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Dairy testing for bird flu expanded in Canada

Non-clinical dairy cattle eligible for funded testing

On June 17, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency updated their guidance for private veterinarians on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The update noted the expanded eligibility for testing, and that the CFIA would cover lab test fees at any Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Network (CAHSN) lab that is approved to test samples in domestic animals. The agency will not, however, pay veterinarian fees for sample collection or shipment to the lab.

If you’re thinking about making some changes to your operation, we have a few suggestions for where to go for ideas.

Comment: Finding opportunity

— There is opportunity within complexity. It was a remark that caught my attention during the Canadian Cattle Association’s screening of Reduce, Reuse, Ruminate in late April and was uttered by Robin White, who holds a PhD in animal sciences and is an associate professor at Virginia Tech. The film focused on the feedlot sector’s […] Read more


Photo: ARS/USDA

U.S. livestock: CME hogs rally after contract lows; cattle futures jump

Chicago | Reuters – Lean hog futures rallied at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Friday after falling earlier to contract lows under pressure from increased U.S. production. Cattle futures also climbed. A rise in wholesale prices for U.S. pork helped trigger the turnaround in hogs, analysts said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture priced the pork carcass cutout […] Read more

To defer income under LTD, the breeding herd must have been reduced by at least 15 per cent.  Photo: Canada Beef

Feds announce early livestock tax deferral

Livestock producers in drought-affected areas are getting and early livestock tax deferral (LTD) for the 2024 season. The federal government said the situation has become more challenging for producers due to climate change, when announcing a list of regions eligible for the deferral on June 14. The LTD allows producers in designated areas, who were […] Read more


A Gelbvieh bull grazes on a pasture

Davidson Gelbvieh and Lonesome Dove Ranch bull sale

Purely Purebred, news from the June 2024 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Davidson Gelbvieh and Lonesome Dove Ranch celebrated their 35th anniversary bull sale with a great crowd at their sale facility near Ponteix, Sask., on March 1. Eighty-six purebred yearling Gelbvieh bulls (red and black) sold for an average of $6,762. Many longtime repeat customers joined several new buyers in the stands and there was an […] Read more

Photo: iStock/File

U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures retreat as wholesale US pork prices sag

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures backpedaled on Thursday from a one-week high reached during the previous session, while live cattle futures strengthened. Hog futures eased after wholesale U.S. pork prices pulled back from a jump on Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture priced the pork carcass cutout at $97.02 per […] Read more


Ergot is best recognized in the field as black or dark purple sclerotia sticking out of a floret.

How the problem of ergot in cereals was solved in Alberta

In the story of ergot in wheat, barley and oats, the answer was simply ‘copper’

Glacier FarmMedia – When I was first hired by Alberta Agriculture as a diagnostic plant pathologist, I was told I would be primarily responsible for barley, oat, wheat and canola diseases. I was also asked to head up the provincial control program for bacterial ring rot of potato. The bacterial ring rot program, run in […] Read more

Test tubes labelled “Bird Flu” and eggs are seen in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023.
 Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File

Two dozen companies working to find bird flu vaccine for cows, US agriculture secretary says

Reuters – Twenty-four companies are working to develop an avian flu vaccine for cattle, as the virus spreads among U.S. dairy herds, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters on Wednesday. Bird flu has infected 90 dairy herds across 12 states since late March, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Three dairy farm workers […] Read more


corn cob in a husk

Forage and feed at Ag in Motion

I’m interested in knowing what farmers and ranchers are focusing on, especially given the recent drought years. Rejuvenating drought-stressed forage stands? Trying cover crops or something else new to them? Stockpiling feed and forage for the next drought? Something else entirely?

Photo: File

Cattle producers wary of grasslands conservation proposal

Glacier FarmMedia – Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association members want the Canadian Cattle Association to press pause on its Grasslands Conservation Initiative until it can better communicate its plan. Several resolutions about the initiative were debated during the SSGA annual meeting June 11 and while some were defeated members did approve one calling on CCA to […] Read more