Glacier FarmMedia – Slow-swimming bull sperm will have no place to hide. A Scottish company, Dyneval, has created a new semen analyzer that measures a wider range of concentrations of semen than previous testing methods. This will allow veterinarians, beef and dairy producers to have more control over semen quality. The Dynescanl analyzer is also […] Read more
At Ag in Motion: New tester monitors bull fertility
Klassen: Feeder market continues climb
Futures spur larger feedlots to lock in ownership
Compared to last week, quality yearling packages traded $6-$10/cwt higher. In some cases, prices were up as much as $12/cwt. Calf markets were relatively unchanged although the market was hard to defined due to limited volumes. Pastures are drying up in Saskatchewan and certain area of eastern Alberta. Yearlings from these regions are coming on […] Read more
More bovine TB cases found in Saskatchewan herd
Herd now depopulated, one separate contact herd identified
Corrected, July 14 — Postmortem testing of a Saskatchewan cattle herd culled after turning up three confirmed cases of bovine tuberculosis (TB) has yielded six more cases. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which is tasked with testing the infected herd, said Thursday that as of July 12, a total of eight cases of bovine […] Read more
Rest stops appear to contribute to BRD in calves
Length of trip and origin of cattle may also play a role in disease-causing stress
Reading Time: 3 minutes Just how big a risk is transportation for BRD in calves? It’s not an easy question to answer, because one of the biggest risk factors is stress, according to one Alberta researcher. Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein, a beef welfare scientist at Agriculture and Agri-food Lethbridge, was one of the lead researchers in a recently completed four-year study […] Read more
Alberta lifts feeder loan guarantee limit
Amendment boosts individual limit by 50 per cent
Alberta has boosted the limit on the size of loan available under its Feeder Associations Loan Guarantee program, aiming to help producers keep up against rising livestock prices. An order in council amending the provincial Feeder Associations Guarantee Regulation was approved Monday, raising that program’s individual and joint-membership loan limit to $3 million, from $2 […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market consolidates at historical highs
Higher borrowing costs offset lower feed prices
For the week ending Saturday, western Canadian yearling steer prices were quoted $2-$4 higher; yearling heifers traded $2 higher to $5 lower. Calves were relatively unchanged although volumes were limited. Larger groups of quality genetics were well bid while second tier cattle were marginally discounted off the highs. Some ranches are liquidating yearlings about one […] Read more
The meat of the matter: Another way to look at environmental metrics
Protein density and ecosystem impacts make meat competitive with grains, says researchers
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – When attempting to get an accurate gauge of global food security and protein sufficiency, metrics matter. The food sufficiency metric must reflect what each type of food production supplies, including environmental benefits, social structures or sustainability credentials, said Vaughn Holder, ruminant research director with Kentucky-based nutrition company Alltech. “The metrics are important […] Read more
Klassen: U.S. feeder markets pull Canadian values higher
Feedlots aggressively seek U.S. corn
For the week ending July 1, western Canadian feeder markets traded $2-$5/cwt higher compared to seven days earlier. Quality groups of yearlings were up $8-$10/cwt from a week earlier. South of the border, major markets in Oklahoma had feeder steers and heifers trading US$5-$10/cwt above week-ago levels. The Canadian market is functioning to ration demand […] Read more
Bovine TB turns up in Saskatchewan herd
Two cases found after U.S. test flags Canadian heifer
A heifer whose tissues tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (TB) at slaughter in the U.S. has been traced back to a Saskatchewan cattle herd which has now turned up two more cases of the disease. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in a report dated Wednesday, said it was notified Feb. 23 by the U.S. Department […] Read more
Can Canada see beef herd expansion in 2023?
Reading Time: < 1 minute The short answer to cattle herd expansion is that it depends if there’s any money in it, says Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. “Any expansion will be dependent on this year’s weather, feed costs and conditions in the second half of 2023,” says Ann Boyda, provincial livestock market analyst with the Alberta government. “Expansion is dependent […] Read more
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