Wellington | Reuters — New Zealand farm company Landcorp said Monday it would ban its farmers from using palm kernel expeller (PKE), a feed supplement used for cows that environmentalists have linked to rainforest destruction. The state-owned company, which runs 140 farms, said it would end the use of the feed by June 2017 to […] Read more
New Zealand farm firm bans use of palm in feed
Taking a proactive approach to cattle transportation
Understanding cattle behaviour and adjusting density according to cattle type are key to proper transportation
Reading Time: 3 minutes When cattle trucker Rick Sincennes started in the business more than 30 years ago it was a different world. Today animal welfare is a profile issue in the public eye, animal activists are putting pressure on producers and the people involved in cattle transportation have an entirely different level of responsibility for themselves and their […] Read more
AI could be a big bang for your buck for beef
The bull doesn’t charge for service, but he costs quite a bit to keep around when he isn’t working
Reading Time: 3 minutes It could make sense to skip the bull in a beef cattle operation, says an economist with the Western Beef Development Centre. “Natural-service breeding is still the most common. Probably some of the hesitancy is the feeling that it is more expensive to use fixed-time artificial insemination,” Kathy Larson said during a webinar hosted by […] Read more
Free business analysis program available for dairy producers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry is once again offering the Dairy Cost Study program to Alberta producers. “With changes in today’s environment and economy, there seems to be renewed interest in building business plans, following cost of production and getting adequate returns for that production,” said Pauline Van Biert, a provincial research analyst. “The Dairy Cost […] Read more
Can you really afford not to feed test?
You’re rolling the dice if you’re not testing feed, and it’s not hard to rack up a five-figure loss if you guess wrong
Reading Time: 2 minutes I often hear farmers and ranchers say feed testing is expensive and I know lots of you guys don’t feed test. But feed testing and using that information to balance livestock rations is a whole lot cheaper than over- or underfeeding them. Let’s say you’re feeding your critters some pretty good-looking hay. You’re making sure […] Read more
Athabasca’s dairyman Rob Crest honoured
Reading Time: < 1 minute Rob Crest of Skycrest Holsteins in Athabasca was recognized for his many accomplishments with the Curtis Clark Achievement Award, which was presented to him at the recent Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. The third-generation dairyman has shown cattle across Canada and has attended the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin, winning numerous ribbons and ‘Premier […] Read more
Farmers, upset over TPP talks, take cows to Parliament
Ottawa | Reuters — Unhappy Canadian dairy farmers parked dozens of tractors in central Ottawa and walked their cows down the main street opposite Parliament on Tuesday to protest trade talks they said could cripple them. Canada is one of 12 Pacific Rim countries trying to nail down a trade deal in Atlanta this week. […] Read more
The classic part? All of the friends you make at the dairy show
Alberta hosted the Western Canadian Classic Junior Dairy Show and, as usual, a whole batch of special memories was made
Reading Time: 3 minutes Getting experience in the dairy showing world at a young age can open all sorts of doors. The 31st edition of the Western Canadian Classic (WCC) Junior Dairy Show brought 100 participants between the ages of 12 and 21 to Westerner Park in Red Deer for five days of activities. Naturally, the event included showing […] Read more
Researchers using big data to find feed-efficient dairy cattle
The goal is to develop a prediction tool for breeding cows that will eat less with no loss in productivity
Reading Time: 2 minutes Researchers at the University of Alberta are looking to give producers a bit of a boost by isolating feed-efficient traits in dairy cattle. “We have an estimate that breeding for increased feed efficiency and reduced methane emission can reduce feed costs by about $100 per cow per year,” said Paul Stothard, an assistant professor of […] Read more
U of A research could detect Johne’s disease
Currently no reliable test to detect the frequent problem in dairy herds
Reading Time: < 1 minute Johne’s disease is a challenge for the dairy industry. One of the main issues associated with identifying Johne’s is that the calf gets infected at a young age, but symptoms may not show in the animal for years. Johne’s disease is difficult to diagnose and when present, can cause animal mortality, decreased milk production and […] Read more
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