Livestock
Reading Time: < 1 minute Deliberately exposing a sow herd to the virus that causes porcine epidemic diarrhea may seem counterintuitive, but it’s the best option when a facility is infected. “The game plan is that you need to expose the sow population as quickly as possible, whenever the outbreak has occurred in the barn,” said Frank Marshall, owner of […] Read more
Building immunity to combat PED
There is no vaccine for the deadly virus, so controlled exposure is used to create immunity
The updated bison code of care has a wealth of information
Beef 911: Although written specifically for bison, the code also has good tips for beef producers
Reading Time: 4 minutes In 2017, new codes of practice came out for bison and veal cattle, following revisions to the codes for dairy cattle in 2009 and the beef, sheep, and equine sectors in 2013. Other codes have also been released or are in progress. The format has multiple chapters (with numerous appendices at the end) and each […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures rise on bargain buying
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures rose on Wednesday, led higher by a bargain buying bounce in the feeder cattle contracts. The feeder cattle market, which jumped 1.4 per cent on Wednesday, was sharply oversold after the front-month contract hit its lowest since May 24 on Tuesday, traders said. “The feeder market […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle fall as temperatures set to rise
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures eased on Monday, pressured by forecasts for better weather in the U.S. Plains following snowstorms and bitter cold in the past week, traders said. “The big thing in the cattle was a real clear message that we have a sharp increase in temperatures coming up in […] Read more
Gene-edited chickens planned in bid to halt next pandemic
London | Reuters — British scientists are developing gene-edited chickens designed to be totally resistant to flu in a new approach to trying to stop the next deadly human pandemic. The first of the transgenic chicks will be hatched later this year at the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, said Wendy […] Read more
Awards for leaders in animal welfare
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Farm Animal Care is seeking nominations for a trio of awards that recognize individuals or groups who have made exceptional contributions to livestock welfare. Three awards are given out annually. The Award of Distinction for Communication honours those who take an active role in effectively telling the story about livestock issues, and informing the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs rise on hopes for China trade talks
Chicago | Reuters — Hopes for progress in talks to resolve the U.S.-China trade war lifted Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures on Friday, traders said. Wall Street and commodities advanced after Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that China offered to go on a six-year buying spree to ramp up imports from […] Read more
Antimicrobial resistance: No smoking gun, study finds
Study finds no link between antimicrobial use in livestock and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans
Reading Time: 4 minutes Researchers say they’ve tried very hard to find a link between antibiotic-resistant bacteria in cattle and humans — but despite all their efforts, were unable to do it. “We did a very comprehensive study where we studied enterococci in cattle, in waste water treatment plants, in catch basins and surrounding fields, and also collected isolates […] Read more
Alberta’s PED outbreak so far held to one spot
The probe into Alberta’s first-ever outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea hasn’t yet shown any paths by which the PED virus might have got to the farm — nor any new cases anywhere else in the province. The provincial government on Jan. 7 confirmed the first case of PED to appear in hogs in Alberta, at […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle ease on technical selling ahead of storm
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures were lower on Thursday, with live cattle prices easing from recent contract highs on technical selling ahead of a major winter storm forecast to hit U.S. cattle country, traders said. Feeder cattle futures fell to a roughly 1-1/2 week low, pressured in part by rising corn […] Read more