Canadian farmers and ranchers held 11.1 million cattle and calves on Jan. 1, up 2.5 per cent from one year before. Inventories rose across all categories of cattle. Beef heifers for breeding were up 4.8 per cent and beef cows were up 1.9 per cent.

Producers held 3.6 million calves, 4.3 per cent more than a year prior. This was mainly due to a 42.7 per cent increase in international imports of calves between July and December.

In the last six months of the year, slaughter of cattle and calves fell by 6.5 per cent to 1.6 million head, StatCan said. International exports dropped by 8.9 per cent to 361,300 head. Despite decreases, feeder and slaughter cattle prices climbed to record highs over the latter half of 2025 on global demand.

Hog inventories down

Canadian hog farmers reported 13.9 million hogs on farms as of Jan. 1, down 0.8 per cent from one year prior. They reported 1.2 million sows and gilts — up 0.4 per cent. The number of boars was unchanged at 15,300 head.

The pig crop for the second half of 2025 rose by three per cent year-over-year to 15.2 million. StatCan attributed this to an increase in demand from processors and international trade.

International exports of live hogs were up eight per cent year over year at 3.5 million head. Hog slaughter rose by 1.8 per cent to 10.9 million head.

Sheep and lamb inventory up

Canadian sheep and lamb inventories rose by three per cent year over year to 833,000 head.

The sheep breeding herd was up 2.2 per cent as inventories of ewes and replacement lambs both increased. Ram numbers were stable.

Sheep and lamb slaughter fell by 2.9 per cent year over year between July and December. Average producer prices for slaughter lambs fell well below those in the previous six months.

Between July and December, international exports of live sheep and lambs rose by 19.5 per cent to 4,900 head.

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Why it matters: Free trade is critical for Canadian farmers, as much of what they produce is exported.

“We feel the current agreement is a good one and we’d like to see it continue as is,” said Keith Currie, Canadian Federation of Agriculture president, adding the request includes signing it for the original 16-year completion date without weakening its provisions or introducing any changes that negatively affect the agricultural sector.

“It’s really important to make the job of governments harder to ignore us when we are together as an industry.”

Signed by 98 Canadian food and agricultural value chain organizations, the letter mirrors one signed and submitted to Congress by 124 United States food and agricultural value chain organizations in October for the 2026 Joint Review of CUSMA public consultation, placing pressure on both governments to respect the agriculture industry’s support for the agreement.

Highlighting CUSMA’s instrumental role in building a stable, integrated and thriving North American agricultural market, the letter highlighted specific areas Canadian farmers, ranchers and processors would like to remain untouched.

“We are calling on governments to maintain the agreement’s SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) provisions, which have improved transparency and ensured science-based treatment of agricultural products—protecting plant and animal health,” the letter states. “The continuation of science-based regulatory cooperation is critical to ensuring timely access to agricultural innovations.”

It also reflects full support for the Chapter 31 dispute settlement provisions designed to resolve “barriers that otherwise disrupt market stability and growth.”

Political and geopolitical events of the last decade are shifting the narrative, making it necessary for Canada’s 260-plus commodities, along with Mexico and the U.S. agricultural sectors, to support one another, Currie explained.

The letter said that between 2005 and 2023, CUSMA tripled the value of North American agriculture and agrifood trade to the tune of approximately C$400 billion (US$285 billion).

Currie said the three countries are aligned through a shared language, goals and collaborative relationship-building to strengthen and improve the sector.

“We all need each other’s help, and we can’t get this across the finish line unless we’re all pushing in the same direction,” he explained, adding all three countries are aligned through a shared language, goals, and collaborative relationship-building to strengthen and improve the sector.

“When the deal is all done, I would certainly be happy with an advantage for our farmers, but I don’t want to see it come at the detriment of either my colleagues, my farmer friends in the U.S., or relationships between nations.”

Currie said consumers now have a better understanding of agriculture and the agri-food industry’s role in driving Canada’s economy forward, gaining a clearer perspective on what food security means to them.

A recent Nanos poll asking Canadians to rank the government’s top two priorities for countering U.S. tariffs found that agriculture ranked first with 29 per cent, and 19 per cent ranked it as a secondary priority.

Automotive was second, with primary and secondary priority ratings of 24 and 18 per cent, respectively.

