This Ruminating with RealAg podcast takes us back to the Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference in Saskatoon, where we hear from Suzanne Bertrand, deputy director general at the International Livestock Research Institute, on the differences between Canadian and African adoption of genomics technology, and how genetically modified cattle could combat African Sleeping Sickness. Related: Julie Borlaug... Read More

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is widely used in research today. In medicine, NIR assists in non-invasive assessments of the brain, blood glucose levels and oxygen concentration in muscles. For agriculture, NIR is largely used in determining the quality of feedstuffs, as it's quick and relatively inexpensive. Related: NIR Workshop Offers Beef Producers Another Way to Improve... Read More

In this episode of Ruminating with RealAg, I speak to Brad Johnson, a professor and chair in meat and muscle biology at Texas Tech University. Johnson has been heavily involved in research around steroidal implants and beta adrenergic agonists, and attended the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference in January as a speaker. The conversation starts off... Read More

The role of genomics in the cattle industry continues to expand, as the price for genetic tests become more affordable for a wider demographic of producers. Parentage testing is only the tip of the iceberg available to interested parties, with understanding of expected progeny differences (EPD) and estimated breeding values (EBV) increasing and playing an... Read More

As evolution should dictate, there are substantial benefits to social behaviour in animals, provided that behaviour increases their fitness (or likelihood to reproduce). We see unique social behaviour in many species, including ourselves and our bovine counterparts. In cattle, social behaviours range from grooming to bonding, and witnessed accounts of cows protecting their young and... Read More

It’s calving season. You waited – we've delivered! Our second podcast is up and available for download! This podcast features an interview with Travis Peardon, a livestock specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, about how last year's harsh winter is still affecting ranch management. The rest of the podcast is a blur of activity,... Read More

If you asked me a year ago today what I was up to for the winter, I would have grinned and said, "feeding cows." A few months in, and I may not have been grinning much, save for one thing: podcasts. (sorry AM/FM radio stations, our rural tractors don't come with 30' antennas) Long, cold... Read More