Reading Time: 3 minutes Mould and mycotoxins can be tricky, but there are a few tips that can help prevent them from hurting your cattle. That was the message that Amanda Van De Kerckhove, ruminant nutritionist with Co-op Feeds, brought to Northlands’ first BeefTech event. “It can be a little overwhelming when you look at all the factors that […] Read more
Mycotoxins — the invisible danger for livestock
Ruminant nutritionist offers tips to ensure feed doesn’t pose a health hazard to your cattle
AFAC appoints new executive director
Reading Time: < 1 minute Annemarie Pedersen is the new executive director of Alberta Farm Animal Care. Pedersen is an agricultural communications expert and a former industry relations director with Canada Beef. The livestock welfare organization, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, promotes best practices in livestock care and handling. Among the programs it supports is the ALERT […] Read more
How’s your relationship with your vet?
Antimicrobials will soon require a prescription, but a vet can’t write one if he or she hasn’t worked closely with a producer
Reading Time: 3 minutes When it comes to antimicrobials, one shoe has dropped and the other soon will. And that means livestock producers who don’t have a working relationship with a vet better start developing one. As of last month, producers can no longer import antimicrobials for use on their ranches and farms, and growth promotion claims have been […] Read more
How antimicrobial use will change in a year’s time
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta Beef Producers highlighted changes for medically important antimicrobials (MIAs) that will take effect on Dec. 1, 2018. “While current research does not point to any clear, direct link between antimicrobial use in cattle and resistance in people, it is in our best interests to use these products appropriately,” the organization stated in the Nov. […] Read more
Three other takes on the Trans-Pacific trade talks
Pork, dairy, and grain producer groups also have strong views on what needs to happen in negotiations
Reading Time: < 1 minute Here’s what other Canadian commodity groups are saying about the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks. “Last year, 1.1 million tonnes of pork and pork products, valued at over $3.7 billion, were exported to 92 different countries. Of this, approximately 80 per cent was sold to current TPP partners while another 15 per cent goes to countries we […] Read more
Dairy support prices stand pat for 2018
The Canadian Dairy Commission plans to hold the line on the support levels used to price industrial milk in Canada next year, despite a “small reduction” in the cost of milk production. The commission announced Friday it would maintain the per-kilogram support prices it sets for butter and skim milk powder at $8.0062 and $4.5302 […] Read more
Youth summit gives young Albertans a global view of agriculture
Reading Time: 3 minutes After attending a global summit for young ag leaders, Cameron Olson is even more excited about agriculture and its possibilities. Talking to some of the other 100 youth delegates from 49 countries at the four-day Youth Ag-Summit in Belgium last month was an eye-opening and energizing experience, said the 24-year-old from Rocky View. “There were […] Read more
Ontario general farm organization fee increasing
Ontario farmers will be paying more for their representation by their general farm organizations in 2018 after the government approved a $30 increase. The annual fee will be $225 plus HST for membership in the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario or National Farmers Union-Ontario. All registered farmers have to pay the […] Read more
Farmers seen harder hit by opioid crisis than rest of rural U.S.
Chicago | Reuters — The opioid crisis in the United States is impacting farm and ranch families more acutely than their rural neighbours, according to a survey published by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the U.S. National Farmers Union on Thursday. About three-quarters of farmers and ranchers surveyed said a family member, someone […] Read more
Canadian pork cleared for Argentina
Argentina is now ready to import Canadian pork for the first time in about 15 years, federal officials report. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced Wednesday that access to the Argentinian market has been restored for Canadian pork effective “immediately.” Canadian pork processors had started shipping to Argentina in 1998, […] Read more