Reading Time: 4 minutes Temple Grandin and Jennifer Woods are both fans of the old saying: ‘You cannot manage what you cannot measure.’ Which is why the two animal welfare experts are in favour of audits. The duo, who has known each other for more than two decades, both spoke at the recent Canadian Livestock Transport conference. “Many people […] Read more
Livestock facility audits praised by experts
Temple Grandin and Jennifer Woods say they boost both profits and PR
Crackdown on shipping unfit animals working
The Western Hog Exchange now seeing far less downers, but officials say even a few are too many
Reading Time: 3 minutes A crackdown on shipping unfit animals is paying off, says the chairman of the Western Hog Exchange. “I don’t have the statistics to back it up, but the general consensus is that we have seen a significant improvement in the animals coming to the plants,” Brent Moen said in an interview. The Red Deer hog […] Read more
When thinking about biosecurity on a beef farm, it helps to think both big and small
Disease can be introduced when people visit the farm, such as in the case of the bull sale
Reading Time: 3 minutes When people think about biosecurity, they generally think about swine, poultry or dairy operations. But biosecurity is important on beef operations too and there are a number of things producers can do to minimize their risk. “Dairy, swine and poultry are in barns, so biosecurity is easier to control, whereas in the beef industry, the […] Read more
New working group gears up to get answers about habitat conservation
Maintaining habitat is also important for pollinators and parasitoids that prey on crop pests
Reading Time: 3 minutes When you cut down your shelterbelt or take out a windrow, you might not think about the effect it has on the beneficial species living on your farmland. A new working group, unofficially known as the Habitat Working Group, is gearing up to inform producers about the changes they can make to conserve habitat for […] Read more
Harmony Beef slaughter plant opening pushed back
Rich Vesta says plans to open last summer were ‘totally unrealistic’ but the venture continues to move forward
Reading Time: 2 minutes It was supposed to open last summer, but the owner of Harmony Beef says it will be a while yet before his plant starts slaughtering cattle. “Quite honestly, when we started, we were overaggressive in our time frame,” said Rich Vesta, an American businessman and former top executive in the U.S. meat-packing industry. Vesta completed […] Read more
Crop pest and disease watch for 2015
Some of the usual suspects could be back this year, especially if you are pushing your rotations
Reading Time: 6 minutes The new growing season is underway, with a combination of old and new challenges and opportunities. Alberta Farmer reporter Alexis Kienlen asked some experts about things that producers should look out for this growing season. Here’s what they had to say: Plant diseases It’s difficult for plant pathologists to predict the possibility of diseases, said Kelly […] Read more
Bovine big brother: Surveillance network gives cattle researchers priceless data
Network will yield insights into improving production and herd health — and reassure customers if there’s a sudden disease concern
Reading Time: 3 minutes You can’t pick them out from the road, but 120 herds of cattle across the Prairies are special. They’re participants in a “living laboratory” experiment that is advancing knowledge about the health of the western herd in a host of ways. “We have a mixture of small and large herds, somewhat representative of the number […] Read more
The sizzling market for farmland may be ready to take a breather
Alberta land prices are still heading up, but double-digit annual rises appear to be over for now
Reading Time: 3 minutes The red-hot market for farmland is showing signs of cooling off. “The more recent sales are still showing some increase, but the increases aren’t what they have been previously,” said Dave Weber, an appraiser with Serecon, an agricultural consulting company. Alberta farmland values were increasing about one per cent a month during 2011 and 2012, […] Read more
Antimicrobial use in livestock under the microscope
Expert says ‘there definitely is a chain’ connecting farms to the rise in antimicrobial resistance
Reading Time: 4 minutes Antimicrobial resistance is like a forest fire — because only you can take steps to prevent it. Think about resistance every time you use antimicrobials, producers were told during Alberta Pork’s latest telephone town hall. “Any single time one of us uses an antimicrobial, we are tipping the scales toward resistance, said Dr. Leigh Rosengren, […] Read more
The price of change? More money in your pocket for the farm
Doing 20 little things five per cent better will make a difference on your farm, says renowned farm management expert
Reading Time: 2 minutes When it comes to farm management, take a cue from No. 99. “Wayne Gretzky said, ‘I’m not bigger, stronger or faster than the players I’m up against. What I’ve realized is that the only real difference is that they always go to where the puck was, whereas I try to go to where it’s going […] Read more
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