The beef industry plans to launch a unique brand this year touting the advantages of buying Canadian at home and abroad. Canada fills about three to six percent of the U.S. beef requirements, and the product will have to stand on its own merit when mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) requirements become law in the United […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Feed research falling behind
STRATHMORE, Alta. – More forage and feed grain research is imperative if Canadian livestock producers hope to stay competitive with their counterparts in the United States. U.S. feed corn yields have soared whereas the principal western Canadian feed grain, barley, lags far behind in yield and feed value. “We are in a quagmire where if […] Read more
William Pearce
William Pearce, who was instrumental in bringing irrigation to southern Alberta, started as a land surveyor and was to become one of prime minister John A. Macdonald’s strongest advisers on the settlement of the Canadian west. He was born in Ontario in 1848 and graduated from the University of Toronto as a civil engineer. His […] Read more
Patrick Burns
Born in 1856, Pat Burns was an Ontario farm boy with minimal schooling who was to become one of Alberta’s founders. Along the way, he also became Canada’s biggest meat packer and its biggest ranch operator. In 1878 he walked 250 kilometres from Winnipeg to a homestead he had selected near Minnedosa, Man. Within a […] Read more
Charles Noble
When 30-year-old Charles Noble came to Canada from North Dakota in 1903, most farm work was hard, manual labour using oxen to pull a plow through the tough prairie sod. It would take the relentless, erosive wind of the Dirty Thirties to inspire a new way of farming to make work easier and save vulnerable […] Read more
Barley group seeks better labels
BANFF, Alta. – A Canadian barley food coalition wants barley recognized as a healthy choice on nutrition labels. The coalition, made up of 30 supporters from universities, industry associations, government and processors, wants Health Canada to harmonize Canadian claims with the United States where statements are allowed touting barley in food products as an important […] Read more
Process available to turn barley into ethanol
BANFF, Alta. – A new form of processing proves ethanol can be made from barley but only if it makes good business sense. The barley bioproducts opportunities project commissioned by the Alberta Barley Commission and the Western Barley Growers Association found it could fit into the biofuel industry. A final report is expected this spring, […] Read more
Dried distillers grain common to some livestock producers
Feeding ethanol byproducts to livestock is all the rage these days, but some producers have been quietly using them for years without a fuss. Dairy producer Bill Van Rootselaar of Fort Macleod, Alta., has used dried distillers grain (DDG) for a number of years and finds it to be a useful supplement. “We have never […] Read more
Consumers drive meat business
Cutting up beef has not changed much since Duane Ellard started in the business 25 years ago. What’s changed is the Canadian consumer, who now wants a thick, juicy steak that is only five ounces or a four pound roast that cooks in an hour. During a meat cutting demonstration at the Alberta Beef Producers […] Read more
Fear of bloat costly to cattle producers
LETHBRIDGE – Alfalfa is known for its ability to add low cost pounds of beef to cattle but the trade-off is the risk of bloat. “The fear of bloat costs the livestock industry more than bloat itself,” said grazing consultant Jim Gerrish at a recent legume grazing seminar in Lethbridge. Producers avoid legumes in the […] Read more
