Livestock Management
Prices for bison breeding stock were down at last week’s national sale held during Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, reflecting conditions the entire agricultural sector has been struggling with for the last few years. Canadian Bison Association President Les Kroeger said COVID market losses, drought and rising costs have combined to put his sector under […] Read more
Livestock Management
Initiative could make UHF ear tags easier to use
Canadian Cattle Identification Agency hopes to allow ultra-high frequency tags to share database used by RFID tags
The federal organization tasked with establishing a national livestock identification program is launching a new initiative to leverage the latest technology in tags to help producers track their animals. The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency initiative will allow producers using ultra-high frequency (UHF) tags to link them to the same database used for low-frequency radio frequency […] Read more
Seizures in horses often related to underlying disease
Seizures are defined as changes in behaviour and consciousness that result from random, uncontrolled and abnormal electrical brain activity. This atypical electrical brain activity can be restricted to a specific area of the brain causing a focal seizure. If it affects most of the brain tissue, it causes a generalized seizure. Most familiar are the […] Read more
VIDEO: Visit to a dairy barn goes virtual
The University of Calgary uses virtual reality technology to create a simulation of a dairy farm for convenient public access
People who’ve never set foot on a dairy farm can now explore a simulation using virtual reality headsets as part of a project launched by the University of Calgary. “It was really neat to see in a whole different way how the dairy farm can be portrayed to the consumers and the public,” said Tietsia […] Read more
Preparing for Agribition – photo essay
Canadian Western Agribition officially started in Regina Nov. 28, but there was lots of action in the barns Nov. 27 as participants prepared for the big show. | William DeKay photos
Risk factors identified for respiratory disease
Calf health is a major focus for beef cow-calf producers and their veterinarians for good reason. A recent paper in the journal, Translational Animal Science, highlights some of the findings from the western Canadian cow-calf surveillance network focusing on calf health issues. Dr. Cheryl Waldner and colleagues from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, the […] Read more
Agribition opens its doors
Canadian Western Agribition officially got underway today in Regina. One of the first orders of business was the burning of the brand, which is how organizers traditionally kick off the show. This year, Darcy McKay, left, STARS flight paramedic, Kim Hextall, president of Canadian Western Agribition and Andrea Robertson, chief executive officer of STARS Air […] Read more
Avian flu outbreak wipes out 50.54 million U.S. birds, a record
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Avian flu has wiped out 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the country’s deadliest outbreak in history, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed on Thursday. The deaths of chickens, turkeys and other birds represent the worst U.S. animal-health disaster to date, topping the previous record of 50.5 million birds […] Read more
Bulls require special winter care
A veterinarian advises producers to ensure that adequate bull body condition is maintained during the cold months
Bulls should be separated from the cow herd after breeding season so they can regain body condition and then be kept in shape over winter in readiness for their next duties. Dr. Robert Larson, professor in production medicine at Kansas State University, says it’s crucial to maintain adequate bull body condition. “As we go into […] Read more
Mixing it up can yield breeding advantages
The science behind hybrid vigour has been known for a long time, but producers are encouraged to tap into its potential
Crossbred cattle have known advantages over purebreds due to hybrid vigour. Dr. Reynold Bergen, science director at the Beef Cattle Research Council, says hybrid vigour, also called heterosis, is the degree to which progeny outperform the average of the two parents. “If breed A averages 100 and breed 2 averages 110 for a certain trait, […] Read more
