With potential opportunities in cellulosic ethanol production and feed shortages leading livestock producers to look for alternative feeds, there’s growing interest in baling the leftovers from corn harvest. A corn stalk baling demonstration billed as the first-ever in Canada was held at the 2014 Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ontario last week. As part... Read More

A coalition of North American meat and livestock organizations is keeping its legal options open as it attempts to have U.S. country of origin labeling (COOL) rules repealed. According to the industry, COOL is costing Canadian cattle and hog producers around a billion dollars per year. On Friday, a group that includes the Canadian Cattlemen’s... Read More

Snow and freezing temperatures arrived earlier than welcomed in parts of Western Canada this week. We also saw a bearish market report from the USDA and some new developments surrounding the privatization of the Canadian Wheat Board. It was also a week on the road for the RealAg team, as Shaun, Lyndsey and Bern attended... Read More

The possible arrival of the first widespread killing frost in Western Canada this week has implications for livestock producers looking to maximize feed quality for their animals. Freezing temperatures can cause nitrates to accumulate in cereal species grown for greenfeed, which can be toxic to cattle (more info here on the SaskAg website.) However, management... Read More

Today, in Woodstock, Ontario, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Dave MacKenzie, Member of Parliament for Oxford, announced an investment of $1.6 million to the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association (CLGA) to help open new export markets for Canadian dairy and small ruminants genetics. Last year, the Canadian dairy, sheep and goat industries generated over $120 million... Read More

It's not something that's been said often in the last decade, but now is a great time to be in the cow-calf business, as cattle producers are seeing all-time record high prices. "We're running about 60 cents to a dollar a pound higher than we were last year at this time," says Rick Wright, the... Read More

Hog prices have dropped sharply since hitting record highs in the middle of July. It turns out PED (porcine epidemic diarrhea) virus took a smaller toll on U.S. hog supplies than was expected, explains Tyler Fulton, director of risk management for Manitoba-based Hams Marketing Services, in the interview below. Fulton says traders were expecting an... Read More