Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Castrating with teeth not recommended

Monday, February 20, 2012

There are a number of recommended ways to castrate lambs, says a December report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States. Using your teeth is not one of them.

Last June, the Wyoming Department of Health reported two instances of Campylobacter jejuni enteritis among workers at a sheep ranch. In both cases, the workers had participated in a multi-day event involving castration of 1,600 lambs and were the only two among 12 workers known to have used their teeth to castrate lambs. The bacteria were found in workers' stools. Investigators in October found the bacterium in two of five tested lambs. "This is the first reported association of C. jejuni infection with exposure during castration of lambs," the CDC report says.

"Ranch owners and employees were advised to use standardized, age-specific techniques for lamb castration (e.g., Burdizzo, rubber rings or surgery) and to wash their hands thoroughly after contact with animals," the report says. BF
 

Current Issue

May 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Support IPM With a Bench Sponsorship

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

The International Plowing Match & Rural Expo (IPM) Local Committee has launched the Bench Sponsorship Project for the upcoming 2025 event in West Niagara. This initiative invites individuals and businesses to sponsor commemorative benches for $500 each, helping enhance the visitor... Read this article online

New board members for Ontario Pork

Friday, April 25, 2025

Ontario Pork, an association representing the 1,898 pork farms that market 5.9 million hogs in the province, has announced its new board lineup for 2025. As a Guelph, Ontario-headquartered organization, Ontario Pork is engaged in the areas of research, government representation,... Read this article online

Sheep farmers win Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Sheep farmers and wool producers from Wallenstein, Ont. are Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2025. “It’s great to be recognized by your peers in the industry with an award like that,” Ryan Schill told Farms.com. “When we started the sheep farm, there were people questioning us... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top