DO TRANSPORT REST STOPS PUT CALF HEALTH AT RISK?

Oct 31, 2023

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency revised the Transportation of Animals regulations a few years ago. Among other things, the revised regulations require longer and more frequent feed, water and rest stops during long-haul transport. Over the past few years, this column has summarized three research trials conducted by Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein’s team at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lethbridge Research Station. Those results repeatedly demonstrated that rest stops during long-haul transport do not provide measurable benefits for recently weaned beef calves.

In fact, new data suggests that those rest stops may pose a risk to calves. Nasal samples were collected and tested for respiratory bacteria during the three trials. The first results from those analyses have just been published (“Auction market placement and a rest stop during transportation affect the respiratory bacterial microbiota of beef cattle”; doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1192763).

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Video: What If Everything You Knew About Feed Inventory Was Wrong?

AI, Agriculture & the Future of Smart Farming with BinSentry CEO Ben Allen. Every day, livestock producers make thousands of dollars' worth of decisions based on one simple question: How much feed is actually left in the bin? For decades, the answer has often been an estimate.

In this episode of AgTech with Andrew, I sit down with Ben Allen, CEO of BinSentry, to explore how artificial intelligence, machine vision and real-time data are transforming one of agriculture's most overlooked challenges—feed and grain inventory management.
We discuss why some of the biggest inefficiencies in livestock production aren't happening in the barn, but throughout the feed supply chain. Ben shares insights from his career leading agricultural technology companies, explains why AI must solve real business problems to earn producer trust, and offers his vision for the connected farm of the future.

In this interview, you'll discover:
Why feed inventory has remained one of agriculture's biggest blind spots
How AI is reducing costly feed outages, waste and unnecessary deliveries
The hidden safety risks of traditional bin inspections
What separates successful ag technologies from those that never gain adoption
How connected farms are changing decision-making for producers, feed mills and integrators
Why real-time inventory may become as important as precision planting and autonomous equipment

Whether you're a livestock producer, grain farmer, feed manufacturer, ag retailer, nutritionist or simply passionate about the future of agriculture, this conversation offers valuable insights into where the industry is headed.