Reading Time: 2 minutes He’s helped pioneer the development of vaccines used by livestock producers worldwide, and now he’s the first Canadian to be named a World Agriculture Prize Laureate. Lorne Babiuk, world-renowned virologist and vice-president of research at the University of Alberta, was awarded the prestigious prize in recognition of his lifetime achievement. “Vaccines, whether for producers or […] Read more
U of A researcher first Canadian to win major international award
Lorne Babiuk, vice-president of research at University of Alberta, has helped develop six vaccines and made major contributions to animal health
Deadly cattle condition called fog fever returns to the Prairies
Cases of fog fever, a type of pneumonia that causes severe cattle mortality, have been recently diagnosed in Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes Fog fever — a condition that causes cattle to suddenly drop dead — has returned to Alberta and Saskatchewan. “Fog fever isn’t extremely common” said Nathan Erickson, a veterinarian and assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan. “Some of these old diseases, we start forgetting about them because we’ve managed our way out of them. […] Read more
University of Saskatchewan develops vaccine for PED
Reading Time: < 1 minute It has taken Saskatchewan veterinary researchers less than a year to develop, test and prototype a vaccine for PEDv, a devastating hog disease that has killed more than eight million pigs and cost pork producers $400 million worldwide. PEDv hit the United States in 2013 and spread to Canada in 2014. It was first discovered […] Read more
Field testing underway on Canadian PED vaccine
Field testing is underway and a corporate partner on board for development of a made-in-Saskatchewan vaccine to protect pigs against porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). The University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) said Monday its prototype vaccine, first announced last year, has moved into field testing in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Manitoba […] Read more
Working with horses offers a lifeline to vets
Alberta-based equine therapy program teaches veterans how to communicate with their loved ones
Reading Time: 3 minutes Horses can be a mirror for human behaviour — act aggressively or refuse to communicate and it will let you know. “You can lie to a human, but you can’t lie to a horse,” said Steve Critchley, co-founder of Can Praxis, an Alberta-based equine therapy program that uses horses to help Canadian military veterans and […] Read more
New Swedish machine slices problem weeds down to size
Organic grain growers have been snapping up CombCut machines ‘like crazy’
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new piece of machinery is helping crop growers control broadleaf weeds on their farms — especially on organic operations. “Organic growers are buying these CombCut machines like crazy,” said Steve Shirtliffe, a professor of plant sciences at the University of Saskatchewan. “There’s a real buzz in the organic farming community. I’ve never seen equipment […] Read more
Researchers join forces to dig deep into state of Prairie cow herd
The five-year project has researchers collecting hard data on topics such as antibiotic use, trace minerals, and Johne’s disease
Reading Time: 3 minutes Cattle in Western Canada tend to be deficient in copper, have a low incidence of Johne’s disease, and cow-calf producers don’t use antibiotics excessively. Those are three of the findings from the cattle health network, a five-year project begun in 2012, and based on the National Animal Health Monitoring System in the U.S. “This year […] Read more
Take care to remove or properly chop netwrap
Cattle will eat netwrap and this can lead to reduced gain and even, in some cases, sudden death
Reading Time: 2 minutes Should you be worried about cattle eating netwrap? The short answer is, maybe. Like twine, cattle will eat netwrap and it can accumulate in the rumen and cause impaction and bloat. The buildup, even if not severe enough to cause noticeable health issues, can reduce voluntary feed intake by three to five pounds a day. […] Read more
Red pens come out for postmortem report on CWB era
A researcher working for a group calling for the return of single desk marketing misinterpreted data in former Canadian Wheat Board annual reports to conclude the board paid lower rates for shipping grain. Several sources, including a former Canadian Wheat Board director, say University of Saskatchewan Ph.D. candidate Laura Larsen used an inaccurate comparison in […] Read more
Nasal spray vaccine more effective against BRD than injection
Reading Time: < 1 minute Vaccines for bovine respiratory disease are more effective when administered via nasal spray than injection, according to a University of Saskatchewan study. Dr. Philip Griebel’s study found vaccines administered at branding (age three to six weeks) and at weaning (age six to seven months) were more effective when given via nasal spray. “Intranasal vaccination at […] Read more
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