Funded through the Government of Alberta Industry Advancement Grant, the initiative is supported by $916,535 in provincial funding.

Wheels of Opportunity is a workforce initiative led by Safety Buzz Campus, looking to fill the gap where Cypress County and surrounding area has optimal irrigated farmland, but is limited in trained workers. Youth employment is high and the agricultural industry has many in the age bracket that is nearing retirement.

Why It Matters: Keeping agricultural supply chains moving with much-needed and properly drivers critical for Alberta with expanded employment opportunities for the next generation.

In partnership with Prairie Rose School Division, municipalities, employment agencies and agricultural leaders, the innovative program is designed to address one of the most critical challenges facing the region – the severe shortage of qualified drivers in the agricultural industry.

Through Wheels of Opportunity funding, participants receive Class 3 licensing, air-brakes certification, safety and equipment training, professional development, and ag-specific hazard awareness. It totals an investment of over $3,600 per participant. With a state-of-the-art simulator, participants can safely practice in diverse conditions before hitting the road, giving participants, particularly youth under 18, a head start on their careers.

The Employment Pathway Grant helps cover costs for advanced training, including Class 1 and Class 1 upgrades.

Alberta is currently short 4,000-plus commercial drivers, which negatively impacts rural economies.

Participants can safely practice in diverse conditions before hitting the road, giving participants, particularly youth under 18, a head start on their careers.

The post Wheels of Opportunity tackles agriculture industry driver shortage appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The province says the action was taken following inspections, audits and targeted investigations of driver training schools and carriers.

“It was a targeted crackdown. We saw an alarming increase in the amount of bridge strikes and calls and letters coming into the department of unsafe trucking incidents. This was a bigger, broader audit of the driver training schools that we took the initiative to try to crack down on this disturbing trend,” said Devin Dreeshen, minister of transportation and economic corridors.

“Our families’ safety won’t be put at risk by reckless operators who ignore the rules. Anyone cutting corners or operating unsafe trucks will be removed from our roads. Alberta truckers have earned a reputation as some of the most trusted drivers in the country, and we will not allow a few bad actors to undermine that trust.”

Thirteen commercial trucking companies have also been removed from Alberta’s roads due to poor on-road performance, unsafe equipment or failure to meet mandatory safety standards. Of those, seven were identified as “chameleon” carriers – companies that try to avoid regulatory oversight by changing names, creating new entities or relocating operations across jurisdictions.

The provincial government said it is working with federal and provincial/territorial partners to strengthen enforcement across jurisdictions. Work is also underway by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators to develop a national database to address the loophole that carriers currently use to exploit gaps in inter-provincial data sharing and enforcement.

“We’ve developed a made-in-Alberta change for a Class One learning pathway,” Dreeshen said.

“Eventually we want trucking to be a Red Seal. You look at a Red Seal certification for a chef, we think obviously there should be that point of pride in the trucking industry, but it takes five other provinces to recognize it as a trade. That’s something we’re still working with other provinces to be able to officially have trucking as an apprenticeship.”

This would include requiring 125 to 133 in-truck training hours, well above the national mandatory entry-level training minimum.

“Elevating driver training standards to align with the established benchmarks of a designated trade with the ultimate goal of achieving Red Seal designation for the transportation industry represents a significant and positive step forward,” Don MacDonald, interim chair of the Professional Truck Training Alliance of Canada, said in a press release.

“This initiative is supported by the (PTTAC) and will not only contribute to safer roadways but also foster greater professionalism and integrity across all sectors of the industry.”

Alberta is also targeting the misclassified driver scheme known as Drivers Inc., in which companies hire drivers as independent contractors to avoid payroll taxes and benefits.

These drivers often lack proper training and oversight and are vulnerable to exploitation. In July 2025, a week-long commercial driver status and classification check stop revealed that 20 per cent of the 195 drivers who were stopped were suspected of being misclassified, including several temporary foreign workers.

To further strengthen the trucking industry, the Alberta government is looking to changes in its Traffic Safety Act. One regulatory change would be requiring the driver’s driving record to follow the individual instead of the carrier with which the driver is associated .

“If it’s an issue with the vehicle, it’s obviously not the driver’s fault. Those types of incidences should follow the carrier. But, if it is driver error, we’re seeing drivers jump into other carriers without the new carrier knowing the past driving record of that driver. We’re making sure there’s more accountability in the trucking industry.”

Dreeshen said these measures will benefit the agriculture sector.

