Reading Time: < 1 minute Two upcoming cattle sales will be devoted exclusively to Verified Beef Production Plus cattle. The buying sessions, put on by JGL Livestock, are the first time cattle procurement has been offered exclusively for VBP+ cattle. The animals will be processed at Cargill’s High River plant and are eligible for the Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration pilot […] Read more
Upcoming cattle sale sessions just for VBP+ cattle
Eugene Janzen wins outstanding beef researcher award
Reading Time: < 1 minute Dr. Eugene Janzen is the winner of the 2018 Canadian Beef Industry Award for Outstanding Research and Innovation. The University of Calgary College of Veterinary Medicine professor has contributed to a number of cattle health and welfare issues. These include diseases and pathology of feedlot cattle and cow-calf operations, Johne’s disease, bovine viral diarrhea, lameness, […] Read more
Coop federee buys into Ontario feed sector
Fresh off its recent investment in the Prairie livestock feed business, Quebec ag co-operative giant La Coop federee is headed down a similar path in southwestern Ontario. The co-operative announced Monday it will pay an undisclosed sum for a 50 per cent stake in W-S Feed and Supply, based at Tavistock, Ont., about 30 km […] Read more
Today’s high-def cameras are a definite boon for cattle producers
Beef 911: There’s a long list of uses for these crystal clear images, whether from stationary or drone-mounted cameras
Reading Time: 4 minutes Technology has advanced with regards to monitoring the health of our cattle, both at calving time and on pasture. I’ve heard a few presentations, witnessed demonstrations, and have seen use of advanced cameras in the last year at two operations I deal with during calving season. Here are my impressions of them as well. Video […] Read more
They’ll drink to that — clean water boosts weight gain
Providing pumped water can boost weaning weights by 18 pounds and reduce health issues
Reading Time: < 1 minute Giving cattle access to clean water can improve herd health and increase weight gain and backfat. A 2005 study reported that calves whose dams drank from water troughs gained on average 0.09 pound per day more than those with access to a dugout. Because water and forage intake are closely related, as cows drink more […] Read more
Single-trait selection can be too much of a good thing
Dairy and beef cattle are amazingly adaptive, but problems arise when we breed for just one trait
Reading Time: 3 minutes As I have travelled the world I have had the privilege of seeing many different breeds of cattle. They come in every colour and shape, from the stocky Belgium Blue to the sleek Zebu. Some cattle can be found on streets eating food waste; others are beasts of burden working fields and transporting goods; the […] Read more
Is artificial insemination better than natural service?
Artificial insemination can put more money in your pockets, but there are several factors to consider
Reading Time: 4 minutes This article has been edited and condensed. For the full article, including price and financial details as well as additional resources, go to the blog on the Beef Cattle Research Council website). As the breeding season approaches, some producers will use artificial insemination (AI) and estrous synchronization in their breeding herd. But others won’t because […] Read more
Farm numbers fall but some sectors in Alberta buck trend
Alberta lost six per cent of farms overall, according to the latest census but some sectors see gains
Reading Time: 2 minutes While the overall number of farms in Alberta declined by the same percentage as the national average in the latest census, there were differences by sector, says a provincial research analyst. The 2016 Census of Agriculture found there were just over 193,000 farms in Canada, a six per cent drop. “Alberta had over 40,600 census […] Read more
Wendy’s to reduce antibiotic use in beef supply
Chicago | Reuters — Hamburger chain Wendy’s Co. laid out plans on Friday to trim the use of antibiotics that are important to human medicine from its beef supply, the latest step by a food company to fight concerns about resistance to the drugs in people. Starting in 2018, the company will buy about 15 […] Read more
Who’s your daddy?
A study that used DNA testing to determine the siring success of individual bulls produced some surprises
Reading Time: 3 minutes DNA testing can help you know which bulls are siring calves and make better management decisions. “There was a lot more variation in what bulls were actually doing and which bulls were siring calves than we thought going into this,” Stacey Domolewski said during a recent Beef Cattle Research Council webinar. As part of a […] Read more