Provincially, Prairie provinces showed 42 per cent agricultural support. In comparison, automotive garnered 18 per cent, while others saw agriculture gain 26 to 28 per cent as the primary priority and automotive from 14 to 24 per cent.

Ontario was an outlier, ranking automotive as the primary with 35 per cent and agriculture at 24 per cent. Softwood lumber was the top concern in British Columbia, with 35 per cent, and second in Atlantic Canada at 24 per cent.

“(Consumers) want to make sure the government understands that they recognize agriculture is important,” explained Currie. “That helps us now go to the government and say, ‘Look, this is in the national interest. Food security is important. Economic security is also important, and agriculture wants to be part of the team.”

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Cache Valley virus is a mosquito-borne disease which was first discovered in Utah’s Cache Valley in 1956. It has spread across North America over the decades, posing a threat primarily to producers in regions with significant mosquito populations.

It primarily affects sheep, but it has also been found in other small ruminants such as goats.

No vaccine or treatment exists for Cache Valley virus, which can cause abortions and stillbirths in small ruminants such as sheep.

“We’ve seen producers lose up to 30 per cent of their lamb crop in a single season,” said Saskatchewan-based veterinarian Heidi Dubé, while speaking at the Alberta Sheep Breeders Association symposium in Camrose in October.

“The virus can cause extreme birth defects, including scoliosis, fused joints and neurological complications.”

The virus has been found to only impact pregnant sheep in the first 48 days of pregnancy. Dubé said that although about 65 per cent of sheep which have been tested show exposure to the virus, it is only those in the early weeks of pregnancy that are vulnerable to its effects.

“Non-pregnant ewes or sheep that are pregnant beyond that 48 days typically don’t show any clinical disease at all and are typically able to mount a very good immune response to the virus and have no impact on the pregnancy whatsoever,” she said.

“However, in the case of a pregnant ewe during her first trimester, the virus could cross the placenta to infect the fetus, resulting in the symptoms of abortions, stillbirth, congenital defects and so on.”

Steps for prevention

Dubé said there are certain types of mosquitoes that are known to be more likely to carry Cache Valley virus, but studies have shown that more and more varieties of mosquitoes are being found to carry it as well.

There is no vaccine for prevention, and Dubé says there are none on the way. But other steps can be taken to try to prevent infection in sheep.

Since the virus is solely spread through mosquito bites, the first option would be to adjust your operation’s breeding season to early spring or late fall to avoid mosquito season altogether.

If that is not feasible on your operation, managing standing water in the area could play a large role in minimizing the mosquito population on your property.

“Standing water that doesn’t get disturbed at all is your highest source of mosquitoes. Draining all your water pails or emptying your tire swings or any other source of standing water is worth thinking about,” Dubé said.

“The basic gist is that wherever you can reduce any standing water, I would encourage you to do so.”

Testing infected fetuses

Diagnosis of the virus remains challenging, with most detection occurring through postmortem examination of aborted fetuses.

Dubé said it would be beneficial for producers to have their fetuses or stillborn lambs tested for the virus. At worst, it would give the producer peace of mind that another more serious issue is not present in their flock.

“What I have found when I’ve tested, I really like the elimination of diagnosis.”

Human transmission

Cache Valley virus can be transmitted to humans, although it is rare.

Symptoms in humans are generally flu-like, so human transmissions of Cache Valley virus often go unreported.

Future outlook

Dubé said there are really no expectations for a vaccine or treatment for Cache Valley virus on the horizon. But the hope is that, with time, ewes will be able to develop an immunity to the virus.

“There’s lots of questions about it that we don’t have answers for right now. I think there’s a lot of hope that they get long-term immunity to it, but we really don’t know yet,” she said.

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With increasing interest in renewable energy and as vast solar arrays are installed, farmers are paid considerable lease money for the use of their land, municipalities get a much enhanced tax base, and as livestock and crops are produced under what can be hundreds and sometimes thousands of acres of solar panels, it provides another revenue stream for the farm. And these solar farms can produce renewable energy that can help power aspects of the provincial economy such as the relatively new industry — AI data centres. And with permanent forage production the operations helps to sequester carbon as well — many wins on the agrivoltaics score sheet.

“I believe that agrivoltaics is a diversification opportunity that could be the saviour of many family farms in Canada,” says Patrick Gossage, president and board chair of Agrivoltaics Canada. That is an organization that represents all players involved in a relatively new niche area of farming.