“Maybe I’m a little biased because I am a (fifth-generation) farmer. Truckers used to have the reputation of being the best out on the road. You’d have people that would be following semis because they know … the trail that the semi is blazing in the middle of winter is good. Hats off to the amazing truckers that we have doing the work that they do every day to put put food on store shelves and to make sure that we have such a high quality life that we have.”

The post Alberta cracks down on trucking industry appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Looking at their website, the animal rights group highlights animal transport under its list of causes. The page reads that federal laws and regulations applying to farmed livestock are “notoriously weak,” prioritize outcomes rather than prescriptions and, thus, do not account for animal suffering while being shipped, just that they arrive at their destination without “noticeable injury or illness.”

Of bigger issue to one Manitoba horse farm, as Glacier FarmMedia recently reported, the group is staunchly against air export of horses for the slaughter market, which their website calls a “national shame.”

The group points to federal rules around how long livestock can be in transit before getting a break for food, rest and water. That’s 24 hours without water for broiler chickens (28 hours between rest and food), 28 hours for horses and pigs and 36 hours for cattle old enough to no longer be nursing.

Animal Justice is in the process of taking that horse farm to court over a 2022 shipment they say went over those limits.

But their latest release criticized the same farm for apparently shipping the horses close to Winnipeg, offloading them at a feedlot overnight and then completing the journey to the airport. The group characterized it as a “workaround” in the rules to “reset the clock.”

Industry might bemusedly describe it as just plain following the rules. As well as maximum transport times without a break, regulations also set out how long those breaks must be. The clock can only restart after a mimimum eight consecutive hours of rest, according to Canada’s Health of Animals Regulations.

Moira Harris, an animal welfare consultant quoted by Animal Justice, noted that that loading and unloading is “the most stressful and disruptive parts of transport” whether that transport is by road or by air, and would increase “… stress and reduce their welfare, compared to an uninterrupted trip.”

That’s weirdly similar to arguments Canada’s beef sector was shouting from the rooftops five years ago, when more restrictive federal rules around food, rest and water breaks were introduced.

Prior to that, cattle could be on the road for a maximum 48 hours before a break, and those breaks only had to be five hours long.

The post Horns aren’t unlocking anytime soon on livestock transport standards appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Whether it’s guiding market hogs onto a truck or moving gilts through the barn, handling stock is an art that requires patience and know-how, said the production manager and animal handling specialist from Olymel. If it’s done incorrectly, it can lead to stressed animals, frustrated workers and even injuries.

Brooks spoke on the topic to a packed house at the Manitoba Swine Seminar in Winnipeg Feb. 5.

The basics of moving pigs

It’s natural for pigs to be skittish, he told the room; they view humans as a threat.

“As a prey animal, when a pig sees a person, they really are concerned with what we’re doing,” said Brooks. “They think we’re a lion and we’re going to pounce and eat them.”

Farmers should also keep in mind how pigs take in information about their environment. Their foremost sense is smell, Brooks said.

He pointed to stories he often hears from farmers about wind causing issues when loading pigs. The wind itself is not the issue, he said, the smells coming in with the wind are probably what’s agitating the pigs.

“It’s bringing the smell of the new sawdust. It’s bringing the smell of the truck driver. It’s bringing different things to the barn.”

Visual stimuli, in contrast, is much different for a pig than the human trying to move the pig. Pigs have poor depth perception due the the large snout between their eyes, he noted.

Use noise properly when moving pigs

Rattle bats and shakers are major tools of the trade for moving pigs, but there’s an art to using them effectively, Brooks warned. It starts with where to hold the shaker in relation to the animal.

“We actually want to be at the shoulder, which is behind the point of balance,” he said. “It doesn’t matter which side.”

Handlers shouldn’t “snow plow” pigs, he said, referring to a handling mistake when the pigs are pushed forward in a line too forcefully or in a way that creates unnecessary stress.

Using one video example, he displayed a producer emptying a nursery pen while properly working the point of balance.

“The pigs actually think they’re escaping. They’re having fun. They’re running down the hallway,” said Brooks.

In a subsequent video with pigs being improperly pressured, things were much less orderly.

“If I double the noise and I double the pressure, it might seem like they’re going to move twice as fast. But in reality, everyone’s panicking,” he said. “When loading pigs, especially market pigs or cull sows, always start with a rattle. We can set it down and get the prod if we need it.”

Moving gilts

It’s important to remember the predator/prey relationship when working with gilts, he said. Brooks pointed out that it’s common to see someone standing by the crate saying, “Come on, girl,” but in those situations, the gilt or sow is feeling threatened, not encouraged.

