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Tag Archives livestock diseases — page 3

Dr. Robert Van Saun told Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week attendees that without adequate nutrition, small ruminants face increased risk of late pregnancy metabolic disease, like pregnancy toxemia and milk fever.
Livestock

Ways to identify and prevent pregnancy toxemia in small ruminants

Intake, not percentage, matter when feeding to prevent metabolic disease

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Producers of small ruminants must pay close attention to a pregnant dam’s nutritional needs, especially those with multiples. That was the message given by Dr. Robert Van Saun, Pennsylvania State University professor and extension veterinarian, to Goat Day attendees at Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week. Without adequate nutrition, Van Saun said small ruminants face increased risk […] Read more
The rules around a response to a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak are beginning to shift.
Livestock, News

Push increases for foot-and-mouth vaccine bank

Producers tell federal government that a pound of preparedness is worth an ounce of FMD cure

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If Ontario had an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, the financial and mental health consequences would be catastrophic. “There’s $130 million worth of agriculture goods moved back and forth across the (Canada-U.S.) border each day. If there was an outbreak in southwestern Ontario and we were shut down, it would be in the millions, if not […] Read more
News

Opinion: One Health approach gaining ground, and it’s about time

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I don’t always agree with Sylvain Charlebois has to say, but I do agree with him on one thing — that avian influenza deserves more attention than it has been receiving. In a commentary written less than two weeks before Christmas titled “Let’s Talk Turkey”, the professor in food distribution policy and senior director of […] Read more
A male lesser scaup at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center in Maryland. This bird was not part of new research. Photograph taken in 2017.
News

Study tracks wild bird infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza

First-of-its-kind study looks at how the virus may be spread by wild birds

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Glacier FarmMedia – For the first time, scientists have tracked the movement of a wild bird known to be infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza in North America. The new research, led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), may improve estimates of when and where the virus could spread in the environment and to other birds. […] Read more
Farm Health Guardian CEO Rob Hannam, centre, with customer support coordinators Alicia Boakes, left, and Adam Black, right, at the Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show innovation award ceremony.
Livestock, News

Digital biosecurity software attracts local, international attention

Ontario-based Farm Health Guardian improving communication for farmers during disease outbreaks

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Disease prevention and responding quickly in case of an outbreak are two critical components to keeping livestock healthy, borders open and food on grocery store shelves.  An Ontario company has developed a series of tools to help the agriculture sector do just that, and their innovations are turning heads on both sides of the Atlantic.  […] Read more
The goal of Semex’s enhanced Immunity+ is to take disease traits from all different publicly-available sources.
Livestock

The next incarnation for dairy disease resistance

Immunity+ traits from Semex are now incorporated into genetic indices, with broad application across the herd

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Dairy customers of Semex now have a more in-depth decision to make if they aim to increase the resistance of their herd to disease, thanks to an updated version of the Canadian bovine genetics provider’s Immunity+ program. Until now, Semex bulls have been listed as either having Immunity traits or not. In the company’s recently […] Read more
File photo of piglets at a hog operation in China. (KuLouKu/iStock/Getty Images)
Livestock

Federal funding lined up for programs, planning against swine fever

Two-year package to go toward pork industry work

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The federal government is putting up an eight-figure funding wall to help prevent African swine fever from ever reaching Canada’s hog farms — and to prepare against any breach. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Aug. 26 the government will provide up to $45.3 million toward a three-pronged effort to boost disease prevention and preparedness: pork […] Read more
Tim Dumonceaux points at an air sampler that was used in the AAFC booth at Ag in Motion. Samples were collected so event attendees could test them for sclerotinia.
News

Hunt for disease pathogens goes even smaller-scale

AAFC scientists are developing biological assays that can be used to detect crop and livestock diseases

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Researchers at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research centre in Saskatoon are developing molecular diagnostic assays to detect significant pathogens associated with crops and livestock production. Biological assays are methods for assessing the presence or biological activity of a substance in living cells and biological matter. Tim Dumonceaux of AAFC said many pathogens are […] Read more
File photo of chicks on a genetic map of a chicken. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)
Livestock

Feds back poultry disease insurance planning

Three industry organizations have been earmarked for $1.2 million in funding

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The federal government has announced $1.2 million for insurance against poultry disease outbreaks as Canada continues its battle with bird flu. Until earlier this month, no new cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza had been found in Canadian domestic birds since June 18. As of Aug. 1, Alberta and Quebec have reported positive flocks. Why […] Read more
Climate change is changing the biology of wild birds and their migratory patterns, which means avian influenza is arriving sooner, as seen this spring in Ontario. Migratory birds are arriving in North America earlier, and staying longer. Some species including Canada geese have decreased their migration away from Ontario.
News

Lessons learned from the H5N1 outbreak

Changes to disease response must be considered as climate change means the virus will continue to be a threat

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Canada’s poultry sector has seen relatively minor repercussions from an ongoing global outbreak of highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (AI) but panelists at the recent Health Day hosted by the Poultry Industry Council (PIC) agreed that changes to disease response must be considered if the industry wants to avoid future harm. That’s largely because this strain […] Read more

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