Reading Time: 4 minutes Four years after McDonald’s chose Canada to launch its landmark sustainable beef initiative, some producers and feedlots are happily cashing cheques for participating in that effort. And while the amounts so far have been fairly small, it’s a big plus for producers, say participants. “We started on that journey because we thought it was important […] Read more
Producers can now take beef sustainability to the bank
Raising ‘certified sustainable’ beef earns producers a premium and McDonald’s is going all in
Canada ready to make ‘bold statement’ with sustainable beef program
After years of effort and unprecedented industry collaboration, a national sustainable beef program is poised for rollout
Reading Time: 3 minutes The long process to create a Canadian ‘sustainable beef’ program is nearing the finish line. “We will be launching in December a national framework — this is go time,” said Cherie Copithorne-Barnes, a Calgary-area rancher and chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. The effort to make Canada a world leader in producing cattle […] Read more
Roundtable for Sustainable Beef wants your input
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is seeking feedback on its sustainability indicators for beef processing to ensure sustainability challenges and opportunities for this sector are addressed. The indicators reflect what will be measured to verify sustainable practices. The consultation runs until Aug. 29, and a link can be found on the home page of […] Read more
There’s a lot to love about Sussex cattle — but try finding any
Sussex cattle thrive in countries as diverse as England, South Africa, and Australia, but haven’t made it to Canada
Reading Time: 3 minutes I recently toured a South African farm that is home to the country’s most highly valued Sussex bull — a beautiful stud that recently appeared on the cover of one of the nation’s leading agricultural publications. South Africa is in the worst drought in 100 years, so bad that cattle farmers in other provinces have […] Read more
One last chance to comment on sustainable beef ‘indicators’
The indicators are ways to measure objects such as ecosystem health and animal welfare
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is seeking feedback on its revised “sustainability indicators” for beef production in Canada. The indicators are ways to measure sustainability objectives — such as ecosystem health and animal health and welfare. For example, one of the objectives is to maintain or enhance grasslands, pastures, and native ecosystems. Some of […] Read more
Public comments sought on definition of ‘sustainable’ beef
Committee seeks indicators which accommodate producers, consumers and the environment
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) is seeking the public’s comments on the first draft of its sustainability “indicators” for beef operations. The indicators are part of the verified sustainable beef framework the organization is developing, and reflect what will be measured in terms of sustainability on individual operations. “The CRSB has developed indicators […] Read more
The perfect cow: Two different approaches to getting the best genetics
At CL Ranch, it’s all about breeding for observable traits, but genomics is the foundation for Rocky Mountain Holsteins
Reading Time: 4 minutes You won’t find a single Angus cow in Cherie Copithorne-Barnes’ herd. But then again, you won’t find any other specific breeds either. “One of the philosophies that we have here at CL Ranch is we’re not breed specific — we’re trait specific,” said Copithorne-Barnes, CEO of the 23,000-acre ranch near Calgary. “We are synthetic cross-breeders, […] Read more
There’s no business like show business for Calgary-area rancher
CL Ranch has played host to dozens of movies and TV shows — and it’s made its farm business more sustainable
Reading Time: 3 minutes Rancher Cherie Copithorne-Barnes wasn’t dreaming about being in show business when she got a strange phone call in the early 1990s. “They asked if they could come out and bring us to a spot on our land,” said Copithorne-Barnes, CEO of CL Ranch just west of Calgary. “We stood up on the hill, and they […] Read more
The new world of ‘sustainable’ beef
Rancher Cherie Copithorne-Barnes has dealt with the movers and the shakers in the sustainable beef movement – and they're not all the same
Reading Time: 5 minutes Who’s driving this bus? Amid ‘grocery wars,’ Jamie Oliver, ‘hormone free,’ Walmart, and a storm of related debate, this is the core question many producers and others in animal agriculture have about the new swath of expectations and ‘sustainability’ programs taking hold in the industry and the marketplace. One person with a unique, up-close perspective […] Read more
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