“We don’t need to stand there. We can stand back, and then we can apply that pressure,” he advised.

In farrowing pens, if a handler wants a gilt to turn left, they should touch it on the left side, and if they want it to turn right, touch it on the right side.

Crowd management while loading

When trying to move a group of pigs, Brooks said it’s important for handlers to approach the situation with a calm, steady hand.

They should also avoid tapping the front pig to get the line moving.

“Our front pig is our smeller pig. He’s checking out whether it’s safe. He’s seeing if he’s going to fall over the cliff,” Brooks said. “If I tap him, he’s going to come back to the herd.”

Tapping the front pig can also inadvertently force the second and third pigs backward, since the handler is reaching in front of their point of balance.

Instead, Brooks advised, attention should be directed to the pigs further down the line, applying pressure in a way that encourages forward movement.

Rushing pigs that are already moving is another mistake. This is especially true for older sows or market pigs, said Brooks.

“We got that old sow… If she’s going, let her go. If we start tapping her, she’ll spin and turn around. If the pigs are moving, let them move.”

Finally, paying attention to the sounds of the pigs is essential. If squealing or yelling begins, it’s an indication that the animals are under stress.

Working with truck drivers

The truck driver plays a key role when loading hogs, and it’s important to ensure they understand their part in the process, the room heard.

“Whether it’s feeder pigs, isoweans or markets, what makes it a long load is that one group of stupid pigs,” said Brooks. “And that truck driver has to fight with them on the stairs, has to get them up, or has to get them down in the belly.”

Brooks once again brought up the predator-prey relationship. The truck driver is a stranger. He smells different, and the pigs see him as a threat.

To mitigate that, the truck driver might want to take a backseat and stay out of view.

“Another trial we’re doing is getting truck drivers to wear sunglasses,” Brooks mused. “If we make eye contact, it’s fight or flight for pigs, especially as a prey animal.”

Brooks also stressed the importance of properly covering ramps. Shiny surfaces can confuse pigs, making them think there’s a hole in the ground because of their poor depth perception. Using materials like sawdust on the ramps provides traction and prevents the pigs from getting unnecessarily stressed.

Loading market hogs

When loading market-ready pigs, Brooks recommends a maximum of five or six large market hogs per group. Hogs have gotten bigger over the years, changing spatial needs.

“Six pigs, even four years ago, isn’t the same as six pigs today. Alleyways didn’t get bigger, but weights have gone up,” he said.

It’s also important to pay attention to the flooring and lighting. Slippery surfaces can cause pigs to hesitate or stumble. Regularly assess and clean the area between loads. If you’re handling multiple loads in a day, check that the ramps remain safe and clear.

Lighting plays a big role in how pigs perceive the loading area. Sudden shifts from light to dark can startle them.

“Shadows scare pigs because of their bad depth perception. So we don’t want shadows,” Brooks said. “Sometimes it means turning on the light. Sometimes it means turning it off.”

Another key consideration is gaps in the loading area. Brooks noticed that a small gap can quickly become a major issue. Using farrowing mats or custom-made gates to cover these gaps help keep the pigs moving forward without distraction.

“Moving pigs can actually be fun, or it could be the exact opposite of fun, depending on how we do it,” said Brooks. “I think this is one of those situations where we can have a win-win: a win for people doing it and a win for the owner of the company.”

The post Moving pigs without the stress appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Last year, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency unveiled proposed changes to Canada’s national livestock traceability rules, including a shorter window in which producers are to report animal movements and requirements for more geographical data.

In March 2023, the agency opened a 90-day consultation on the changes. Just shy of 11 months after the start of that window, industry now has the results of their feedback.

An online consultation on livestock traceability came back with widespread support for the general premise, but with concerns about tighter timelines for reporting and tag retention.

Last year, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency unveiled proposed changes to Canada’s national livestock traceability rules, including a shorter window in which producers are to report animal movements and requirements for more geographical data.

In March 2023, the agency opened a 90-day consultation on the changes. Just shy of 11 months after the start of that window, industry now has the results of their feedback. A “What We Heard” report recently published on the CFIA website summarizes 1,299 comments received from 778 submitters during last year’s feedback period.

Livestock traceability has been implemented in various forms across livestock sectors, with various degrees of benefit and cost to producers.

The proposed changes include adding goats and farmed cervids like deer and elk to the requirements and introducing movement requirements for all regulated species, which the agency says will set the stage for quicker response to disease outbreaks. Other proposals include a reduction in reporting requirements to seven days (from 30 to 60 days), requiring producers to report premises identification numbers and other requirements around animal indicators, including tags.

