| At any given point, there are more animals on the move in Canada than most of us realize.
Livestock – like cattle, sheep and pigs – travel our highways as they move from farm to farm or when they are sent to market. And because our food and farming sector is dealing with the same consolidation issues as many other industries across North America, these animals are spending more and more time on the road to get to where they are going. Continue reading Taking care of animals on the road Outbreaks of the deadly e.coli O157:H7 regularly make headlines – and this time, the headlines are hitting close to home, right here in Ontario. We also have a made-in-Canada solution to this ongoing problem, but we need the government’s help to implement it. Continue reading Solving the e.coli problem – gov’t listening? Do we care if our meat is made in Canada? It soon won’t matter, says a report by a Guelph-based agricultural think tank, because there may not be any. Continue reading Do we care if it’s Canadian meat? The following article was first published in Ontario Beef Farmer magazine, July 2008: It sickens thousands of people every year, killing some and leaving others with permanent health damage. But it doesn’t affect the animals that harbour and shed the bacteria, making the disease invisible to farmers. Now, a new, made-in-Canada cattle vaccine to reduce human risk of exposure to E.coli O157:H7 is coming onto the market in North America. But who should pay for this innovative new treatment? Continue reading A cattle vaccine with human health benefit – who should pay? If producers don’t survive, the rest of the industry won’t either. That’s the blunt message Canadian Pork Council president Clare Schlegel is hoping the government will hear loud and clear. The Canadian livestock industry has been battling an economic crisis since last summer, when Canada’s high-flying currency helped sink cattle and hog prices and drive up feed costs. Continue reading Our producers must survive | |