EDMONTON – Horses have feelings just like people, a noted horse trainer says. “We’re realizing the horses have a lot of feelings like anger, fear, sadness and grief, the same emotions we do,” said Dave Collins during last week’s Horse Power event at Edmonton’s Northlands. Those emotions can affect a horse’s behaviour, movement or health, […] Read more
Stories by Mary MacArthur
Cattle industry seeks quick resolution to Mexican ban
Canada’s 14th case of BSE barely raised an eyebrow at home, but it did catch the attention of Mexican officials who banned cattle imports from Alberta. Rob McNabb, general manager of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said the Aug. 19 ban came out of the blue. “There’s no one that really knows with absolute certainty what […] Read more
Korea’s door still closed to Canada
U.S. beef has captured more than 20 percent of the market in South Korea since imports resumed while Canada remains shut out of the once lucrative market. Rob McNabb, general manager of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said it is because of South Korea’s decision to not negotiate with Canada while it completed its negotiations with […] Read more
Hog stats differ from reality: sector
The latest report from Statistics Canada showing a sharp decline in the number of hogs and hog producers in the country doesn’t surprise Neil Ketilson. The general manager of SaskPork believes the agency’s estimates that Canadian hog numbers have declined 11.6 percent and the number of hog farmers declined 19 percent doesn’t show the real […] Read more
Canadian cattle tally drops
Canadian farmers reported fewer cattle and calves on the farm, said a Statistics Canada livestock inventory report. “It absolutely doesn’t surprise us,” said Andrea Brocklebank, research manager with Canfax, the research arm of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. The report estimated 15.2 million head of cattle on farms, a decline of 4.3 percent from last year […] Read more
Sheep numbers dip
While Statistics Canada has reported a decline in the number of sheep and lambs on farms, Canada’s largest sheep feedlot operator has yet to see the impact. Roy Leitch of Brandon said lower overall flock numbers haven’t translated into a shortage of feedlot lambs. “I’m buying more lambs than I ever did. I don’t see […] Read more
Competition sharpens youths’ marketing skills
BASHAW, Alta. – Cattle producers don’t need piggy banks – they need Moo-Lah Banks. The bovine equivalent of the piggy bank is the brainchild of Kendra Hofstra, who dreamed up the idea as part of the Senior National Young Cattlemen marketing competition at the Canadian Junior All Breeds Heifer Show. Hofstra and 11 other competitors […] Read more
Bourgault explains reason for court action
Gerry Bourgault doesn’t believe his company’s mid-row banding system is equal to a side-band one pass seeding system. He believes it’s superior and thinks a research report should say so. It’s one of the reasons Bourgault Industries has launched a lawsuit against two researchers and their employers who conducted a three-year study and wrote the […] Read more
Machinery maker sues researchers
Bourgault Industries, one of the Prairies’ largest equipment manufacturers, has launched a lawsuit against the federal government and two researchers who publicly complained how Bourgault used their research data. The statement of claim filed in Saskatchewan’s Court of Queen’s Bench is against Guy Lafond, an Agriculture Canada research scientist at Indian Head, the attorney general […] Read more
Canada confirms 14th BSE case
A six-year-old beef cow from Alberta has been identified as Canada’s 14th case of BSE. The animal was born and raised on the same farm in the “general area of Edmonton,” said George Luterbach, senior veterinarian with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The agency’s investigation will concentrate on finding animals born within one year of […] Read more
