Livestock Management
NISKU, Alta. – Swath grazing is great when it works, but it doesn’t always work well, an Alberta Beef Producer animal health and welfare manager told producers during a forage update. Last winter, the Alberta SPCA investigated 13 cases of cattle in distress, all on winter or pasture grazing, said Reynold Bergen. “Last year there […] Read more
Livestock Management
Swath grazing not help yourself buffet
BVD control starts on farm, says U.S. vet
RENO, Nev. – Efforts to control bovine viral diarrhea must start at the farm with vaccination and testing. Dale Grotelueschen, a veterinarian with Pfizer Animal Health, says voluntary control programs are springing up in the United States at the state level, in which animals are tested and the results are shared. An effective BVD control […] Read more
COOL causes headaches
RENO, Nev. – Trying to prepare for country-of-origin labelling legislation in the United States is like being on an airplane waiting to land. The labelling law is part of the country’s farm bill, but all preparatory work is stalled as Congress continues to tinker with the bill, says Bruce Knight, U.S. agriculture undersecretary for marketing […] Read more
U.S. continues to work on foreign beef markets
RENO, Nev. – Negotiating the return of beef markets may seem slower than molasses in January, but the United States’ chief agriculture negotiator says progress is being made. “It is not a light switch we can turn on,” Richard Crowder told a meeting of the international markets committee during the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention […] Read more
Beef groups plan united funding effort
Both of Saskatchewan’s major cattle producer associations have signed on for the creation of a new check-off funded organization. At separate January meetings of the Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association and the Saskatchewan Stock Growers’ Association, producers chose to establish the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association and approach the provincial government for changes to legislation that will make […] Read more
Death knell rung for cattle cycle: expert
RENO, Nev. – The traditional cattle cycle that market watchers have followed like clockwork for the past 70 years is near death. “The cattle cycle we have all grown up with is on life support,” Randy Blach of Cattlefax told a seminar Feb. 5 at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention in Reno. As a […] Read more
American beef industry faces uncertain times
RENO, Nev. – American beef producers have entered uncharted territory with a weak dollar, rising costs and high global demand with limited market access. Global trade in commodities such as skim milk powder, rice, palm and soy oil are up but beef is relatively flat, said Brett Stewart, an analyst with Cattlefax. As well, the […] Read more
Analyst says fed cattle prices likely to remain low in 2008
Beef markets appear to be stabilizing, but unfortunately for Canadian beef producers, finished cattle prices are levelling out at a low point. U.S. consumer demand for beef is steady and that country’s domestic supplies are down. The American currency is weaker and running close to par with the Canadian dollar. Feed supplies are low internationally […] Read more
Ethanol byproducts beneficial when properly used
RENO, Nev. – Twelve ethanol plants are located within a 60 kilometre radius of Howard Mogler’s Iowa feedlot. After a dozen years of blending ethanol byproducts into cattle feed rations, he has learned a thing or two about these alternatives. He also dismisses the bad news stories about sulfur poisoning of calves, foaming liquids and […] Read more
Saskatoon firm sends pigs to China
China’s quest to raise a better pig got a boost from the export of 866 live animals by Saskatoon based Fast Genetics in January. The company shipped the animals by truck to the United States and then loaded the Landrace, Large White and Durocs on a plane in Chicago, Illinois. They flew to Chengdu, China, […] Read more
