Livestock Management
RENO, Nev. – As Camiel Huisma scans his computer that is connected to an Arizona feedlot, a change in the onscreen bar graphs catches his attention. “Now this is intriguing, right here,” he says as he jabs a finger at the screen. In a pen of 340 Holstein steers, one weighs 900 pounds and another […] Read more
Livestock Management
Monitor detects health problems early
Take care when conditioning show cattle
Any good purebred producer will tell you that cattle need lots of condition to win at shows. It goes against producers’ better judgment, but they definitely feed show cattle differently than the rest of the cattle population. We all know that the ideal body condition for calving and rebreeding is 2.5 to 3.5 on a […] Read more
Swath grazing not help yourself buffet
NISKU, Alta. – Swath grazing is great when it works, but it doesn’t always work well, an Alberta Beef Producer animal health and welfare manager told producers during a forage update. Last winter, the Alberta SPCA investigated 13 cases of cattle in distress, all on winter or pasture grazing, said Reynold Bergen. “Last year there […] Read more
BVD control starts on farm, says U.S. vet
RENO, Nev. – Efforts to control bovine viral diarrhea must start at the farm with vaccination and testing. Dale Grotelueschen, a veterinarian with Pfizer Animal Health, says voluntary control programs are springing up in the United States at the state level, in which animals are tested and the results are shared. An effective BVD control […] Read more
COOL causes headaches
RENO, Nev. – Trying to prepare for country-of-origin labelling legislation in the United States is like being on an airplane waiting to land. The labelling law is part of the country’s farm bill, but all preparatory work is stalled as Congress continues to tinker with the bill, says Bruce Knight, U.S. agriculture undersecretary for marketing […] Read more
U.S. continues to work on foreign beef markets
RENO, Nev. – Negotiating the return of beef markets may seem slower than molasses in January, but the United States’ chief agriculture negotiator says progress is being made. “It is not a light switch we can turn on,” Richard Crowder told a meeting of the international markets committee during the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention […] Read more
Exports best chance for U.S. beef recovery
RENO, Nev. – Exports present the best opportunity for U.S. beef producers, given that domestic consumption is not increasing and retail prices have reached a peak, according to the chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation. “The No. 1 incremental demand opportunity that we have is in the international market place,” Dale Halstrom told a […] Read more
New hog vaccine unveiled
A new hog vaccine is designed to eliminate the need for antibiotics in treating post weaning diarrhea. Coliprotec is an oral vaccine administered through the water supply, said Amy Friesen, a research scientist at the Saskatchewan Research Council. The council is producing the vaccine, developed in Quebec by Prevtec Microbia Inc. “We’re feeding them a […] Read more
Producing sheep in Canada – the Kiwi way
Mark Ritchie is using New Zealand know-how to make the most out of the harsh Canadian climate. Born in New Zealand and raised in Great Britain, Ritchie spent 12 years working on sheep and cattle farms in New Zealand, the world’s top exporter of sheep meat. He moved to Canada 17 years ago with his […] Read more
U.S. creates tuberculosis rule
RENO, Nev. – The United States is writing an international bovine tuberculosis plan to reflect its domestic regulations, said a department of agriculture official. “Under the rule, countries or regions that have not undergone evaluation would be given non-accredited status for TB. These countries would only be allowed to export cattle and bison to the […] Read more