What is agrivoltaics? Agri, refers to agriculture and voltaics (pronounced as vol-tay-icks) refers to producing energy. It is the system of producing crops and livestock under an array of solar panels.

Producing power from solar panels first appeared in Canada on a limited basis during the energy crisis of the 1970s. Fast forward a few decades, and as the cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for electricity generation declined and interest in renewable energy increased, over the past 10 to 15 years there has been greater interest in producing power through solar energy.

But as these solar projects have been proposed on sites ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand acres, there was also criticism they were often taking valuable farmland out of production. “Solar energy is not the boogeyman,” says Gossage. “And that’s the message we want to get across to all levels. Properly managed, these solar power projects can actually enhance and increase agricultural production and become diversification projects that can save family farms.”

Gossage pointed to a research project, organized by Agrivoltaics Canada on an Ontario farm of only 150 acres (fairly typical size in Ontario) that was at risk of being sold. While the “agricultural component” of most agrivoltaics projects involves livestock or honey bees for honey production, for this project the design and layout of the solar array was adjusted to create more room between the rows of solar panels. The plan is for the farm to use its existing equipment to seed and harvest soybeans and grain between the solar panel rows.

“This producer will be earning money from the lease of his land to the solar developer,” says Gossage. “And they’ll also be able to produce a crop on the farm as well. The lease itself will provide four times the return per acre than most commodities and the farmer will still be able to produce a crop.”

Gossage notes while the Ontario provincial government has ruled that solar power projects cannot be developed on prime agricultural land, that does not rule out the value of including agrivoltaics in projects to improve returns to each farm.

While most provinces have some solar power projects, Ontario and Alberta are really the major players in the solar power generation in the country. One report published in 2024, showed there were nearly 100 large commercial solar projects in Canada ranging from 150 to 3,400 acres in size. These were either operational or in development. Alberta had about 54 projects, Ontario about 37 projects with one or two each in Saskatchewan, B.C. and Prince Edward Island. For those projects where acres were cited, a partial list covered well in excess of 200,000 acres.

In Alberta, Jason Bradley, a long-time manager of a 350 head cow-calf operation near Sundre and former farm manager at Olds College is now CEO of a multi-partnered consulting company — Sun Cycle Farms — providing a range of services to the solar energy industry.

He is a strong proponent of regenerative agriculture and extends that philosophy to regenerative agrivoltaics.

“Alberta has a number of solar power projects producing power and several more in the development stage,” says Bradley. “With agrivoltaics there is a tremendous opportunity for farmers to be involved, diversify their operations and still keep agricultural land productive.”

He notes that renewable energy companies will pay at least $700 per acre per year just to lease the land for solar projects. If the producer is also interested in providing vegetation control under and between solar arrays that can be worth another $200 or more per acre. And on top of that the farmer has opportunity to raise different classes of livestock on the solar farm project to further enhance the revenue stream.

As of 2024, Alberta mandated all solar power projects over 10 megawatts (about 60 acres) must have a “farm first” plan for projects developed on Class 1 and 2 agricultural land. That means the project must include a viable agrivoltaic component. Sun Cycle Farms can provide a range of services. They work with companies to design the solar array installation, so it is well suited to accommodate farming activity. They will work with the company or farmers to provide and manage the agrivoltaic component itself. And when possible they welcome the opportunity to operate the solar plant as well as the agrivoltaic component.

“It is critical that the power plant and agrivoltaics be in collaboration with each other,” says Bradley. “Depending on the activity, the angle of the solar panels may need to be adjusted from angled, to table top, to cathedral (upright position) to accommodate grazing livestock or field operations with equipment. It helps if we can be in control of both to be able to manage timing as needed.

“Farming with agrivoltaics requires a paradigm shift in thinking for producers. With the solar installation in place, the agriculture component has to be managed within a high voltage, industrial power plant, in the midst of screw piles, cables and transformers. It is a different environment.”

Bradley is a strong advocate that solar power projects should be installed on prime agricultural land, providing farmers the best opportunity to optimize returns through agrivoltaics.

While sheep are commonly used to provide vegetation control, Bradley says projects can also include pigs, or poultry, as well as crops such as fruit and vegetable production. He also noted a research project underway involving a solar power installation owned by the town of Cardston in southern Alberta where cattle are being grazed among the solar panels. Olds College is actively involved in researching agrivoltaic options and practices.

