Cattle use round bales as a wind break. (NDSU photo)

Klassen: Yearling return to the lineup on strong demand

Frigid temperatures result in limited volumes

The market hasn’t missed a beat and started the year where it left in December. The only difference is there are larger supplies of yearlings coming on stream. The benchmark levels had backgrounded steers averaging 1,000 pounds trading from $280-$285/cwt with top bids rounding at $290/cwt. Steers averaging 850-pounds were averaging $300/cwt with top-notch larger groups peaking at $305.




Fran Wilkinson and Clarke Childs pose with one of their Highland cattle at Brandon’s Ag Ex in late October.

From the lochs to the lakes

Hardy Highland cattle find their place in the Interlake

The head of the animal posing between Manitoba cattle breeders Fran Wilkinson and Clarke Childs barely cleared chest height. Except for the Speckle Park exhibitors down the aisle at Brandon’s Ag Ex, the pair’s Highland cattle sported some of the event’s smallest full-grown animals outside the sheep pens. When it came to coats or horns, however, the Highlands were the



Alberta has an emergency network, given the number of cows moving to feedlots or slaughter, but even there, nearby producers and vets have a key role in managing the fallout of an accident during transportation.

Be ready to help if livestock involved in accidents

Beef 911: First responders can benefit from local livestock knowledge when disaster strikes

Glacier FarmMedia – Every day hundreds of thousands of animals are transported across Canadian highways without mishap, but every so often, there is an unfortunate accident with animal deaths and injuries. If the accident happens in Alberta, there is an emergency network to draw on—established because of the huge numbers of cattle transported to feedlots and packing plants. Elsewhere in Canada and even


(Geralyn Wichers photo)

Klassen: Feeder market bounces on lower volumes

Feedlot operators believe yearling numbers will be down in March and April

Strength was noted in Manitoba and Saskatchewan while a softer tone was evident in Alberta. Once again, buyers shrugged off the weaker feeder cattle futures and the focus was on filling year-end orders. Alberta and Saskatchewan feedlots are carrying larger numbers but there appears to be sufficient bunk capacity available to sustain the price structure.

The industry’s standard tests for bovine tuberculosis are geriatric. Why haven’t we developed better ones?

Bovine TB test improvements fall through the cracks

Standard tests are inefficient and inaccurate, researchers say

Canada’s monitoring regimen for bovine tuberculosis is based on tests that are old, time consuming and not overly accurate, researchers say. But there aren’t any better options. “We don’t have a better test for humans either,” said one researcher, Shu-Hua Wang. Wang is a professor of medicine at Ohio State University and director of research