*Webinars* Strategies for Reducing Calf Losses: Veterinary Insights from Across Canada
Are calf losses cutting into your beef operation’s productivity and profitability? You are not alone! The BCRC is hosting two 90-minute webinars featuring veterinarians from across Canada who work directly with cow-calf operations like yours.
A March 18 webinar will feature veterinarians who work with Eastern Canadian cow-calf operations, sharing insights on practical prevention strategies to implement before, during and after calving to increase calf survivability. During the March 25 webinar, Western Canadian veterinarians will outline regionally relevant approaches for reducing calf losses, highlighting essential pre‑calving strategies and practical management techniques to use during calving to help ensure healthier outcomes for both cows and calves.
Both webinars will include an extended Q&A session, giving you plenty of time to ask questions. Each webinar will also be available for one continuing education (CE) credit for veterinarians and registered veterinary technologists and technicians across Canada.
Strategies for Reducing Calf Losses: Eastern Canadian Veterinary Insights
TIME: Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 7:00 PM EST
- 4:00 PM in BC
- 5:00 PM in AB and SK
- 6:00 PM in MB
- 7:00 PM in ON and QC
- 8:00 PM in NS, NB and PEI
- 8:30 PM in NFLD
DURATION: Approximately 1.5 hours
SPEAKERS:
Dr. Lisa Freeze
Dr. Freeze grew up on a dairy and beef farm in rural New Brunswick. She attended Nova Scotia Agricultural College and the Atlantic Veterinary College. For the past 20 years she has worked for the Department of Agriculture in New Brunswick. Her areas of interest include calving, surgery and neonatal calf health.
Dr. Van Mitchell
Dr. Mitchell was born and raised in Utah, where he grew up working with his father on their cow-calf operation. He attended veterinary school at Mississippi State University and has been a veterinarian at Metzger Veterinary Services since 2010. He has been a part of its rapid growth throughout Canada and into the United States. Dr. Mitchell’s main focus is working with stocker and feedlot operations, as well as cow-calf consulting and on-farm clinical work. He is the lead veterinarian at Metzger Veterinary Services and works at its two practices in Ontario as well as its feedlot practice in Alberta, which now includes work in Montana.
Dr. Lauren Wilson
Dr. Wilson graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2015 and has worked at Peterborough Veterinary Services for the past 10 years. The clinic is a mixed practice, treating all agricultural species. The clinic’s beef clientele is mostly cow-calf, with some veal, backgrounding and and feedlot clients. She was raised on a farm 30 minutes west of Peterborough with a cow-calf and feedlot operation, as well as pigs from farrow to finish.
Strategies for Reducing Calf Losses: Western Canadian Veterinary Insights
TIME: Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 7:00 PM MT
- 6:00 PM in BC
- 7:00 PM in AB and SK
- 8:00 PM in MB
- 9:00 PM in ON and QC
- 10:00 PM in NS, NB and PEI
- 10:30 PM in NFLD
DURATION: Approximately 1.5 hours
SPEAKERS:
Dr. Katie Waine
Dr. Waine grew up in southern England where her family raised dairy-beef calves. She became interested in ruminant disease and surveillance after seeing the impact the BSE crisis and the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in the UK had on the industry there. She graduated as a veterinarian from the University of Bristol and spent five years working in clinical veterinary practice. Dr. Waine then completed a Ph.D. in evidence-based veterinary medicine at the University of Nottingham, followed by a three-year farm animal pathology training and master of veterinary medicine program. In 2023, she moved to Canada and currently works as an assistant professor in veterinary pathology at the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Diagnostic Services Unit.
Dr. Allison Pylypjuk
Dr. Pylypjuk grew up on a cattle farm in southern Manitoba and graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2011. She practices bovine medicine with a primary focus on herd health and prevention practices. Currently, she resides in Woodlands, Manitoba, on a 300-head cow-calf operation and an 80-head dairy farm with her husband and three children.
Cost
BCRC webinars are available free of charge thanks to guest speakers who volunteer their time and expertise to support advancements in the Canadian beef industry through the BCRC’s knowledge mobilization work funded by the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off and Canada’s Beef Science Cluster.
INTERESTED BUT UNAVAILABLE FOR THE LIVE EVENT?
Register anyway! This webinar will be recorded and posted online after the event. All registrants will receive a link to the recording and additional learning resources. However, by attending the live broadcast, you’ll have the opportunity to interact and ask questions.
WHAT IS A WEBINAR?
Webinars are just like attending a workshop or conference, but from the comfort of your own home or office. They are easy to join and participate in; only a reliable, high-speed internet connection is required.
Register beforehand, and about 5-10 minutes before the webinar is scheduled to begin, click the link that was emailed to you upon registering.
As a participant, you can anonymously answer polls and surveys and will have the opportunity to ask questions near the end of the webinar.
Don’t have high-speed internet? Consider calling a neighbour who does and watching the webinar together, or call your regional ag office to ask whether arranging a group viewing is possible.
Visit the BCRC’s Webinars page to find past webinar recordings.
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The BCRC is funded by a portion of the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off.
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