Eric Steeves, part of the family owned Yetwood Farms near Lomond in southern Alberta is part of the Travers Solar Project — the largest solar power development in Canada. Part of their grain farm along with several other nearby family farms have leased a total of 3,400 acres to a development that includes more than 1.3 million solar panels.

Steeves was proactive in the early planning stages and diversified their farming operation to include sheep as the agrivoltaic component of the project. They currently pasture about 2,000 ewes on the solar power site and plan to ramp that up to 8,000 head over the next few years.

“This Travers project has proven to be an excellent diversification for our farm and for several other farms involved in the project,” says Steeves. He says those dryland acres included in the solar project are now earning $900 per acre or more per year just in lease payments and vegetation management fees and that doesn’t include the returns from lambs produced as the agrivoltaics component.

He noted that the County of Vulcan is also reaping the benefits. The 23 quarter sections covered by the Travers Solar Project would have generated about $10,000 in tax revenue for the county strictly as cropland, but now the solar project on that land is providing the country with $3.5 to $4 million per year in tax revenue.

“And as the province is interested in attracting new developments such AI data centres which require a great deal power, these solar energy projects could provide a renewable energy source for those type of industries,” says Steeves.

“Alberta had the foresight more than 100 years ago to develop irrigation for farming in southern Alberta and look at the contribution it is making to the agriculture industry today. We need to dream big in this province. These solar power projects provide a great deal of opportunity to farmers, to communities, and to the provincial economy while keeping agricultural land in production. We need to dream big and encourage more of these projects.”

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It certainly wasn’t an overnight process, and it involved a steep learning curve, but Steeves says being involved in Canada’s largest renewable energy, solar power generation project has been a game changer not only for his family’s Yetwood Farms, but for several other family farms in the Lomond area, about an hour north of Lethbridge.

The system of grazing sheep (or really any agricultural activity) under arrays of solar panels is known as agrivoltaics. For most that is not a household term. Agri of course relates to agriculture and voltaic (pronounced vol-tay-ick) refers to some process that generates electricity. You put them together and the term refers producing an agricultural commodity under these solar fields. Agrivoltaics is a relatively new concept to Canada, but has been used with solar power generating projects in the United States and other parts of the world for many years.

The Steeves family were just regular grain farmers, cropping about 6,000 mostly dryland acres of grains and oilseeds when they were approached in 2017 by Calgary based Greengate Power Corporation asking if they would make land available for a solar power project.

“I thought the first phone call was a joke,” says Steeves. “Some sort of scam as they were talking about a large solar project. There was a second call and I said if this is legitimate why don’t you come here and have a meeting with the people to properly explain the project.” So they did. Starting in July 2017, the company met with several farm families in Lomond during a number of meetings, which resulted in contracts being signed in October 2017.

That was the beginning of the Travers Solar Project “a trail blazer among solar power projects in Canada,” says Steeves. The project itself, today the largest solar project in Canada, involved installation of 1.3 million solar panels in arrays covering about 3,400 acres of farmland. The Steeves family has about nine quarters or 1,440 acres being leased to the project, while several nearby farm families leased another 14 quarters or 2,240 acres to Greengate.

It took about two years for the company to obtain all necessary permits. Construction started in 2020 and the project was completed and producing power by late 2022. The $700 million project is designed to generate 465 megawatts of electricity which in general terms is enough to power more than 150,000 homes.

So how did the Travers Solar Project benefit Yetwood Farms and the other producers who leased their land to the project? First of all are the lease payments from the energy company. Depending on the project, lease rates can range from $700 to $1,200 per acre per year. On top of that if the landowners are contracted to look after vegetation control — keep the grass and weeds cut under the panels — that can be worth another $200 to $400 per acre per year.

“When we looked at the project, here we are farming in the Palliser Triangle — the brown and dark brown soil zone — and on average our net return from crop production would be around $70 per acre,” says Steeves. “That’s an average. Some years better and during several years of drought conditions we could collect crop insurance which was less. Whereas on those acres leased to the solar project a person can potentially earn from $900 to $1,600 per acre just to have the project there. We saw getting involved with the solar project as an excellent opportunity to diversify the farm. With mostly dryland crop production and years of drought, this project has perhaps saved our farming operation, along with other family farms in the area.”

