feedlot cattle

Performance-improving product approvals for livestock

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

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

Post-doctorate fellow, Katie Wood says the benefits to monensin held true at the 48 mg/kg rate.

The trials and troubles of feeding monensin to cattle

It works just as well at the new higher rate, just be sure you are feeding the correct rate

Now that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has raised the safe rate for monensin to 48 parts per million per kilogram of dry matter from 33 ppm, Dr. Katie Wood wanted to know if the proven benefits to feeding monensin still held true at this higher rate. Monensin is an ionophore that increases overall […] Read more


(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Canada now avian flu-free

With no new cases in poultry since April and no farms in quarantine since July, Canada has officially declared itself free of avian influenza. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday it has informed the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE) that Ontario is free of notifiable avian flu. No new outbreaks of highly pathogenic […] Read more

Prepping for the politicians

Prepping for the politicians

A few notes from the CCA’s semi-annual meeting

Late last month the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association published a political wish list on behalf of the beef industry for candidates running in the federal election. You can find it on the CCA website. The week before that document came out I had a chance to hear some of the background discussions that went into setting […] Read more


cattle in a feedlot

Tight numbers a concern for livestock marketers

The bloom may soon come off the rose for record-high cattle prices as economic indicators in the United States suggest a coming slowdown in consumer beef demand. That was the message from commodity market analyst Jerry Klassen to the Livestock Market Association of Canada’s annual convention in Winnipeg earlier this summer. A roaring bull market […] Read more

Recent bison deaths in North Battleford caused by anthrax

Recent bison deaths in North Battleford caused by anthrax

Disease has a highly rapid onset in cattle resulting in sudden death

With high temperatures and drought, cattle and bison are at a higher risk of anthrax. Two bison deaths northwest of North Battleford, Saskatchewan have recently been confirmed as caused by anthrax, and seven others are suspected. Producers are encouraged to keep a watchful eye and to refresh their memories on what to do when anthrax […] Read more


cow eating feed pellets

NCFA three-pronged strategy sees cattle feeders looking forward

News Roundup from the April 2015 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

The National Cattle Feeders’ Association (NCFA) has adopted a three-pronged strategy that zeros in on research, growth and sustainability for cattle feeding in Canada to improve the competitiveness of the industry. One step in this plan is a study by Noblepath Strategic Consulting scheduled for completion late this year that will outline the potential for […] Read more

cow in a feedlot

CCA Report: COOL decision set for May

2015 CCA annual general meeting sees president and vide-president affirmed by acclamation

March was a busy month with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) 2015 annual general meeting (AGM) in Ottawa. I am pleased to report that myself and vice-president Dan Darling were acclaimed to our roles for another year. It is a great honour and tremendous privilege to serve the CCA and I thank the board for […] Read more


Comment: The system works

Our BSE protective curtain is on show with Case 19

Just when we thought we were slipping out from under the weight of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) it pulls us back in. I’m pretty sure every cattle producer and anyone connected with the beef industry clinched when they heard another positive cow had turned up in Alberta last month. After four years of negative tests […] Read more

Dr. David Westaway

Making headway on prion diseases

The search for answers about how BSE and other TSE prions work is still ongoing at the Alberta Prion Research Institute

As the Alberta Prion Research Institute (APRI) enters its 10th year it seems as good a time as any to look back on what has been learned and what it sees ahead in the prevention of prion diseases. Set up by the province in 2005 in response to the disaster brought down on the cattle […] Read more