Livestock Management
Canada’s hog producers and veterinarians are breathing sighs of relief after a new disease was spotted and managed before a surprise outbreak could occur. Even though only three cases of sapovirus had appeared in late 2022, by early 2023, the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network had organized a rapid response. “If the (veterinary) practitioners […] Read more
Livestock Management
Broken hog feed systems need to be fixed
It’s hard to fix a problem that people don’t realize, or admit, is happening. That’s something the developers of a feed pipe monitoring system realized when they examined data from hog barns they worked with. Hog feeder barns were having many feed supply breakdowns and nobody realized how much production was probably being thrown away. […] Read more
Sheep body condition scores must be accurate
Body condition scoring livestock is a human, hands-on process and that means it’s subjective. Steps can be taken to make sure evaluations are repeatable across many animals, says Delma Kennedy, sheep specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Body condition scoring helps to evaluate the effectiveness of feeding regimens and enables […] Read more
Sask. vet writes book that is educational and humorous
This column has lots to do with what I have written about in the past and yet, along with the education, will show you some of the humorous sides of a rural mixed animal practice in Weyburn, Sask. I am referring to a paperback book entitled, Don’t They Kick When You Do That? In the […] Read more
Farmers urged to make tough genomic choices
Emotions often play a role when deciding which heifers to keep, but producers agree that genetics cannot be overlooked
At Rose Vega Farm near Cambridge, Ont., Luke and Kelly Donkers agree that emotion sometimes creeps into dairy breeding decisions. “There are probably more grey-haired cows on our farm than just about anybody else,” Kelly joked as the Donkers took part in a genomics exercise held at EastGen’s display at the Dairy Innovation Centre at […] Read more
Canadian beef, hog herd cuts expected
REUTERS — A report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service in Ottawa sees Canadian cattle and hog herds contracting next year. “The Canadian cattle herd is forecast to sustain the long-term trend of contraction in 2024,” it said. “Drought impacts will see cow and heifer slaughter increase proportionally to herd size […] Read more
Alberta First Nations tribe spins hay into gold
Kainai Forage sets a new record with a 40,000 tonne first cut and it has no plans of stopping there
Four years ago, Kainai Forage set out to increase its premium forage production fivefold by 2024. If its first cut is any indication, it could be on its way to that 100,000-tonne goal. The plant-to-processing company recently set a record-best first cut when it harvested more than 40,000 tonnes of export-destined timothy hay grown under […] Read more
Cows essential element in organic production
A Manitoba producer finds a delicate balance to help him boost production while maintaining organic certification
Ile de Chenes, Man. — Three organic farmers swap fields back and forth, keeping land certified five years before returning to alfalfa. Their rotation is a delicate balance, but worth the complexity. For Ile de Chenes farmer John Gehrer, the payoff this fall has been significant for his low-input organic system, considering his management plan […] Read more
Alta. fertility study focuses on heifers
Researchers look for the most effective and inexpensive ways cattle producers can select heifers for natural insemination
Breeding cattle for the commercial market can be a real crap shoot. A lot of research has gone into the fertility of bulls, given their genetic importance. However, researchers at Lakeland College are trying to offer farmers deeper insight into their breeding programs by looking at the predictive analysis of heifers. Through the Precision Ranching […] Read more
Producers can select for methane-efficient cows
Long-term genetic selection would be less of an impediment to dairy farmers than cuts to fertilizer use or manure capacity
A world-leading approach to creating a methane-specific breeding index has been developed by Lactanet. Not content to wait until “sniffer” technology for measuring bovine methane emissions eventually becomes more affordable, the Canadian dairy data collection and genetics analysis organization developed the index based on milk samples. “Canada will be the first country globally to offer […] Read more
