Latest news with #calving
CBC
3 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Udderly relaxed: How massaging newborn calves might make them heavier, healthier
When calving season rolls around, cattle rancher Karyn Neilson doubles as a masseuse. She gives every other newborn calf on her central Alberta farm a one-minute, head-to-hoof massage — hoping it'll be the start of a healthier and more profitable herd. "We do that to imitate what its mother will do and create a positive bond with the animal," said Neilson, co-owner of Neilson Beef in Stettler, Alta. "In future interactions we have with it, it won't be viewing us as a predator. It has a positive interaction with us and then it's just easier to handle and such in the future." Using gentle but firm pressure, she starts the spa treatment at the top of the calf's head before moving down their backs and legs, while keeping an eye on their tail. "When you can hit a spot where their tails wag, you can tell you're making them extra happy." Neilson has done this to hundreds of newborn calves in the last five years, as part of a research study with Olds College. They're looking to see if using this technique in the first week of life — a critical period of brain development — can reduce the calves' stress, make them healthier and heavier, and ultimately help beef producers make more money. 47-pound weight gain Lead researcher Désirée Gellatly compares the technique, known more formally as tactile stimulation, to skin-to-skin contact with newborn human babies. "The first time [producers] interact with the beef calf is normally averse — it's to do ear tagging, it's to do shots, it's to do castration. We are trying to see if with one minute of gentle touch at the time of processing the calf, we can switch how the calf perceives us," said Gellatly, research scientist for Olds College's Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production. Inspired by a similar study she worked on with dairy calves in Brazil, she's also hoping to improve calves' health. Between Neilson Beef and another cattle ranch in southern Alberta, Gellatly is set to analyze data from roughly 900 animals next month. She said the initial pilot study, conducted over two years starting in 2020, showed some positive signs. "We found in the first year that animals that received the massage were 47 pounds heavier than animals that did not receive the massage," she said. "In the second year, we found they were about 20 pounds heavier than animals that did not receive the massage." This year, the researchers and producers are conducting DNA testing to rule out whether the sire's genetics are contributing to the weight differences. Gellatly and her research team plan to submit their scientific paper in the next couple of months. "The goal is that producers start doing this not only because it can improve the profitability, but because it's the right thing to do, right? We are taking care of these animals. We are using these animals. So I think it's fair with them that we treat them right." $150 a minute With nearly 15,000 followers on TikTok, sharing this novel approach has been met with some skepticism by other producers. But for Lance Neilson, Karyn's husband, the extra time spent is worth it. "Right now, a calf is worth, say, about $5 a pound when you wean them from their mother. So if you're getting an extra 30 lbs., we're talking $150 for a minute of work," he said. "$150 a minute — that's a pretty good payday for you." He said massages alone aren't magic, but the bond formed sets the stage to layer on other low-stress handling techniques throughout the cows' lives. The Neilsons say it has also reduced their stress. "We are calmer. The cows are calmer…. We don't groan if we have to go to do cows like maybe we did five or six years ago," said Karyn. Low-stress handling Near Nanton, Alta., John Smith and Laura Laing of Platteau Cattle Co. — winners of this year's environmental stewardship award from Alberta Beef Producers — also joined the study two years ago, in a relentless pursuit of improving their cattle's welfare. They said they receive similar pushback, but also a lot of comments from curious folks. They say the credibility is ultimately in the research. "There's a lot of factors and some of those things are really hard to account for. But I know from boots on the ground, what we see is … something good happens when you do it. And I think any producer, if they took the time, the 60 seconds, they would feel the same thing that we feel," said Smith. Laing said the biggest challenge they face is not massaging all of the cows because they're still in the study and need a control group. That's going to change once the data collection stage is over. "We're just going to massage every calf," said Smith.
