Livestock Management
The verified beef program has been updated and simplified to encourage more interest from producers. The on-farm food safety program started in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta two years ago and has spread across the country as more trainers and auditors are contracted, said national program manager Terry Grajczyk. The workshops have trained more than 3,600 […] Read more
Livestock Management
Beef quality program simplified
Ontario, B.C. offer rebates on new tags
Ontario and British Columbia are offering cattle producers rebates on radio frequency identification tags, if they meet certain criteria. The B.C. Cattlemen’s Association has received provincial money to refund $2 per tag for each breeding female as of June 1, 2006. The program is open to all producers and ends Feb. 28, 2007. “There had […] Read more
Russia set to welcome live Canadian cattle
Negotiations are underway with Russia to accept live Canadian breeding cattle and boneless beef. Russian officials will provide a list of accepted meat products after they tour Canadian facilities. Health certificates required for dairy and beef cattle exports are under discussion. “Their visit will be taking place soon,” said Julie Palmondin, Agriculture Canada spokesperson. She […] Read more
Fistula research revealing
The eyes are the window to the soul, it is said. But a fistula is a window to the stomach. A cow’s stomach, specifically. For Tim Mutsvangwa’s feed research on dairy cows, the fistula, which is a hole with a removable plug, allows him to see right inside. “It’s a window for us to get […] Read more
Cargill plans expansion of frozen beef patty plant
Construction will begin immediately on the expansion of Cargill’s Sun Valley Food beef manufacturing plant outside Edmonton. The frozen beef patty plant plans to expand by 30,000 sq. feet, almost doubling its capacity, said Pilar Cruz, general manager for Sun Valley Foods in Spruce Grove, Alta., after the Oct. 20 groundbreaking ceremony. Alberta Agriculture has […] Read more
Animal traceability called urgent priority
Time is of the essence for an integrated national livestock identification program in Canada, says the president of the Canadian Livestock Identification Agency. “Canada is vulnerable and we have to take action now,” said pork producer Dennis McKerracher of High River, Alta. The livestock identification agency consists of most of the farm animal groups working […] Read more
Man’s mission to boost sheep sales
TOFIELD, Alta. – Miles Buswell hopes strong prices and a growing number of animals will turn the Beaver Hill auction market into the premier market for sheep and goat sales. “We’re certainly getting some of the best money and consistent money,” said Buswell as he watched sheep and goats being unloaded in the sales barn […] Read more
Hog producers concerned by vaccine shortage
A lack of vaccine supply continues to affect production in the swine industry. There is a treatment for a virus infecting 80 percent of the pig herds in Quebec, most of Ontario’s hog barns and up to 20 percent of western herds. However, the vaccine is not widely available. “The (Intervet) vaccine is a miracle […] Read more
Construction underway at Alberta meat plant
LACOMBE, Alta. – The concrete walls are up at a meat plant in central Alberta that will be able to handle bison, elk, cattle and ostrich. Canadian Premium Meats’ three partners and their investors hope the federally inspected, European Union approved processor will open doors to new meat markets for the alternative livestock industry. Armin […] Read more
CWD discovery may prompt live animal test
A recent study has found that chronic wasting disease may spread though the saliva and blood of infected deer. CWD was first detected in Colorado in the late 1960s, but scientists have never been able to determine how the disease spreads so easily from one infected animal to the next. “It is the first time […] Read more
