Babco Meats, which opened earlier this spring northwest of Regina, will focus on local aged beef, as well pork, chickens and lamb.  |  Photo supplied by Darryl Babey

New Sask. meat plant opens

REGINA — A new abattoir and retail meat store northwest of Regina is seeing strong demand just weeks after opening. Babco Meats is located along Highway 11 between Lumsden and Bethune. Owner Darryl Babey said many producers who slaughter just a few animals a year have already stopped in to see the facility and book […] Read more

Canfax 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 price sets record Weighted average steer prices closed slightly more than $260 per hundredweight last week, […] Read more

If animal nutritionists can’t engage with the public on issues about feed’s and livestock’s effects on climate change and environmental degradation, then the public will only hear from activists and others who paint agriculture in harsh colours, said Emily Burton of Nottingham Trent University at the Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada held earlier this month in Winnipeg. | Ed White photo

VIDEO: Myths swirl around livestock sector

If animal nutritionists don’t want to see their industry ravaged by misperceptions and misinformation, they might need to embrace what is an uncomfortable place for most of them, says a leading British nutritionist. If they can’t engage with the public on issues about feed’s and livestock’s effects on climate change and environmental degradation, then the […] Read more


The first thing to ask when an animal is in trouble is whether any treatment could improve the situation. If the answer is no, producers must decide on the best alternatives, including emergency slaughter.  |  File photo

When to butcher a downer animal not an easy decision

There are many decisions in either feedlot, cow-calf or backgrounder situations where timely decisions have to be made regarding whether to treat, harvest or euthanize. I am hoping this article, by citing a few examples, may make this clearer. Producers don’t need to make these decisions alone. Modern communications such as cellphone cameras, videos in […] Read more

University of Saskatchewan researcher and graduate student Roseline Ogory is one of a rising generation of animal nutrition scientists that participated in the Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada.  |  Ed White photo

Sustainability demands pressure livestock feed industry

Those attending recent conference were challenged to take micro-nutrient impact, efficiency and waste more seriously

Farmers and the animal nutrition industry need to understand that feeding livestock today requires thinking about what comes out of an animal as much as what goes in, according to many at the Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada. Demands around the world to restrict greenhouse gas and nutrient emissions from all forms of livestock mean […] Read more


The trade tension between Canada and the United Kingdom is focused on beef and cheese.  |  Getty Images

Canada-U.K. free trade talks remain comatose

Upcoming election in the United Kingdom may explain why little short-term hope remains on the trade agreement front

WINNIPEG — One year ago, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak published an open letter to farmers in his country. The letter, released May 16, 2023, focused on agricultural trade and British government priorities for future free trade deals. Sunak listed six principles, which he says will protect and assist British farmers. Principle No. 4 was […] Read more

Producers should ideally ensure forage growth is adequate — the three to four leaf stage and 15 centimetres tall — before turning cattle out to pasture so that their nutritional needs will be met.  |  File photo

Pasture outlook seen as ‘cautiously optimistic’

Agronomists urge cattle producers to practise patience when they are tempted to graze immature pastures this spring

The grazing season has had some memorably bad starts in recent years, but 2024 won’t likely be one of them. Producers had a better feed buffer last fall. In 2022, for example, turnout was hindered by the double whammy of a cold, wet spring and the lingering impacts of the 2021 drought on feed supplies […] Read more

Canfax 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 strengthens The Alberta fed market was active, and for the first time this year sold […] Read more


Cheryl Waldner, a professor and researcher with the University of Saskatchewan, calls bovine respiratory disease one of the most important causes of sickness and death loss in beef cattle.  |  Amanda Waldner photo

Antibiotic resistance rare in weaned calves

Western Canadian research study finds resistance in only two per cent of the weaned calves that were sampled

Glacier FarmMedia – If a new piece of western Canadian research is any indication, few weaned calves ready for the feedlot are carrying medication-resistant passengers. The project was focused on bacteria and viruses that can contribute to bovine respiratory disease (BRD). It found antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in just two per cent of sampled calves from […] Read more

A report that found more than 40 per cent of some herds to be open last year points the finger at cumulative years of drought. Feed and water were in short supply or of poor quality, and poor protein and feed energy availability likely caused “low to no cycling over the summer.”  |  Alexis Stockford photo

Cattle sector aims to break the cycle

Open rates were horrendous in Western Canada last fall: what can producers do to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself?

Glacier FarmMedia – Many beef producers got an unpleasant shock at last fall’s preg check, and experts are weighing in on what can be done to avoid a similar problem this year. According to a report from the Western Canadian Animal Health Network (WeCAHN), more than 40 per cent of some herds were found open. […] Read more