When I buy beef from my neighbourhood butcher in Guelph, I don’t chisel him on price. He sells excellent beef, and he and his suppliers deserve decent money for connecting with the cattle farmers who produce it. If I have to cut corners, I’ll save on some other part of the meal — for example,... Read More
Category: Cattle
There are good times and there are bad financial times for cattle producers. So far 2014 has been a period of very positive margins. As feeder and live cattle prices have soared higher, the Canadian Dollar and feed costs have lowered quite rapidly. This has put pressure on feedyards to find additional financing requirements in... Read More
Shaun Haney talks to Kevin Grier from the George Morris Center about the demand challenges for retail beef in 2014. Kevin has been doing some interesting research on how much beef is featured in grocery store fliers and he is not liking the trend. One of the big indications for beef demand is always the... Read More
The Alberta Beef Industry Conference celebrated its eleventh year from Red Deer last month. With presentations and discussion largely based around the theme, "A Social License to Operate," the conference demonstrated an impressive ability to address current issues in agriculture. A few of the topics were more specifically centred around animal care. Following an update... Read More
Beef Advocacy Canada has launched its advocacy and education program. Canada Beef and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) along with funding from the Alberta Livestock and Meat Association (ALMA), have brought together industry partners to develop a comprehensive program that will walk future beef advocates through the entire industry from gate to plate, a press... Read More
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture hosted the 2014 Agriculture Trade Summit in Saskatoon in early February. It was there that I met Jennifer Higginson, deputy director of the trade negotiations division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Higginson's presentation dealt largely with the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), citing an eventual elimination of over 95%... Read More
Where there are livestock, there's going to be manure. Tonnes of it, in fact. And while that "brown gold" may eventually make its way to neighbouring fields, all livestock owners, but especially feedlots, have to plan for manure management, storage and use. Manure is rich in nutrients, but too much of a good thing is... Read More
By Cheyenne Stapley This post first appeared on Stapley's blog Little Prairie Baby. Visit the blog here. Editor's note: According to the ESRD, there are currently 980 feral horses on the Southern East Slopes alone; it is suspected this number is actually low. Currently in Alberta there are capture permits out to cull some of... Read More
Scrutiny over animal welfare issues in agriculture continues to expand, as social media tools provide easy sharing of horrific acts, often painting an entire industry with the same negative brush. Beef producers, like many others, are very aware of the issues and have taken the initiative to develop the Code of Practice for the Care... Read More
In photography, depth of field is a term used to describe the zone within a shot that appears acceptably sharp. It is one of the most powerful tools a photographer has to draw attention towards (or away from) a particular subject. It also happens to be the title I chose for a new series. "Depth... Read More