Livestock Management
Long Run Ranch Beef sets brisk pace with online and farmers market sales as it keeps up with demand for local product
CROSSFIELD, Alta. — Kevin and Amy Taks are ranchers for modern times. Based at Crossfield, north of Calgary, the family-run operation began direct-marketing beef and found the demand was so high for local, dry-aged product, they had to build an on-farm freezer to supply their customers year round. “The more we talked to consumers there […] Read more
Livestock Management
New skin tests developed to detect bovine tuberculosis
Welsh scientists have developed two new skin tests for cattle that may help fight the global battle against bovine tuberculosis. Research by two scientists from Aberystwyth University has helped formulate two tests for the ravaging cattle disease, one that can detect if an animal is infected with bovine tuberculosis and the other that can detect […] Read more
U.S. beef group pushes for national cattle tracing system
As a livestock auction market owner from Tennessee, Jennifer Houston understands the value of traceability. In her role as president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, she understands the apprehension among some members to adopt a nation-wide cattle traceability system. “We have a portion of animal disease traceability already,” she said in an interview during […] Read more
Premises identification can be a tough sell
Disease outbreaks in New Zealand showed authorities how few farmers had complied with a national ID and tracing law
Premises identification is one of the three pillars of livestock traceability but producers are not always supportive. Knowing the premise identification number of a farm or any other place where animals live is useful to track disease but the information can be used to alert owners about emergencies, such as floods, fires or an environmental […] Read more
Canada seeks new risk status for BSE
Canada could have negligible risk status for BSE by next March. Under world animal health rules, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Ireland have controlled status because of recent cases of BSE, while the United States, Australia and New Zealand have negligible risk status. “We are now in a situation where we are reaching that […] Read more
Ear tag ID research offers new possibilities
Every time someone clicks a button on a key fob to open the car door, radio frequencies are used. “We all use RFID but maybe you don’t think of it,” said researcher Glen Kathler of SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary. Kathler, who recently retired as applied research chair at SAIT, continues to work on special projects. […] Read more
Alta. extends grazing leases
Alberta ranchers who lease public land for grazing, and manage that land well, will be eligible for leases up to 20 years in duration once a new provincial policy comes into effect. The Alberta government said the extended tenure for “exemplary stewardship” of water, land and air resources on leased public lands will come into […] Read more
Meat safe from plant trend: analyst
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — Increasing amounts of alternative protein sources are being sold in grocery stores amid great fanfare and intensive marketing. That might have meat producers pondering their futures. Plant-based competitors to meat, such as Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger, are in the market for the long-term and most people are likely to […] Read more
Consumer wishes can be a struggle to meet
DRUMHELLER, Alta. — Canadian consumers tend to base grocery buying decisions on price, but a small, growing number are seeking other attributes, such as local production and environmental sustainability. Consumer surveys also show more are worried about climate change but feel they may be able to help curb it in some small way. That may […] Read more
Swiss to test Canadian animal welfare system
Transport Genie captures real-time data from trailers and relays it wirelessly to drivers and livestock managers
Transport Genie Ltd., an ag innovation company based in Guelph, Ont., has teamed up with Prodavi SA, one of the largest integrated poultry companies in Switzerland, to test smart sensor technology on poultry trucks. Transport Genie captures real-time data from livestock trailers and relays it wirelessly to drivers and livestock managers. The system uses a […] Read more
