TULLIBY LAKE, Alta. – Stan and Dorothy Walterhouse are practical people. When the Alberta farm couple learned the 161 head of cattle on their farm were going to be slaughtered and tested for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, they accepted the news. “We got to do what we got to do,” said Stan as he helped push […] Read more
Stories by Mary MacArthur
4-H members feel sting of BSE investigation
LLOYDMINSTER, Alta. – One week before Justin Babey’s 4-H achievement day, his 4-H steer, heifer and cow-calf pair were slaughtered. A year of combing, petting, clipping, washing, feeding and teaching the animals to lead was lost in an effort to trace the source of Canada’s single confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. “It sucked. I […] Read more
Some U.S. cattle buyers pinched by import ban
Some American companies are feeling the effects of a border closed to Canadian imports of live cattle and beef. Steve Wess, general manager of Simplot Meats in Nampa, Idaho, said the slaughter plant gets 25 percent of its weekly supply from one Canadian feedlot. “We’ve had to scramble a little bit more and get more […] Read more
Pet food maker stuck in BSE bind
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is focusing so much energy on tracing the path of a single animal with bovine spongiform encephalopathy that it’s blinded to helping other businesses stay alive, says an Alberta pet food manufacturer. Peter Muhlenfeld, sales manager with Champion Petfoods, said if the million-dollar Canadian pet food industry is to stay […] Read more
BSE puts industry in chaos
EDMONTON – It took only a single cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy to turn Canada’s livestock industry into chaos. The border to the United States, Canada’s largest trading partner, remained closed as of May 26 to live cattle and beef. Slaughter at packing plants was cut in half, fat cattle destined for slaughter were backed […] Read more
Alberta producers caught in middle of BSE crisis
BARRHEAD, Alta. – When federal government officials showed up at Schmidt Livestock on Victoria Day, Walter Schmidt knew something serious was wrong. “For the federal boys to work on a holiday you know there’s a problem,” said Schmidt, who operates the feedlot with his brother Gilbert and their families. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials […] Read more
Why four months for BSE test?
EDMONTON – One of the biggest questions asked by farmers, reporters and industry officials about the recent bovine spongiform encephalopathy case is why it took almost four months to test the head of the cow. For officials, the finding of a diseased animal, even four months after it was slaughtered, is proof of the inspection […] Read more
B.C. exempts farm workers
British Columbia labour rules governing hours of work, overtime and statutory holiday pay no longer apply to farm workers in that province. Agriculture minister John van Dongen said the changes are intended to make the province’s agricultural economy more competitive. “Ripening crops don’t take weekends off, and employees have told us they want to work […] Read more
Alberta gov’t supports summer youth hiring
The Alberta government is funding summer employment programs as a way to employ more young people in agriculture. Alberta Agriculture will provide about $300,000 in wage support for three programs: Veterinary Work Experience Program, Summer Farm Employment Program and the Agriculture Processing Industry Employment Program. The Summer Farm Employment Program allows full-time farmers to hire […] Read more
Computer records track BSE cow
PONOKA, Alta. – Minutes after government officials learned that a cow in Alberta was infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, its history in the province could be traced on computer, said the man who developed the computerized identification system. An animal can be traced through a brand, owner’s name or the livestock yard where it was […] Read more
