Black soldier flies are held in a pen at the Enterra Feed Corporation in Langley, British Columbia.

Bugging out

Insect farms gear up to feed soaring global protein demand

Layers of squirming black soldier fly larvae fill large aluminum bins stacked 10 high in a warehouse outside of Vancouver. They are feeding on stale bread, rotting mangoes, overripe cantaloupe and squishy zucchini. But this is no garbage dump. It’s a farm. Enterra Feed, one of an emerging crop of insect growers, will process the


Cows herded in to holding pen

Cattle prices stay on strong side

There was just a slight price drop for some feeder steers 
and heifers this past week

Prices for cattle at Manitoba auction marts continue to stay strong, but some classes did drop off slightly during the week ended November 17. Feeder steers in the 300 to 400 lb range softened by a few dollars along with heifers in that same weight class. Most classes and weights of calves were four to

Test feed grains for best results

The weather this growing season is translating into feed grain quality issues

One of Western Canada’s leading grain quality testers says early harvest samples are showing a high risk this year for potential feed quality issues. Canadian Bio-Systems, of Calgary, is advising livestock operations and feed mills to take steps to safeguard feed quality and livestock performance. “The risk of feed grain quality issues that can affect

A shrunken herd has buoyed prices, but isn’t good for the long-term future of the cattle sector.

Make hay while the sun shines, says producer panel

It’s good times in the cattle business, but there are things that need to get done before the next downturn

Good times don’t last forever, so use them wisely. That, in a nutshell, is the advice of four Alberta cattle producers who were asked for their thoughts on the current state of the sector and what lies ahead. A decade of misery following the BSE crisis in 2003 has been followed by record-high prices, and