What Canadian Cow-Calf Producers Are (and Aren't) Adopting
Insights for Strategic Research and Extension Programming
A comprehensive update on trends in management practices and performance across Canadian cow-calf operations is now available from the Beef Cattle Research Council.
Drawing from several sources—including the 2022-23 Canadian Cow-Calf Survey with 600 respondents nationwide, along with Census of Agriculture data and numerous other academic studies—this report tracks adoption trends for 31 practices across reproductive management, calf health, herd management, forage utilization, environmental stewardship and record-keeping.
Pregnancy checking has shown a stable trend across Canada. Within Western Canada, seven out of 10 producers perform pregnancy checks on their heifers, and around two-thirds of producers perform pregnancy checks on their cows. In Eastern Canada, pregnancy checking rates have also held relatively stable, with just over half of producers checking both cows and heifers.
The report shows the vast majority (94%) of respondents vaccinate at least one class of cattle for at least one disease. By province, the values generally show higher vaccination rates compared to the 2017 survey results.
Across Canada, weaning weights have decreased compared to those reported in the 2019 Adoption Rates Report. Ideally, the 205-day adjusted weaning weight should be between 40% and 45% of the mature cow’s weight. At the national level, this indicator is at the low end of the target range, at 39.5%, suggesting that cow weights are rising faster than weaning weights.
Expectations
The 2025 Canadian Cow-Calf Adoption Rates and Performance Levels Report acknowledges that 100% adoption is neither expected nor appropriate for any practice. What works economically for one operation may not work for another with different management systems, resources or market conditions. The goal is to ensure producers have access to trusted information which helps them make informed decisions for their specific situations and goals.
The adoption of rotational grazing is stable across Canada. Within Western Canada, rotational grazing has remained stable at 50% and in Eastern Canada, the trend has remained stable at 48%.
The following practices exhibited improvement or stability in adoption trends, but adoption remains comparatively low nationwide:
- replacement heifer management
- body condition scoring
- mineral supplementation
- manure management
- recycling on-farm twine and plastics
Extensive winter feeding (confined feeding) was the only practice to show decreased adoption. Reduced adoption could be influenced by factors such as prolonged drought, the use of alternative feedstuffs, prevailing pasture conditions or other relevant considerations. The adoption of bale grazing, swath grazing, stockpile and corn grazing (i.e., extended grazing practices) is low compared to in-field feeding levels. This implies that most in-field winter feeding is done with unrolled bales or the delivery of other feeds. However, the continued use of windbreaks and shelterbelts is a positive trend.
Emerging practices for producers across Canada include cover crops or intercropping and manure testing.
Calf resuscitation is a new benchmark in this report. In Western Canada, there is a decreasing positive trend in the adoption of hanging calves as a resuscitation practice. In Eastern Canada, the trend is currently unknown.
Key Findings with Important Regional Variations
Across Canada, more producers are paying attention to low-stress weaning methods. In Eastern Canada, two-stage weaning has become more common, now used by about one in five operations compared to only a few in 2016. Fence-line weaning has also grown in popularity, increasing from around 20% to over 30% of operations.
Within Western Canada, there is an increasing positive trend in calving distribution, with calving in the first 21 days on target with the 60% industry goal. For Eastern Canada, there is a decreasing negative trend for calving distribution, with about half of operations calving in the first 21 days, below the 60% industry target.
Bull breeding soundness exams in Western Canada have been shown to be close to peak adoption, trending from 72% to 71.4%. Eastern Canada is improving, but adoption is still low, with bull soundness exams trending from 7% – 17% previously to 23.5% stated in this report.
In Western Canada, about 29% of producers give calves vitamin or mineral injections, and around 12% tube feed colostrum after an assisted calving. In Eastern Canada, fewer producers use vitamin or mineral injections (about 12%) but more provide colostrum by tube (about 22%).
Pain control practices have increased significantly in Eastern Canada, from roughly half of producers surveyed a few years ago to more than 80% today.
Feed testing remains common in the West, with 60–74% of producers testing occasionally or more often. In the East, feed testing increased from roughly one-quarter of producers a few years ago to about half today.
Water quality testing has stayed relatively stable across the country, with a slight decline in the West. In Western Canada, about four in 10 producers test their water every few years — down slightly from previous surveys. In the East, water testing rates have held steady, with roughly one-third of producers checking water quality at least every three years.
When it comes to farm record keeping, paper is still the most common method across Canada — but more producers are also making use of digital tools. In Western Canada, overall record keeping is on the rise, with many producers using spreadsheets or software alongside paper notebooks. About three-quarters still use paper, nearly half use spreadsheets, and roughly 1 in 5 use accounting or cattle management software. In Eastern Canada, the use of paper records is trending down slightly as more producers switch to digital systems. Across the country, less than 2% report not keeping records at all.
Looking Ahead
This comprehensive report provides guidance for research priorities and knowledge mobilization efforts to benefit cow-calf producers on farms and ranches across Canada. By understanding where adoption or performance is high, where it’s improving and where barriers exist, strategies can be developed or targeted to better support producer profitability and productivity.
The full 132-page report is available for download on BeefResearch.ca and includes detailed provincial breakdowns, trend analysis and extensive references for those wanting to dig deeper into specific topics.
The 2025 Canadian Cow-Calf Adoption Rates and Performance Levels Report is also an interesting reference for producers themselves to compare their own operation to regional benchmarks. Comparisons to benchmarks help identify areas of excellence and opportunities for improvement.
The Canadian Cow-Calf Adoption Rates and Performance Levels Report was developed by Canfax Research Services for the Beef Cattle Research Council with editing support. It provides an update since the inaugural 2019 report on Adoption Rates of Recommended Practices by Cow-Calf Operators in Canada.
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