OLDS, Alta. — It wasn’t so long ago when people couldn’t give a heifer away. That was not the case recently in a sales barn at Olds, Alta., where the bidding was fast and furious for a select set of registered Simmental females. The Friday Night Lights sale, held Dec. 19, offered 50 bred and […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Former Hereford editor dies
Kurt Gilmore, longtime editor of the Canadian Hereford Digest, died of cancer Dec. 18 in Calgary. A lifetime supporter of the Hereford breed, he was honoured by the Alberta Cattle Breeders Association in 2009 for his longtime work with the Calgary Bull Sale. He was inducted into the Alberta Hereford Association’s hall of fame in […] Read more
Farmers urged to adopt sustainability measures
BANFF, Alta. — Albert Wagner believes producers are doing the right thing when it comes to running their farms sustainably. “I think most farmers are right there. It is just, ‘do we have the documentation,’ ” he said at the Alberta Barley Commission’s annual meeting held in Banff Dec. 11. He worries that as more […] Read more
Companies stress new production standards
Major corporations are looking for sustainability agreements from their suppliers
BANFF, Alta. —Top executives at McDonald’s Corp. knew they were stirring the pot when they started the beef sustainability debate. “In January, our company announced it was going to do something without knowing how we were going to do it,” said Jeffrey Fitzpatrick-Stillwell, senior manager of sustainability for McDonald’s Canada. However its plan to source […] Read moreNanton family wins award for stewardship
Alberta Beef Producers presented its environmental stewardship award to the Chattaway family of Nanton during the organization’s annual meeting held in Calgary Dec. 1-3. The Bar S Ranch is a fourth generation cow-calf and yearling operation in the Porcupine Hills region of southwestern Alberta. Clay Chattaway, along with his sons, Morgan and Scott, work together […] Read more
Beef industry launches new traceability program
The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has gone into partnership with a private traceability company to beef up its database of cattle records. Announced Dec. 10 in Calgary, the Beef Information Exchange system (BIXs) and ViewTrak Technologies of Edmonton will form a new company capable of providing information on millions of cattle from birth to the consumer. […] Read more
Call made for non-refundable checkoff
An impassioned debate over money resulted in resolutions asking for a reinstatement of the non-refundable checkoff on cattle sold in Alberta. The once mighty Alberta Beef Producers finds itself penny pinching year to year as it watches nearly $2 million of potential revenue rebated to ranchers and feedlots who ask for their money back. Three […] Read more
Labour issues worry beef producer group
Canadian beef packing plants have a shaky future if they cannot find more workers. “We fear right now as we deal with the tighter supplies, there are a lot of competitive pressures in North America with over-capacity in the packing industry,” Dennis Laycraft, executive vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said at the annual Alberta […] Read more
Beef industry launches new traceability program
The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has gone into partnership with a private traceability company to beef up its database of cattle records. The newly-announced Beef Information Exchange system (BIXs) and ViewTrak Technologies of Edmonton will form a new company capable of providing information on millions of cattle from birth to the consumer. All information is attached to […] Read more
Farm innovations get award
Rotating bale grapple, concrete columns and interactive equipment system recognized
RED DEER — From a busy shop on a farm at Mortlach, Sask., to the high technology laboratories of John Deere, new ideas are always on the drawing board. Three companies received innovators awards at Red Deer’s Agri Trade farm show held Nov. 5-8. The common dominator was that each product was built to fill […] Read more
