Ontario dairy producer Korb Whale, pictured with his two daughters, says the sector already has established practices and technology that can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent.

Dairy Farmers of Canada embraces goal of achieving net zero

Producers who back the ambitious goal say it’s both attainable and a good business move

Reading Time: 4 minutes Dairy Farmers of Canada has set a target for the sector to be net zero by 2050 — and is accompanying the pledge with a publicity blitz on billboards, radio, YouTube, TikTok and the internet. But how it will reach that ambitious emissions-reduction goal is still to be worked out. “We said that net zero […] Read more

CME October 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle down on quiet cash trade

Hog futures narrowly mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures weakened on Wednesday as quiet trade on the cash market fortified concerns about light demand, traders said. Hog futures were narrowly mixed, with short-covering providing support, while worries that a firm U.S. dollar will chill export demand for pork added pressure. Benchmark CME October live cattle […] Read more


It’s showtime for BCRC webinars

Reading Time: < 1 minute There’s a ‘show me the money’ theme to the Beef Cattle Research Council’s upcoming webinar season. It begins Sept. 7 with a look at the latest numbers from the Canadian Cow-Calf Cost of Production Network, which has data from 42 farms that allows insights into the difference between “top, medium and low profitable farms.” It […] Read more

Surgery on a horse at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s equine veterinary medical centre in Saskatoon. (WCVM video screengrab via YouTube)

Saskatchewan’s livestock vet loan plan expanded to bigger centres

Urban vet clinics' work with rural producers noted

Saskatchewan’s program to forgive provincial student loans for veterinarians and vet techs serving livestock producers at rural clinics will now also cover those doing the same work out of bigger communities. The province’s Loan Forgiveness for Veterinarians and Veterinary Technologists program was first announced in April last year, offering forgiveness of 20 per cent of […] Read more


CME December 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle climb on cash market optimism

Lean hog futures also close higher

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures rose on Tuesday on hopes that the pace of slaughter of both cattle and hogs will pick up after slowing down for the U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend. Short-covering was also noted in hog futures after the front-month contract sank to its lowest since Feb. 9 […] Read more

News that the massive North American Lamb Company has been placed under creditor protection has producers anxious about what happens next, says Brittany Walker, chair of Alberta Lamb Producers.

Lamb sector roiled by fall of major player

Mounting losses sink company that was going to revolutionize the lamb business

Reading Time: 4 minutes Lamb producers in Alberta are facing a sea of uncertainly after a company that hailed itself as the future of the sector went into creditor protection owing more than $50 million. The two big questions are whether the massive flock owned by North American Lamb Company (NALCO) will flood the market and send prices into […] Read more


After a string of tough years, optimism has returned thanks to stronger prices and falling feed costs, says Gem-area rancher Daniel Doerksen.

A NEW DAWN: Cattle producers get some relief with higher prices

Fall run looks promising for beleaguered cow-calf producers

Reading Time: 5 minutes Daniel Doerksen is one of many in the cattle sector who are feeling more positive as prices pick up. “To see cattle prices finally increasing is a reason to be optimistic and want to be in the cattle business,” said Doerksen, who runs a commercial cow-calf and feedstock operation along with a feedlot near Gem. […] Read more

Funding available for animal welfare initiatives

Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is spending nearly $3 million to enhance animal welfare and tracking. Animal Health Canada in Elora, Ont. will receive up to $2.9 million to update national livestock codes of practice, including the code for safe and humane transportation. The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency in Calgary will receive up to $52,140 to […] Read more



File photo of piglets at a hog operation in China. (KuLouKu/iStock/Getty Images)

Federal funding lined up for programs, planning against swine fever

Two-year package to go toward pork industry work

The federal government is putting up an eight-figure funding wall to help prevent African swine fever from ever reaching Canada’s hog farms — and to prepare against any breach. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Aug. 26 the government will provide up to $45.3 million toward a three-pronged effort to boost disease prevention and preparedness: pork […] Read more