The federal government recently increased identification requirements for cattle being imported into Canada from the U.S. If you are bringing imported cattle to your farm, there are some important points pertaining to traceability and biosecurity you should keep in mind.

The average value of farmland across Canada continued its steady climb in 2017, a sign of a strong and stable agriculture economy, according to the 2017 FCC Farmland Values report.

An amazing group of Alberta farmers shared their deepest fears with me at the 2018 Agriculture Service Board Conference following my “Finding fairness in farm transition” presentation recapped in the May 2018 issue of Progressive Dairyman.

Animal registration is an important tool for all management systems. Registering cattle through a breed association has many benefits that aid in clearer, more concise management decisions. In addition, the practice maintains dairy industry transparency through a pure national herdbook.

“The thoughtless person playing with penicillin treatment is morally responsible for the death of the man who succumbs to infection with the penicillin-resistant organism. I hope this evil can be averted.” —Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish physician and microbiologist who discovered penicillin

I was raised in the country, in a red brick Victorian on 2 acres. I was not, however, raised on a farm. To now be a third-generation dairy and cash crop farmer is far beyond, as a girl, what I thought my life would be like.

Instead of renovating their 51-cow tiestall barn, Amanda Lukassen and her husband, Kevin Sundborg, chose to build a new 80- to 90-cow robot barn. Using robots gives them more flexibility in their schedules and enables them to run the dairy in Ormstown, Quebec, without hiring outside help. View the slideshow below.