Complete identification and traceability are the future for all food products traded globally. Within a few years, no identification will mean no movement across international markets, said Frank Hennigar, president of the Food Systems Group of North America. The Nova Scotia company works on traceback technology. “If you are a food manufacturer and you want […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Horse ID moves slowly
The North American horse industry is moving slowly toward individual identification. This highly mobile industry is still working on the specifics, but most agree identification is needed not only for theft deterrence but to track animals for food safety and disease purposes. Canada exports about 100,000 tonnes of horse meat to Europe each year so […] Read more
EU tightens animal disease rules
Europe has learned the hard way to manage the impacts of animal disease. Starting with BSE in the mid-1980s, Europe experienced classical swine fever in 1999, foot-and-mouth disease in 2001-02 and avian influenza in 2003. In some cases the origins of the disease were well documented but in other instances, no one is sure how […] Read more
R-CALF wants border closed permanently
An American cattle producers’ group is playing hardball by asking the court to halt all imports of Canadian cattle and beef. The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, or R-CALF, wants the court to reinstate the United States Department of Agriculture rule from May 29, 2003, that would prohibit all imports of Canadian beef, cattle and other […] Read more
Tiny pine beetle turning B.C. forests into wasteland
RED DEER Ñ A beetle the size of a grain of rice is devastating British Columbia’s pine forests. The mountain pine beetle is found mostly in the province’s interior forests. It is expected to kill up to 80 percent of lodgepole pines by 2013, leaving acres of standing dead trees the colour of red brick. […] Read more
Farmers wary of environmental farm plans
RED DEER Ñ After Don Lysons completed an environmental audit of his farm near Ponoka, Alta., he considered it an enlightening experience. It opened his eyes to the good things he was doing in addition to improvements needed. “The nice thing about this program is you can self analyze,” he said. Yet talking to his […] Read more
Still kicking – Canada’s livestock industry survives a tough two years
When Canada announced its first case of BSE two years ago, Ponoka, Alta., rancher Don Lysons made the heart-rending decision to sell his cow herd of 250 and switch to custom grazing. “It was the smartest thing I ever did,” he said. He made some tough business decisions along with 90,000 other Canadian beef producers […] Read more
BSE reaction often too dramatic: OIE president
The president of the world animal health organization, the OIE, says BSE cases shouldn’t spark a complete ban on cattle trade if the country in which the disease was discovered is complying with risk management rules. “You don’t always have to be free (of disease) as a country,” Alejandro Thiermann told the Animal Transportation Association […] Read more
Animal transport rules in the works
International guidelines for animal transportation will go before the world animal health organization at the end of May. The OIE has established a permanent committee to develop general principles on the humane movement of animals on land and sea as part of a larger welfare initiative. Priority has been given to welfare of animals used […] Read more
Pipelines good way to water livestock
CAROLINE, Alta. Ñ Delivering water to cattle takes advance planning but at the end of the day, installing troughs and pipelines is cheaper than digging a new dugout. The first step is deciding how much water is needed, how much is available and how fast it should flow, said Alberta water specialist Ken Williamson. The […] Read more
