Livestock Management
The goal of pregnancy checking is not just to determine whether a cow is pregnant but also to determine why it’s not
Fertility is the most important trait in a cow herd. All other traits are negated if the female doesn’t get pregnant or fails to carry a pregnancy to term. If the latter occurs, it’s important to find out why. Duane Mickelsen, former university professor and cattle breeder near Pullman, Washington, has spent a lifetime specializing […] Read more
Livestock Management
Retired livestock inspector has stories to tell
Gary Guichon enjoyed his job but says he doesn’t miss middle-of-the-night calls to deal with livestock truck rollovers
STRATHMORE, Alta. — After almost 40 years as a livestock inspector, Gary Guichon counts everything. Driving past a pasture he counts the cattle in the field. Animals walking down an alley get counted and sometimes he counts birds. “I count most stuff. Geese take off from the lake and I try to count them,” said […] Read more
Testing more important than ever due to alternative feed
It’s time to start planning our winter feeding programs for our cow herds. This year, there will be a lot of alternative feeds used in Western Canada because of the drought. That means feed testing will become more important than usual. I’ve come up with the five steps to consider when getting feed tested. Get […] Read more
China posts highest Q3 pork output in three years as herd recovers
BEIJING, Oct 18 (Reuters) – China’s third-quarter pork production surged to its highest in three years, official data showed on Monday, after producers built thousands of large breeding farms last year to rebuild a hog herd decimated by African swine fever. Pork output for July-September was 12.02 million tonnes, up 43 percent compared with a […] Read more
Hybrid meat products on the rise
Food companies develop a new alternative to traditional meat that is a combination of cell cultured and plant based
Plant-based alternatives to meat have been increasing in popularity for years, but now a new product has hit markets — a hybrid of plant-based and cell-cultured meats. New Age Meats, based in California, recently announced $25 million for its first pork hybrid product, which it plans to start production on in 2022. Derin Alemi, director […] Read more
Dairy study gives canola meal high marks
Canola council finds that feeding meal to cows may increase milk production and quality and lower methane emissions
The Canola Council of Canada is conducting research on how canola meal could lower methane emissions of dairy cattle while increasing milk production. “And what we found, which is consistent with other research projects, is that when you feed canola meal to dairy cows, the milk production increases, and typically milk quality as well,” said […] Read more
New intranasal vaccines offer calves combined protection
There has been considerable research into intranasal vaccines and how they can improve the health of the Canadian cattle herd, especially calves. Those of us who have been around awhile can remember the first intranasal vaccines for IBR that were safe to give pregnant cows to prevent abortions from the virus. At one time we […] Read more
PED shone light on importance of feed import controls
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, another coronavirus was wreaking havoc in North America, only this one was attacking pigs. This coronavirus causes porcine epidemic diarrhea, a severe disease in which pigs go off feed, vomit, have diarrhea and often die. The virus is shed in large volumes in the feces and other pigs become infected when […] Read more
Brands lead to cattle return, arrests
An inter-provincial investigation dating back a couple of years leads livestock officials and RCMP to recover 19 head
Two people have been charged with fraud over $5,000 after an RCMP investigation into cattle in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Shane Hoff, 49, and Shanon Hoff, 45, of the Two Hills area in Alberta are slated to appear in Vegreville provincial court on Oct. 18 after cattle were allegedly purchased with a fraudulent cheque and transported […] Read more
Consumers get a side of carbon with their beef
Industry leaders say beef production plays an important role in carbon sequestration that is not well known by consumers
Consumers concerned about the environmental impact of greenhouse gases from Canada’s beef industry aren’t looking at the full picture, a recent webinar at the University of Calgary was told. “We really need all of the environmental benefits to be part of the conversation,” said Kelly Smith-Fraser, who was the first female chair of Alberta Beef […] Read more
