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Look for snow on cattle’s backs

At Farm Animal Councils across Canada, we frequently get calls from people driving by farm properties asking questions about the farm animals they see living in the fields. One common theme of questions we receive this time of the year is about animal housing in the winter – specifically, can cattle live outdoors in the winter. This article does a great job of answering that question – OFAC

Chatham Daily News, Friday, January 15

Look for snow on cattle’s backs
Posted By KIM COOPER
Posted 8 hours ago
 
As the winter season is here in Chatham-Kent, let’s look at cattle being left outside during these cold months. For this article, the words cattle, cows, herd, and livestock all mean the same thing. I would like to thank Mike and Joanne Buis of Buis Beef here in Chatham-Kent for their assistance in writing this article.

Like all mammals, cows are warm-blooded and need to maintain a constant core body temperature. Special management and planning is required for cattle to graze outdoors in the winter. For this to be successful, producers select the proper breed of cattle and create the proper conditions for the winter season.


Posted by OFAC on January 18th, 2010 :: Filed under Animal care, Beef cattle, Canada
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Farm families have special Christmas traditions

December 24, 2009 – In the spirit of Christmas, we don’t think this article could say it any better. The author, Jeanine Moyer, was raised on an Ontario farm and is one of the winners of the Guelph Mercury Christmas story contest. We think Jeanine captured the essence, exactly, of Christmas on a Canadian livestock farm. Merry Christmas to all. – OFAC

Farm families have special Christmas traditions
 GuelphMercury.com – News – December 21, 2009

Christmas is the holiday for traditions. Growing up, we knew our family had several Christmas traditions such as leaving milk and cookies out for Santa, hanging stockings and attending church on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t until we were in our early teens that my siblings and I began to understand just how different our family was and that our Christmas traditions were different from most.

Growing up as the seventh generation on our family farm, my sisters, brother and I knew we were different from most families, and for some reason it always seemed most apparent at Christmastime.


Posted by OFAC on December 24th, 2009 :: Filed under Beef cattle, Farm life, Sustainability of the family farm
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Prairie beef co-op gets “sustainable” certification

Manitoba Co-operator, 2/14/2009

A ranchers’ beef co-operative in Alberta and Saskatchewan has picked up certification from a U.S. group for meeting a long list of social and environmental standards for their product.

Food Alliance Certification Co-operative, based in Portland, Ore., has given Prairie Heritage Producers its certification for “sustainably-produced” beef. Prairie Heritage becomes the first company in Canada to meet Food Alliance standards, the U.S. group said Friday.


Posted by Admin on July 22nd, 2009 :: Filed under Beef cattle, Canada, Consumers
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FoodLogiQ has signed agreement with Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to provide value added traceability solution to its members

Source:Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, 19.dec.08

Calgary, AB — FoodLogiQ, the leading provider of On Demand food safety and traceability software, today announced that they have signed an agreement with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to provide a value added traceability solution to its members.


Posted by Admin on July 21st, 2009 :: Filed under Beef cattle, Consumers, Food safety, Innovation and technology
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Scientist Temple Grandin explains animals’ emotions in Animals Make Us Human’ book review

Tricia Springstubb, The Plain Dealer, January 11, 2009

At last! We’ve installed a 100-percent squirrel- proof bird feeder. I’m gloating over the desperation of the fat-tailed rodent who normally hoovers up the seed and, if I’m not quick enough on the refill, sets to gnawing the back door. He is relentless in his dangling upside down, flattening himself against the lid and rising up on his hind legs, beating his chest. Foiled!

And then I begin to read Temple Grandin’s “Animals Make Us Human.”


Posted by Admin on July 19th, 2009 :: Filed under Beef cattle, Education and public awareness, Meat/slaughter plants
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Safety first!

Safety comes first at a spanking new Kemptville cattle barn specializing in the delicate task of ‘romancing’ ornery bulls

BY TOM VAN DUSEN, Ottawa Sun, 2007.09.09

SAFETY OF THE HANDLERS
That’s got to be one of the main considerations when you’re building a new barn and pens to house cantankerous bulls at a semen extraction operation.

And safety was indeed worked into Eastern Breeders Inc.’s $800,000 “first of its kind” replacement sire barn officially opened last week.


Posted by Admin on July 19th, 2009 :: Filed under Beef cattle, Canada, Education and public awareness, Housing
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Addressing misconceptions about farming

By KIM HARLESS, February 26, 2007, Farmers Advance (OHIO)

The public has many misconceptions about the modern food system. Many of those misconceptions have been developed by authors with fine intentions, but a serious lack of understanding.

Unfortunately, once a so-called “fact” is in print, it is often repeated endlessly and used to build other “facts.”


Posted by Admin on July 19th, 2009 :: Filed under Beef cattle, Education and public awareness, Vegetarian
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Life on the farm no simple affair – cowhands can’t rush at huge B.C. operation

The Edmonton Journal, Wed 09 Nov 2005, By David Finlayson

EDMONTON – Being the cow boss at Canada’s largest ranch has its challenges, especially when animals are scattered over 95 kilometres one way and 50 kilometres the other.

“We’re really no different than any other cow-calf operation. Things just take a little longer,” said Stan Jacobs, who has worked at Douglas Lake Cattle Company for 18 years.


Posted by Admin on June 10th, 2009 :: Filed under Beef cattle, Canada, Farm life
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Blood test may screen for mad cow disease

Source:
Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:36pm GMT
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Researchers in Canada have developed a blood test that can diagnose fatal chronic wasting disease in elk, and believe it may provide a cheap way to screen cattle for mad cow disease.


Posted by Admin on June 10th, 2009 :: Filed under Animal health, Beef cattle, Canada, Innovation and technology
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