Livestock Management
Estimating the size of a manure or compost pile is a useful exercise for storage and later spreading on the land. Under Alberta’s agriculture operations practices act, a producer does not have to report handling practices if there is less than 500 tonnes of manure. Matt Oryschak, an environmental program specialist with Alberta Agriculture said […] Read more
Livestock Management
Math skills needed to measure manure
West Nile fear localized
West Nile virus has been identified in 2006 in humans and birds, but no horses have tested positive on the Prairies this year. As of Aug. 23, six human cases have been identified in Alberta, two in Saskatchewan and 17 in Manitoba. West Nile is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause swelling in the brain […] Read more
Veterinarians seek answers to problems plaguing horses
Veterinarians at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine have received $60,000 from the college’s equine health research fund for four horse research projects. The veterinarians will try to answer the questions: Do equine wound care products work? Can a hormone combination advance the breeding season in transitional mares? Do genetic factors contribute to the development […] Read more
U.S. takes Canada’s overflow of cattle
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. – For Canada’s most prominent cattle industry market analyst, news of a near-record decline in cattle numbers during the past year was hardly a surprise. Anne Dunford, with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association Canfax service, said shrinkage in the record herd that built up during the BSE crisis was predictable because the open […] Read more
Opening border still ‘a priority’: U.S. official
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. – Canada’s decision to eliminate some long-standing barriers on imports of American cattle will be politically helpful as the United States administration tries to get the border fully open to Canadian cattle of all ages, says a senior U.S. government official. Chuck Lambert, acting undersecretary in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told […] Read more
Examine calf losses to halt recurrence
During the hectic days and nights of calving season, a few calves may die and producers blame themselves for negligence. Unexplained calf losses may have more to do with problems among the animals themselves, says Cheryl Waldner, epidemiologist with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. “We lose these calves and we just don’t know why,” […] Read more
Grazing alfalfa good hay alternative
Heat and dry weather hampered both hay and pasture production in Manitoba this year. Pasturing cattle on alfalfa fields is one option producers have resorted to in a bid to gain adequate feed for their cow-calf herds. “We don’t have a choice,” said Glenn Friesen, Manitoba Agriculture’s business development specialist for forages. “We need to […] Read more
Japanese remain skeptical about beef
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. – As consumer researcher Ted Schroeder sees it, the Canadian cattle and beef industry has a huge challenge regaining a hoof-hold in the Japanese market. The agricultural economics professor at Kansas State University told a Canadian Cattlemen’s Association meeting Aug. 16 that a four-nation survey of 4,000 consumers about the safety of […] Read more
Compromise needed at WTO, say CCA officials
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. – The hiatus in World Trade Organization negotiations could be a time for Canadian agricultural interests to try to narrow some divides, says the vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. Brad Wildeman from PoundMaker Agventures in Lanigan, Sask., told the CCA semi-annual meeting Aug. 16 that successful completion of a WTO deal […] Read more
Association beefs up work
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. – The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is planning some organizational changes that will make it more active but also cost producers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario more money. At the CCA semi-annual national meeting last week in Niagara Falls, Ont., board members agreed the organization must evolve if it is to better represent […] Read more