The CFIA also says it plans to modernize the way animals are identified to make indicators technology neutral.

While focused on the new rules, the agency said it also received many comments about tag loss, which the CFIA refers to as animal indicators. If a tag is lost, it must be replaced by the person in possession of the animal. The agency noted concerns about the high cost of tags.

Support

In April 2023, a farm group representing elk producers said it had no issue with being added to traceability requirements. The move would open market access doors and could ease transportation across Canada.

At the time, Manitoba Elk Growers Association president Ian Thorleifson said Alberta was already surpassing the proposed national requirements.

Reporting for elk is a patchwork across Canada, he said. He expected the new regulations to bring some standardization, although Canada’s elk traceability system may never be totally uniform.

“It’s going to be an interesting situation, but overall, it’s not hard to imagine how it’s going to work and I think it will work quite well,” he told Glacier FarmMedia at the time. “And it will be advantageous for producers.”

Technology-neutral terminology also got the green light from respondents, as did easier record-keeping requirements.

Pushback

Respondents still have concerns about the time required to adhere to some of the requirements.

Reporting times and licence plate numbers of vehicles involved in livestock movements would take too much work, some argued. Others pointed to the burden these rules would put on livestock fairs and exhibitions. Events run by small organizations might not have the capacity to meet new requirements.

As well, there were challenges raised around reporting the departure of pig carcasses and the date and time of departure for live pigs.

Selling or transfer of approved indicators (tags) to other parties could also be problematic.

Mixed reaction

Several other areas garnered mixed reactions, among them the amount of time required to report movement. Some thought seven days made sense, some wanted a longer time and some a shorter time.

There was some support for veterinary clinics to report movement of livestock to and from the premises, but others thought the burden should be placed on livestock owners. An exemption for livestock imported for immediate slaughter also raised concern that the practice might open an avenue for animal disease.

And while there was support for identifying young meat goats, some people were concerned with the burden of that requirement due to the low market value of the animals.

Next steps

The CFIA said it will go back to stakeholders to find solutions to the concerns. The agency says it plans to publish final amendments to the new traceability regulations in 2024.

– With files from Alexis Stockford

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That was among the topics tackled as the House of Commons standing committee on agriculture released its report on challenges facing the livestock transport sector.

The report, “Striking a Balance: Electronic Logging Device Requirements Impacting Animal Transportation,” drew on input from witnesses across the transport supply chain.

In 2021, amendments to the Commercial Drivers Hours of Service Regulations required long-haul transport drivers to install electronic logging devices (ELDs) in their vehicles. These devices were meant to ensure compliance with laws on how many hours a person can drive.

At the time, witnesses said the system had issues specific to livestock transport.

Hours of Service rules allow drivers to keep driving in emergencies, even if they’ve hit their time limit. But, the report notes, there are no specific provisions for emergencies regarding the health and well-being of animals.

It is now up to individual law enforcement authorities to determine if an animal welfare situation merits emergency status. This raises concerns for drivers, especially if authorities are not familiar with livestock transport.

One proposed solution is to introduce clearer guidance for enforcement officers to evaluate livestock-related situations.

“Our sectors and our drivers want reassurance that a threat to animal welfare is deemed an emergency situation,” National Cattle Feeders’ Association vice-president Cathy Jo Noble was quoted as saying in the report, “and that the definition of ‘adverse conditions’ includes … situations such as being delayed at the border for a CFIA vet inspection or unexpected and unusual animal behavioural challenges.”

Recommendations also include allowing greater flexibility for livestock transporters at the beginning and end of their trips.

ELDs only record hours once a vehicle has reached a speed of eight kilometres an hour.

David Fehr, also of the National Cattle Feeders’ Association, said that threshold is low enough to trigger, even if the driver isn’t on the road.

“Whether you’re ready to back up to a chute and load, or you are just turning in and backing up, now your day has started,” Fehr said.

Other concerns outlined in the report include poor ventilation in stopped or delayed vehicles and longer journeys for transporters due to meat processing facility closures. It also recommended broader exemptions for producers who transport their own livestock, especially beekeepers.

The full report can be found at the standing committee’s webpage.

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Researchers found that rest stops had minimal impact on animal welfare. The biggest difference was in conditioned versus non-conditioned calves.

In the study, conditioned calves were weaned, vaccinated and adapted to a backgrounding diet for 18 to 26 days before the study started, while non-conditioned calves were weaned and loaded.

