Reading Time: < 1 minute An independent review of the Legacy Fund has found it was well managed, says Travis Toews, chair of the Canadian Cattlemen Market Development Council. The council was set up to administer the $80-million fund created by Ottawa and the province in 2005 to support the industry in the wake of BSE. The independent review found it […] Read more
Legacy Fund did its job to support cattle industry
EU to resume beef exports to Canada
Brussels | Reuters –– The European Union is to resume exports of beef to Canada from 19 of its member countries for the first time since 1996, when they were halted in the wake of the BSE scandal. The European Commission said Tuesday that Canada’s action was part of a growing trend to recognize the […] Read more
BSE case’s traceout continues
Federal officials tracing out the herdmates of Canada’s 19th domestic case of BSE expect to have their final report on the case ready in late fall. Confirmed Feb. 11 as Canada’s first domestic case of the brain-wasting bovine disease since 2011, Case 19 was born in 2009 on the same northern Alberta farm as Case […] Read more
OIE cuts six European countries’ BSE risk level
Paris | Reuters — The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has lowered to the safest level the official risk of six countries for BSE, a move expected to open international market access for their beef exports. These countries are France, Ireland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Liechtenstein. OIE members in Paris last week eased […] Read more
China lifts three-year embargo on Brazil beef imports
Brasilia | Reuters — China has ended an embargo on Brazilian beef imports, Brazil’s agriculture ministry said on Tuesday, lifting a three-year old ban and opening the door to half a billion dollars of new sales. Eight Brazilian beef processing plants and one poultry plant were approved to ship to China, the ministry said in […] Read more
U.S. seen approving Brazil fresh beef imports
Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Brazil’s agriculture ministry said on Friday the U.S. is likely to approve imports of Brazilian fresh beef this year, after President Dilma Rousseff visits Washington in June. Brazil, the world’s top beef exporter, is already a steady exporter of cooked beef that appears in items such as canned corned beef […] Read more
The big two irrigated crops seeing some competition
Forages and cereals still dominate irrigated acreage, but oilseeds and specialty crops are growing in popularity
Reading Time: 3 minutes Each year, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development publishes a compilation of all 13 of the province’s irrigation districts’ data for the previous year. The latest figures show cereals and forages (pasture, hay and silage crops) still account for two-thirds of the 1,390,000 acres in the districts, but the trend is clear — forage production isn’t […] Read more
Canadian beef again moving to China
Federal inspectors are again issuing certificates for exports of Canadian beef to China, as Beijing’s temporary ban on the Canadian product comes to an end. The Chinese government in late February announced a temporary ban on imports of Canadian beef, shortly after Canada confirmed its first case of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in a domestic […] 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
Officials stress need for testing
The latest BSE case only increases the need for Canada to test 30,000 animals yearly
Reading Time: 4 minutes Keep calm and carry on testing. That’s the message going out to producers following the latest case of BSE in an Alberta cow. “At times like this, it’s as important, if not more so, to continue with surveillance and be vigilant,” Canadian Food Inspection Agency official Craig Price told attendees at the recent Alberta Beef […] Read more
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