Livestock Management
KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Colombia is the first South American country to accept Canadian beef and cattle since a Canadian BSE discovery closed trade borders in 2003. The $7 million deal is part of the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement and eliminates an 80 percent tariff on Canadian beef over a 12 year period. Colombia will immediately […] Read more
Livestock Management
Canadian beef heads to Colombia
Anthrax conditions ideal in Interlake
It’s nearly impossible to predict when and where anthrax will happen, but a disease control specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says conditions are nearly ideal for an outbreak in Manitoba’s Interlake region. “The conditions are good this year… and there is a past history in that area as well,” said Betty Althouse, who […] Read more
Beef industry gives minister pat on back
GROSSE ISLE, Man. – The Manitoba Cattle Producers Association is crediting the federal agriculture minister for getting Canadian beef back into the world market. At a recent media briefing, association officials said Gerry Ritz’s visits to foreign countries and his lobbying to reopen closed markets and gain new ones is putting more dollars into producers’ […] Read more
Beef studies misleading: expert
GROSSE ISLE, Man. – Michael Trevan hopes a wave of common sense breaks over the turgid waters of debate about beef. “As part of an otherwise balanced diet, this stuff is fine,” the University of Manitoba’s dean of agriculture told a Manitoba Cattle Producers Association media briefing May 21. Trevan’s comments were prompted by the […] Read more
Alta. animal care group takes bull by horns
Doug Sawyer’s first calf of 2009 was born on the first day of spring, one of the few March days that was warm enough to make calving easy this year. The chair of the Alberta Farm Animal Care Association said he didn’t need government legislation to ensure he took proper care of that calf, especially […] Read more
Holistic cattle management seeks maximum from inputs
Cattle producer Gary Hill thinks conventional animal medicine can lead to over-treatment of cattle. “It seems like the more and more we do to our cattle, the more and more we have to do to them,” said Hill, who runs a cow-calf operation near Langruth, Man. Hill vaccinates his animals for blackleg but tries to […] Read more
Sheep, goat disease assessment sought
The Canadian sheep and goat industry continues to seek long-term funding to support a national scrapie surveillance program. Jennifer McTavish of the Canadian Sheep Federation said trade in breeding stock with the United States and Mexico remains blocked without an effective program assessing disease prevalence. Sheep and goat exports were halted in 2003 when BSE […] Read more
Refundable checkoff worries pork industry
An H1N1 flu outbreak among Alberta hogs shows the importance of a strong organization to speak for the industry and help during times of crisis, says an Alberta hog producer. “I’m very thankful to have Alberta Pork working for the industry at this time,” said John Middel of Rocky Mountain House, who is worried about […] Read more
Youth cattle show pays benefits
OLDS, Alta. – For the second year in a row, young people jammed into Olds Cow Palace in Olds for a chance to learn more about the beef business and win big money for top quality steers and heifers. Kim Lamb, who helped organize the show, saw an even greater benefit. She said the participants, […] Read more
Horse owners urged to vaccinate for West Nile
West Nile virus killed hundreds of horses in Manitoba in 2002. Since then, the number of cases in the province has dropped, and last year only five horses died from the virus, said Ken Johnson, a veterinarian in Oak Bluff, Man., and past-president of the Western Canadian Equine Association. “We have seen fewer clinical cases […] Read more
