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EU backs plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance

Brussels | Reuters — EU member states backed a plan on Wednesday to combat antimicrobial resistance, an increasing global health issue, that would reduce the use of antibiotics in the food chain and limit certain drugs to humans. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effectiveness of medicines such as antibiotics to treat infections in humans, as bacteria […] Read more

Expect rising prices within the year after the industry consolidates around veterinary prescriptions.

Comment: The other shoe is about to drop on livestock drugs

Increased fees for veterinary product registrations is likely to result in higher prices

In case you missed it April 1 was the day the revised Compendium of Medicating Ingredient Brochures or CMIB was posted online by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to conform to Health Canada’s plan to combat antibiotic resistance in these vital drugs. The release of the revised CMIB starts the clock on bringing all antimicrobials […] Read more


A process to mass-produce penicillin was discovered by USDA scientist Andrew Moyer, shown here in his lab in Peoria, Ill. (Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

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

preparing a livestock vaccine

SCA members have their say on livestock antibiotic regulations

Associations: News Roundup from the March 2018 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

A short list of resolutions presented at the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association (ACA) annual meeting in Saskatoon focused on incoming regulations for antibiotics in livestock and wildfire prevention. Some members were clearly worried by the new requirements that a vet-client relationship be established before drugs are prescribed for livestock. The meeting agreed that the SCA should […] Read more


Understanding the new drug regulations

Understanding the new drug regulations

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

New regulations governing the purchase and use of antimicrobials (antibiotics) necessitate time spent between veterinarians and producers. Everyone has an opinion. Phrases like “prudent use,” “veterinary-client-patient-relationships,” “veterinary-pharmaceutical stewardship,” “veterinary oversight,” and “documented evidence” pepper the pages of government, academic and veterinary documents issued around antimicrobial use. There is a new vocabulary to be learned, the […] Read more

Farmer With Vet Examining Calf

New drug regulations require adjustment

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

No issue over the past 15 years occupied more space in agriculture, veterinary or public health-related press than antimicrobial resistance (AMR). No single topic appears more often on conference and seminar agendas than topics addressing the use, abuse and prudent use of antimicrobials in humans and animals. Petitions, a plethora of committees of every description, […] Read more


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Talk to family, friends about farming

This holiday season Melodie Chan wants producers to avoid what she calls the “spiral of silence,” which can happen around the dinner table, over beers or even in the gentle lull between turkey and pie if farmers don’t speak up when they hear misinformation about agriculture. “What are we afraid of?” asked Chan, speaking at […] Read more



Peritonitis in cows and its causes

Peritonitis in cows and its causes

Health: In acute cases, a post mortem is critical to help determine the cause

Peritonitis refers to the inflammation or infection around the peritoneum which is the inside lining of the abdomen. Any infection involving the abdomen receives the nondescript description of peritonitis. This could be an infection around the intestines, stomachs, liver or uterus in cows and heifers. What is most important here is there are many causes […] Read more

Andrea Stroeve-Sawa is the manager of Shipwheel Cattle Feeders near Taber, Alta.

She’s the boss now

Management: Andrea Stroeve-Sawa is the manager of Shipwheel Cattle Feeders

She can’t say she’s surprised when people walk over and ask if the boss is around. After all the feedlot sector is dominated by male operators, but Andrea Stroeve-Sawa couldn’t be prouder as the fourth generation to carry on the Shipwheel brand to say, “you’re talking to her.” She admits that it was a little […] Read more