Reading Time: 2 minutes The province is giving more money to train large-animal vets, standing pat on its funding of ag research, and apparently making big gains in cutting red tape. The most eye-catching ag-related item in the Alberta government’s Feb. 24 budget was the pledge of $59 million over three years for “infrastructure to expand the veterinary medicine school […] Read more
Expansion of Alberta’s vet college hailed as ‘bold investment’
Pledge to give U of Calgary $59 million for expansion is a major ag item in provincial budget
The simple act of taking a temperature is a powerful health aid
A reading can be a warning, a sign that treatment is working or can define how sick an animal is
Reading Time: 3 minutes All of us in cattle production need to have thermometers and take the temperature of animals we are treating, especially when it comes to respiratory disease. Normal bovine temperature is 38.5 C to 39.5 C (or 101 F to 103 F), which is higher than for humans (or horses). While you as producers are very […] Read more
The cattle sector benefits enormously from a wide array of vaccines
There is a large number of vaccines for cattle — here’s a primer on key ones and their use
Reading Time: 3 minutes Healthy cattle production relies on good vaccination strategies. The general public is now hearing about efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, two doses of vaccine, storage and the logistics of transport. We are now hearing about supply issues. With a single-dose vaccine of 66 per cent efficacy, is that worse or better that needing two doses to […] Read more
Lessons learned on the farm apply to the pandemic
Maintaining herd health has taught us about the same good practices being used to combat COVID
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association designates the first week in October every year in order to increase awareness of veterinary involvement with all animals. Every year there is a theme and this year’s is most appropriate. It is Animal Health + Human Health + Planet Health = One Health. One Health really encompasses the entire […] Read more
New vet school dean brings a lot of expertise — and an entourage
Reading Time: 4 minutes The new dean of the University of Calgary’s vet school arrived with a lot of new ideas — and two dogs, an Icelandic horse, a donkey, a pony, four children and one husband. “They are family members,” Renate Weller said of the four-legged emigrés. “We have had the donkey and his two companion ponies for […] Read more
The pandemic taught us many lessons in the animal health field
The supply chain stayed strong and co-operation made it stronger, and that’s very important
Reading Time: 3 minutes The direct contact between veterinarians and producers and pharmaceutical reps and technical services veterinarians has begun to open up again. Each pharmaceutical company had different restrictions on travel and rules on in-person contact and, of course, are fully abiding by the local health rules of the different provinces. The good news is that during the […] Read more
AMR a battle that producers and the beef sector cannot afford to lose
Antimicrobial resistance in cattle isn’t going away, so proper use of livestock drugs is critical
Reading Time: 5 minutes There’s a microscopic war raging in your soil, and these bacteria will do whatever it takes to protect and expand their territory. “It’s like a little arms race that goes on naturally in the environment,” said Reynold Bergen, science director for the Beef Cattle Research Council. “They’re using antibiotic resistance to defend themselves against each […] Read more
Being tense and temperamental may not be good for a cow’s health
The way cattle exit the chute could be an indicator of their chances of falling prey to a disease
Reading Time: 3 minutes Can your herd health improve if you know how to spot and cull the temperamental cattle? That’s what Diego Moya Fernandez is hoping to find out. “We are not trying to look for happy or sad cows,” said the assistant professor and researcher at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. “When I talk about temperament, […] Read more
Don’t be fooled into thinking a ‘closed herd’ is an excuse for inaction
Transmission can occur from wildlife, via spores or breeding bulls, so be proactive
Reading Time: 3 minutes In my travels, on calls or when talking to other veterinarian’s producers, I still hear some hide behind the proverbial ‘I don’t do that because I have a closed herd.’ It is an absolute misconception that because a herd is ‘closed,’ it is protected. That is a very broad statement and may apply to a […] Read more
A horse’s immune system can’t be taken for granted
Our understanding of the immune system has evolved past the war-on-germs analogy
Reading Time: 3 minutes In horses, as in humans, the immune system is a powerful biological force. Most of the time, it works so effectively that its true value is often overlooked, even minimized. The traditional view of an immune system is as an army poised for the simple eradication of pathogens. While accurate, this description vastly oversimplifies immunity. […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
