March 3, 2020

New research programme launched to improve health of Canadian cattle

A new five-year research programme to benefit the Canadian beef industry aims to manage diseases such as Johne's disease in cow-calf herds and bovine respiratory disease in feedlots, as well as antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance. This would help sustain the profitability and competitiveness of Canada's C$17-billion (US$12.72-billion)-a-year beef industry.

The research programme is funded with C$2.35 million (US$1.76 million) from the federal government, the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) and the University of Saskatchewan (USask), with veterinary researcher Dr. Cheryl Waldner of USask heading the project as research chair.

Waldner will work with the industry to address priorities of Canada's beef producers across the beef value chain—from improved herd health, to expanded surveillance of antibiotic use and resistance, to increased uptake of best practices for herd management.

"This chair will use a systems approach to build on existing research and examine complex health challenges," said Waldner, a professor of large animal clinical sciences in the USask Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM).

"We will identify existing gaps and fill them using innovative data collection and decision-making tools and technologies to enable the Canadian beef industry to better manage production-limiting diseases and develop evidence-based policies for animal health and antimicrobial stewardship", she added.

The programme will look first into the key priorities of the industry, namely management of diseases such as Johne's disease in cow-calf herds and bovine respiratory disease in feedlots, as well as antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance.

"Disease-causing bacteria in animals are increasingly able to resist the antibiotics used to treat them, and the agriculture industry is being challenged to improve antibiotic stewardship in livestock production," Waldner explained.

Canada is one of the largest exporters of red meat in the world, with 38% of domestic beef exported.