Ranchers around Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba reached a long-awaited milestone on Sunday, more than 20 years after the U.S. implemented bovine tuberculosis (TB) testing requirements and restrictions on cattle headed south. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has lifted the pre-export testing requirement for breeding cattle and bison coming from Manitoba, as of July... Read More
Category: Cattle
When the live cattle futures are limit up, it's a good day for cattle feeders. In these turbulent trade war times, any of the commodities will take a positive day. Cattle futures have been somewhat separated from the downward swing of soybeans, lean hogs, and wheat, but sometimes commodities are guilty by association. The table... Read More
Saskatoon will soon be host to a UK company that develops rapid bacteria detection tests using blood and milk samples. Announced today, PBD Biotech has chosen Saskatoon, SK, as the headquarters for its Canadian subsidiary. The company's Actiphage technology is a "highly sensitive and specific assay" that detects live bacteria in the blood or milk... Read More
The federal and Manitoba governments announced joint funding of up to $540 million on Monday to build permanent outlets for mitigating flooding around Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin. Flooding caused major damage to homes, pastures, and farmland around the lakes in 2011 and 2014 after water was diverted from the Assiniboine River into Lake... Read More
At one time, there was a thought that wild pigs could be part of a livestock diversification strategy for Saskatchewan farmers and ranchers. After several farmers gave it a try in the early 90s, fences were cut loose and a new pest problem began within the province. There is still debate over the severity of... Read More
Ranchers in Western Canada have faced some real challenges this spring. For some early calvers the late winter posed some serious problems for mortality, and now the hot, dry conditions are posing major grass concerns. There has been talk of cattle already being pulled off southern pastures to be moved up north. From a marketing,... Read More
It has been a busy week in the cattle markets, as Canada and the United States are on the brink of a trade war that we would not have imagined a year ago. Much of that is out of the control of feedyard owners and ranchers, but the impacts will most certainly be felt, depending... Read More
USDA’s cattle on feed report, released on Friday, provided little drama as the numbers fell closely in line with expectations. Due to the Memorial Day long weekend in the US, the report was released mid day and the market closed slightly higher after the report was released. Total cattle on feed was estimated at 11.6... Read More
Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) and the Alberta Cattle Feeders' Association (ACFA) have announced they're aiming to hold a plebiscite this fall, with the goal of returning to a non-refundable provincial check-off. The two organizations announced a joint agreement "to strengthen our investment in the future of the beef industry" on Friday. They say they're looking... Read More
Year-round grazing may mean different things to different people, but to Doug Wray, it essentially means providing 'locally grown' sustenance to his herd — that is, feeding where the forage was grown. Wray implements strategies like swath grazing and bale grazing to achieve his goals, driving the cost of winter feeding down to about $0.80/head/day... Read More