Reading Time: 3 minutes A decision to pull out of the exporter-unfriendly European beef market has resulted in 75 layoffs at Innisfail s SunGold Specialty Meats Ltd. That s unfortunately a very painful process, said Howard Oudman, the plant s general manager. It s painful for the owners, but it s even more painful for those families that have […] Read more
European Red Tape Trips Up Innisfail Meat Plant
Readers Respond About The Urban/Rural Divide
Reading Time: 3 minutes I heard from several readers who wrote to me in response to my column about the widening disconnect between urban and rural life. I was informed about pickles that were made all the way in India and told of a nephew who believed there were three grain harvests every summer. The stories are both amusing […] Read more
Lamb Industry Embracing Technology
Reading Time: 3 minutes It s been a long haul, but the Alberta sheep industry has found a system of traceability that has the potential to really work for the province s 1,800 lamb producers. We re finished testing tags, we re finished testing tag readers, we re finished testing software and we ve got something in each of […] Read more
Meat packer SunGold lays off 75 staff
A decision to pull out of the exporter-unfriendly European beef market has resulted in 75 layoffs at Alberta processor SunGold Specialty Meats. “That’s unfortunately a very painful process,” said Howard Oudman, general manager of the plant at Innisfail, about 30 km south of Red Deer. “It’s painful for the owners, but it’s even more painful […] Read more
Fall Calf Run Exciting For Some, Scary For Others
Reading Time: 3 minutes After too many tough years in the cow-calf business, there s finally a sunny mood in the auction mart bleachers as the fall calf run gets underway. Whether others along the market chain will be as happy this year remains to be seen. If you look at the cow numbers, they re down between 20 […] Read more
Bridging The Rural-Urban Culture Gap
Reading Time: 3 minutes If rural and urban Canada were a married couple, they d have moved to separate bedrooms decades ago. That frigid disconnect is one of the problems sustainable, grassroots Canadian agriculture faces in the immediate future. Maybe I m old-fashioned, but I ve made it a priority to support Canadian producers and manufacturers whenever possible. I […] Read more
Foreign Fish Serve As Underwater Lawn Mowers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sooner or later, vegetation needs to be trimmed, and that includes vegetation that grows under water where it s a bit tricky to use machinery. Solution: fish, or at least in some cases. Grass carp are still being used to manage vegetation growth in closed locations, though the fish are not being used in irrigation […] Read more
CBEF Winding Down As BIC Takes The Reins
Reading Time: 3 minutes It s said that a good captain always goes down with his ship, and Ted Haney, president of the Canadian Beef Export Federation (CBEF) is no exception. Haney, who has led CBEF since 1992, is helping with its wind-down as Canada Beef Inc. (CBI) takes over the agency s duties. CBI will bring the activities […] Read more
RCMP Members Cowboy Up To Catch Rustlers And Fraudsters
Reading Time: 3 minutes Despite the code of honour in the cow business, there s no shortage of rustlers and fraudsters or cases for corporals David Heaslip and Chris Reister to investigate. The two Mounties have a unique job in the RCMP s Alberta operations: They re full-time members of Livestock Inspection Services (LIS). Both love the cattle business […] Read more
The Language Of Limited Competition
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Competition Bureau is an independent law-enforcement agency that polices the business world by enforcing the Competition Act. However, spotting market manipulation isn t easy especially when market factors have led to industry consolidation. In anti-trust cases, intent can be the deciding factor between circumstantial market conditions and contrived ones. The following is a list […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
