Cattlemen Reminded to Monitor Water Supply

This week's hot weather means the potential for the development of Blue-Green Algae in dugouts. 

 

Natasha Wilkie is a Regional Livestock & Feed Extension Specialist with Saskatchewan's Ministry of Agriculture. 

 

Blue-Green Algae is toxic to livestock so it's important that producers check their water sources.

 

"You want to wear gloves and scoop that algae up.  If it runs through your fingers and looks kind of like pea soup and you just have a few green bits on your fingers, then it could be blue-green algae. When you're just looking out at the water body in general, it's going to have a shimmering blue/green color to it.  It could also have a foamy, or sheen appearance that kind of looks like spilled paint sitting on top of the water."

 

If you find a problem you should remove the livestock or fence the dugout off and treat it with a registered copper sulfate product as the algae can be a major problem and even lead to animal death. 

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.