An obvious case of TTNS in both claws is shown here before toes are nipped.

Research focuses on flooring design as possible disease cause

Toe tip necrosis syndrome often misdiagnosed, and likely more common than had been thought: vet researcher

Toe tip necrosis syndrome (TTNS), a disease that causes lameness in the hind feet of cattle, has been overlooked for years said a veterinary researcher. “I think the disease has always been there and we’ve just misdiagnosed it,” said Murray Jelinski from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. […] Read more

Fed cattle are given highly fermentable grain diets that can increase the rate and extent of fermentation within the rumen and consequently the rate of acid production.

The far-reaching effects of rumen acidosis

It is a painful condition caused by eating too much highly digestible starch or sugar and can also decrease performance

Ruminal acidosis can be a painful condition for cattle and could lead to other problems like ruminitis, laminitis or liver abscesses. Acute acidosis can occur when cattle consume too much highly digestible starch or sugar. It is often seen among feedlot cattle but it can also affect the cow-calf sector. It is an animal welfare […] Read more

Caitlin Woolcott, right, is a recent graduate of University of Guelph now working for New Life Mills. She offered encouragement to current Masters student Logan Patterson, left. Woolcott was a Research Symposium presenter in 2017, also as part of a multi-study, three-year project tackling poultry euthanasia.

Managing poultry euthanasia

A large research project is looking at how farmers can finetune the humane death of poultry on their farms

Poultry producers across North America should soon have access to expert advice about the most practical, effective ways to deal with euthanasia on their farms. Why it matters: In both the U.S. and Canada, the past decade has seen enhanced regulation related to on-farm euthanasia, driven largely by a desire to decrease the potential for […] Read more

Animal science professor Red Williams, shown here in 2000 touring the old University of Saskatchewan barn with University of Wyoming research scientist Mary Humstone, died March 26 at age 93. (Usask.ca)

Animal science professor Red Williams, 93

Memorial services will be held “at a later date” for renowned Prairie animal science professor Charles “Red” Williams, who died Monday at age 93 leaving a legacy of work in livestock care and ag extension. Williams, born in Regina and raised on farms in Saskatchewan and Alberta, served in the Second World War on the […] Read more



Crop scientists Kirstin Bett and Bert Vandenberg examine lentil plants.  Photo: Derek Wright for the University of Saskatchewan

Crop research partnership maps two lentil genomes

A partnership between University of Saskatchewan (U of S) crop scientists and genomic big data company NRGene of Israel has successfully sequenced two wild lentil genomes—the largest legume genomes ever assembled. In a Nov. 8 news release, the U of S said the research was part of the $7.9-million Genome Canada-funded “Application of Genomics to […] Read more

Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt and Baljit Singh, dean of veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary, tour the UCVM’s Spy Hill campus. (Gov.ab.ca)

Alberta to reallocate veterinary school funding

Alberta is set to gradually pull its $8 million in annual funding from the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) and instead expand the vet school at the University of Calgary. The province announced Thursday it will expand enrolment for the University of Calgary’s Veterinary Medicine program (UCVM) from 130 students currently […] Read more

(Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Field testing underway on Canadian PED vaccine

Field testing is underway and a corporate partner on board for development of a made-in-Saskatchewan vaccine to protect pigs against porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). The University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) said Monday its prototype vaccine, first announced last year, has moved into field testing in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Manitoba […] Read more


(CWB photo)

Red pens come out for postmortem report on CWB era

A researcher working for a group calling for the return of single desk marketing misinterpreted data in former Canadian Wheat Board annual reports to conclude the board paid lower rates for shipping grain. Several sources, including a former Canadian Wheat Board director, say University of Saskatchewan Ph.D. candidate Laura Larsen used an inaccurate comparison in […] Read more

(Jack Dykinga photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Genetic codebreaking on wheat years ahead of schedule

Sequencing the infamously complex genome for bread wheat — a game-changing task for wheat breeding that’s been estimated to take four or five more years — may now just take another couple of years, following a milestone announced Wednesday. The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC), a team co-led by Canadian researchers, announced Wednesday it […] Read more