There’s nothing like missiles and drones being shot down over the Red Sea while streaking toward cargo ships to shake up the 2024 forecasts. But that’s the world we’re living in for this new year. Prognosticators’ markets, commodities and economic forecasts can be summed up as mostly dull, with a chance for explosions. For both […] Read more
Beef cattle
MPs call defining ‘emergency’ key to new transport rules
Ag committee identifies emergency management and hours of service as main concerns with proposed regulations
Truck drivers can legally exceed their regulated hours if it’s an emergency, but when does animal welfare meet that description? That was among the topics tackled as the House of Commons agriculture committee released its report on challenges facing the livestock transport sector. The report, Striking a Balance: Electronic Logging Device Requirements Impacting Animal Transportation, […] Read more
Forage blends benefit swath grazing
Winter feeding trial studies virtual fencing as well as potential of moving away from using only one crop in swath grazing
A Lakeland College researcher says he wanted to investigate using forage blends in winter swath grazing systems to ease producer hesitancy. Obioha Durunna, who is now in the third year of the study, says he was also prompted by the limited information available on backgrounding weaned calves in such systems. Durunna says producers are reluctant […] Read more
Beef research centre wins ag technology award
Alberta’s Livestock Gentec was formed in 2010 to use genomics to help producers improve profitability and sustainability
CALGARY — An applied research centre using genomics to help beef producers sharpen their competitive edge has been honoured with a Best in Agriculture Sector Award for Alberta at the ASTech Awards. “We’re very proud that our team received that award,” said John Basarab, head of beef cattle operations at Livestock Gentec. “We’re hoping that […] Read more
Sort out nature of eye lesions and diagnosis becomes easy
Occasionally, our herd investigation team gets called out to look at a problem with calves being born with eye problems or appearing to have them shortly after birth. These eye issues can manifest themselves as cataracts, micro-opthalmia (small eyes that haven’t developed fully) or a variety of other eye lesions such as retinal abnormalities or […] 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. Packers have plenty Steer cash trade surfaced Dec. 20 in both Alberta and Ontario. In Alberta, the […] Read more
Updated Certified Sustainable Beef Framework released
The program, launched in 2017, came up for its five-year review in 2022
A new and improved Certified Sustainable Beef Framework has been released following its first five-year review announced the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) today. “This update sets us up for continued progress to support beef farmers and supply chain participants to build trust in the sustainability of Canadian beef,” said Kristine Tapley, chair of […] Read more
APAS takes stock of ’23; looks ahead
REGINA — Tisdale farmer Ian Boxall was re-elected president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan at the organization’s annual meeting earlier this month. Vice-president Bill Prybylski of Willowbrook and Bev Pirio of Radville were also re-elected. Two board members, Donovan Block in District 5 and Wanda Reid in District 1, stepped down. Christopher Procyk […] Read more
Cattle sector awaits details on methane plan
Early thinking is that federal incentives to help producers reduce cattle emissions could fit with the industry’s targets
MEDICINE HAT — Canada’s draft policy that would provide financial incentives to livestock producers to reduce methane from cattle aligns with the beef sector’s target to see those emissions reduced by a third by 2030. But how well the federal government’s proposals will merge with the sector’s efforts, which have already resulted in Canadian beef […] Read more
Cattle futures moderate, but prices should remain strong
Cattle futures prices have come off record high levels but should remain strong in 2024 because market-ready cattle supply will be tight. The price level will also be affected by how well the American and Canadian economies do in the coming year and how secure consumers feel. I wrote recently about the signs that inflation […] Read more
