Reading Time: 3 minutes If the Alberta government really wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the province, it should start with an incentive for farmers to reduce annual cropping, says a rangeland management expert. “There’s a pretty compelling case about why there should be a direct economic incentive for producers to maintain or even increase the amount of […] Read more
Grasslands a carbon-capture colossus
Do the math: Take Alberta $15-per-tonne carbon tax and then look at how much carbon is stored in grasslands
There can be a steep price for early grazing
The choices aren’t great, but a forage expert warns that early grazing can cost you dearly down the line
Reading Time: 2 minutes With the early spring, some farmers, ranchers, and acreage owners are turning out livestock four to six weeks earlier than usual. “Some of the turnouts are due to a lack of feed, and for others it is necessary to get the cows out of the corrals,” said provincial beef and forage specialist Barry Yaremcio. Under […] Read more
Earls retreats from U.S. beef sourcing
Canadian upscale-casual dining chain Earls Restaurants has pulled back from its recent public commitment to the “Certified Humane Beef” brand. Mo Jessa, president of Vancouver-based Earls, said Wednesday the company will instead begin to “work with local ranchers to build our supply of Alberta beef that meets our criteria” for animal care and treatment. The […] Read more
Federal funding available to help cut farm greenhouse gases
Reading Time: < 1 minute A federal program backing research into farm-level technologies and practices that limit farms’ greenhouse gas emissions has been extended for another five-year run. Ottawa will put $27 million into the next phase of the Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program, which gave out $21 million in funding to 18 projects in the first five-year phase. Among those […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle extend gains
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts on Monday landed in positive territory for a second straight session, driven by more short-covering and futures’ discounts to last week’s cash prices, traders said. June live cattle closed 0.875 cent/lb. higher at 115.8 cents, and August ended up 1.3 cents at 113.725 cents (all […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Sluggish beef demand sinks CME live cattle
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures settled sharply lower on Thursday, with the June contract down by its three-cent/lb. daily price limit, as sluggish beef demand threatened to pressure cash prices by Friday, traders said. Lightly-traded April live cattle, which has no limit on the final two days before expiration on […] Read more
Klassen: Limited buying interest softens feeder market
Just when I thought feeder cattle prices were stabilizing, once again the unexpected occurs. A sharp rally in U.S. grain futures, along with weaker fed cattle prices, caused western Canadian feeder cattle to trade $6-$12 lower compared to week-ago levels. Auction markets reported limited buying interest, with often only two or three larger feedlots stepping […] Read more
EU crop chem firm takes stake in Engage Agro
A Belgian crop protection firm may bring some of its products to Canada’s vegetable, vine and corn markets as it moves to take a minority stake in Canadian crop chemical distributor Engage Agro. Belchim Crop Protection announced last week it will take a “significant” but undisclosed minority stake in Guelph-based Engage Agro for an undisclosed […] Read more
Venezuela ordered to pay U.K. firm for ranch takeovers
Caracas | Reuters –– An international arbitration centre has ordered Venezuela to pay British cattle company Vestey Group nearly US$100 million for the nationalization of cattle ranches, pilling fresh pressure on the cash-strapped leftist government. Venezuela’s late president Hugo Chavez in 2005 sent in soldiers to seize major ranches and repopulate rural areas largely abandoned […] Read more
Want your pastures to handle a drought year? Do things the ‘redneck’ way
A handy mnemonic for this ranching method is ‘grass’ — graze period, rest period, animal impact, and stock density
Reading Time: 3 minutes The first thing ‘redneck ranchers’ plant is a post. “That’s why we call it ‘redneck ranching’ — we definitely don’t work in the same manner as the conventional method,” said Amber Kenyon, who operates Greener Pastures Ranching with husband Steve and their four children. “You need to start putting fences in and moving the animals […] Read more