Michael Raine

Canadian beef packer margins have dropped over the last few weeks due to a shortage of fed cattle younger than 30 months and several other factors. Lee Nilsson of XL Beef in Calgary, Alta., said a poorly functioning market for fed cattle has created the shortfall and is affecting packer margins. “There is market chaos […] Read more

American cattle feeders are preparing to join their Canadian counterparts in something that U.S. producers haven’t experienced for long time: losses. After 14 months of continuous profits, American cattle feeders are now figuring in losses on their balance sheets for this fall and winter. Jim Mintert, a beef economist with Kansas State University, says the […] Read more

After its ninth consecutive herd population decline, the United States cattle cycle appears to be starting a rebuilding phase. When the U.S. border reopens to Canadian breeding cattle, it should mean strong demand and high prices. University of North Dakota livestock economist Tim Petry said 2005 could deliver the highest prices for breeding stock that […] Read more

When the tractor is hop, hop, hopping down the road, producers need to consider the cause of the unruly behaviour. Reed Turner, Alberta provincial agricultural engineer, says producers should experience that road-gear bounce first thing on cool mornings. But if it persists for more than 10 minutes or doesn’t happen at all, they should investigate. […] Read more

Pricing feeder cattle based on the cost of feeding them isn’t complicated, but it is detailed. Sandy Russell, a beef economist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, suggests that many farms that feed cattle as one of several operations often fail to know details of costs on their own farms. “Once you know what your costs are, then […] Read more

Cattle feeders who don’t refill their lots this fall may find the agony of cash flow losses this year complicated with the anguish of a hefty tax bill. Losing up to $300 per head, as many feeders did on calves purchased in the fall of 2003, may have harmed the feedlot operators’ ability to refill […] Read more

Frost has left a swath of damage from northeastern Alberta to southern Manitoba, and a lot of questions for farmers wanting to salvage as much of this year’s crop as possible. The large but late crops were hit with as much as four degrees Celsius of frost Aug. 19. Canola growers would normally be counting […] Read more

Calcium may be a cheap solution to sclerotinia stem rot in canola and other crops. Ray Lemke, who farms at St. Albert, Alta., is in his third year of using calcium to deter sclerotinia in his 1,300 acres of the oilseed crop. “It is working, and at a couple of bucks an acre, it is […] Read more

Peace Country Tender Beef Co-op has not been cleared by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to begin testing slaughter cattle for BSE, despite Canadian Press news reports to the contrary. “That news story was just wrong. It resulted in a lot of extra work for us to clear up the mess that story caused,” said […] Read more

Adding a new veterinary school to Western Canada may destabilize the current school, says Saskatchewan’s learning minister. It may drive up costs to educate new Alberta veterinarians and duplicate large animal research already under way, said Andrew Thompson. Questions about the Alberta government’s plan to establish a new veterinary school by 2006 come from the […] Read more