Reading Time: 4 minutes I am a big fan of Dr. Temple Grandin. A long time ago we stood in a small community hall in Alberta with 60 farmers in attendance. She talked about an animal’s reaction to light, movement, and sound, and encouraged producers to see their facilities through the eyes of their livestock. I talked about shrinkage […] Read more
The time has come to rethink single-trait selection
Temple Grandin was right about animal welfare, and she’s right about respecting the dual purpose of food animals, too
Test that feed — expert says ergot contamination on the rise
Last year’s wet spring has left a potential deadly legacy and ‘it doesn’t take much’ ergot to cause serious problems
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ergot-contaminated feed is on the rise and producers need to be testing to avoid poisoning their livestock. “Last year at this time, we were running 20 to 40 samples a month for ergot — we’ve had days this year where we run 40 samples, and lots of them are high concentration,” said Barry Blakley, a […] Read more
Study examines lameness in feedlot cattle and treatment options
Diagnosing the cause of lameness is not easy and so it’s difficult to know how to treat the animal or if culling is the best option
Reading Time: 3 minutes Although feedlot pen riders do a good job of identifying lame cattle needing treatment, there has been very little work done to fully understand lameness in that sector. Knowing the types and prevalence of lameness could help to build better ways to treat and prevent it, says Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researcher Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein. “We […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
