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cattle herd
Beef Cattle, Research

The environmental hoofprint of Canada’s beef industry

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

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Our industry is maligned for producing greenhouse gas. Practically every living organism produces greenhouse gas, even plants, but cattle produce more than other livestock because rumen bacteria produce methane as they digest feed. Additional greenhouse gas comes from manure (methane and nitrous oxide) and fossil fuel use (carbon dioxide). However, like the industry’s “water footprint,” […] Read more
feedlot cattle
Beef Cattle, Research

Performance-improving product approvals for livestock

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

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Last month’s column summarized a North Dakota State University research project where young female pigs were fed burgers made from tofu or beef from naturally raised or implanted cattle to see whether they reached puberty sooner. They didn’t. That is no surprise, because researchers, pharmaceutical companies and government regulators invest a lot of time, effort […] Read more
These little piggies ate a quarter-pounder a day
Beef Cattle, Research

These little piggies ate a quarter-pounder a day

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

By
Does eating beef from implanted cattle cause young girls to reach puberty sooner? Hormonal growth promotants have been used in beef cattle for a long time. The newest one (trenbolone acetate) has been around for nearly 35 years, while implants containing estradiol have been around for 60 years. Growth promotants improve growth rates and feed […] Read more
rain bubbles
Beef Cattle, Research

Blame it on the rain, not the beef industry

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

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This summer has seen unusual rainfall patterns, low river levels and drought in large parts of Western Canada and the Western States. Some people blame water shortages on the beef industry and are ready to answer the question, “how much water does beef production use?” Unfortunately, these answers are often wrong, highly misleading and based […] Read more
Conjugation, and what it means for antimicrobial resistance in livestock
Beef Cattle, Research

Conjugation, and what it means for antimicrobial resistance in livestock

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The federal government’s CIPARS program studies E. coli in healthy cattle entering packing plants and in retail ground beef. Its surveillance shows that resistance to antimicrobials of the highest importance in human health continues to be very rare in these samples, and multi-drug-resistant bacteria are even less common. The risk of consumers being exposed to […] Read more
Improving transportation of calves
Cow-Calf, Research

Improving transportation of calves

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In 2007, Alberta Beef Producers funded a transportation benchmarking study led by Dr. Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lethbridge Research Station. The research team surveyed over 9,000 loads and close to half a million cattle commercially transported to, from and within Alberta over an 18-month period. That study was completed in 2009 and […] Read more
Stretch winter feed supplies with care
Livestock, Research

Stretch winter feed supplies with care

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Winter feed will be a scarce and costly resource in much of Western Canada this year. Use it carefully, because the management decisions you make now will impact reproductive and economic performance for at least two years. Research conducted 25 years ago by P.L. Houghton and co-workers at Perdue University (J. An. Sci. 68:1438) demonstrated […] Read more
There is no evidence that ionophore use in livestock increases resistance to other antibiotics that are important in cattle or human medicine.
Beef Cattle, Research

Are ionophore antibiotics a risk for antimicrobial resistance?

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Last month’s column talked about Health Canada’s initiative to phase out growth promotion claims for medically important antibiotics by December 2016. This will impact three antibiotics (tetracycline, sulfamethazine and neomycin) that have growth promotion claims in beef cattle in Canada. It will not affect ionophore antibiotics like Rumensin, Bovatec, or Posistac. Ionophores are used widely […] Read more
calves and cattle in a feedlot
Beef Cattle, Research

Do antimicrobial growth promoters for beef cattle really improve performance?

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Ionophores (Rumensin, Bovatec, Posistac) are not medically important because the ionophores approved for use in cattle are not used in human medicine. Other antimicrobials used in livestock are medically important. Concerns around antimicrobial resistance in both human and veterinary medicine have led to increased scrutiny regarding how medically important antimicrobials are used in livestock production. […] Read more
cow eating alfalfa forage
Beef Cattle, Research

Will late-summer swath grazing maintain alfalfa?

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Background: Numerous studies have shown that maintaining 40 per cent alfalfa in a forage stand is the most economical way of improving soil fertility, forage yields and animal grazing performance. Unfortunately, alfalfa drops below the 40 per cent threshold level after several years of grazing. Alfalfa drops out of perennial pastures partly due to over-use […] Read more

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