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
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
Don’t leave money on the table, says marketing expert
Boosting production with good management is great, but catching an uptick in the market can make you more money
Reading Time: 4 minutes Beef producers, if you don’t have a marketing plan — get one. That’s the simple advice from Ryan Copithorne, who founded Cows In Control after his realizing “a proper marketing program was actually the best way to keep a year’s or a lifetime’s worth of hard work from going down the drain.” Having previously managed […] Read more
Renowned Alberta researcher honoured
Reading Time: 2 minutes Tim McAllister has been awarded the 2016 Canadian Beef Industry Award for Outstanding Research and Innovation. McAllister, who grew up on a cow-calf operation near Innisfail, has gained international recognition for his work on antimicrobial resistance, beef cattle nutrition, silage science, greenhouse gas emissions, E. coli 0157:H7, and prion science. He is a principal research […] 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
‘Sustainable’ beef pilot a success, but job isn’t done yet
McDonald’s pilot is complete, but now the Canadian beef industry has to create and implement its own standards
Reading Time: 4 minutes After being the first to source and track “verified sustainable” beef for McDonald’s, the Canadian cattle industry has a new challenge — create its own standards that all of its buyers can use. The wrap-up event drew more than 300 ranchers and industry players to celebrate the accomplishment — a sharp contrast to the quiet, […] 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
Is scrapping ALMA a mistake?
Reading Time: < 1 minute The dissolution of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency in last month’s provincial budget may be a step backward for Alberta’s agri-food processing industry. “I know ALMA was able to move fairly quickly in terms of responding to both opportunities and concerns and really apply resources in a very forthright fashion because of the way […] Read more
Database follows the money to the packing plant
Study of carcass data shows cattle from an elite breeding program were worth more than $200 a head than the average calf
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sharing data through the entire beef chain adds value that can translate to economic gains — although how much of that might go to cattle producers is a question yet to be answered. McDonald’s Canada, Beefbooster, and BIXSco — the company now running the Beef InfoXchange System — recently collaborated with Livestock Gentec to analyze […] Read more
VBP program being expanded
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Verified Beef Production (VBP) program is being expanded to VBP Plus. The new version of the on-farm food safety program will use third-party audits of production practices and include modules for biosecurity, animal care, and environmental stewardship. The expanded program will allow producers to demonstrate that Canadian beef is being “produced in systems that […] 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
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