But, don’t these solar projects take good farmland out of production? Not at all. That’s were agrivoltaics kick into gear. When these large solar projects were first introduced in Alberta, for example, the asset owners wanted the bare ground underneath the solar arrays covered with forages. But it was soon realized that the real risk to these solar panel arrays wasn’t hail, although that can be concern, but potential for grass fires that could wipe out the whole operation. Hence the need for vegetation control.

There could be mechanical means for removing the forages, but with spacing of 21 feet between solar arrays and only about four feet of clearance under the panels when they are in the table top position, mowing and perhaps even baling the forage for removal would require specialized equipment.

For vegetation control in other solar projects around the world, grazing livestock — namely sheep — under and around these solar panels was a common practice.

“My dad had raised pigs at one time and we did run some cows at different times years ago, but I had zero experience with sheep,” says Steeves.

In preparation for the providing vegetation control for the solar project under construction, Steeves bought 50 sheep in 2020. He wanted to get some idea of what it was like to manage sheep.

“I soon realized that sheep are a lot different than cattle and for a project this size I was going to need some expert help with management,” he says. Steeves did some research, located an expert on sheep, a professor specializing in small ruminant livestock, who was managing a ranch raising sheep and goats connected with the University of Mexico, in Mexico City. He was interested in working on the Yetwood Farms project. In late 2023 he moved to Alberta and has been managing the flock.

Today, Yetwood Farms, which is managing the sheep and vegetation control for the entire Travers Solar Project, is running 2,000 head of breeding females. The plan is to increase that to 3,500 ewes over the next year and within five years grow the flock to about 8,000 head. They have built lambing facilities as well as feedlot for finishing lambs. The plan is to manage the flock so it is producing lambs on a year-round basis. Lambs are finished to an average of 130 pounds and marketed through the Westpine Meats processing plant at Innsifail in south central Alberta.

Steeves says when the flock is fully stocked, it has potential to produce about 13,600 lambs per year, with a total carcass weight of about 850,000 pounds of meat. If the price averages about $5 per pound that meat has a total value of $4.25 million. Along with land lease rates to farmers, agrivoltaics provides further return to producers through sale of agricultural commodities such as lamb.

Interestingly, the wool from the sheep has no value as a fibre. As sheep are shorn annually all wool, which is high in nitrogen, is mixed with manure and composted, with the compost applied to the Yetwood Farms annual crop acres. The farm hires contract shearers to shear the flock. Shearers are paid about $6 per head. A shearer with proper technique can shear up to 30 sheep per hour.

While sheep is a very common commodity for agrivoltaics, he says there are many options. There are a number of research projects across Canada, including Olds College, looking at the potential to produce poultry, hogs, beef cattle, hay and even annual crops under properly designed solar projects.

The sheep flock at Yetwood Farms is managed in an intensive rotational grazing system. The ground beneath the solar panels has been seeded to a forage blend. Right now the flock is divided, with 1,000 head of sheep grazing on about 60 acres and moved weekly. As numbers increase there will be multiple flocks moving through the field of solar panels. With rotational, mob grazing, they are able to run two to two and a half sheep per acre for the grazing season. With more extensive grazing management in the early days, carrying capacity was in the 0.8 to one sheep per acre range.

Steeves says the farm did invest in a low-profile Avant 860i loader which can travel between the arrays. It can be outfitted with a boomless sprayer to apply herbicide. For seeding they also have a small custom built air seeder that works between the solar arrays.

“If we have bare ground the air seeder is probably the best way to get grass established,” says Steeves. “But in areas were we want to renew or add forage species we found the best approach is to hire a drone applicator, apply the seed by air, then turn the sheep on to that area to graze. The hoof action of the sheep works the seed into the soil.”

Shade from the solar panels provides the sheep shelter from the sun and also creates a micro-climatic zone under the arrays, that suits forage production.

As they tried to establish forages during dry years in some areas the kochia took over before the grass. Some areas of the pasture areas were at one time 85 per cent kochia and 15 per cent grass. But through grazing management and seeding where necessary those percentages have been reversed. “We do have a couple areas of foxtail that we will address with herbicide, but for the most part forage production is trending in the right direction,” he says.

