Beef cattle & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

Scene For BSE Disaster Set In The 1970S

By Ron Friesen November 4, 2010

Industry veteran Charlie Gracey saw it coming. Gracey traces the current beef industry slump back to the 1970s which, in his view, set the stage for the post-BSE downturn. “During the four-year period from 1974 to early 1978, the industry tanked due to exuberant oversupply and huge amounts of equity were lost, particularly in the

Beef cattle, Cereals, Livestock, Opinion

Cows Are A Tough Business

By Kevin Hursh October 28, 2010

With the fall calf run underway, cow-calf producers are rejoicing over this year’s dramatic improvement in prices. They have been many years with heavy losses and lots of producers have said “to heck with it all” and have sold off their herds. Unfortunately, the big improvement in prices doesn’t necessarily mean that profitability has arrived.

Beef cattle, Livestock

Canada Beef Seen Shipping To China By December

October 28, 2010

Canada’s first commercial shipments of beef and tallow to China in seven years may happen in December or early 2011, with technical work remaining to follow through on the Asian country’s political commitment to ease restrictions, an industry official said Oct. 19. China agreed ahead of G20 meetings in June to accept Canadian boneless beef

Beef cattle, News

U. S. Beef Packers’ Losses Seen Reversing Late Oct.

By Jerry Bieszk October 21, 2010

U. S. beef packers have not slowed their pace of slaughter, despite negative profit margins for as long as three weeks, in a possible sign that a turnaround is at hand later this month, livestock analysts said. The analysts said demand was expected to pick up in late October and continue through end of the

Beef cattle, Livestock, News

Alberta Reaches Compromise On Checkoff War

By Ron Friesen October 14, 2010

Acompromise on the controversial elimination of a mandatory Alberta cattle checkoff will help restore lost funding for Canada’s financially squeezed beef agencies. Alberta’s two biggest cattle associations have negotiated a three-year agreement to bring back a national checkoff on live cattle sales in the province. The deal will restore $1 of the previously mandatory $3-a-head

Beef cattle, Livestock

Information Key To Giving Feedlots What They Want

By Ron Friesen October 7, 2010

Henry Rosing is a straight-ahead commodity beef producer. He’s not hormone free. He’s not organic or natural. He doesn’t differentiate his beef as a specialty product. He doesn’t supply niche markets. Yet his production methods are such that feedlot buyers in Eastern Canada are willing to pay in the top end of the price range

Beef cattle, Country Crossroads, Poultry

Turkey Not Just For Thanksgiving Any More

By Ron Friesen October 7, 2010

It’s a traditional holiday scene: A golden-brown roasted turkey accompanied by mashed potatoes, gravy and all the trimmings on the dining room table. But try picturing that scene at some time other than Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. That’s the challenge facing the Turkey Farmers of Canada. The good news is that 36 per cent of

Beef cattle, Livestock, Oilseeds

Omega-3 Beef Trial Falls Short

By Daniel Winters September 30, 2010

Beef researchers hoping to emulate omega-3 enriched pork, poultry and eggs by adding flax to cattle diets are finding it’s easier said than done. In order for beef marketers to slap a Health Canadaapproved label on beef touting it as a source of the “good” fat that helps prevent heart disease and stroke, the meat

Beef cattle, Livestock, News

Argentina Stakes Out Premium Beef DNA

By Eduardo Garcia September 30, 2010

Tipping the scales at more than a tonne, Montecristo would yield a lot of prime Argentine steak. But ranchers are not interested in sending bulls like him to slaughter; his semen is far more valuable. With newly affluent consumers from Brazil to China eating more meat, Argentine ranchers are honing their centuries-old cattle-breeding traditions to

Beef cattle, Livestock, Other livestock

Bison Industry Reaches Out To Newcomers – for Sep. 23, 2010

By Daniel Winters September 23, 2010

Red-hot demand and soaring prices for bison meat have producers smiling, but are causing headaches for marketers. “It’s going to take time, and people have to understand that,” said Terry Kremeniuk, executive director of the Canadian Bison Association. “The North American herd is very small and the demand is very high.” The association is trying

Daily Network News

New strategies needed for Canadian agriculture to stand out in global trade

Feed Grains Weekly: Cash prices for wheat, barley largely flat

The Canadian GMO mustard wars: Dijon vs canola

Beef cattle