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: 103

Comments are closed for this blog post

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

Replenish Nutrients Announces Steven Glover as Special Advisor to the Board and Director Nominee

Replenish Nutrients Holding Corp. (CSE: ERTH) (OTC: VVIVF) ("Replenish" or the "Company"), a leader in regenerative agriculture solutions, is pleased to announce that Steven Glover, FCPA, FCA, will join the Company as a Special Advisor to the Board of Directors, effective April 7, 2026. Mr. Glover will be nominated for election to the Company's Board of Directors at its upcoming Annual General Meeting on June 19, 2026. Mr. Glover is an independent director nominee. Upon election, it is anticipated that he will serve as the Company's audit committee chair. Mr. Glover brings nearly five decades of experience in accounting, financial oversight, and public-company governance, with a career spanning senior executive roles, regulatory and professional leadership, and extensive board and audit committee service. Mr. Glover currently serves as Lead Director and Audit Committee Chair of Genesis Land Development Corp. (TSX: GDC), where he provides oversight of financial reporting, enterprise r

Government of Canada invests in low-carbon agrichemicals to advance sustainability in agriculture

Canada's agricultural sector is at the forefront of building a greener future and ensuring Canadians have access to sustainable, homegrown solutions. Supporting leading-edge technology is critical to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fortifying Canada's food systems for generations to come. Today, Wade Chang, Member of Parliament for Burnaby Central, on behalf of the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced an investment of up to $1,236,310 for Anodyne Chemistries Inc. through the AgriScience Program - Projects Component, under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This investment will support Anodyne Chemistries in developing and demonstrating an innovative bio-electric process that converts carbon dioxide and water into high-quality, low-carbon formic acid and hydrogen peroxide, resulting in significant GHG reductions and reduced reliance on petrochemical feedstocks for Canada's agricultural sector. Formic acid and hydrogen

Canada's two major railways see slight improvement in grain deliveries in week 34: Ag Transport Coalition

The Ag Transport Coalition reports week 34 saw system performance improve notably, with CN and CPKC Rail combined, supplying 80% of hopper cars ordered. That's an improvement from the 65% performance seen in week 33, and the best performance seen since week 25 in mid-January. System performance remains below the 90% performance threshold for a tenth consecutive week, but returns to the 80% threshold for the first time in nine weeks. In supplying 85% of cars ordered by shippers in week 34, CN saw performance improve from the 79% order fulfillment performance seen in week 33. This marks the best performance seen from CN in the last five weeks, but CN performance remains below the 90% threshold for a tenth straight week. Meanwhile, in supplying 75% of shipper orders, CPKC saw performance improve dramatically from the 52% order fulfillment performance seen in week 33, with the railway posting their best performance in eight weeks. CPKC performance remains below the 90% performance th

Crop input retailer happy United Farmers of Alberta bought AgraCity

A competitor is pleased with United Farmers of Alberta’s purchase of the AgraCity Group of companies. Farmers Business Network thinks the deal is good news for farmers. “The work that AgraCity did to build their portfolio of products and labels will still be available to farmers going forward,” said Breen Neeser, FBN’s general manager for Canada.“They have some really good products.” He is happy that the AgraCity assets are staying in the hands of an established western Canadian company that has been in the agriculture business for a long time. “They know farming,” he said. “They’re partners with farmers.” Neeser believes UFA was keen on expanding their footprint in Saskatchewan. “I think that was part of the play,” he said. He is pleased that the assets did not end up in the hands of a foreign entity. “UFA is part of the fabric of western Canadian farming, especially Alberta and in some ways Saskatchewan now,” he said. “I’m glad it’s in the hands of somebody who sees the bus

Greenbelt Seen as Key to Ontario Food Security and Agri-Food Growth

Ontario’s Greenbelt should be treated as a strategic pillar of food security and economic growth, according to a new report released by the Greenbelt Foundation.  

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service