Livestock Management
Students looking for a way to enroll in veterinary school may only have to look as far as the University of Alberta. Fourteen of the 20 first year spaces reserved for Alberta residents at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon are filled with students from the U of A’s Faculty of Agriculture, Life […] Read more
Livestock Management
U of A gateway to vet college
Technology can elude hog farmers
What sounds simple and efficient to a scientist can sound difficult and costly to a farmer. That’s why some of the cutting edge research discussed at the Western Nutrition Conference in Winnipeg isn’t likely to be quickly applied by producers. “This is all pretty futuristic for us right now,” Dan Klippenstein, a hog producer from […] Read more
Sheep’s feeding requirements depend on body condition – Animal Health
Sheep producers know that feeding ewes properly is vital to flock production. To do this, it helps to understand the ewes’ requirements, both in quantity and timing. Their needs are based on body condition, but it varies with ewe size and what they are carrying – singles, twins or triplets. Ewes selected for breeding should […] Read more
Sustained release drugs ideal in feedlots – Animal Health
Sustained release products developed for cattle are revolutionizing the way we treat pneumonic calves in Canadian feedlots. Draxxin, developed by Pfizer, is a play on “duration of action.” There was a need to develop a long-acting product because multiple doses of long duration products like Nuflor or Micotil were given in feedlots. The active ingredient […] Read more
Niche markets key to export growth
The continuing global recession and weakening meat demand have reduced beef and cattle prices worldwide, says Richard Brown, the British representative for Gira, a European agriculture and food market research firm. However, livestock herds are shrinking in number around the world and prices did not dip as catastrophically as they might have when the financial […] Read more
Study rejects supply managed hogs
The recent hog crisis has led to calls at Ontario hog producer meetings this summer to consider a supply management system. As in the dairy, poultry and egg sectors, supply management would limit supply, control imports and set prices at profitable levels. The industry would produce for a protected domestic market. A report prepared for […] Read more
Canfax report – for Oct. 1, 2009
This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. More market information, analysis and statistics are available by becoming a Canfax subscriber by calling 403-275-5110 or at www.canfax.ca. Fed cattle prices drop Falling North American wholesale beef prices and lackluster U.S. packer demand pressured fed […] Read more
Mustard reports puzzle trade
Mustard traders are bewildered by reports that bids fell as low as 14 cents per pound last week. “All I can tell you is right now it’s business as usual,” said a trader who requested anonymity. He can’t figure out where the reports of 14-cent bids for yellow mustard are coming from. He is offering […] Read more
U.S. hog surplus weighs on prices
American farmers are only slightly reducing their sow numbers, dragging out the current crisis until at least next summer, analysts say. The three percent year-on-year decline in sow numbers reported in the U.S. Department of Agriculture quarterly Hogs and Pigs report was slightly higher than most trade expectations, but it wasn’t a big enough surprise […] Read more
Western Producer Livestock Report – for Oct. 1, 2009
Plentiful hog supply U.S. cash hog prices plunged last week as the number of available hogs outpaced demand and pork prices fell. Hog numbers normally increase at this time of year. The average live carcass weight was 270 pounds, up 3.7 percent from last year. After several weeks of higher than previous year slaughter, sow […] Read more
