Alberta cattle farmers looking for relief after quarantine

Oct 31, 2016

Bovine tuberculosis caused some ranches to shut down temporarily

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Some cattle ranchers in Alberta are looking for financial assistance after 30 ranches were put under quarantine as a result of a bovine tuberculosis detection.

Kevin Stopanski’s ranch in Jenner, Alberta, was one of the quarantined properties, and the timing could not have been worse.

“This is where our income comes to pay for loan and land payments and that kind of thing,” he told CBC. “So now under quarantine, no animal can actually arrive or leave these quarantined lands, so we’re sitting here looking at all these dollars and there’s no compensation.

Brahman

“This is our bread and butter.”

Stopanski estimates ranchers could be losing $5 million, and that doesn’t include the cost of feed.

Bob Lowe, chair of Alberta Beef Producers, said he’s visited some of the affected properties and it’s a dire situation.

“It’s huge to those guys,” he told CBC. “I’ve been out there a few times, and you don’t go away with a good feeling.”

Alberta Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier said he’s continuing to communicate with the federal government to decide what the best course of action is to help producers.

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the United States Department of Agriculture alerted them that a case of Bovine TB had been detected in an Alberta cow after the animal was processed.

The CFIA is continuing to investigate the source of the infection.

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.