Reading Time: 3 minutes In November, Chinese inspectors were taking a look at Canadian packing plants. That visit was all part of an industry goal to ship more Canadian beef under 30 months of age into mainland China. China is on the same page when it comes to Canadian trade and has stated it hopes to increase import trade […] Read more
Feeding The Chinese Beef Dragon
Weaning Right Is Easier On Calves And Owners
Reading Time: 3 minutes Taking the stress out of weaning has its benefits for the calf and the producer. For successful winter weaning, here are a few tips that you can choose from for your particular operation. Perhaps the most important practice in weaning is to take into account familiarity. The calves will settle quicker in a system in […] Read more
Getting The Cow-Calf Producer More Of The Consumer Dollar
Reading Time: 3 minutes The take-home pay for the cow-calf producer has dropped from 23 per cent of the total beef dollar to 6.4 per cent in the past 25 years. Is this madness, a market catastrophe or a slow erosion of production efficiencies? During the past 25 years there have been price, inflation and currency fluctuations. It would […] Read more
Canada’s dark secret needs to be addressed
Beef graders and the industry need to step up to improve cattle and beef quality
Reading Time: 3 minutes The seasonality in beef grades has been well documented for many years. Early fall presents its own set of problems in beef grading, specifically a higher percentage of the cattle grading B4. These B4 cattle are commonly called dark cutters, as the muscle tissue does not “bloom” or brighten to a cherry red after exposure […] Read more
Are The Good Times Finally Back? – for Sep. 13, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes The latest Canadian cattle inventory report created a feeding frenzy for feeder cattle and calves. The numbers indicate that Canadian farmers and ranchers are not retaining heifers for breeding and that the beef cow herd declined another 5.1 per cent. This equates to a 17 per cent reduction in beef cow numbers since 2005. When […] Read more
Retained ownership needs evaluation – for Aug. 30, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes As the fall run begins, many analysts are still talking about the big price break in calf prices. As I watch the world scene, it becomes apparent that the effect of the drought covering most of Russia will be a bigger factor in calf prices than we had anticipated. At the time of writing, wheat […] Read more
Catalogue Shopping Is Back, With A New Twist – for Aug. 16, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes As the Internet continues to evolve, so does usage by consumers who wish to buy food online. The world’s largest Internet grocery distribution system is in Britain. In the single largest warehouse space designated for this service, over one million food items are stashed in delivery baskets every day. According to theEconomist,the tonnage represents five […] Read more
Food Vs. Fuel— Either Way, No More For Farmers
Reading Time: 3 minutes A recent flight over the southern Canadian Prairies brought home the very nature of agriculture. Though always alluring, being in food or feed production comes with an element of risk and uncertainty. This most certainly has played out in the recent months with excess moisture in many regions, and drought and cold in others. It […] Read more
Rosy long-term beef outlook has yet to materialize
Reading Time: 3 minutes It is not until heifers are pulled out of the slaughter mix and retained for breeding that there is a drop in beef supply. Food news headlines around the world talk about the growing need for more food, including beef, due to population growth. In the past decade the price of the global food basket […] Read more
Currency Volatility Takes Its Toll On Cattle Prices
Reading Time: 3 minutes Cattle feeders need to make a little money before they pour it back into the feeder cattle Global currencies and commodities have fluctuated to the extreme recently. The collapse in equity markets spilled over to the commodities and beef was caught in the vortex. Then, as oil gained momentum, so did Canadian currency, again pressuring […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
