Polycrops have become a more commonplace method of feeding beef cattle in Western Canada over the past number of years. They may also be known as intercrops, cover crops or cocktail crops but all involve a mixture of plant species that may range from three to more than 20 species. Polycrops can provide grazing when […] Read more
Beef continues sustainability journey
Researcher says Canadian beef industry has reduced it carbon footprint, but there’s always room for improvement
Glacier FarmMedia – Canadian producers have done an excellent job of reducing the environmental footprint of beef production, but the work is not done, says a sustainability researcher with the world’s largest meat processing company. The Canadian livestock sector contributes about 4.8 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions produced in this country, said Sarah […] Read more
Ranching has vital role in Prairie conservation
Born and raised in Calgary, we took many family camping trips into the Prairies. I was always awed by the massive expanses of grasslands, the endless blue skies and the diversity of birds, mammals and insects we would see. I remember having to clean our windshield at every stop along the way because the dead […] Read more
Massive Nebraska feedlot ‘just the opposite of what we need’
Like farmers and ranchers, veterinarians love to pour concrete. Many build customized facilities dedicated to their animal health mission: examination rooms, operating theaters, cattle chutes, holding pens and loading docks. Three Canada-based vets, however, are pouring enough concrete in far southwestern Nebraska to cover what they say will be a square mile — 640 acres […] Read more
Pandemic response bill worries livestock groups
Industry says Bill C-293 contains ill-defined terms and heavy-handed language that unfairly targets animal agriculture
Glacier FarmMedia – A federal bill that purports to protect Canada from the next pandemic is drawing fire from the agriculture sector. In a recent editorial titled “Is Bill C-293 Canada’s ‘Vegan Act?’” Sylvain Charlebois, director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, said the bill “represents an unprecedented governmental intrusion into personal dietary choices and […] Read moreCanfax report
This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattle 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 market steady Alberta fed steers and heifers last week traded at $242.56 per hundredweight and $239.74 […] Read more
Federal government pledges more than $13 million to animal health, disease preparedness
Glacier FarmMedia – National animal health and disease preparedness has received an influx of more than $13 million in federal cash. Glengarry-Prescott-Russell MP Francis Drouin announced the funding at the Animal Health Canada (AHC) forum in Ottawa this morning. The money will be split between AHC’s three divisions: Emergency Management, the National Farm Animal Care […] Read more
McDonald’s sues major beef producers in U.S. price-fixing lawsuit
(Reuters) - McDonald’s has sued JBS, Tyson Foods and other leading meat processing and packing companies for allegedly conspiring for years to limit beef supplies, boosting their profits while causing the fast food giant to pay artificially higher prices. McDonald’s said in a lawsuit filed on Friday in Brooklyn federal court that the meatpackers, also including Cargill and National […] Read more
Firm says new bolus designed to ease ketosis treatments
BioFerScience has encapsulated propylene glycol into a bolus to make it easier to administer the product to cows
Glacier FarmMedia – Giving cows a propylene drench to treat ketosis can be challenging and physically demanding for humans and risky for the animals. BioFerScience, a London, Ont., company, has created an alternative that is easier and safer to apply. Ketosis occurs when a cow is in a negative energy balance and uses up body […] Read more
Products to relieve stress in cattle continue to evolve
Reducing stress on cattle should take pressure off the treatments for respiratory disease. Less stress results in less shrink, so cattle performance may improve, but it also reduces morbidity and mortality due to disease. Cattle will do better if we can calm them down at the stressful times of their lives, such as weaning, showing […] Read more
