Reading Time: 3 minutes Last April, the Vancouver-based Earls restaurant chain announced it would no longer source its beef from Canada, opting instead for ‘Certified Humane’ beef sourced from the United States. Though pressure from customers loyal to Canadian beef eventually forced the chain to reverse the decision, those most in the know — the feedlot associations and meat […] Read more
Cattle feeders get proactive with new feedlot animal welfare audit
Rather than wait and see multiple audits imposed by packers and retailers, the National Cattle Feeders Association developed an easy-to-use tool
These are interesting times in the cattle and beef markets
There are a number of factors in play right now, and it’s a good time to step back and survey the wider landscape
Reading Time: 4 minutes Packers lifted a lot of cattle in late summer and it will be interesting to see as we move through the fall if those fed cattle slaughtered in late summer left a gap wide enough to pull other finished cattle ahead. This would bring lighter fed cattle to the kill floor which could be positive […] Read more
Major Alberta cattle feeder set to shut feedlots
Reuters — One of Canada’s biggest cattle feeding operations, Western Feedlots, said Wednesday it will close feeding operations after marketing the cattle it currently owns, due to poor market conditions. Closure of Western’s feeding operations, likely early in 2017 once its current cattle are sold, will make it more difficult for ranchers to find markets […] Read more
Get rid of your cattle if they’re getting too big
Heavier cattle — particularly ones with small frames — can develop feet problems, especially if they suffer heat stress
Reading Time: 3 minutes Don’t keep big, fat cattle around because it could increase animal welfare problems. Animal welfare icon Temple Grandin has recently been sounding alarms about more lameness in beef cattle and part of that is related to heavier weights and genetics. “There are certain genetic lines of beef cattle that are repeating a mistake the pig […] Read more
Cattle producers and feeders in checkoff stalemate
ABP has proposed a new funding council, but that wasn’t enough to sway cattle feeders
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Alberta Beef Producers and the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association have come to an impasse on making the provincial checkoff non-refundable. And that’s put the controversial matter in the hands of the provincial government. “We’re trying to come up with a plan,” said Martin Zuidhof, chair of the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association. “That’s where it’s […] Read more
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
Partnering could be an option if feed is in short supply
There’s a lot of volatility in cattle markets right now and that could open the door to some ‘interesting value propositions,’ says expert
Reading Time: 3 minutes A shortage of feed and a dry start to the grazing season may make it worthwhile to investigate some retained ownership or other off-farm feeding opportunities, says a risk management specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “For some producers who may not have sufficient feed carry-over to sustain their production plans, moving yearlings or replacement […] Read more
High-tech feed monitoring can forecast BRD
Reading Time: < 1 minute Bovine fitness trackers aren’t the only attempt to use technology to spot early signs of illness in feedlot cattle. Most efforts are focused on detecting bovine respiratory disease (BRD), the most common (and costly) illness affecting beef cattle and they’re borrowing a page from your mom’s handbook by asking, ‘Why are you poking at your […] Read more
Cattle ID workshops coming in 2016
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Cattle Identification Program is putting on traceability workshops in seven Alberta communities for cow-calf producers, backgrounders, and feedlot operators. There will be presentations on the impact of age verification and how that impacts Canadian beef in international markets, discounts suffered by feedlots, determining age at packing plants, and the importance of premises ID. […] Read more
Beef sector wants cattle producers to speak up
Beef Advocacy Canada says farmers are the best people to engage consumers because ‘no one knows the industry better’
Reading Time: 2 minutes Want to be an advocate for Canadian beef? There’s a program for that. Beef Advocacy Canada is about to launch a new training program for beef producers willing to be the faces — and voices — of the beef sector. “We are looking to empower advocates for the beef industry — people who are raising […] Read more
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