Livestock
Reading Time: 3 minutes Knowing cows’ nutritional needs and the cost of keeping them in a pen can help producers make wise decisions, says Bart Lardner, senior research scientist at the Western Beef Development Centre. Lardner gave numerous money-making tips to producers at the recent Western Canadian Grazing Conference in Vermilion. Lardner, who is also an adjunct professor at […] Read more
Manage Change To Increase Per-Cow Profitability
Coccidiosis In Piglets A Threat To Growth
Reading Time: 3 minutes Coccidiosis in suckling piglets is a widespread problem in Canadian herds and causes scouring and reduced growth. The only effective treatment for this disease is Baycox, a five per cent suspension of toltrazuril. Although this drug was never approved, it was available to producers from 1992 to 1998 through Canada’s Emergency Drug Release program. Its […] Read more
Stockpiled Grazing Banks Grass For Later Use
Reading Time: 3 minutes It doesn’t work for every cow, but stockpiling pasture for later use can be an important part of a grazing-management system. “This is a system that works for us,” Iain Aitken told attendees at the recent Western Canadian Grazing Conference at Vermilion. “It works at our place with our management and our kind of cattle […] Read more
Pork Industry “Not Sustainable” Warns Alberta Pork Director
Reading Time: 2 minutes A director with Alberta Pork is warning the industry is doomed unless the pricing model is changed. The Canadian pork industry was built on a low Canadian dollar and the cheap loonie is gone for the foreseeable future, Rocky Morrill told attendees at Alberta Pork’s fall regional meetings. “Americans raise pigs on an on-par dollar, […] Read more
Stockpiled Grazing Can Improve Soil Quality
Reading Time: 3 minutes Darcy Goodrich likes what stockpiled grazing does for his bottom line and his land. Goodrich farms in the Hardisty area on the eastern side of the province and has to deal with sandy soil, which is more likely to produce creeping cedar, cactus, and needle grass than useful feed for his operation, Pure Country Stock […] Read more
Briefs – for Jan. 17, 2011
Reading Time: < 1 minute Vet fined for BSE non-inspection STAFF A Manitoba veterinarian has been fined $10,000 for certifying uninspected cattle for export. Dr. Earl Van Assen pleaded guilty in a Winnipeg court to two counts of contravening the federal Health of Animals Act. Court was told Van Assen submitted certification documents in Feb. 2009 for 42 cows shipped […] Read more
Editors’ Picks: These GM chickens don’t spread bird flu
(Reuters) –– British scientists have developed genetically modified (GM) chickens that cannot transmit bird flu infections — a step that in future could reduce the risk of avian flu spreading and causing deadly epidemics in humans. Scientists from Cambridge and Edinburgh universities said that while the transgenic chickens still got sick and died when they […] Read more
N.B. names new deputy ag minister
New Brunswick’s assistant deputy minister of health has been named as the province’s new top bureaucrat for agriculture. Jean-Marc Dupuis was named Thursday by Premier David Alward as deputy minister of agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, effective Jan. 24. Dupuis replaces Jim McKay, who had served in the ag post for about two years before his […] Read more
Korea’s meat import jump seen as short-lived
(Reuters) –– South Korea said Thursday its meat imports jumped in December to meet lost local supply due to outbreaks of foot-and-mouth, but future import gains might be short-lived even as demand remains steady despite the disease outbreak, industry and government sources said. South Korea’s combined beef and pork imports increased 13 per cent month-on-month […] Read more
Eastern Ont. farmers hail plans for fall elk hunt
Ontario’s plans to thin out its elk herd in September, by offering the province’s first elk hunt in over 100 years, are to include special permits for inundated farmers. The province announced last week it will hold a week-long elk hunt from Sept. 19 to 25, with a “limited number” of licenses available through random […] Read more
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