(Resource News International) — Olymel’s hog processing plant at Red Deer, Alta. has been shut down due to the appearance of suspicious animals which arrived there from a farm in Saskatchewan, according to an official with the Canadian Pork Council. The primary processing plant closed its doors Monday to hog shipments, according to Guy Gravelle, […] Read more
Olymel’s Red Deer pork plant temporarily shut down
Man. Ag, RCMP find “severe neglect” in hog barn
Manitoba’s chief veterinary officer is investigating a hog farm in south-central Manitoba where provincial ag officials and RCMP have found “clear evidence of severe neglect” involving at least hundreds of hogs. The investigation comes after Manitou RCMP paid a visit Friday morning to the farm in the Rural Municipality of Lorne, about 65 km south […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle prices bounce
Feeder cattle prices are $2 to $4 higher for the second week in a row. Prices have bounced off the recent lows as the available supplies begin to decline. Auction markets are experiencing the seasonal slowdown while buyers are contending with excessive rain. Alberta and Saskatchewan feedlot conditions remain poor, with cattle up their bellies […] Read more
Profitable U.S. Cattle Producers Staying Small
Reading Time: 3 minutes We are seeing more culled cows going to market than we ever have. So we are seeing more liquidation.” MARK SMITH KANSAS LIVESTOCK ASSOCIATION For the first time in years all levels of the U. S. beef cattle industry are enjoying healthy profits, largely because the nation’s smallest herd in 50 years is keeping cattle […] 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
BIC CAMPAIGN DRESSES UP BURGERS
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Beef Information Centre has launched a campaign to promote “steak experience” ground beef by increasing consumer awareness of source grinds (eg., ground round, ground sirloin, ground chuck). The “A Girl’s Gotta Grill” promotion encourages women aged 25-49 who make most of the food-purchase decisions to take over the grill and “flex their tongs” by […] Read more
ELECTRONIC ID DAYS AT LAKELAND AND OLDS
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Lamb Traceability Pilot Project is holding a field day for producers to watch demonstrations and talk to the producers who are using electronic ID. The field days are at Lakeland College, Vermilion on July 13 and at Olds College on July 15. Space is limited and registration by June 30 is required. For […] Read more
Calgary vet school blazes new trails
Reading Time: 3 minutes “It gives undergrad students a chance to have hands-on practice. They get to see wire-cut horses, calvings and a dog with porcupine quills.” DR EUGENE JANZEN ASSISTANT DEAN, UCVM Veterinarians may know a horse or cow inside out, but what about their stall-side manner? Do they know how to handle owners when it comes to […] Read more
Drilling down into breeding herd records
Reading Time: 4 minutes Every breeding herd should have output targets such as number of matings and farrowings per week and average numbers born and weaned. Computerized herd-recording systems have come a long way since they were first developed in the 1980s and with today’s computing power are capable of complex analysis. But many producers don’t look beyond the […] Read more
Is the time right for breeding systems?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Growth and more growth has been an industry norm for some time. Like the dairy industry, individual beef cow output has increased through the years. Weaning weight has moved up and down through the years, which is more than likely due to environmental factors. However, the most recent data gathered by the North Dakota Beef […] Read more