The U.S. continues to build its advantage in the massive Chinese market for meat and other agri-food commodities. This morning, the U.S. government announced “continued progress” in the U.S.-China Phase One trade agreement. The progress includes new rules for American chicken producers and more access for U.S. beef, pork and animal feed exporters. For instance, […] Read more
Livestock — page 2
COVID-19 impacts on the meat trade
The Canadian beef sector has formed a cross industry team to ensure stable beef production and trade can continue under the restrictions of COVID-19. The first desire is to ensure people stay safe but it is also important to ensure business continuity and make sure food is abundant in stores as well as keep trade […] Read more
Farm preparation in the face of COVID-19
Farm preparation in the face of COVID-19 means making plans that are subject to change to protect people, livestock and farm assets. Emergency management specialist Rebecca Gimenez Husted provided a disaster response plan for the livestock sector during a virtual conference sponsored by Alberta Farm Animal Care on March 19. “This is an unforeseen thing […] Read more
Tips for hosting, attending bull sales during COVID-19
Bull sales are scheduled across the Prairies in coming weeks and months amid the threat of COVID-19 spread. Sales are the main source of income for many producers so the Livestock Markets Association of Canada, Canadian Beef Breeds Council and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association have distributed a list of recommendations. Those hosting sales should: • […] Read more
U.S. says it will ban shipments if fatal hog virus is detected
CHICAGO (Reuters) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it will prohibit shipments of all pigs for at least three days if the nation ever finds a case of a fatal hog disease that has ravaged China’s herd. The federal government is preparing to contain and eradicate African swine fever if it spreads to […] Read more
A&W move to grass-fed beef gets mixed reaction from beef sector
A commitment by A&W to exclusively source and serve Canadian grass-fed and finished beef in all its restaurants was greeted with both optimism and skepticism in the beef sector. The restaurant chain, a major buyer of Canadian beef, said last week that it plans to buy millions more pounds of Canadian grass-fed beef in 2020. […] Read more
Bison ‘the perfect animal’ to promote for consumers
Presenter at the recent Wild Rose Bison Convention in Camrose, Alta., lauded the attributes of bison meat
CAMROSE, Alta. — Bison are the ideal animal for consumers’ changing diet, said an agrologist and sustainable agriculture adviser. Bison meat is healthy, the animal is native to North America and is the ideal grass animal, Vince McConnell told bison producers at their annual meeting. Instead of trying to compete with traditional livestock and markets, […] Read more
Evolution has turned bison into efficient grazers
CAMROSE, Alta. — Bison evolved while grazing vast grasslands, and that evolution has allowed it to thrive better than cattle on mature, low-quality grasses, said a livestock nutritionist. “Mature grasses in The Prairies are lower in protein and energy and the bison have evolved to use lower quality,” said Annette Suominen. “They are the master […] Read more
BSE status may be negligible by 2021
OTTAWA — Canada’s request for negligible risk status for BSE has been delayed but an upgrade from controlled risk may not make much difference to some trading partners. “To this day Canada’s representation to trading partners requesting full access is based on Canada’s controlled risk status,” said Geoff Adams of Global Affairs Canada. “Most of […] Read more
Greenfeed may be linked to milk fever
Cattle producers faced many challenges with forage and crop production last year. Many areas had poor hay crops and the weather didn’t co-operate at harvest for many grain crops. As a result, many beef cattle herds have relied heavily on baled cereal crops, such as oats or barley, as a major component of their winter […] Read more
