DUCHESS, Alta. — The concept of residual feed intake has been tested for nearly 15 years by re-searchers who hunt for cattle that need less feed than their counterparts for maintenance and growth. Promising results have been achieved in controlled settings such as feedlots, but the big question is whether animals that do well in […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Labour shortages, slaughter capacity restrict growth
The pork industry is expected to remain flat but the beef side is slowly improving as prices rise and new markets are found
The Alberta beef and pork sectors are major players in the provincial economy, but their futures face constraints. Livestock is the largest component of Alberta’s agricultural and food industries, said Scott Richman, vice-president of Informa Economics, which conducted an analysis with the consulting firm Serecon. “The story for both sectors is one of opportunities and […] Read moreAdvocate compiles farm surface lease data
The Alberta farmers’ advocate office is collecting landowner information on surface leases, transmission lines, seismic and pipeline right of way agreements to develop four on-line maps. The Surface Rights Land and Energy: Pricing Transparency Mapping Project seeks information on seismic and pipeline right of way agreements no older than 2011 and surface lease and transmission […] Read more
Alberta announces drought assistance measures
Livestock producers short of feed and water due to drought can access programs announced yesterday by the Alberta government. Additional needs will continue to be assessed during the growing season, said agriculture minister Oneil Carlier during a Thursday news conference. This year’s drought is comparable to conditions in 2009 but for some hard hit regions […] Read more
What are buyers looking for in cattle?
Purebred cattle breeders supply the commercial market with bulls, but ranchers and feedlots operators say breeders should listen more to their needs. Tom Fenwick manages Tongue Creek Ranch in the Alberta foothills. The 14,000-acre spread of mostly native grass is home to 700 commercial Angus cows with plans to grow to 850 cows using purebred […] Read more
Canada vows to retaliate over COOL
The United States can avoid retaliatory trade penalties from Canada only by repealing its controversial country-of-origin labelling law, said Canadian agriculture minister Gerry Ritz. A complex bureaucratic process, as well as competing bills now before the U.S. Senate, mean changes may not come in time for the Senate’s summer recess, which starts Aug. 10. “The […] Read more
Lack of ag investment hurts rural poor, creates food insecurity
As the world population appro-aches nine billion people, the conundrum is how to feed everyone without destroying the planet. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recognizes that the rural poor face nearly insurmountable challenges because of the effects of climate change, degraded soil and water and dwindling government support for agriculture. Agriculture and land […] Read more
B.C. initiative helps fund regional climate change projects
MERRITT, B.C. — Variability is the norm for British Columbia’s climate, but farmers should be prepared for more extreme weather events. Helping them adapt is one of the duties of the B.C. Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative, which started in 2008. “Producers could not see a single solution to dealing with this problem,” said […] Read more
Goat industry still small but gaining interest
RED DEER — The Canadian goat sector is quietly building demand and encouraging expansion. Those showing their purebreds at the Western National Dairy Goat show in Red Deer July 15 already know how easy it is to sell breeding stock, milk and cheese. If a farm is close to a large centre, the products practically […] Read more
Alta. declares drought disaster areas
Livestock producers are hard hit as pastures dry up and the price of hay triples
More Alberta counties have de-clared themselves agriculture disaster areas as drought spreads across the province. The northern counties of Sturgeon, Leduc, Mackenzie, Parkland and Thorhild and the southwestern county of Cypress are suffering from severe dryness as crops and pastures shrivel, and more could join their ranks. Deciding to declare a disaster is a hard […] Read more