Researchers looked for indicators of reduced welfare based on both physiological and behavioural factors.

The post Conditioning key to transport success appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

It’s not an easy question to answer, because one of the biggest risk factors is stress, according to one Alberta researcher.

Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein, a beef welfare scientist at Agriculture and Agri-food Lethbridge, was one of the lead researchers in a recently completed four-year study of the question, funded by the Beef Science Cluster.

She told AFE recently that a highly stressed calf is the key ingredient in BRD, but that stress can come from a myriad of sources related to movement.

That can include weaning, change in diet, changes in location and commingling at an auction mart.

“All of these factors can increase stress and stress causes illness just like in humans,” she said. “Stress hormones have a negative effect on immunity. These calves are under high risk, particularly in their first month in the feedlot.”

“Even though scientists have been studying BRD for many years, it continues to rank as the number one health issue in Canadian feedlot cattle.”

It is estimated that the disease costs the industry millions of dollars a year.

BRD can also disturb the microbes that live naturally in the respiratory tract, allowing disease-causing microbes to flourish.

Schwartzkopf-Genswein said trips longer than 12 hours and extended periods between feed and water can increase stress, particularly in older or less fit cattle. But transport is not the only factor. Age and condition of the calves, and whether they come directly from the ranch or an auction mart can also impact the degree of stress the calves encounter.

Based on this Schwartzkopf-Genswein and her team designed studies to look at the impact of receiving zero, four, eight or 12 hours of rest in seven- or eight-month old calves that had been sourced directly from a ranch or auction mart. Some had been preconditioned and some had not. The calves experienced either 12 or 36 hours of transport. The team measured cortisol, a common stress hormone, and haptoglobin, an indicator of inflammation. They also measured white and red blood cell counts and recorded whether the calves were treated from or died from BRD in the first 30 days in the feedlot following transport.

Trevor Alexander, a microbiologist and BRD expert from AAFC Lethbridge, also partnered with the project. He collected nasopharyngeal samples from a subset of cattle used in the study so he could characterize the bacterial communities, known to be associated with BRD in the calves. He looked specifically at whether the calves had come from a single ranch or an auction market, and whether they had zero or eight hours rest following road transport. There were four treatment groups:

• auction calves given no rest,
• auction calves given eight hours of rest,
• ranch calves given no rest, and
• ranch calves given eight hours of rest.

With 40 calves per treatment, 12 calves were sampled for stress and immunity indicators and nasopharyngeal bacteria to get a better understanding of which factor caused the most stress and if that affected the amount and type of BRD-related pathogens present in the calves.

Alexander found the auction cattle were more prone to BRD than ranch cattle.

“When cattle were offloaded for a rest, several key bacteria associated with BRD increased for most sampling points after feedlot placement for the ranch-direct cattle group, compared to animals given no rest,” he said.

Cattle who had longer transport also seemed more prone to indicate BRD bacteria.

The results suggest that rest stops and auction markets may be risk factors for BRD, based solely on the increased abundance of BRD-associated bacteria in the upper respiratory tract.

“Unfortunately, we could not link these bacterial communities to disease and outcome because none of the calves got clinically ill with BRD,” said Alexander. Both researchers recommend that larger-scale studies need to be conducted to better understand the relationship between transport, rest, calf management and BRD risk.

Schwartzkopf-Genswein has conducted three separate studies on transport over the last four years.

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Opend Range Ltd. of Daysland was awarded the $20,000 grand prize for its Cowgo Loading System, which turns any cattle liner into a ground load trailer.

[RELATED] Long-haul transport rules not supported by science, says cattle sector

Made of aluminum, the ramp and side panels can be set up by one person in under a minute. The ramp pulls out of a sub-floor and the side panels fold out and attach to the ramp.

Precision AI took home the $5,000 Farmers Choice Award for its Precision Spray Drone System.

It was a good year for Agri-Trade, which mounted a full-scale show this year after having a scaled-down event last year, said officials.

“The sold-out exhibit space was packed with more than 475 booths,” show operations manager Krissy Fiddler said in a release. “Agri-Trade is back post pandemic, stronger than ever.”

Attendance was strong and there was a major contingent of international buyers, the release said.

“We had registered buyers from Ireland, Italy, Germany, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Kenya, the United States and Mexico,” said Rod Bradshaw, chair of the show’s industry advisory committee. “We also had exhibitors from Germany, Hungary and the United States.”

