Antibiotic resistance threatens the effective prevention and treatment of disease in both humans and animals. When microbes are exposed to an antibiotic, those susceptible to that antibiotic die out. Those resistant to it survive, thrive, reproduce, pass on their resistance genes to their descendants and become more common. If those surviving bacteria cause disease, then […] Read more
Fast action at the watering hole
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
Examining feed wheat in feedlot diets
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
Over the past 20 years, Canada’s barley acreage has shrunk by nearly 155,000 acres annually, while both wheat (up 440,000 acres annually) and corn (up 300,000 acres annually) have grown. A smaller barley supply has prompted Western Canadian cattle feeders to look at alternate grain sources. Cattle feeders in Central Canada and the U.S. have […] Read more
Do transport rest stops put calf health at risk?
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency revised the Transportation of Animals regulations a few years ago. Among other things, the revised regulations require longer and more frequent feed, water and rest stops during long-haul transport. Over the past few years, this column has summarized three research trials conducted by Dr. Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein’s team at Agriculture and Agri-Food […] Read more
Taking some of the guesswork out of winter feeding
This column usually focuses on research projects funded by the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) through the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off that producers pay when they market cattle. But most individual research projects are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Some of them may look interesting on their own, but they’re almost always a lot […] Read more
M. bovis, repeat offender
Police describe the suspect as being in his twenties with shaggy brown hair, wearing a black hoodie, white sneakers, blue jeans and a green backpack. He is known to associate with members of a criminal gang. If that was me, I’d be quick to cut my hair short, dye it gray, grow a distracting moustache […] Read more
Record collectors unite: There’s power in numbers
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
Ranching without records is like travelling without a map. Records tell you where you’ve been and where you are. Connecting those dots tells you where you’re heading. If you don’t like that destination, records can help you decide how to adjust your management. When producer records are combined, you can tell where you are with […] Read more
Succession planning in the world of research
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
There’s been a lot of talk about succession planning in agriculture recently. Succession planning is just as important in research. Here’s an example. Surya Acharya started with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 1989. He and his teammates developed two new cicer milkvetch varieties (AC Oxley II and AC Veldt), two sainfoins (AAC Mountainview and AAC […] Read more
Forages offer protection from flooding
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
Manitoba’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre predicted a major risk of spring flooding along the Red River a few days before this column was written. Spring floods are an annual concern in Manitoba. High precipitation, heavy soils and a flat topography mean that floodwaters can spread with devastating consequences, especially when ice jams prevent meltwater from flowing […] Read more
Improving alfalfa’s flood and drought tolerance
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
One of last year’s research columns bemoaned the fact that only four out of 119 alfalfa varieties registered in Canada between 2012 and 2022 had been developed in Canada. The rest were from China, Australia or the U.S. Since then, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has approved nine more varieties originating from Washington, Wisconsin, […] Read more
Can Canada reduce dark-cutting discounts?
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
When cattle are severely stressed before slaughter there’s an increased risk that the rib-eye will remain dark red instead of blooming to a bright red colour. This phenomenon is called dark cutting. Extremely dark fresh beef isn’t visually appealing to consumers and has a shorter shelf life, so Canada’s grading system assigns these carcasses to […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
