“What would be ideal is if we actually had a test that would identify active disease. That’s what we’re all working on.”  – Fred Quinn.

Behind the times on bovine TB

Standard tests are inefficient and inaccurate, and that can be deadly for both cattle and humans, say researchers

Reading Time: 5 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canada’s monitoring regimen for bovine tuberculosis is based on tests that are old, time consuming and not overly accurate, researchers say. But there aren’t any better options. “We don’t have a better test for humans either,” said one researcher, Shu-Hua Wang. Wang is a professor of medicine at Ohio State University and […] Read more




It’s a good idea to start small when it comes to genetic record-keeping, says the extension coordinator for the BCRC.

Taking the angst out of cow-calf record keeping

BCRC course designed to help cow-calf producers choose most relevant traits to track

Reading Time: 3 minutes When some beef producers see the amount of record keeping done by purebred operations or participants in VBP+, they may thank their lucky stars that they don’t have to do the same. But experts at the Beef Cattle Research Council would say that genetic record keeping doesn’t have to be cumbersome for cow-calf or commercial […] Read more


 (Lisa Guenther photo)

Klassen: Feeder market ends year on mixed sentiment

Some feedlots becoming backed up with heavier cattle, setting negative tone for feed complex

Western Canadian feeder cattle markets were unchanged, to as much as $10 lower compared to last week. Demand for heifers was suffering last week. A weaker tone was noted in the Eastern prairie regions as Ontario demand appeared to evaporate last week. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $368-$370/cwt, down $7-$8 from last week.