Western Canadian feeder cattle prices traded $3 to as much as $10 below week ago levels due to deteriorating feedlot margins and building beef supplies. Once again the bulk of the pressure was on the heavier weight categories as the deferred live cattle futures made fresh contract lows. Alberta packers showed limited interest in fed […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle market remains sluggish
Get beef innovation in a hurry
Canadian Beef Industry Conference runs from Aug. 9-11
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Beef Cattle Research Council is holding a new extension event for producers — called Bov-Innovation — at the inaugural Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Calgary on Aug. 9-11. The Aug. 10 event will feature information on innovative and emerging production practices for feedlot and cow-calf operators delivered by experts in a fast-paced lightning-round style. […] Read more
Taking a proactive approach to cattle transportation
Understanding cattle behaviour and adjusting density according to cattle type are key to proper transportation
Reading Time: 3 minutes When cattle trucker Rick Sincennes started in the business more than 30 years ago it was a different world. Today animal welfare is a profile issue in the public eye, animal activists are putting pressure on producers and the people involved in cattle transportation have an entirely different level of responsibility for themselves and their […] Read more
Dennis Laycraft new president of Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
Reading Time: < 1 minute Dennis Laycraft is the new president of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. Laycraft is executive vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and a spokesperson for the beef cattle industry on trade, product safety, and animal disease issues. The global roundtable was established in 2012 with a wide range of stakeholders, including McDonald’s, JBS, Cargill, […] Read more
Famed Hays Converter cattle find a new home — and a new future
Donating the herd to the University of Alberta will improve its genetics and make them more available
Reading Time: 2 minutes A herd of Canada’s first breed of beef cattle will soon be home on the range at the Roy Berg Kinsella Research Ranch. Dan Hays and his family are donating their herd of Hays Converter cattle to the University of Alberta for research purposes, with the herd moving to the Kinsella Research ranch by 2018. […] Read more
More cattle heading to market as drought worsens
Emphasis was on growing the herd, but that’s been nearly abandoned due to dry conditions
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s just a trickle now, but there are fears of a flood of cattle going to market if the drought continues. “It’s a little too early to be splitting up pairs, but we are seeing some pairs sell,” said Anne Wasko, market analyst with Gateway Livestock Services. Sale figures are being closely watched these days […] Read more
Alberta Beef Producers Young Guns Contest open
Submission deadline is midnight, May 30
Reading Time: < 1 minute If you are between the ages of eight and 21, and are involved in Beef 4-H, junior cattle shows or beef production – you could win $1,000 in the Young Guns Contest. The contest is put on Alberta Beef Producers and this year’s theme is: What sustainability means to you and what it looks like […] Read more
Beef Cattle Research Council looking to stretch research dollars
Council chair says move to a ‘science cluster’ approach provides more bang for the research buck
Reading Time: 2 minutes Funding cuts and restructuring mean organizations such as the Beef Cattle Research Council need to change their research approach and be proactive, says the organization’s chair. Change and downsizing is affecting both government and university research, partly because of funding woes but also because research priorities are changing, said Tim Oleksyn, a mixed cattle and […] Read more
‘Breeding to feeding’ builds better dairy bulls
Crossbred Jersey-Limousins could be the answer to rebuilding North America’s cattle herd
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta dairy producers may favour Holsteins on their farms, but down in the heart of America’s Midwest, Jerry Wulf milks around 30,000 “smaller, more efficient” Jersey cows — over half of his total dairy herd. But Jerseys have just one problem, he said. “That stray Jersey bull calf that she was raising was a liability, […] Read more
Thinking of expanding your cattle herd? Here’s a to-do checklist
Successful expansions depend on assessing risk, knowing how per-unit costs will change, and having a marketing plan
Reading Time: 3 minutes When it comes to deciding on expanding a cattle herd, or taking over an existing one, there are a few critical checkpoints to be considered. “In recent months there has been a lot of talk about the potential for beef herd expansion due to the historically high beef and cattle prices the industry is experiencing,” […] Read more
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