as Agriculture Financial Services (AFSC) team members. In addition, Stawnichy’s Mundare Sausage brought a Ukrainian feast, and the Slusarczyks received prizes from Rig Hand Distillery, AFSC, and Meridian Manufacturing. George and Gail, who farm northwest of Warburg, had won the last spot for 2025 in the popular harvest season contest, and they could now invite friends and

Bertha Armyworms, Weeds and Sclerotinia

Bertha armyworm is a native pest so it has lots of natural enemies. If berthas are below thresholds, it may be best to avoid spraying and let these beneficials do their work. A few important beneficials:  –tachinid fly  –parasitic wasp (Banchus flavescens)  –fungus  –virus Among these beneficials, the virus is mostly likely to bring down an outbreak cycle. Infected berthas climb to the top of plants, go all gooey, and rain down virus on the worms below. It can spread fast. If a canola field has a lot of berthas on the pods, make sure they’re actually eating. A lot of them may be dead. Bertha loves quinoa (and a few weeds) Why are some fields overrun with berthas while nearby fields have so few? Timing of canola flowering and the attraction of alternate host plants (weeds in the crop) are possible factors. For example, fields with a lot of kochia, lamb's-quarters, wild mustard or quinoa could be more attractive to egg-laying bertha armyworm moths. (Quinoa is not that common but bert

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service