Livestock Management
RED DEER – When it comes to handling unruly hogs, the human touch may soothe the savage beast. When two Ontario farms had trouble handling their market hogs, animal welfare specialists at the University of Guelph suggested the pigs needed more human contact. Market hogs can be difficult to handle because they do not have […] Read more
Livestock Management
Give a hog a hug
Open housing needs close monitoring
RED DEER – The pressure to stop using stalls for gestating sows has prompted researchers to assess the merits of open housing. “As we move into alternative systems, animal based measures are going to be critical for monitoring the welfare of the sows,” said Tina Widowski, head of animal welfare studies at the University of […] Read more
Alberta dairy producers move south
RED DEER – When Gordon and Cathy Speirs decided to expand their dairy farm, they headed south rather than stay in Alberta. The Speirs moved to Brillion, Wisconsin, the heart of the U.S. dairy industry. “We wanted to be somewhere where we could be the big kids on the street, not the biggest kids, but […] Read more
Piglets need care given to any baby
Newborn piglets, like human babies, have basic needs fundamental to their survival, an American veterinarian told a swine conference in Saskatoon March 27. James Lowe, director of health and production services with Maschhoffs Farms of Carlyle, Illinois, said a piglet’s body temperature can quickly drop four degrees from its birth temperature of 40 C. It […] Read more
Few see rainbow at hog meeting
The morning session at the Prairie Swine Centre’s Focus on the Future conference in Saskatoon on March 28 was billed as an upbeat outlook of a Canadian agriculture industry that includes pork production. Shortly after the session began it became apparent the industry’s list of challenges would dwarf the few opportunities mentioned in the debate, […] Read more
Economics forced move to organic dairying
RED DEER – The decision to go organic was an easy one for many New England dairy farms on the brink of bankruptcy. “They saw a higher profit potential and that is why they did it,” said Richard Kersbergen, a dairy specialist with the University of Maine. For many American dairy farmers, it was the […] Read more
Young man old pro in show ring
Trevor Bell didn’t appear to feel the pressure, but he knew the judge was watching him more than the Hereford heifer he led around the ring. “It’s not based on what the calf looks like,” Bell said of the showmanship class at the Regina Spring Steer and Heifer Youth Show. “It’s more the pressure is […] Read more
Pigs warm up to heating pads more than lamps
Heating pads for piglets offer big energy savings and are just as effective as heating lamps, a recent study has found. The six-month trial at Interlake Weanlings Ltd., in which 4,700 piglets were raised in five test cycles, found that the difference in average daily weight gain was statistically insignificant. Mortality was slightly lower with […] Read more
Semen evaluations too important to ignore – Animal Health
Some cattle producers remain skeptical about the merits of evaluating the semen of breeding bulls before turn out. However, veterinarians who conduct breeding soundness evaluations do more than check the semen. We look at live sperm to check for motility and we kill sperm in a stained sample to look at its morphology, which is […] Read more
B.C. urges towns to build abattoirs
British Columbia communities still suffering financial pains from BSE are urged to apply for government aid to build their own small or mobile slaughter plants. Pat Bell, the province’s agriculture minister, said not all the $5 million in a government fund for building small abattoirs has been allocated. The deadline for application is Sept. 30. […] Read more
