After a two-year review, the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) has chosen the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) to provide live cattle chain of custody tracking for the CRSB's Certified Sustainable Beef Framework. CRSB says it is confident working with the CCIA will enable consistent implementation of its Chain of Custody Requirements and improve... Read More
Category: Livestock
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is rearing its head again as migratory birds head south for winter. After a quiet summer, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed four new cases on commercial farms in Alberta and one commercial farm case in Saskatchewan over the past four weeks. There have also been at least two confirmed... Read More
When it comes time to replace cows in the herd, one of the biggest questions producers face is whether to raise their own heifer calves or buy in bred-heifers or young cows. Kathy Larson, research associate and extension economist at the University of Saskatchewan, recently joined RealAgriculture's Lyndsey Smith to discuss the factors to consider... Read More
After multiple years of drought, could relief finally be on the horizon for farmers in Western Canada? According to Nutrien's senior meteorologist Andrew Pritchard, the shift away from La Niña conditions means the deck is no longer stacked against above-average precipitation in the Prairies this winter. While specific storms cannot yet be predicted, Prichard says... Read More
Details on anticipated AgriRecovery programs to assist drought-stricken livestock producers in Alberta and Saskatchewan could be coming soon — possibly in the next week, according to Saskatchewan's agriculture minister. Federal officials signalled back in August that they had agreed to move ahead on offering AgriRecovery disaster relief programs together with the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments.... Read More
When dairy farmers and staff have free time in their day, what should they do? There's always tasks waiting to be tackled, says Cattleytics CEO Dr. Shari Van De Pol, but the challenge is often knowing what needs to be done. That's where the Moo To Do task management system can help. At Canada's Outdoor... Read More
The federal government has rolled out its new Dairy Innovation and Investment Fund, which includes a federal commitment of up to $333 million in public funding over the next decade to help dairy processors across Canada increase processing capacity for a growing surplus of solids non-fat (also known as SNF.) The program, which was previously... Read More
Persistent drought has been hard on the Saskatchewan cow herd, but the lack of workable business risk management programs will be harder on it still. Jeff Yorga, first vice president with the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, says that ranchers in the province are still waiting for the the federal government to finalize details on the... Read More
Cash cattle prices have remained "amazingly flat" in recent months, says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. "We've had basically two months of an Alberta fed cattle market, where we've been between $231-$235 per hundred weight. So we're kind of done for trade up here for the week because of the holiday," she says... Read More
The carbon tax, that "price on pollution," as the Liberal government calls it, is supposed to encourage Canadians to move away from fossil fuel use by making diesel, gas, natural gas, and propane more expensive. What the government has done or plans to do with the tax proceeds is a post for another day, but... Read More