Cattle birthing simulator on display at Agribition

Nov 22, 2017

The calf is placed in a different position during each birthing scenario

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

Visitors at the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, Sask. can experience first-hand what it’s like to birth a calf.

The Western College of Veterinary Medicine is displaying Agnes, a full-size and anatomically correct cow, to educate visitors about how veterinarians diagnose and assist live animal birthing.

With each birth scenario, the calf is positioned differently to simulate unique birthing conditions.

“We can use her … to educate … how to deal with any sort of malpresentations at birthing time,” Chris Clark, associate dean of the college of veterinary medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, told CBC yesterday.

To remove the calf from Agnes, participants pull on a chain that’s been attached to the calf.

After the show, Agnes and her calf will head back to the University of Saskatchewan to help future veterinarians perfect the birthing process.

“In the past, we used other techniques to try and teach but this is certainly a cleaner and easier technique for us to train students (with),” Clark told CBC.

Agnes is part of Agribition’s education program, which is designed to teach children from kindergarten to Grade 6 about modern agriculture and where their food comes from.

After giving birth a dozen times today, Agnes the cow has definitely earned herself a few drinks at the @livingskywinery garden. #CWA17 @WCVMToday @usask

Thanks for the video @dmeyersYQR pic.twitter.com/iuOnjVfMsi
— Saskatchewanderer (@SkWanderer) November 21, 2017

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.