Steeves says the agrivoltaics project has been an intense learning experience. “When we started nine years ago, it really was the wild, wild west,” he says. “There were no guidelines, or regulations. We had to learn this system from scratch and we are still learning. There were a number of pain points as we went along, but the fact is that the benefits far outweigh any pain we experienced. It is a diversification opportunity that could benefit many farms.”

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The small device, known as the imPulse Una, is an infrasound to ultrasound AI stethoscope.

“The technology was invented by Level 42 AI in the Silicon Valley in California,” said Yaogeng Lei, research scientist at the Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production at Olds College.

In 2022, Level 42 AI opened their Canadian branch in Edmonton at the University of Alberta. They named it Vibrome Canada and decided it would hold all the company’s intellectual properties for animal research.

After Olds College connected with Vibrome Canada, the two struck a deal to collaborate on trialling the technology for sheep.

“The first time when they came over to visit us and they showed us the technology, it was very cool for us to look at,” said Lei.

From sound to ultrasound

Infrasound refers to sound waves below the frequency of human hearing, while ultrasound waves are high frequency.

It’s that higher sound frequency window that most think of when it comes to medical imaging of soft tissues, whether in a sheep or a person.

The imPulse Una, however, runs a much wider range. It tracks acoustic signals from the infrasound to the ultrasound, including both audible and inaudible vibrations. From there, the system’s artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithm makes sense of the sound patterns. All information is transferred to Vibrome via the cloud.

Data collected from the vibrational frequencies can be linked to the animal’s health, physiology and age.

“But all this work needs a lot of data collection to build the model first. What we are currently working on is the initial data collection,” he said.

Practical applications

The college and company first set their eyes on using the technology to detect barber’s pole worm.

“It’s a very important parasite infection in sheep, in the small ruminants,” Lei said.

Mature worms live in the stomach of sheep and goats, suck on the stomach membranes and drink the animal’s blood. If there’s enough of them, the animal becomes anemic.

“In severe cases, the animal would drop dead,” said Lei.

This typically happens in the early spring, when worms from the previous year wake from hibernation and continue to mature.

They can also become an issue for young lambs who go out on pasture and pick up the parasite.

“If they ingest enough worms, they could also have a severe reaction,” the researcher noted, adding that, even in less severe infections “the animals would still suffer from production loss because they must fight with the parasites, who create wounds in their stomachs.”

One University of Calgary study also noted burgeoning treatment challenges. After testing 20 sheep farms, the study found an alarming number of barber’s pole worms already resistant to dewormer.

Lei said this indicated a need for better parasite management plan for sheep flocks. Currently, there are only two approved dewormers for sheep in Canada.

The trial, which put the imPulse Una to work looking for signs of infection, verified results with blood and bowel markers to identify parasite infections.

Sheep were separated into four groups. Two groups were a control, while the others were inoculated with barber’s pole worm larvae. Of the two inoculated groups, one group was left untreated, while the other one was treated with dewormer on day 28.

Before that treatment, though, researchers pulled out the imPulse Una.

“We collected (data) for 10 animals from each group in December,” said Lei.

The AI stethoscope gathered data from five locations on each animal: the heart, lungs, neck, stomach and intestines.

Results showed the device was able to distinguish infected ewes from non-infected ones on day 28.

Researchers followed up their data collection on day 35, 42 and 56.

The research team then looked at ewe pregnancy checks. It was Lei’s thought that, if the device could detect parasites in the stomach, it should also work for a fetus.

Those pregnancy check trials began last winter. Again, researchers collected vibrational signal data from different locations of the sheep’s body, including the neck, heart, lungs and regions where the fetus would be developing.

They then did ultrasound scans on the same animals in late January and early February to compare the accuracy of their AI machine learning model.

Researchers are currently collecting data on the end results of those pregnancies, such as lambing date and number of lambs from each ewe. They are still waiting for some animals to lamb.

Once they do, all the data collected will be shared with Vibrome to build linkages between the data and real-world results.

Farmers may one day be able to preg check their own sheep using the system. That would be a boon in an industry where there aren’t enough ultrasound techs or veterinarians to go around.

“I’m hoping the pregnancy check will be the first commercial function that the company can sell to farmers,’” Lei said.

Outside of livestock, the researcher noted, there’s implications for human health. The device could conceivably be used to detect preeclampsia and gestational diabetes in pregnant women earlier and more accurately.

