In the children’s world of video games, special effects movies and the internet, nine and 10 year olds are still interested in learning about where their food comes from. The Classroom Agriculture Program spearheaded by the former Alberta Cattle Commission 20 years ago has reached Grade 4 students in every corner of the province. “We […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
U.S. cattle group wants to keep border closed
The Montana-based R-CALF group is trying to delay a possible U.S. border opening to Canadian cattle. R-CALF, made up primarily of ranchers living in the northern United States, has asked its government to maintain an import ban on Canadian cattle, says a spokesperson for the U.S. meat processing industry. “We view it as a pre-emptive […] Read more
Feed makers may stop using meat byproducts
Expanding the list of banned ingredients for livestock feed might cause some problems for renderers and feed manufacturers. “The way our industry is structured, some of it is not workable,” said Kathleen Sullivan, a spokesperson for the Animal Nutrition Association that represents 90 percent of Canada’s commercial feed manufacturers. If the ban becomes too broad, […] Read more
Alta. cattle producers debate packing capacity
An impassioned and lengthy debate with no clear solutions to solve the shortage of Canadian packing plants occupied delegates at the recent Alberta Beef Producers annual meeting. The beef producers know they can sell the meat into a growing number of world markets, but processing all classes of cattle in a timely fashion is the […] Read more
Canadian herd keeps expanding
The Canadian cattle herd is continuing to expand like a giant snowball rolling down a hill. If Canfax predictions are accurate, more processing plants are needed to remove cattle that will be ready for slaughter within the next two years. In 2004, the national herd was 14.6 million cattle, up 8.6 percent over the previous […] Read more
Europe bans embryos
A recent European decision to ban Canadian beef embryos has left exporters and seedstock producers scrambling. Rollie Bateman of Calgary said the decision could cost millions of dollars for clients here and in Europe. “I have four huge projects for spring,” he said. Now, he is unsure what to do with packages of frozen embryos […] Read more
Asia buys Can. beef
Canadian beef is winging its way to Hong Kong restaurants after an agreement reached Nov. 30 to resume trade. Hong Kong is accepting boneless beef from cattle younger than 30 months with specified risk materials removed. This is a coup for Canadian negotiators because the United States has not been able to crack this lucrative […] Read more
Angus cow steals spotlight again
Winning the supreme champion award at Canadian Western Agribition has a special meaning for Jason and Bev Kelly of Innisfail, Alta. Their black Angus cow Prime Time’s Eileen 29-99 and its calf, also named Eileen, have won accolades wherever they were shown this year. “We never halter broke her until last year and she has […] Read more
Canadian embryo program loses European customers
An unexpected rule has effectively halted the export of Canadian beef cattle embryos to the European Union. As of Nov. 26, the EU decided to accept only embryos created from semen of IBR-negative bulls. Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis is a respiratory disease that causes abortions in cattle. Canadians vaccinate their cattle for IBR so when tested, […] Read more
Several reasons for feedlot pneumonia
A confounding pneumonia striking feedlot cattle without warning may be triggered by a series of events. Feedlot checkers may not realize an animal has acute interstitial pneumonia until they find a dead one in the pen. A study based at Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre found this pneumonia, also called AIP, may arise from a […] Read more
