The risk-based system opens door to innovation and allows industry to act quickly if changes to safety practices are needed
OTTAWA — The Canadian meat industry welcomes government plans to move toward risk based food safety assessments, but it also wants guarantees the new approach is fair and easy to implement. “This should provide for a regulatory environment that permits competitiveness and facilitates innovation while improving food safety outcomes,” said Henry Mizrahi, past-president of the […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Trial looks at heifer weight, reproductive abilities
Study shows bigger isn’t better when it comes to a young female’s development and conception rates
Collective wisdom says replacement heifers need to reach 60 to 65 percent of their mature body weight at the start of the breeding season. Heifers that are lighter at weaning or did not gain enough weight from weaning until breeding may not cycle at the desired time. Recent research trials at the Western Beef Development […] Read moreLessons learned treating outbreaks valuable to others
Treatment plan for condition includes vaccines and antibiotics in feed, despite veterinarian’s concern about introducing antibiotic resistance
A perplexing case of calves suffering from swollen joints on an Alberta purebred operation required some serious detective work for the herd veterinarian. Contagious polyarthritis was the diagnosis, but the treatment plan was devised through experimentation and extensive consultation, said veterinarian Todd Gunderson. “The chances that you are going to see this particular disease in […] Read moreDiagnosing cause of abortions difficult
Cattle abortions can be frustrating for producers and veterinarians because a diagnosis may be confirmed only half the time. “Getting negative findings from the lab does not equate with diagnostic failure,” said pathologist Cameron Knight of the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine. It simply means common causes were ruled out. The next step […] Read more
B.C. highway safety gets boost with additional funding for livestock fencing
British Columbia has committed $4 million to expand the province’s livestock fencing program until 2017. This funding extends the fencing program that started in 2010, when $10 million was provided to rebuild hundreds of kilometres of fence lines along provincial highways. The program built 650 km of fences, and the latest funding should add another […] Read more
Researchers forced to brew own pathogen problems
LACOMBE, Alta. — This summer may be too dry for fungi. It means plant pathologist Kelly Turkington’s research into diseases and fungicides could be stymied this year. “We were starting to get concerned at the research centre that we weren’t going to have any disease,” he said. Researchers at Agriculture Canada’s research centre near Lacombe, […] Read more
Supply managed system touted in buy local campaign
If Canadians want to buy local food, they need to support the concept of supply management. That is the premise behind campaigns launched this spring by egg, dairy and poultry associations to protect the program that Canada has defended at every trade negotiation since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was in place. The […] Read more
Polled red Holstein tops Cochrane sale
COCHRANE, Alta. — A polled red Holstein female was the high seller at the Rocky Mountain High sale held at Cochrane July 2. Westcoast Ladd Aspen sold for $197,000 to West Coast Holsteins of Chilliwack, B.C., after some active bidding in the sales tent, where more than 90 prime Holsteins were on offer. “We think […] Read more
Industry looks to get ahead of demands
An animal welfare assessment program specific to feedlots could be introduced early next year. The Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program has been in development for about a year and a half. It is intended to be a companion to the national beef code of practice with dedicated requirements for feedlot animals to assure processors […] Read more
B.C. farm helping to keep rare breeds alive
The horses, chickens and turkeys raised by Jim and Yvonne Hillsden aren’t found on the typical farm
CHERRY CREEK, B.C. — A select group of farmers are doing their part to preserve rare breeds of livestock and poultry. Jim and Yvonne Hillsden are among them. Farming near Kamloops, B.C., on 120 acres of hillsides, they are maintaining a herd of 10 Canadian horses and flocks of Chantecler chickens and Ridley Bronze turkeys. […] Read more
