Livestock Management
HALIFAX – The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has decided to include more nonproducers in its decision-making. Board members approved a new constitution Aug. 17 that recognizes the need for ad hoc committees to debate policy that affects sectors beyond the farm or feedlot. The emerging biofuel debate is an example. Depending on the issue, representatives from […] Read more
Livestock Management
Cattle group opens door to nonproducers
Angoras born in mohair suits
OLDS, Alta. – With curling tendrils of soft hair covering their eyes and smiling faces, Angora goats look more like toys than living creatures. The glowing cream coloured fibre is the most valuable part of these quiet-natured goats shown during the Mountainview County Fair at Olds. Producing healthy, well developed Angoras with high quality fleece […] Read more
Brother, sister team win with Charolais
OLDS, Alta. – When it comes to showing cattle or facing off at the hockey rink, Brooklyn and Brayden Paget are always competitive. Working with their parents, Darren and Loretta, the family runs New Country Livestock at Donalda, Alta., producing purebred Charolais, a few Simmentals and commercial cattle. Showing cattle to promote their breeding program […] Read more
Grazing mentors help others succeed
If trying to make a living in the cattle business feels like banging your head against a wall, maybe it’s time to seek professional help. With the Sustainable Grazing Mentorship Program recently launched by the Manitoba Forage Council, practical, hands-on advice from active producers who have learned how to make intensive grazing work is now […] Read more
Anthrax continues to pound Manitoba
The death toll in Manitoba’s anthrax outbreak has risen to 58 animals, all cattle, except for one horse and two goats, according to Sandra Stephens, a disease control specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Twenty quarter sections of land owned by about 20 farmers have been quarantined near Komarno in Manitoba’s Interlake, about 70 […] Read more
The inside story on cattle reproduction
Do you get confused when your veterinarian starts talking about cow reproduction? You are not alone. So that you can understand what’s going on with cows, the following is a lesson on female body parts and how they work together to change an egg to a living calf. The logical starting point is the ovaries. […] Read more
Monitor bison to halt disease
RAPID CIY, South Dakota – David Hunter, chief veterinarian to the world’s largest bison rancher Ten Turner, asks a good question. “There were 60 million bison on the plains when we (European settlers) arrived. There weren’t 60 million rounds of ammunition sold in the few years it took to get down to 500 to 1,000 […] Read more
U.S. official pushes for border opening
RAPID CITY, South Dakota – The 49th parallel remains a hot topic for the American ruminant industry. The American border needs to be open to Canadian beef, bison and live animals said Bruce Knight, U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary of marketing and regulations. He told 550 bison ranchers attending the International Bison Conference in Rapid […] Read more
Old batteries poison cattle
Lead poisoning in cattle is appearing more often on the Prairies. Barry Blakely’s laboratory at the University of Saskatchewan is seeing up to a fourfold increase in cases this year. “Farmers can put an end to this right now. They have to clean up old batteries and avoid putting any more out into places where […] Read more
Antibiotic resistance study checks role of livestock
LA BROQUERIE, Man. – Pigs consume antibiotics but microbes may remain in their manure that is spread on cattle pastures. So are antibiotic-resistant microbes in pig manure surviving and later infecting cattle and local water supplies? Probably not, said Denis Krause, a University of Manitoba animal science researcher. “It’s not impossible that antibiotic use, therapeutic […] Read more
