Canada Lifts VS-Related Equine Import Restrictions

Apr 17, 2015

Equine Canada announced April 14 that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has eliminated all vesicular stomatitis (VS) import restrictions for U.S. horses entering Canada.

Equine Canada said the restrictions were lifted as a result of additional information the CFIA received from the USDA regarding the recent VS cases reported in the United States in 2014.

In January, two horses in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, tested positive for VS. Prior to that in 2014, the United States experienced a large-scale VS outbreak that affected hundreds of premises in three states (Texas, Colorado, and Nebraska).

"The CFIA reduced VS restrictions to a county level on March 13, 2015," Equine Canada said in a statement. "Now, the restrictions that applied to only Santa Cruz County in Arizona have also been lifted, as of April, 13, 2015."

Source: TheHorse

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.