If foot-and-mouth reared its ugly head in Canada, the hope is to find it quickly enough to isolate it.

Comment: Is Canada ready for a foot-and-mouth outbreak?

Last column I outlined a brief history of the 1951- 52 foot-and-mouth outbreak around Regina, Sask. We haven’t had a foot-and-mouth outbreak in this country since, but it remains a global threat. The World Organization for Animal Health estimates that it affects 77 per cent of the global livestock population, circulating in Africa, the Middle […] Read more

It’s worth thinking about what our governments and industry are doing to minimize the risk of a future outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, given how widespread it remains globally.

Comment: A look back at foot-and-mouth in Canada

Foot-and-mouth disease has been a nagging worry for many in our beef industry. The proposed Canadian vaccine bank is regularly on the agenda at industry conferences and the animal health committee meeting during the Canadian Cattle Association AGM (and will likely be again next month in Ottawa). The prospect of a foot-and-mouth outbreak in this […] Read more


Reg Schellenberg on the ranch near Beechy, Sask.

Comment: Remembering Reg Schellenberg

I was shocked and saddened to learn that Reg Schellenberg died suddenly in December. He seemed to me like a man who had plenty of time ahead of him. While talking about Reg with a colleague, we wondered whether people fully appreciate how much people like him give to the industry through the boards they’ve […] Read more

Original painting "Memories" by Maxine Abraham, acrylic on canvas.

Comment: Memories

Perhaps this is because I’m a writer, but sometimes I like to think about the stories we tell ourselves. The stories we tell about our own lives, our families or even big, public events often hinge on our memories (which are subjective). Even our interpretation of other people’s stories may be coloured by our own […] Read more


The CFIA is defending its animal transport regulation changes which limit long-haul trips for cattle to 36 hours without a rest stop, down from 48 hours.

Comment: CFIA needs to recognize research on long hauls

I am not sure how the folks at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) looked at the recent research on rest stops for long-haul trips and concluded it supported the changes to transportation regulations, but they’ve done it. “The study summary on the BCRC’s website supports the current maximum allowed interval without feed, water and […] Read more

Comment: A lighted place

Comment: A lighted place

The way that democracy, consensus and justice works is very hard-come-by. And all through the history of our country, we have lunged and lurched, sprinted and sauntered through a forest of ignorance, hatred and bigotry and yet hacked out for ourselves a path towards a clearing, a lighted place, which — make no mistake — […] Read more


‘If a person wants to argue with strangers on the internet for the sake of arguing, that’s their prerogative. But we shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking that these kinds of flame wars change people’s minds about anything.’ – Lisa Guenther.

Comment: Respect

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again: Don’t feed the trolls.  Or, more specifically to our industry: Don’t bother arguing with animal rights activists online. I thought of this while checking out the Facebook comments on one of our features (Auction marts grapple with a shrinking herd and changing industry). Somehow the animal […] Read more

Jack Dawes listens as Germain Lehoux talks about his dairy farm during a Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation tour in Quebec in 2017. Lehoux’s daughter, Marie-Eve Lehoux, looks on in the background.

Comment: Where do you want to go?

There is no shortage of problems and issues to try to untangle, but focusing exclusively on obstacles isn’t helpful. We also need to set our sights on the direction we want to go. “Don’t look at the ground, or that’s where you’ll end up,” goes the old equestrian adage. We can chart a course by […] Read more


Alexander cuts the Gordian Knot, painting by Berthelemy ca. 1767.

Comment: Wicked problems and Gordian knots

Charlie Gracey references the Gordian knot in his article on the producer’s share of the retail dollar in our August issue of Canadian Cattlemen, and I’ve been thinking about it since I first read it.  The Gordian knot has its origins in an ancient Greek legend. An oracle predicted that the next man to drive […] Read more

blue green algae

Pond scum: blue-green algae and cattle

It’s a routine summer day of checking cattle, maybe repairing a bit of fence. Nothing too stressful, at least until you see the dugout you’re using as a water source for your cattle, which has algae in it. Now what? The first question is whether it’s blue-green algae, which can release toxins harmful to cattle, […] Read more