THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013
VOL. 91 | NO. 13 | $4.25
YAK IS BACK |
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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ALBERTA FARMERS CARVE NICHE WITH YAK CROSS
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SO MANY KINDS TO CHOOSE FROM
Auction goers had a wide selection of seeders and other equipment at Richie Bros. Auctioneers in Saskatoon March 19. FOR MORE FROM THE AUCTION, SEE PAGES 36, 37. |
Farmers dispute antibiotics study Data incorrect? | Ontario Medical Association calls for a ban on preventive use of antibiotics in animal agriculture while CCA says there is little evidence that animal antibiotics are a problem BY BARRY WILSON & BARB GLEN OTTAWA, LETHBRIDGE BUREAUS
Farm groups are fighting back in the wake of an Ontario Medical Association call to ban the preventive medicine use of farm antibiotics and stricter controls on the drugs overall.
The OMA plans to publish a study March 30 that argues human resistance to antibiotics is a growing health crisis and overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture, including as preventive treatment to avoid illness and promote growth, is a major problem. Bacteria mutate to form resistant
strains to antibiotics. The OMA calls for stricter control of on-farm antibiotic use in Ontario and the end of the drug as a disease prevention method or growth promotant. “This step is fundamental to preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics,” said an OMA statement.
Canadian Cattlemen’s Association science director Dr. Reynold Bergen said there is little evidence that antibiotic use in the cattle industry is a significant factor in what the OMA said is a growing human health crisis. SEE ANTIBIOTICS, PAGE 2
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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv":. MARCH 28, 2013 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4 The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240
ANIMAL HEALTH | ANTIBIOTIC USE
WILLIAM DEKAY PHOTO