LACOMBE, Alta. – Sending feedlot cattle out to pasture is a good way to stretch their growing period and save money on high priced grain. “The cost of gain on grass should be substantially less than the cost in the feedlot, especially when you are in a high grain price period,” said Red Deer feedlot […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
BSE class action suit against Ottawa allowed to proceed
A $1 billion class action suit that alleges the federal government was negligent in preventing Canada’s BSE crisis and the subsequent loss of income to cattle producers was granted authorization to proceed by a Quebec court June 15. Similar class action claims were filed in, Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2005. The Alberta and Saskatchewan […] Read more
4-Her helps hospital cause
STANDARD, Alta. – It would be easy for people to forgive Devyn Millette if she acted depressed. At 11 years old, she has already spent more time in hospitals than most people, has had four heart operations and is anticipating a fifth, must inject herself three times each day and could bleed to death if […] Read more
Producers make the leap from grain to grass
LACOMBE, Alta. – A decision to abandon grain for grass was an epiphany for Sten Lundberg and David Kerr. It was also an awakening for hay grower Leon Specht. “Profit wise I am making more money with the grass than I ever did selling hay,” Specht said. The three described their conversion to grass at […] Read more
Proper care can reduce shrink problems
LACOMBE, Alta. – The story of the Canadian beef industry is one of long truck rides across the country in less than ideal conditions. The result is stressed calves that lose weight or become sick. The weight loss, known as shrink, is not just passing urine and feces from full bellies but actual muscle loss […] Read more
Alberta vet school plans to open in fall of 2008
It’s all gravel and girders right now, but the clinical unit of the University of Calgary veterinary school should be ready to welcome students and animals by September 2008. The school is still working on North American accreditation this month but expects 30 Alberta students to begin classes in 15 months. More than half the […] Read more
Forage knowledge fights bloat
LACOMBE, Alta. – When Leon Specht’s cattle are grazing alfalfa fields, he grabs handfuls of the crop and rubs it in his hands. “If I get a green foamy material in my hands, they are going to bloat on it,” he said. His caution is understandable, considering he has lost cattle to bloat caused by […] Read more
Rumen key to digestion
LACOMBE, Alta. – Studying rumen science 101 may help beef producers understand how cattle eat and why they sometimes have bad reactions to certain feed. “You don’t feed cattle. You feed the bugs residing in the digestive tract,” said ruminant scientist Tim McAllister from Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre. Cattle don’t produce the enzyme that […] Read more
Australian drought alters auction business
FORBES, Australia – It is Monday afternoon and Adam Chudleigh and Tom Campbell should be out in the country talking with farmers and making livestock deals. The two work as commissioned agents for Landmark Forbes, a division of AWB Ltd. that buys and sells livestock. They are among seven livestock agents in the Forbes region […] Read more
Canadian beef consumption reaches record high in 2006
Canadians chewed through more than a million tonnes of beef last year. Statistics Canada reported per capita beef consumption rose 2.2 percent from 2005 and total beef disappearance in 2006 rose by more than 30,000 tonnes to total 1,035,315 tonnes. “This is the highest in 30 years,” said Glenn Brand, head of the Beef Information […] Read more
