Reading Time: 5 minutes A chronic shortage of workers isn’t just a problem for meat packers, but all of agriculture, say experts. Mark Chambers sees the impact every day at Sunterra Farms, but also knows his experience is being mirrored across the country. “If we can’t get enough labour to produce the value-added products or to expand and grow, […] Read more
Worker shortage handicapping ag sector
Plants have jobs but not enough Canadians interested in them
Digital meat-grading scanner making its way to the processing floor
The device developed at U of A uses near infrared and visible light to detect fat and meat colour
Reading Time: < 1 minute Grading is an important step for processors, and the industry has traditionally used human graders to measure qualities such as marbling, as well as fat colour and texture. But processors are now moving towards electronic grading tools and technology. Technologies such as the Computer Vision System’s BeefCam module have achieved up to 64 per cent […] Read more
A big bet on Alberta’s lamb sector
The Alberta processor has spent $8.5 million on a new feedlot and plant expansion
Reading Time: 4 minutes Is Alberta’s sheep industry ready for expansion? That’s the debate circulating in livestock circles this fall. On the one hand, there is the bold development of Sungold Meats. On the other is a somewhat cautious group of producers. The Alberta processor is betting two major projects along with pricing incentives will boost production in the […] Read more
Lamb producers tallying the cost of coyote predation
Coyotes are classed as pests, and so producers receive no compensation for lost livestock
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s always a nightmare when a sheep producer goes out into the yard and sees that an animal has been ripped apart by predators. “Some years are worse than others,” said Bill Gibson, a sheep producer near Bashaw. “We did lose 25 lambs one year in a short period of time, and that was very […] Read more
New carcass evaluation system key to moving lamb industry forward
An accurate evaluation system would be a basis for providing economic incentives for high quality
Reading Time: 2 minutes A key issue with Canadian lamb is the lack of homogeneity among lamb carcasses, resulting in inconsistent size of meat cuts. This is a challenge for retailers and restaurants as they strive to offer a consistent quality product to their customers. This challenge could be solved, in part, with an improved carcass evaluation system, something […] Read more
Daysland lamb producer reveals her secret for success
Lisa and Troy Greenstein were thinking about hobby farming when they left city life behind, but it’s become much more
Reading Time: 3 minutes Persistence is the key ingredient if you want to get your farm product into grocery stores, say Lisa and Troy Greenstein. “I’m like a dog with a bone — if I get an idea in my head, I don’t let it drop until we get there,” said Lisa. “Two and a half years ago, I […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
