New Book On Managing Prairie Rangeland

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has released an updated publication calledManagement of Canadian Prairie Rangeland.The book was written by Arthur Bailey, professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, Duane McCartney former forage and beef systems specialist at AAFC’s Lacombe Research Centre, and Michael Schellenberg, forage and range plant ecologist at AAFC’s Semiarid Agricultural Research Centre in

Three Ranchers Face Court Over TB Testing

Ranchers at odds with Canadian Food Inspection Agency over testing for bovine tuberculosis are continuing to fight their cases in court. Clanwilliam-area rancher Nick Synchyshyn will face trial May 16 on three charges under the Health of Animals Act related to an incident that occurred on Nov. 17, 2009. Synchyshyn, who was fined $3,000 earlier


GIPSA Rules Could Shrink U.S. Meat Industry

The U.S. livestock and meat industry could face more than $1 billion in annual losses, and a drop in production if proposed rules for the industry are implemented, according to a study funded by big livestock producers released Nov. 10. Earlier this year, the Agriculture Department’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administrat ion proposed rules

Tougher Times Loom For EU Livestock Farmers

Cattle and pig farmers in the European Union, squeezed by rising feed costs and low prices, face real prospects of herd cuts and more restructuring. Soaring grain prices, fuelled by a drought in Russia that has led to a grain export ban, have triggered hikes in animal-feed prices that mean many producers are operating at


French Beef Producers Block Abattoirs Over Prices

French beef producers were blocking nine out of 10 slaughterhouses of France’s top beef processor Nov. 8 to ask for a rise in prices that would relieve higher costs, producers’ organization the FNB said. Breeders accuse Bigard, which accounts for about 40 per cent of cattle slaughtering in France, of being inflexible in price negotiations.

Beef Mentorship Goes Nationwide

Following up on its pilot program this year in Alberta, the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program will now accept applications for mentorship spots available nationwide in 2011. Beef enthusiasts between ages 18 and 35 may apply online to seek one of 16 eight-month CYL mentorships available beginning in April 2011. Applications close Jan. 25, 2011. The


Cattle Industry Gets New Industry Code Of Practice

Canada’s cattle producers will get a new beef industry code of practice to guide their on-farm operations. The revised code, expected in 2013, will replace the existing one which dates back to 1991. The process will bring together producers, humane societies, scientists, veterinarians, transporters, government representatives and food industry officials to develop voluntary guidelines for

Cattle Producers Still Live In BSE’s Shadow

Cattails and swamp grass are all that’s visible on some pastures as Menno Friesen drives a visitor around his Interlake farm in an aging pickup truck. Friesen spent 45 years beating back bushes and shrubs to develop some prime crop and grazing land in the heart of cattle country. But due to the abnormally wet


Moving On

It’s been seven long years since Canada’s beef industry was brought to its knees by the discovery of a BSE-infected cow in Alberta. A lot of cattle have passed through the ring since, with most fetching prices that make it hard to be excited about this industry’s future. With their equity decimated by the lost

Scene For BSE Disaster Set In The 1970S

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