The post Alberta company grabs top prize at Agri-Trade’s innovation contest appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

That was the bottom line from a third study that explored a controversial change made by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency three years ago.

“That’s where we’re at,” said Reynold Bergen, science director of the Beef Cattle Research Council. “We’ve got regulations that require a rest stop, but we’ve got science that says it probably isn’t necessary and probably not beneficial. It may not hurt, but it doesn’t seem to help.”

The 2019 changes shortened the trucking time to 36 hours (from 48 previously) before cattle had to be unloaded and given feed and water at a rest stop. It also upped the length of the rest period to eight hours from five.

That “wasn’t a huge stress for the industry … (as) only a small percentage of loads were going 48 hours anyway,” but what “raised some eyebrows” was the lack of evidence supporting the change, said Bergen.

“There was zero evidence anywhere that providing a rest stop to cattle provided any benefit to transport,” he said. “We pointed that out and funded a study to see if there was any benefit.”

In response to industry concerns, the CFIA announced a two-year grace period where transport education was emphasized over enforcement. When that expired, it said enforcement would not be a priority for animals older than nine days as long as animal health outcomes were met and hauls were within four hours of the new maximum.

What the studies found

A 2007 study by federal research scientist Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein found that 99.98 per cent of cattle came off a truck in good condition after a short haul of less than four hours and 99.95 came off a truck in good condition from trips more than four hours long. A follow-up study had similar findings.

The third and latest study on weaned calves, a high-risk group, looked at the effects of a 12-hour trip versus a 36-hour one, comparing the differences when cattle had no rest stop, a four-hour rest stop, an eight-hour rest and a 12-hour rest. The cattle were then transported for another four hours.

Schwartzkopf-Genswein and a colleague at AgCanada’s Lethbridge research centre measured many variables including weight, behaviour, limping and alertness. They also took blood samples to gauge stress and energy levels.

“The first year, they found that short trips are easier for cattle to cope with than long trips, which was no surprise,” said Bergen. “Also, they found that there was actually no benefit to the rest stop. Regardless of how long that rest stop was, there was no consistent benefits. Very few of the things they measured showed any difference at all.”

The second phase of the study determined that pre-conditioned calves travelled better, but there was still no consistent benefit from a rest stop.

The researchers kept the CFIA informed of their findings. When it was suggested that four hours of travel after the rest stop might not be long enough, the researchers upped that to 12 hours.

“If you Google map it, it takes about 20 hours to get from Calgary to northern Ontario,” said Bergen. “From Thunder Bay, where the rest stops are, it takes about another 12 hours to get to the cattle feeding area in Ontario.”

So the cattle were hauled 20 hours, given either an eight-hour rest or no rest, and then put back on the truck for another 12 hours.

“They found that it didn’t matter. There was virtually no effect with transport rest stops,” said Bergen.

But there are two potential drawbacks.

“Loading and unloading are the most stressful parts of the journey, and we’ve just added an unloading and reloading of all those calves,” he said. “The other concern is that your calves aren’t the only ones at the rest stop. It’s like the auction mart – there are pens and pens and pens of calves. The risk of disease transmission can’t be discounted.

“I’m a little bit concerned that it might raise the risk of respiratory disease getting transmitted. Hopefully it’s just respiratory disease and not some heavily contagious foreign animal disease.”

What next?

“They are open to the discussion,” said Bergen. “The ball is in their court about what happens. The industry has always been pushing for outcome-based regulations.

“It’s good to have regulations, but the point of the regulation should be to ensure that the cattle are being protected.”

There are two options going forward. One is to reverse or reword the 2019 regulatory changes and another is outcome-based enforcement.

“If the cattle arrive at their destination and they are in good shape, good for you, no questions asked,” said Bergen. “If the cattle arrive at their destination and there are negative outcomes, there should be some questions, regardless of whether you’d followed all the rules or not.

“What will happen isn’t known yet. Hopefully this will be better explained as CFIA and CCA discuss this and reassess.”

Bergen said he isn’t aware of anyone who keeps track of how many cattle make the long haul from Alberta to Ontario.

“It depends so much on the price of feed and the price of fat cattle,” he said. “If it’s expensive to feed them here, they may be more likely to head out as weaned calves or backgrounders, and vice versa. In some cases, if there is a huge discrepancy in slaughter prices, they may move as fat cattle.”

The new transport guidelines require additional paperwork, which Bergen says producers should know about. The Beef Cattle Research Council outlined them in a May 19, 2022 blog post.

– With files from Glacier FarmMedia

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