Reading Time: 4 minutes Keeping the cows fed all winter can be a real chore. First, you have to remember to keep the tractor plugged in so it will start when it’s needed. If it’s an old junker, you might want to keep a can of ether handy, too, for a good snort up the intake when it’s really […] Read more
Keeping Wires Hot Amid Ice And Snow
Food Security: More Than Buyer Meet Seller
Reading Time: 3 minutes The modern warehouse-on-wheels food distribution system, with its just-in-time delivery from producers to processors, and finally to retailers, works just fine. But there is a dark side. Not only is it totally dependent on a smoothly functioning economy and uninterrupted supplies of fossil fuel for powering every link in the chain, it is also enormously […] Read more
Study Looks At Changing Climate – for Oct. 11, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes Think climate change is a load of bull? Or do you view it as mankind’s greatest threat? It’s a heated debate but for plant ecologist Mike Schellenberg, the big question is how ranchers – or, more specifically, the grasses in their pastures – will fare if climate change does occur. “If the climate warms, the […] Read more
Omega-3 Beef Boost From Feeding Flax Proves Elusive – for Oct. 11, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes STAFF |BRANDON, MAN. Beef researchers hoping to emulate omega-3-enriched pork, poultry and eggs by adding flax to cattle diets are finding it’s easier said than done. In order for beef marketers to slap a Health Canada approved label on beef touting it as a source of the “good” fat that helps prevent heart disease and […] Read more
Riding The Green Tourism Wave – for Oct. 11, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes staff |banff Horses are everywhere in Banff. On the town’s main strip, they clip-clop along pulling carriages full of tourists while a stream of cars, buses and motorcycles roar past. On the banks of the Bow River, they gently amble along while a guide in an oilskin slicker and cowboy hat keeps careful watch. And […] Read more
BEEF Still A Top Choice For Consumers – for Aug. 30, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes Pop stars may sneer that “beef stinks,” but beef is still on the menu in 96 per cent of Canadian households and for 93 per cent of individuals, the Beef Information Centre says. “That compares fairly closely with chicken, which scored 98 per cent on households and 97 on an individual basis,” Beef Information Centre […] Read more
R-CALF Turns Its Sights On Big U.S. Meat Packers – for Aug. 30, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes R-CALF USA, the rancher group Canadian beef producers love to hate for trying to block imports, has another target these days – big U.S. packers. R-CALF’s call for tougher enforcement of the 1920s-era Packer and Stockyards Act came under fire at the recent Canadian Cattlemen’s Association semiannual meeting. CCA director of international relations John Masswohl […] Read more
Domestic And Export Beef-Marketing Arms To Merge – for Aug. 30, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes Faced with declining checkoff dollars, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is looking to merge its two marketing arms. The roles of the Canadian Beef Export Federation (CBEF) and the Beef Information Council (BIC) are currently under review with an eye on cutting costs, said Brad Wildeman, former head of the CCA who is currently co-chair of […] Read more
BIXS ID system ready for prime time – for Aug. 30, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ranchers who wondered why they bothered to put RFID tags in their calves’ ears every spring will soon find out the reason. After extensive beta testing by computer-savvy ranchers this summer, the online record-keeping system called the BIXS, or Beef InfoXchange System, will be ready for launch for the cow-calf sector by September of this […] Read more
BIC touches up “buy local” policy – for Aug. 30, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Beef Information Centre has clarified its policy regarding support for regional and provincial marketing initiatives. In a BIC committee meeting, members agreed in principle to accept a new draft guideline that states the centre will provide promotional materials and technical support for “buy local” and public relations campaigns and shows, provided that they do […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
