Canadian farm organizations must find the courage to fight a federal private member’s bill that seeks to protect the country’s supply-managed sectors during future trade negotiations, said a beef industry leader. Bill C-282 is a threat to Canada’s economy, said general manager Ryder Lee of the Canadian Cattle Association. “We are seeing a bunch of […] Read more
Beef cattle
Panelists take swing at Ottawa
The tense relationship between Western Canada and the federal government was a topic of discussion at the recent Alberta Beef Industry Conference in Banff. During her presentation to the conference, Premier Danielle Smith pointed to a federal proposal last year to place fat content warning labels on ground beef and pork. Although Health Canada backed […] Read more
IBR abortion storms tough to deal with but preventable
I had a conversation with a veterinarian recently who was trying to deal with an abortion storm in a client’s cow-calf herd. The producer had seven cows abort and most of these abortions were occurring at about six to seven months of gestation. A fetus was submitted to the diagnostic laboratory and it showed signs […] Read more
Cattle numbers slide in Canada
Beef cattle numbers in Canada declined by 230,000 head last year, a drop of about 2.4 percent from January 2022 to January 2023. That figure comes from Statistics Canada, which released the national livestock inventory Feb. 28. The numbers for Jan. 1, 2023, show that a large chunk of the decline came in the cow-calf […] Read more
Weaning does not have to be a stressful time
Options that producers can use to make it a more low-stress experience include nose flaps and fence-line separation
Traditional weaning methods are traumatic for calves and cows but now there are better ways to wean besides rounding up the herd, sorting the calves and taking the cows away. Calves are stressed when suddenly deprived of milk and mama at the same time, and the trauma of losing mom can be even harder than […] Read moreCanfax report
This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. More market information, analysis and statistics are available by becoming a Canfax subscriber by calling 403-275-5110 or at www.canfax.ca. Fed prices rise Fed cattle prices in Alberta and Ontario surpassed $200 per hundredweight live last week. […] Read more
U.S. proposes tougher ‘Product of USA’ labelling rules
(Reuters) — Meat, poultry and eggs labelled as a U.S. product must come from animals raised and slaughtered within the country under a rule proposed by U.S. president Joe Biden’s administration yesterday, in a victory for U.S. ranchers who had lobbied for the change. Existing rules for the label permit its use for meat derived […] Read more
Alta. feeder sector to study insurance proposal
Study will look at setting up a captive insurance company to reduce premium costs and allow more coverage flexibility
The Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association may create its own insurance company as part of a feasibility study that will examine potential ways it could help members faced with rising insurance costs. “I mean, ag, we’re a small minority when it comes to insurance, and so it’s just harder and harder for us to get insurance […] Read more
Alberta producers wait for beef competitiveness study
A long-awaited beef competitiveness study will soon be made public, said the general manager of Alberta Beef Producers. Industry leaders are working with the provincial government to finalize the study’s recommendations, said Brad Dubeau during an interview Feb. 27. They will be released sometime after March 3 or 4. “I know it’s a challenge,” Alberta […] Read more
Provinces demand lambda-cy ban reversal
Alberta and Saskatchewan are calling on the Pest Management Regulatory Agency to lift a ban on the use of lambda-cyhalothrin in livestock feed before the start of this year’s growing season. Agriculture ministers from both provinces asked the PMRA to enact emergency reinstatement for the active ingredient in Matador and Silencer. In western Canadian agriculture, […] Read more
