Bright outlook for cow-calf sector

If you thought calf prices were good this winter, just wait until next fall. During the tail end of the 2011 calf run, 550-weight feeder prices averaged around $1.60 per pound. Barring macroeconomic disasters affecting consumer purchasing power in major markets, calves could punch higher next fall to $1.75 per pound, Brian Perillat, manager and

CCA not surprised by latest COOL development

The U.S. government has been granted an extension to appeal the controversial country-of-origin labelling (COOL) law. In November, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in favour of Canada and Mexico’s position that provisions of the COOL law discriminated against live hogs and cattle imported into the United States. The U.S. government was recently given an


“Natural” is their middle name

St. Claude dairy farmers Roger and Rachel Philippe were raising their male calves instead of disposing of them, but they weren’t happy with the prices they received when they sold them for slaughter. The couple, who has 200 milk cows, don’t use antibiotics or growth hormones and use feed regimes that produce quality meat. But

Calf pulling needed less often, but be prepared

There are different ways and means to pull a calf either by hand or the use of the calf jack, and different malpresentations are dealt with slightly differently. When pulling, you need to be very aware of the stress this puts on both the calf and cow. Pulling is a skill less needed these days


Tips To Minimize Stress When Handling Cattle

There are many small improvements we can make to the way we handle cattle. I have gathered numerous hints in watching experienced producers handle their stock. There are also very good tapes and written information available through experts such as Dr. Temple Grandin. This article will attempt to summarize some of these findings. I guarantee

Demand For Feeders Still Strong From West, East

Cattle movement continued strong at auctions in Manitoba for the week ended Oct. 21, with firm demand. Feeder cattle, along with calves off the cows, have contributed much of the movement, said Robin Hill, manager of Heartland Livestock Services at Virden. Feedlot demand from both west and east continues exceptionally high, Hill said, noting the


Bull Market For Bred Heifers?

Want to know how much they are asking for bred heifers? Better sit down first. Morgan Moore is taking orders for 1,500 AI-bred, red and black Angus and Charolais-cross commercial heifers this fall. It s kind of volume dependent, but we re looking for $1,600 to $1,700, depending on how many they take, said Moore,

All boys or all girls?

Conception rates by AI are lower but being able to select the sex is a bonus

Dairymen have been using it for years to get heifer-only calf crops; now beef producers are trying out sexed semen. Guy Johnston, of Shoreline Stock Farm near Eddystone, is the first in Manitoba to join the ranks of an estimated 200 beef producers in Canada using the new ar tificial insemination (AI) technology. For me,