The post Artificial intelligence powers sheep pregnancy and parasite detection tool appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

That was the message from participants in a demo held daily in the sheep handling area during Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show 2024.

Michael Richards raises a crossbred Dorset/Rideau flock of ewes and market lambs in Haldimand County.

He was component feeding when he started, feeding dry hay in the morning, top-dressing with grain later in the day, then ultimately cleaning out what was left over in the feed bunk and feeding it to beef cattle.

Seeking cost savings and less feed waste, he bought a Jaylor “mini” TMR mixer. The results have been even better than he expected. Richards told the Wednesday afternoon “Benefits of Feeding With TMR” demo attendees that his feed costs went from $1.50 per head per day to $0.43 per head per day.

Labour savings were also significant.

This came as no surprise to ruminant nutritionist Courtney Vriens. Operator of Arthur-based Vriens Nutrition Consulting, she works with both dairy and meat sheep producers across Canada to fine-tune their flocks’ rations.

“Sheep can consume all these feed components in a very efficient manner,” she said — but not if they’re given the opportunity to sort. If grain is top-dressed for sheep in higher production stages, acidosis risk can increase. But this is mitigated when that same amount of grain is included in a TMR.

Vriens added that TMRs can allow sheep producers to switch away from expensive pelleted feeds and instead use more home-grown or alternative feeds such as corn distiller’s grains.

For the demo, Jaylor supplied a self-propelled, 91 cubic-foot mixer powered by a Honda engine and three hydraulic wheel motors.

“This mixer is quite capable of moving around inside or outside the barn,” explained Ontario/Manitoba territory manager Jerry Van Oude.

Other options in the company’s mini TMR mixer line include stationary, truck-mounted, trailer, or skidsteer-mounted.

A mix of straw, haylage and grain corn was created for the demo. Richards explained he uses corn silage in his TMR for much of the year but currently is waiting for corn harvest. Instead, he’s currently using oatlage, dry balage and some concentrate.

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The case centres on events that occurred in November 2023.

RCMP say that sheep and goats were purchased at market and transported to rural properties in Mountain View County, Rocky View County and Wheatland County. Upon arrival, these animals were unlawfully slaughtered and meat was delivered to stores and residences in Calgary.

Cattle were also slaughtered, but the resulting beef was seized by investigators prior to arriving in Calgary.

Inspections were completed at the farm and store locations. Seven grocery stores were closed and two on-farm slaughter licences were revoked as a result. Four Calgary residents have been charged.

Raed Aljnar, 48, has been charged with failure to have animals inspected prior to slaughter, as well as selling, offering to sell, transporting and delivering uninspected meat, both charges under the Meat Inspection Act Provincial. He also faces charges of dealing livestock without being a licenced livestock dealer, contrary to the Livestock Identification and Commerce Act.

Waeel Alhamawi, 35, has been charged with failure to have animals inspected prior to slaughter, selling, offering for sale, transport and delivering uninspected meat, and dealing without being a licenced livestock dealer.

Amer Alhamawi, 35, has been charged with failure to have animals inspected prior to slaughter, selling, offering for sale, transporting and delivering uninspected meat, and dealing in livestock without being a licenced livestock dealer.

Tareq Alhamawi, 41, has been charged with selling, offering for sale, transporting of delivering uninspected meat.

The four are scheduled to appear in the Alberta Court of Justice in Strathmore on June 24, 2024.

To buy and livestock and livestock products within 30 days, a dealer’s licence is required.

For information on dealer licences, refer to Livestock Identification Services Ltd. Inquiries regarding slaughter and meat inspect can be directed to Alberta Agriculture’s Inspection and Investigation Section.

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Anne Hubbs, senior wildlife biologist with the Alberta government, says domestic sheep and goats can commonly carry a bacterium that can cause pneumonia and large-scale population die-offs of Bighorn sheep following close contact with an infected animal.

“There are no vaccines or treatments for wild sheep, so maintaining physical separation from domestic sheep and goats is very important,” Hubbs says.

The post Don’t let domestic sheep mix with Bighorns appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Alberta has risen to become the second largest sheep and lamb producing province, surpassing Quebec by 1,700 head on-farm as of Jan. 1. Ontario still holds the top position with 261,400 head. Except for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, all provinces reported a decline in inventory over the last year. StatCan attributes this to lower prices and increased feed costs.

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