Blackleg is an acute, febrile, highly fatal disease of cattle, sheep and goats caused by Clostridium chauvoei characterized by swellings with pockets of trapped air that produce crepitation (crackling) over affected areas. Although blackleg can affect any muscle in the body, including the heart and diaphragm, heavy muscles of the front and hind limbs are […] Read more
Blackleg: A pasture nemesis
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
A vaccine that saved the cattle industry
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Blackleg, a disease of many ruminants, is universal. It is most commonly seen in sheep, cattle and goats. Outbreaks have been reported in farmed bison and deer. The acute nature of the disease makes successful treatment difficult. Although the efficacy of commonly used blackleg vaccines has been disputed by the occasional academic based on the […] Read more
Fake News: A chance to learn about forbidden places
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
The story appeared in the Scottish Sunday Herald, Saturday, March 31, 2018. “A group of Russian oligarchs is bidding to buy Gruinard Island off the northwest coast of Scotland. Gruinard is known as Anthrax Island after being used for testing biological weapons during the Second World War. It is uninhabited today due to fears of […] Read more
Livestock industry faces trouble ahead from vitamin shortage
Health: News Roundup from the May 2018 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
My all-time favourite TV show remains the 1990s comedy “Home Improvement,” and my favourite actor: Tim “The Toolman” Taylor (Tim Allen). Since the show aired three decades ago, I have crossed paths with remakes of every character in racehorse barns, in feed alleys, at stock shows across Canada, and in western Canadian branding corrals. I’ve […] Read more
Public trust is a ticket forward for the food industry
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
The economic, social and political environment around agriculture has changed. The public, particularly consumers, have influenced the landscape of food production in ways never before recognized. The closer an industry sector’s shift is toward the supermarket meat counter and grocery shelves, the more advanced is the call toward public reckoning about matters involving the food […] Read more
Good grazing means manage for what you want
Soil and grass health is vital to achieve sustainability in our cattle industry
For many, rangeland represents a tough, unresponsive “thing” that resists use and abuse with unlimited regeneration potential. Good cattlemen know that the actual restoration potential of rangeland and pasture is limited. Preservation and rejuvenation of rangeland must be carefully managed. Soil and grass health is an earmark for the cattle industry and a vital signal […] Read more
Preventing reproductive wrecks in cow-calf operations
Breeding: There are four important management practices to improve reproductive efficiency
Reproduction remains one of the most important factors affecting the success of cow-calf operations. The Beef Cattle Research Council’s (BCRC) recent webinar on Preventing Reproductive Wrecks served as an important reminder that the reproductive capacity of beef herds remains paramount to economic prosperity in cow-calf herds. In the words of Dr. Dan Posey, Texas A […] Read more
Vet Advice: New regs to preserve old and new drugs
I’m often asked why even older antimicrobials are still considered medically important to human medicine. The premise, right or wrong, is to preserve antibiotic effectiveness by reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance attributed to wholesale use in animal agriculture. While debate still rages over the impact new legislation will have on preserving antimicrobial effectiveness in […] Read more
Lapses in biosecurity create long-standing risks
Reducing risk of transmission of salmonella and other diseases
Salmonella bacteria have been isolated from nearly all vertebrates, and infections have been associated with both animal and human disease. Not uncommonly, foods of animal origin have been implicated as the source of human illness caused by salmonella. Typical signs of salmonella infection in cattle and humans include fever and diarrhea. Severe cases can result […] Read more
Cold and abomasal impaction
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Beef cattle on the Canadian Prairies are subject to considerable environmental stress during winter. Starting with the early days of ranching and arrival of U.S. cattle onto the eastern slopes of the Rockies through the mid-1800s, survival of the beef cow meant adaptation to prolonged cold temperatures. Cold and the groundless belief that cattle could […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
