Dr. Darrell Dalton used to teach his clients about improved animal health while working on their horses. These days, those informal chats include reminders about improved animal welfare on the farm. Dalton is the interim registrar for the Alberta Veterinary Medicine Association. Part of his job is working with groups such as Alberta Farm Animal […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Mature cow wins champion title
Calgary Stampede Dairy Classic | A 12-year-old Holstein still going strong
Competing against the bloom of youth was no problem for the 12-year-old cow that was named grand champion at the annual Calgary Stampede Dairy Classic show March 23. CRF Lheros Rudolph Pete Joel has never been flushed and has produced eight natural calves throughout its career. Most were bulls that were sold to Hutterite colonies […] Read morePrioNet Canada officially done
PrioNet Canada is no more. The national research network, which formed eight years ago, studied diseases such as BSE and other brain wasting conditions. It will officially stop operating March 31. The network, which was based at the University of British Columbia, connected researchers who studied prions and prion like diseases as well as their […] Read more
Rural mail thefts put residents at greater risk of identity theft
Thieves are targeting rural mailboxes to steal parcels and identities. “Unfortunately, Canada Post is not immune to criminal activities, so we encourage our customers to pick up their mail every day and not to leave it overnight,” says Eugene Knapik of Canada Post. Increased reports of stolen parcels and mail are occurring from rural mailboxes […] Read more
Potassium problems in cattleare ‘quite treatable,’ says vet
Nutrition | Potassium levels in forages high this year, says Alta. official
Cows can collapse for a number of reasons, but this year high levels of potassium in hay may be the culprit. A veterinarian should be called when a cow goes down so that a proper diagnosis can be made because it could be an injury, illness or a feed deficiency, said Gerald Hauer, Alberta’s provincial […] Read moreWest Hawk Lake operators search for new funding
The West Hawk Lake livestock checkpoint has temporarily ceased operation. Federal government money ran out earlier this year and the operators of the site have applied for funding through Growing Forward 2 to reopen the site that closed Jan. 13. The checkpoint is located near the Manitoba-Ontario border on the Trans-Canada Highway and can track […] Read more
Age verification key to branded beef
Demands from retailers | Program sets out specific criteria, including a birth date for every animal
Traceability and age verification are part of doing business for the owners of Spring Creek Ranch Premium Beef. “Our retailers that handle our product, they want to know everything we can realistically give them,” said Mike Kotelko, whose family started the branded beef program in 2003 at Vegreville, Alta. The program sets out specific criteria […] Read moreResearcher’s animal welfare work honoured
Alberta Farm Animal Care has presented Agriculture Canada researcher Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein with its farm animal care innovation award of distinction. Based at Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge research centre, her work has focused on animal welfare, feedlot health, pain management and livestock transportation. The award, presented at the AFAC annual meeting in Calgary March 23, recognizes those […] Read more
Feedlot sector in trouble in Western Canada
Excess feeding, packing capacity | The beef sector is a significant contributor to Western Canada’s economy
A shrinking feedlot industry in Western Canada has repercussions for the entire beef sector. Fed cattle prices are at record high levels but the feeding sector is experiencing near record losses of $100 to $200 per head for the last year because of high priced calves due to expensive feed and other costly inputs, Brian […] Read moreOlymel phases out gestation stalls
Canada’s second largest food processor plans to phase out gestation stalls within 10 years. Olymel announced the decision in its annual report and says 10 years should give producers enough time to retrofit barns. “It is in the interest of everyone to do the change because mostly clients and consumers are requesting it,” said company […] Read more
