38 Ate Today? Thank a Farmer. Better Farming | May 2024 unique, and the variety of options for implants allows farmers to find a program that will best achieve their goals, if they so choose. Mitchell has five criteria that should be reviewed when selecting an implant: 1. Implant strength – Different compounds and formulations may have different strengths, even if the quantity is listed as the same number (e.g., 200 mg of testosterone is not equal to 200 mg of TBA). 2. Duration of implant – How long do the implants last and does that fit into your management program? 3. Depletion curve – Typically implants release a large spike of hormone after implantation, with a slow decline after. 4. Nutrition – The feed and ration provided to the implanted cattle will impact the results. Mitchell explains that calves on grass and milk might see a 5:1 return on investment for implants, while those fed a creep feed might see more than 20:1 return on investment. 5. Cost – Implants vary in price. Mitchell says that some may be as cheap as 85 cents, while others can be up to $9. The needs of the operation will impact these factors. Implants can be used through four stages of production: Nursing calves, stocker calves, grower calves, and the finishing phases, says Mitchell. Implants should not be used in veal calves or bulls or heifers selected for breeding stock. “The phase that is the least used is Livestock Cattle can be implanted at four stages: Nursing calves, stocker calves, grower calves, and in the finishing stage. farmfoodcare.smugmug.com Because the World’s Best Farmers Deserve the Hardest-Working Farm Magazine. Your ‘Better Farming’ Crop Advisor Team Bringing Ontario’s crop farmers the best advice & insight, for 25 years now. Patrick’s column has run in Better Farming since its launch in 1999. He is a member of the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame who has been a widely respected crop specialist for some 50 years. Patrick helped introduce the Certified Crop Advisor program in Ontario and helped establish the reduced tillage and soil conservation movements here. Pat continues to offer controversial and innovative ideas to encourage cash-croppers to think creatively to solve problems. Noted for teaching precision farming and 4-R Nutrient Stewardship, Dale’s “Yield Matters” has been in Better Farming since the beginning. He’s a member of the Ontario Ag Hall of Fame and was instrumental in bringing the Certified Crop Advisor program here. Dale began developing the digital ag strategy in 1993 to launch the precision ag movement in Ontario and emphasized capturing and analyzing field data. In 2016 he was named International CCA of the Year. Paul is an area agronomist with Corteva Agriscience and writes a regular agronomy and cash-cropping feature in Better Farming. Ontario agriculture is his passion and he has a strong reputation for helping cash-croppers solve problems through innovation, data analysis and informed management practices. His research has included corn population, fungicide, soybean row width/population and fertility work. Paul was the 2023 Ontario CCA of the Year Award winner. DALE COWAN PAUL HERMANS PATRICK LYNCH It’s Farming. And it’s Better.
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