Mary MacArthur

Cattle producers who held onto their calves last fall, fed them through the winter and put them back out on grass this summer may find their calves will be worthless by fall, says a member of a committee trying to find a way to raise the price of cattle. Len Vogelaar said there is an […] Read more

PONOKA, Alta. – A group of producers is trying to raise $150 million to buy one of Canada’s largest meat processing plants and establish a chain of meat superstores across Canada. Canada Farm Direct must raise $30 million to buy the plant and then raise another $120 million through a public share offering to expand […] Read more

EDMONTON – Canadian voters sent a message to the Liberal party that they have one more chance to do better, said Anne McLellan, Alberta’s star candidate who hung on to her seat in the provincial capital. “I think they’re saying they were not happy with some of the things that happened, particularly sponsorship, and they […] Read more

Alberta Beef Producer directors are prevented from making the best decisions for the cattle industry because they are under financial pressure from the packing plants, says the Alberta co-ordinator for the National Farmers Union. Jon Slomp said it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the cattle organization’s board of directors to make decisions that go against the […] Read more

The committee to develop a cattle inventory control program to regulate the supply to packing plants and raise the price is still in the conception stage. “While the details of the inventory management scheme aren’t in place yet, the fact that it’s being worked on and is going to be moved forward is important for […] Read more

Canada must stand up to the United States to protect its cattle industry, says an Alberta producer promoting ideas on how to rescue producers from the BSE crisis. “If Canada is going to exist in the cattle industry, we have no choice but to risk offending our neighbour to the south that has so much […] Read more

EDMONTON – Auction owners and cattle exporters may soon have a representative on Alberta’s cattle organization. Alberta Beef Producer delegates voted in principle to amend their regulations to allow two cattle industry representatives to be included on the board of directors. Tony Saretsky, a feedlot operator and cattle exporter, said the addition gives all parts […] Read more

Last year 14 people were killed in farm-related accidents and another 1,350 injured on Alberta farms. With those kinds of statistics, Alberta Agriculture farm safety co-ordinator Laurel Aitken will use any way possible to distribute her farm safety message. Aitken hopes the launch of a new farm safety CD will be one more way farmers […] Read more

EDMONTON – Alberta feedlot operators are considering a trade challenge against the United States for damage caused to the Canadian cattle industry by the closure of the U.S. border. Feedlot operators Rick Paskal, John Vander Heyden and Cor Van Raay and former Canadian Cattlemen’s Association general manager Charlie Gracey were in Washington, D.C., last week […] Read more

PONOKA, Alta. -A rally in central Alberta designed to draw the attention of politicians to the plight of cattle producers had trouble drawing even the cattle producers. Organizers of the Canadian Cattlemen for Fair Trade rallies had hoped 5,000 people would show up at events in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, but about 200 producers showed […] Read more