Reading Time: 3 minutes It won’t happen in a hurry, but the effort to create a Canadian ‘verified sustainable’ beef brand is moving along and will reach an important milestone by the end of the year. When McDonald’s Canada ended its groundbreaking sustainable beef pilot project last year, the torch was passed to an industry initiative called the Canadian […] Read more
Canadian ‘verified sustainable’ beef is still on the menu
McDonald’s headline-grabbing pilot is over, but the effort to boost the cattle industry’s environmental and welfare credentials continues
Farm groups welcome Ottawa’s research funding pledge
Agriculture Canada is giving positive signs that it will continue to invest in wheat and barley research
Reading Time: 3 minutes [UPDATED: Feb. 6, 2017] – Federal dollars are key to barley and wheat research in Alberta. Fortunately, there are a lot of signs that the Liberal government is willing to continue investing in it. “We’ve been happy with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,” said Jason Lenz, chair of Alberta Barley Commission. The federal government has been […] Read more
Harmony Beef announces opening date
Refurbished plant will feature state-of-the-art processing technology, not seen before in Canada
Reading Time: 3 minutes The opening date has been pushed back multiple times, but Harmony Beef is slated to open Feb. 22 and has cattle booked for the first couple of months. “When we start out, we’ll start very slowly,” said owner Rich Vesta. The American meat-packing industry veteran bought the shuttered Rancher’s Beef plant just north of Calgary […] Read more
A decade on, BSE lawsuit may finally go to trial
$8-billion class-action suit says Ottawa should have done more
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s been more than a decade since it started, but a class-action suit against the federal government for damages incurred as a result of BSE could be going to trial by the end of the year. “We had the first round of discoveries for 2015 and various questions arose from that, that there were outstanding […] Read more
Thinking of trying soybeans? Then steer clear of illegitimate seed
Unscrupulous seed sellers are bringing seed across the border that’s not suited for Alberta or is under patent protection
Reading Time: 2 minutes If someone who isn’t a certified seed dealer offers you a good deal on soybeans, it’s probably too good to be true. Although it hasn’t been seen in Alberta directly yet, there have been reports of sellers peddling illegitimate Roundup Ready trait soybeans in Western Canada. “We know that some of these illegitimate sellers are […] Read more
Make sure calves get the colostrum they need
University of Calgary animal health professor offers her tips on how to assess a situation and when to intervene
Reading Time: 2 minutes Many beef calves are not getting enough colostrum at birth, and the fallout can be drastic and last a lifetime. That’s why it’s important that calves consume some colostrum within the first four hours of life, said Claire Windeyer, assistant professor of production animal health at the University of Calgary. The probability that a calf […] Read more
Managing scours so they don’t manage you
Scours, the most common disease in calves, can quickly put you behind the financial 8-ball
Reading Time: 2 minutes Scours can put you in a financial hole in a hurry. “For every percentage of the herd that you lose, the rest of the herd has to pick up the slack,” said Claire Windeyer, assistant professor in production animal health at the University of Calgary. Producers who had relatively low calf mortality, around five per […] Read more
Bid to raise beef checkoff ‘on hold’
Alberta Beef Producers supports raising national levy to $2.50 a head, but wants to sort out provincial checkoff first
Reading Time: 3 minutes [UPDATED Jan. 24, 2017] The national cattle checkoff is set to rise in most parts of the country this year — but a hike in Alberta is “on hold” for now. The $1 mandatory checkoff, applied to every head of cattle that goes to market, generates about $7.5 million annually. The funds are used to […] Read more
Province needs to soften the carbon tax blow
‘Team Alberta’ is pitching enhanced carbon credits
Reading Time: 4 minutes The carbon tax has kicked in, but producers are still trying to figure out its impact — and what can be done to ease the hit on the bottom line. “Everything we buy — whether it is in inputs, fertilizers, freights, parts, machinery — all of those service providers to us are all impacted. Their […] Read more
Historic research ranches won’t be riding off into the sunset
The future of Onefour and Stavely ranches has been secured by the province and the University of Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes Decades of grassland research in southern Alberta will be preserved thanks to a deal between the province and the University of Alberta. The agreement will ensure rangeland studies continue at the historic research ranches of Stavely and Onefour. In 2013, the future of both sites was thrown up in the air when the federal government […] Read more
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