In praise of water, and beavers

In praise of water, and beavers

It frustrates me as I travel around the country witnessing how human nature can be so misguided. Sometimes we can be short sighted and forget that we need to look at the big picture.  Even though we mean no harm, some of our agricultural practices can cause more damage than we think. Today, I would […] Read more

Check the quality of the water

Check the quality of the water

Close attention to water quality can result in far better gains and health for livestock. It is often left out of the equation when discussing ways to increase production, and the last thing checked in disease investigations. Since the bovine is generally very tolerant of poor-quality water obvious health concerns may not arise yet subtle […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Liberals, NDP say would clarify foreign takeover rules

Winnipeg | Reuters –– Canada’s Liberal and New Democratic parties, vying to replace the governing Conservatives in a tight three-way election race, both say they would clarify rules around foreign corporate takeovers if they win. Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, campaigning in Winnipeg on Tuesday, said foreign investors need clearer rules around takeovers. “(Conservative Prime Minister […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle mostly firm after choppy day

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures finished mostly firm on Monday after a volatile session stirred by bear spreading as investors sold the October contract and bought deferred months, traders said. They added that negative market fundamentals and anticipation of possible deliveries next Monday (Oct. 5) contributed to active bear spreading. […] Read more

Culicoides sonorensis. (Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Livestock seen threatened as biting insects press north

Bluetongue’s most recent appearance in the Canadian cattle herd may be a taste of what’s to come as insect species expand northward, a new study warns. Anna Zuliani, previously a graduate student in veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary (UCVM), recently published a paper on how geographical distribution of biting midges relates to the […] Read more


(UoGuelph.ca/Alfred)

Guelph animal science department rebrands

The Ontario Agricultural College’s department of animal and poultry science has hatched a new name meant to better take in the scope of its work. The new name, the Department of Animal Biosciences, “helps describe the department’s evolution from a livestock husbandry department in the 1870s to the highly dynamic and integrated department it is […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Sage grouse denied U.S. endangered species status

Commerce City, Colo. | Reuters –– A long-simmering debate in the U.S. West over an imperiled ground-dwelling bird reached a climax on Tuesday when the Obama administration announced it was denying Endangered Species Act protection to the greater sage grouse. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell touted the decision as a success enabled by a sweeping […] Read more


The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, built in Norway in 2008, is the world’s largest secure seed storage site. (Matthias Heyde photo courtesy Government of Norway via Flickr)

Syrian war spurs first withdrawal from doomsday seed vault

Oslo | Reuters –– Syria’s civil war has prompted the first withdrawal of seeds from a “doomsday” vault built in an Arctic mountainside to safeguard global food supplies, officials said Monday. The seeds, including samples of wheat, barley and grasses suited to dry regions, have been requested by researchers elsewhere in the Middle East to […] Read more