Livestock Management
Johanna Jahkola is preparing to take over her parents’ Hereford operation in Finland. She wants to learn as much as she can before she does, and her education recently included a week at Canadian Western Agribition where she learned how to show cattle with Harvie Ranching from Olds, Alta. “My eyes and ears are wide […] Read more
Livestock Management
Young Finn hones up on Herefords
Shorthorn loyalty pays at cattle show
REGINA – Loyalty to a single breed paid in spades for the Bender family at Canadian Western Agribition. Glenn Bender was among the early founders of the western livestock show, where he has shown Shorthorn cattle every year since its inception. He participated whether the outside temperatures hit – 40 C or the snow melt […] Read more
Commercial winners strive for consistency
REGINA – When Michael Wheeler came to Canadian Western Agribition and saw the competition his bulls were up against, he had no expectation of winning. “There were a lot of powerful Black and Red Angus bulls,” he said after the commercial show where his pen of three Red Angus bulls not only won their class […] Read more
4-H serves youth winners well
REGINA – Feeling under the weather was not enough to hold Jaelayne Wilson from leading her Angus heifer to victory before judge Jim Hallberg at the Canadian Junior Beef Xtreme competition. This is not the first time the 15-year-old has won the big prize at Canadian Western Agribition but she admits it never gets boring […] Read more
Agribition honours Maine Anjou pioneer
REGINA – A heifer show to honour a man who revered the cattle business was the theme of the first Mainetainer event at Canadian Western Agribition Nov. 27. Robert Smith of Wimborne, Alta., who died of cancer in 2006, was an early adopter of Maine Anjou cattle when his father, J.O. Smith, imported some of […] Read more
Angus grabs limelight with $82,500 high seller
REGINA – With the largest presence in the barns of Canadian Western Agribition, Angus producers established their dominance by winning the supreme champions and by having the high seller during the week-long event. Overall, the Angus Masterpiece sale Nov. 26 averaged $4,456 with a total of $418,875 on 94 lots. The high seller at $82,500 […] Read more
Alberta gov’t rejects official sport
A bid to have rodeo declared Alberta’s provincial sport was given a pass by the government. During the Canadian Finals Rodeo, retiring provincial Liberal leader Kevin Taft donned a cowboy hat and declared Alberta should embrace rodeo as its official sport. In early photographs and provincial archives, it’s not hockey or soccer that’s featured in […] Read more
Legumes may be cheaper option in pig pen
An anticipated 30 percent increase in legume production in Western Canada in the next two years will offer lower cost feed to pig producers. Eduardo Beltranena, a feed research scientist with Alberta Agriculture, said producers need to watch for legumes not suitable for human consumption that could end up as feed. “With such an increase […] Read more
Manitoba opens TAP
Cattle and ruminant livestock producers affected by flooding in Manitoba’s Interlake region this year will soon have access to a Targeted Advance Payment (TAP) under the AgriStability program. Through TAP, approximately 850 eligible producers will have access to more than $7 million in funding. The average advance would be about $8,400. “The extreme weather conditions […] Read more
Straw economical, but limit intake
Winter feeding costs are the largest single expense eating away at a cow-calf producer’s meager profit margin, says John Popp, a beef production specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. Feeding straw is one way to chisel down the cost, he told a recent beef meeting that the department organized in Neepawa. “If your cows are calving in […] Read more
