Livestock Management
Roland Baumann wants a common sense approach to disposing of specified risk materials that does not penalize him and other beef producers every time they sell an animal. Baumann, president of the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association and a member of the provincial livestock tissue waste committee, said dealing with SRMs is a costly problem for […] Read more
Livestock Management
B.C. seeks cheaper risk material disposal
Racehorses get tracked?
An Ontario pilot project could provide direction for a national tracking system for horses. The Ontario project will track racehorses over a 90-day period, logging where they go, what medical treatments they receive and who handled them. Vel Evans, a member of the Equine Canada equine identification committee, told the Saskatchewan Horse Federation conference March […] Read more
MPs baffled by rancher’s parallel COOL proposal
An Alberta rancher who helped craft the provincial government’s new approach to livestock industry issues says Ottawa should copy the American country-of-origin labelling rule rather than fight it. Carol Haley, a former Alberta Conservative MLA who co-chaired a policy committee for Alberta agriculture minister George Groeneveld that led to creation of the Alberta Livestock and […] Read more
Sheep sector wants cash
Some sheep producers were angry about being excluded from Saskatchewan’s recently announced livestock support program, but a senior industry official wasn’t one of them. Gordon Schroeder, executive director of the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board, said it would be inappropriate for a sector doing so well to take an ad hoc payment. However, that doesn’t mean […] Read more
Alta. sets traceability target date
RED DEER – Alberta has set June 1, 2010, as its target date for tracking cattle movement in the province. Brent McEwan, executive director of Alberta Agriculture’s traceability branch, said a committee on cattle movement was started Dec. 18 to talk about the best way to implement a plan for a complicated industry. It comprises […] Read more
Lamb demand up, supply down
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Canadian demand for lamb is increasing at the same rate that domestic production is declining, leaving the industry in a quandary. Jennifer Fleming-MacTavish, executive director of the Canadian Sheep Federation, told a producer workshop in Moose Jaw that the ewe inventory has shrunk by more than 100,000 head in the last […] Read more
Lamb considered special occasion meat
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Consumers who stop at the grocery store in search of supper aren’t likely to pick up lamb. “Lamb is not seen as an everyday meal,” Martin Gooch, director of the George Morris Centre’s value chain management centre in Guelph, Ont., told a recent workshop. However, his study of consumer buying habits […] Read more
Alta. ends CWD culls of wild deer
EDMONTON – A decision to end Alberta’s winter culling program in search of wild deer with chronic wasting disease is welcome news by the Alberta farmed elk industry. Glenda Elko, chair of the Alberta Elk Commission, said the ending of the program in which government staff shot wild deer in areas where positive cases of […] Read more
Calgary Bull Sale brings the buyers
For 109 years, the Calgary Bull Sale has been one of those red letter days for Alberta beef producers looking to sell or buy purebred stock and share a brew with friends. Lauris Beck does not come to the sale every year, but the Angus breeder from Delburne, Alta., believes in big consignment sales because […] Read more
Asian countries reluctant beef buyers
RED DEER – Consumer confidence in South Korea and Japan remains the main barrier to increased beef sales from Canada and the United States. Representatives from the two Asian countries speaking at the Alberta beef industry convention Feb. 18 agreed their countries need imported beef but restrictions continue because of BSE. Japan will accept boneless […] Read more
