The Cargill meat processing plant in High River, Alta., which slaughters 40 percent of the cattle in Canada, announced temporary closure effective April 20. Date of reopening is unknown but the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said it could mean industry losses of half a billion dollars by June if the closure lasts that long. Halt of […] Read more
Tag Archives Cattle
Two bulls hit price stratosphere
(Editor’s note: This story has been corrected from an original version.) It was – 40 C on Feb. 25 when the Beechinor family prepared for their seventh bull sale. They never imagined that the pace of their sale would be so hot. Stefon and Rebecca Beechinor of Bentley, Alta., and partner JNR Farms of Willingdon, […] Read more
Bigger calves aren’t always better
LANIGAN, Sask. — Chip Hines says bigger cattle aren’t better for increasing the financial bottom line. “That’s something that people do not understand. Our whole focus has been on pounds and performance, but that’s not the one that tells the story,” the author and retired Colorado rancher said during the Western Beef Development Centre’s 19th […] Read more
Producers lock horns over checkoffs
Refundable or non-refundable? Cattle producers are split on how to fund Alberta groups through levies
CORRECTION – November 14, 2016 1000 CST – The Ontario Corn Fed Beef Program does not receive any money from the national beef checkoff. It does receive 50 cents per head from the Beef Farmers of Ontario. Alberta’s refundable checkoff for beef cattle remains a bone of contention for producers, even though it has now […] Read more
TB takes terrible toll
‘I was sick for the industry:’ Alberta ranchers worry about what happens next after one cow was diagnosed with tuberculosis
BROOKS, Alta. — Sleepless nights and worry: that’s what about 50 ranchers in southeastern Alberta are experiencing as their cattle herds remain in quarantine. One cow that grazed in a community pasture near Jenner and Suffield was diagnosed with tuberculosis in mid-September after being shipped to the United States. The cow belonged to Brad Osadczuk, […] Read more
B.C. cattle producer, entrepreneur dead at 73
British Columbia cattle producer Bill Freding died at his Oliver home Oct. 18 at the age of 73. Active in the cattle business throughout his life, he earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of British Columbia. Freding started Southern Plus Feedlot in 1988, a 7,000 head yard, which was dispersed earlier this […] Read more
TB found in Alberta cow
An Alberta farm has been quarantined after a positive case of tuberculosis was detected in a cow shipped to the United States for slaughter. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is investigating and the index herd will be tested, said Rob McNabb of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. “They detected some lesions and cultured it and then […] Read more
Feeder association loan guarantee increased
The Alberta government is increasing the provincial loan guarantee for feeder associations to $100 million. The Feeder Associations of Alberta has requested an increase for several years as demand for cattle went up, said chair Eric Boot. “Cattle prices were way up and there was demand and in the meantime there just wasn’t enough money […] Read more
Canada not in expansion mode
STRATHMORE, Alta. — Canadian beef producers face a big decision: expand the herd or take the money and run. The Canadian cow herd has shrunk by 31 percent since 2005. Record prices and profits in the last 18 months should have signalled that it is time to turn things around, but not much is happening, […] Read more
What are buyers looking for in cattle?
Purebred cattle breeders supply the commercial market with bulls, but ranchers and feedlots operators say breeders should listen more to their needs. Tom Fenwick manages Tongue Creek Ranch in the Alberta foothills. The 14,000-acre spread of mostly native grass is home to 700 commercial Angus cows with plans to grow to 850 cows using purebred […] Read more
