RDAR AND ALBERTA POULTRY BOARDS INVEST $733,000 TO SUPPORT VITAL AVIAN FLU RESEARCH

Aug 08, 2023

Through the spring and fall of 2022, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus (HPAI) triggered the on-farm culling of over 1.4 million birds in Alberta. This new research investment aims to reduce the impact of future HPAI outbreaks and is crucial to securing a safe food supply and a stable poultry industry in Alberta.

To support Alberta’s poultry industry, RDAR, Alberta Chicken Producers (ACP), and Egg Farmers of Alberta (EFA) awarded $733,801 to avian virologist Dr. Faizal Careem, University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, to lead a vital HPAI research project. The investment, including $633,801 from RDAR, will help define effective, science-driven biosecurity procedures, and outbreak control measures.

“Last year, we saw the devastating impact HPAI can have on poultry producers, with over a million animals lost for dozens of producers. This research funding will help us understand more about the disease so we can lessen the damage of future outbreaks and strengthen Alberta’s poultry sector,” says RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation.

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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.