Spring lions

March predominantly came in like a lamb, but its promises of spring and an end to pandemic restrictions were eclipsed by international shock, horror, and outrage. Vladimir Putin trampled over February’s Olympic harmony when he ordered the Russian army to invade Ukraine. More than a million have fled the country and its now-bloodstained homes, hospitals, schools, and infrastructure.

Turn the page

It’s time to throw out the calendar, turn the page, and move on. COVID-19 continued (and continues) its oppression, but it was extreme weather that dominated 2021, leaving us with indelible heart-wrenching accounts and sobering snapshots of drought-stricken fields in Western Canada and many British Columbia farms submerged in floodwaters.

There aren’t enough verbs to describe the devastation spawned by drought and wildfires from British Columbia through the Prairies to northern Ontario. Far too many anguished farmers have been left with little or no pasture, feed, crops, or water sources for their livestock.

“Take a trip and never leave the farm,” had a whole other meaning in the ’70s than it does today. There was no internet back when Jim Stafford was singing Wildwood Weed on the radio.
With modern technology, farmers can conform to COVID-19 travel restrictions and attend meetings, seminars, and other events without leaving their kitchen tables.

Pioneers

Pioneers. You’ve seen them in faded sepia-toned photographs. Early settlers in covered wagons, blazing trails westward in the face of adversity – disease, weather, food supply, hostile parties – in search of freedom, available land, open spaces, opportunities, and a better life.

There’s good news and some that’s not so good in this issue of Atlantic Beef & Sheep. Farmers were relieved this fall when China reopened its doors to Canadian beef (Rib Ends, pg. 6) as producers lost an estimated $100 million during the four-month ban. Trade tensions also affected the international wool market. “The current situation of widespread indecision and uncertainty has had a detrimental effect on all value chain partners within the entire wool textile industry,” Eric Bjergso, the Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers general manager, told attendees at their annual meeting.

Logical and fascinating information

Canadian lamb has boldly gone where no sheep has gone before. It’s on blockchain. Moving at warp speed, the Canadian Sheep Federation initiated a field trial in Nova Scotia in cooperation with SheepChain LLC of Wyoming. Factual data about processed Prince Edward Island lamb was digitized and put on the package label. The blockchain technology certifies the label’s accuracy, making the product very attractive to potential buyers. (See page 19.)

Possible solutions
Hay and forage in parts of the region suffered from this summer’s unexpected frost, sweltering humidity, and sporadic rainfall. Nova Scotia farmers got precipitation when it was needed. But Cedric MacLeod of the New Brunswick Cattle Producers (NBCP) estimates that beef farmers in that province “are seeing somewhere between 50 and 70 percent of their normal hay crop level this year.”

    People will be talking about the spring of 2018 for a long time to come. Floodwaters along the Saint John River dominated the news as they threatened agricultural operations, businesses, homes, and cottages. But the water has receded, assessments are underway on each farm (page 5), and beef herds should soon be grazing (page 51) on island community pastures.

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” So, how would Sherlock Holmes apply that theory to the massive bovine tuberculosis (TB) investigation that has been conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)? The case is certainly irregular enough to interest the fictional Baker Street detective.

    2018 is waiting in the wings for its cue. But it should not expect a standing ovation. Livestock farmers won’t be cheering when Health Canada implements additional regulations and restrictions on access to veterinary drugs, a move that is sure to increase production costs. Some medications are essential. Gwyneth Jones tells you why sheep breeders are relieved that Glanvac 6 vaccine has been approved.

    The losses to British Columbia’s cattle industry are staggering. More than two million acres – much of it grazing land – has gone up in flames. And more than 30,000 cattle have literally been in the line of fire. From all reports, the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association (BCCA) has worked around the clock organizing feed, pastures, transportation, and financial support.