Gizmodo
4 days ago
- Science
- Gizmodo
Scientists Uncover Surprising Link Between Tides and Earth's Biggest Icebergs
In 2021, researchers in Antarctica noticed giant cracks developing on the Brunt Ice Shelf, an enormous stretch of ice on the continent's northwestern corner. Two years later, the fracture grew so large that a gigantic iceberg almost twice the size of New York City broke free in a process called calving, sending scientists scrambling to investigate the icy chunk, which they named iceberg A-81. A team of researchers affiliated with the British Antarctic Survey sought to understand the forces driving this 'crack behavior' in the huge ice shelf. By devising a mathematical model to account for natural forces affecting ice shelves, the researchers found that iceberg A-81—and most other icebergs, for that matter—likely snapped off from tidal forces buffeting the ice shelves in spring, when the currents are strongest. The paper, published in Nature Communications on July 24, supports common-sense assumptions about environmental forces playing a major role in driving calving events, but the proposed model could also improve prediction models for calving events, a historically challenging task. 'Understanding what controls the timing of these events is crucial, because calving not only affects the shape and melt rate of ice shelves but also their long-term stability,' said study lead author Oliver Marsh, in a statement. 'It's incredibly exciting to uncover a link between something as predictable as the tides and the dramatic, sudden process of iceberg calving.' For the paper, Marsh and his colleagues first devised a mathematical model to calculate the threshold for crack behavior in the ice shelves using ocean tides or wind patterns as potential stressors. Next, they tested their predictions against GPS and radar data, paying close attention to the subtle movements and stresses that appeared within the ice shelf over time. They noticed that the fractures tended to grow most in spring, which happens to be when tides are strongest. The model, however, is a simplified interpretation of real-life dynamics in Antarctica, the study authors admitted, and it better explains smaller, gradual changes in crack behavior. This means that more dramatic events—like extreme temperatures from climate change—will cause even bigger rifts in the ice. 'Tides and wind are key to the timing of small individual rift growth events here,' the authors wrote in the paper, 'but it is notable that an iceberg collision in 2021 caused more substantial rift growth in a single event than throughout 2020.' Nevertheless, the study marks a crucial step in modeling the role of environmental drivers in calving events, which the authors argue will subsequently inform our models of iceberg calving under such extreme atmospheric or ocean conditions. Large icebergs also influence ocean circulation and local ecosystems, so the new model could serve as a useful tool for structuring research projects in Antarctica, Marsh explained. 'Icebergs like A-81 can be thousands of square kilometers in size and account for roughly half of all ice lost from Antarctica each year,' Marsh said. 'This kind of insight brings us closer to forecasting major ice loss events and their impact on sea level with far greater precision.'
France 24
7 days ago
- Science
- France 24
Tides could help predict when huge icebergs break loose: study
It is not normally possible to forecast when icebergs break free, or calve, although the timing is important because these behemoths change the shape of ice sheets and affect global sea levels. Yet when a chunk of ice the size of Greater London suddenly broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf in 2023 and started drifting away, glaciologist Oliver Marsh was not surprised. Marsh told AFP he had predicted that a huge iceberg breaking off was "imminent within the next weeks to months". The British Antarctic Survey researcher had spent years studying the huge crack that would create the 550-square-kilometre (210-square-mile) iceberg named A81. As Marsh had anticipated, the calving occurred at the peak of spring tide, when there is the biggest difference between the ocean's high and low tide. New research led by Marsh, published in the journal Nature Communications on Thursday, used modelling to show that the calving was triggered by the tide, along with high winds and stress on the ice. After A81 broke off, Marsh visited the ice shelf to see how open water had replaced what had previously been "ice as far as you could see". "It was sad to see it go, in a way," he said. A81 is currently drifting up the eastern side of the Antarctica Peninsula towards the Weddell Sea. It remains to be seen whether it will come close to South Georgia island, which is an important breeding ground for penguins, seals and other animals. 'Out of balance' The world's biggest iceberg, A23a, ran aground not too far from South Georgia earlier this year but is not thought to pose a threat to wildlife. Now that A23a is exposed to the waves of the Southern Ocean, its "days are numbered", Marsh said. He emphasised that iceberg calving is a natural process which balances out the massive amount of snow that falls on Antarctica every year. However, "now we're out of balance", Marsh added. Antarctica loses ice in two ways -- icebergs calving and ice sheets melting. And ice sheets are melting at a rapidly increasing rate as oceans warm due to human-driven climate change, scientists have warned. "We don't know whether calving rates have gone up" because they happen relatively infrequently, Marsh said. A81 was the second of three mammoth icebergs that have broken free of the Brunt Ice Shelf since 2021. "We are expecting a very large calving event at some point from this area" in the future, Marsh said. But he could not give a timeframe. © 2025 AFP
