Livestock Management
RED DEER – Animal management must be the major consideration when building dairy barns, says an animal welfare researcher. “If you build certain kinds of facilities for animals, it is going to have some long-term payoff,” Dan Weary of the University of British Columbia told the Alberta Farm Animal Care Association’s annual meeting. The payoff […] Read more
Livestock Management
Animal friendly practices pay off
Pigs make comeback
Pam Heath laughed when asked how many Tamworth pigs she owns. “It’s not going to impress your readers very much,” said Heath, who has one Tamworth, a rare breed also known as the Irish Grazer, on her farm near Nesbitt, Man. What’s more impressive is Heath’s effort to rebuild the Tamworth population and her work […] Read more
Packing plant under study
South Korean investors want to build a packing plant in North Dakota that would process 500 to 750 head per day and ship most of the beef to Korea. North Dakota’s Agricultural Products Utilization Commission (APUC), a unit of the state’s economic development department, has committed $150,000 toward a feasibility study of the plant, which […] Read more
Feds fail in product promotion
Canada’s support for promoting exports of livestock products is woefully inadequate compared to competitor countries, beef and pork industry officials told MPs last week. During an April 2 appearance before the House of Commons international trade committee, New Democrat trade critic Peter Julian asked what resources they had to promote their products in foreign markets. […] Read more
Beef producers embrace safety scheme
The Verified Beef Production program in Canada is gaining momentum. National program manager Terry Grajczyk says 11,500 cattle producers are registered, up from 7,100 on Jan. 1, 2008. VBP is a voluntary, producer-driven, on-farm program designed to complement food safety programs in meat processing plants and at the retail level to manage food safety risks […] Read more
U.S. antibiotic limits spark concern
Legislation has been introduced in the United States that would restrict the use of antibiotics in the livestock industry but Canada is not likely to follow suit. A bill sponsored by Republican Louise Slaughter was tabled in the House of Representatives March 17 that would ban the use of animal health products that prevent or […] Read more
NFU advises ban on packers owning cattle
SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. – An analysis of the Canadian beef industry that recommends significant changes met with a mostly sympathetic audience at a meeting in Swift Current last week. National Farmers Union research director Darrin Qualman outlined his recommendations and urged local action to make the changes that he said will put more money in […] Read more
4 H-ers give dairy cows a report card
Fifty young people attending a dairy judging clinic at the recent Stampede Dairy Classic in Calgary learned a doe-eyed milk cow is more than just a pretty face. Calgary area veterinarian Gordon Atkins walked them through the Holstein scoring program, a national evaluation system to rate dairy cows on their ability to make milk, walk […] Read more
Strategy against BVD urgent
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Farmers need a simple plan against bovine viral diarrhea virus that includes effective tests, vaccines and management to prevent infections and eliminate existing cases, veterinarians say. “Biosecurity is probably one of the most critical controls to combat BVD virus,” said infectious disease specialist Dan Grooms of Michigan State University. Mike Sanderson of […] Read more
BVD control needs all producers on board
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Tom Hougen knew almost nothing about BVD until he had positive diagnoses on his Montana ranch. After attending a producer meeting about bovine viral diarrhea virus and persistent infections in 2003, he started to suspect the disease was responsible for sick calves and unexplained abortions among heifers. He did nothing until 2004, […] Read more
