Livestock Management

RED DEER – Knud Pedersen has been buying Canadian Red Angus cattle for 15 years and sending the genetics back to his native Denmark. The reception was not always welcoming. “I was in trouble because they didn’t want reds. I was the first person to have Red Angus,” he said after spending $5,100 for a […] Read more

Canadian cattle producers have until Dec. 12 to opt out of a national BSE class action suit against the federal government. If they do not contact Crawford Class Action Services, a claims management firm based in Waterloo, Ont., they will continue as part of the suit, which alleges the government was responsible for allowing BSE […] Read more

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Alta. – Fewer than 400 Canadian farms have been accredited under the Verified Beef Production program, but an Alberta co-ordinator says a few changes could make it more palatable. The program, which is administered by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, is designed to promote food safety by outlining safe production practices. Alberta co-ordinator […] Read more

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Alta. – Alberta livestock producers will receive a second government payment early next year, but only if they age verify this year’s calf crop and register their farms by Dec. 31. Assistant deputy agriculture minister John Knapp said the payment is included in the producer’s income for the year but not in […] Read more

Beef and pork producers who have been hurt by the United States’ country-of-origin labelling law need to provide documentation to their provincial organizations. Industry leaders say launching a trade challenge could be difficult without proof of lower prices or refusal by U.S. packers to accept Canadian livestock. “We’re monitoring the effects and asking producers to […] Read more

Canada may be able to fill the gap in Russia’s undeveloped beef sector. “There is comparatively no money going into beef production,” said Richard Brown of the British food consulting firm Gira. “The money is going into chicken production so Russia will rely on imports for a goodly long time.” The Canada Beef Export Federation […] Read more

The U.S. country-of-origin-labelling law has arrived after a 12 year process, creating market disruptions and confusion for the meat industry. The law went into effect Sept. 30 and the only consensus among Canadian and American producers and packers is that no one likes the final version released July 31. “It’s extremely confusing and the one […] Read more

Cattle exports to the United States are expected to be down until producers figure out the finer points of its country-of-origin-labelling law. “I suspect the volumes will be back, but I think there will be a permanent price impact, and we don’t know to what extent that will be,” said John Masswohl of the Canadian […] Read more

A vaccine for cattle designed to protect people from E. coli infections is expected to be approved within months. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency CFIA said the E. coli O157:H7 cattle vaccine now meets the efficacy and safety requirements for full licensing, said Graeme McRae, president of Bioniche Life Sciences in Guelph, Ont., which developed […] Read more