Cattlemen Reminded to Monitor Water Supply

This week's hot weather means the potential for the development of Blue-Green Algae in dugouts. 

 

Natasha Wilkie is a Regional Livestock & Feed Extension Specialist with Saskatchewan's Ministry of Agriculture. 

 

Blue-Green Algae is toxic to livestock so it's important that producers check their water sources.

 

"You want to wear gloves and scoop that algae up.  If it runs through your fingers and looks kind of like pea soup and you just have a few green bits on your fingers, then it could be blue-green algae. When you're just looking out at the water body in general, it's going to have a shimmering blue/green color to it.  It could also have a foamy, or sheen appearance that kind of looks like spilled paint sitting on top of the water."

 

If you find a problem you should remove the livestock or fence the dugout off and treat it with a registered copper sulfate product as the algae can be a major problem and even lead to animal death. 

Video: How the corn-soy diet transformed swine nutrition

At the 2026 ASAS Midwest Section meeting, Dr. Robert Easter, professor emeritus of swine nutrition at the University of Illinois, spoke at the U.S. Soy sponsored Swine Application Symposium, offering a historical perspective on one of the most important developments in modern pig production: the corn-soybean meal diet. What today is considered a foundational feeding strategy was not always obvious or even accepted.