National Post
11-07-2025
- Science
- National Post
Greenland coastal village bracing for potential collision with giant iceberg
An enormous iceberg is drifting dangerously close to the shore in northwestern Greenland. The skyscraper-sized piece of ice is on a potential collision course with the harbour of Innaarsuit, a village in Greenland's Avannaata Municipality. Article content It originally sidled up to the village last week, but seemed to have drifted away before reappearing on Monday and remaining precariously close. Article content Local authorities have issued warnings to residents as the iceberg sits near the Royal Greenland fish factory and the local grocery store. People have been advised to take care when in that part of the community. Article content Emergency services are encouraging families not to go in a group towards the store. They are also asking people who have difficulty walking to be extra careful. The fish-processing factory has been temporarily closed. Article content What can be done with large icebergs that threaten coastal communities? Article content Article content There are few options for dealing with threatening icebergs. One of the main concerns with a large iceberg is that it will 'calve' (split), with pieces falling into the ocean, resulting in large waves that will swamp nearby coastal communities. Article content The first line of defence is for nearby residents to evacuate. That occurred in 2018, when this same Greenlandic community was similarly threatened. Article content Other options have been considered but remain experimental. They involve explosives to break up the iceberg and towing. These tactics present monumental challenges. Article content The U.S. Coast Guard says aside from difficulty involved in successfully getting onto an iceberg, demolition would require 'a 1,000 lb. charge of conventional explosives…to break up approximately 70,000 cubic ft of ice (an iceberg weighing 1,960 tons).' Further, a hundred of these charges would be needed to destroy an average iceberg, (presumably more for the mammoth berg threatening Innaarsuit at this time). Article content Article content Melting a medium-sized iceberg of 100,000 tons would theoretically require heat from the 'combustion of over a quarter of a million gallons of gasoline' says the Coast Guard. Article content Article content Icebergs drift south after calving from Arctic and western Greenland glaciers. They are regular sights in spring-early summer. Transported by Atlantic Ocean currents to waters off Greenland, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Cape Breton Island, they eventually melt in somewhat warmer southern climes. An iceberg that drifts south rarely lasts more than a year. Article content Icebergs flow at speeds of up to seven kilometres a year, first floating in Arctic bays before passing into the Labrador Current and south into what is known as ' Iceberg Alley.' Article content Article content Every year about 40,000 medium to large icebergs calve from glaciers but only 400-800 make it as far south as St. John's. However, those numbers can vary greatly from year to year based on temperature, ocean current, wind direction and sea/pack ice. Article content
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Country diary: A test of patience here on the farm
At this time of year, the farmer must learn patience, as we wait for our belted galloway cows to calve. I'm impatient to see the colours and markings of the calves, and to know how many will be heifers and how many will be bulls. But I must wait. Three or four times a day, I make the short journey along to the Heart Wood pasture, underneath the distinctive heart-shaped wood visible from the M6 motorway, and stare at cows' tails and bottoms to see if there is any sign of calving. The hot weather has gone. I am wearing a woolly hat again and the fire is back on in the living room as well as the kitchen. Days are generally wet but not too wild; the grass is growing and the river is full. While I'm waiting, I have time to notice everything: what is flowering, the oystercatcher chicks in the grass and the swallows swooping over the river. It is too wet to sit in the grass, so I find a rock to sit on and watch the cows. People rush by on the motorway in their cars, and on the west coast mainline in their trains, unaware of the watching and waiting going on in the valley. We farm on both sides of the transport corridor here. The land on one side is in the Yorkshire Dales national park, the other in the Lake District national park. The strip in the middle with the motorway and railway is in neither. In about two years' time, eight bridges in our valley will be replaced. The bridge we go under multiple times a day to access bits of land will be lifted off and replaced. The motorway junction, and possibly our only shop and petrol station within six miles, will be closed for the duration of the works. The bridge that we go over into Tebay itself will be closed. Local people won't be able to get here to buy meat. My son's girlfriend will have an 18-mile diversion each way to milk her goats. Everyone in the valley will be inconvenienced. At the moment this feels as if it will make everyday life impossible for those who live and work here. Our MP, Tim Farron, has asked an urgent question about this in parliament. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
