It’s been a wild finish to a wild year in the beef market, with prices dropping off over the last few weeks from the record highs set in November. While feeder cattle futures dropped by the limit for five consecutive days in mid-December, producers should not lose sight of the fact there’s still strong fundamental... Read More
Category: Livestock
The number of people in British Columbia enjoying chicken or turkey for a Christmas dinner this week likely won't be impacted by the outbreak of avian influenza in the province, according to survey results released by Chicken Farmers of Canada on behalf of the poultry and egg industries today. The results show that British Columbians... Read More
In May of 2013 the United States Department of Agriculture notified the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) of an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in a small number of swine herds in the States. By January 2014, the virus had crossed the border, with the first case of PED confirmed on a farm in... Read More
The Saskatchewan Pork Development Board will receive up to $260,000 in funding towards research into Brachyspira hampsonii and vibriosis, announced Member of Parliament Brad Trost in Saskatoon today. Brachyspira hampsonii is a newly discovered bacterium, first identified in Saskatchewan in 2009. The symptoms of infection closely resemble those of B. hampsonii and lab tests are... Read More
A combined investment of up to $1.16 million to Pan-Provincial Vaccine Enterprise (PREVENT) was announced today in Saskatoon, by Member of Parliament Brad Trost (Saskatoon---Humboldt). The funding, provided through federal and provincial governments, will help PREVENT identify methods to slow the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a progressive neuro-degenerative disease endemic to wildlife populations... Read More
Dr. Stephen Koontz, of Colorado State University, is shining a light on a rather complicated, but incredibly important part of how cattle prices are currently set. Markets and marketing evolves over time, and the cattle industry is no different. Koontz says that the strong transition from a negotiated cash trade, to formula and forward pricing... Read More
The province of British Columbia has confirmed a tenth barn is infected with avian influenza. This news comes only two weeks after the province notified the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) of the detection of an H5 subtype in two barns in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, later identified as the highly pathogenic H5N2. Avian influenza has... Read More
Mixing alfalfa and sainfoin for a pasture stand has potential, as research scientists pointed out last week at the Western Canadian Grazing Conference in Edmonton. Sainfoin is a perennial forage legume. It was introduced to North America from Europe and Asia in the late 1800s and has since been used for both grazing and hay.... Read More
Could Johne's disease be lurking in your dairy or beef herd? It very well could be, and you'd potentially never know it, or most of your herd could be infected before you have a positive test. The same can be said for beef herds, so those of you with all types of cattle need to... Read More
On Friday, Montana state officials announced that a few thousand head of cattle had been quarantined, as a cow near the border of Yellowstone National Park has tested positive for brucellosis. Brucellosis was first introduced into North America by infected livestock brought in by European settlers. It’s a zoonotic bacterial infection with forms that affect... Read More