calves in a feedlot

Beef industry travelling to a different drummer this year

After an extraordinary year in which all animal industry saw higher prices, beef stands alone in the continuation of lower production

2014 was a special year for the animal production industries with record-high farm-level prices for cattle, hogs, broilers, turkeys, milk and eggs. For 2015, a surprisingly fast expansion of poultry, pork and milk production will cause lower prices for those commodities. Beef stands alone in the continuation toward lower production, but prices remain uncertain. In

farm family

Diversifying the small family farm

The best way to avoid pitfalls in new markets — seek the advice 
of successful sector counterparts

Direct marketing grass-fed beef was how Colleen Biggs turned adverse beef market trends into an opportunity for her family’s ranch in east-central Alberta. “When times got really tough for us, we were doing the low-input swath grazing, bale grazing, everything we could to make ends meet on the ranch but when the market crash happened


feedlot cattle eating hay

Keeping feed consistent key for cattle rumen health

Cattle — and microbes in their rumens — need a consistent supply of both dry matter 
and nutrients to improve performance and reduce digestive diseases

Cattle feeders aren’t just feeding cattle — they’re also feeding the microbes that live in the rumen. And those little critters are picky. “Regardless of the production system, the challenge that we face is variation in dry matter intake and total nutrient intake,” said Greg Penner, assistant professor of animal and poultry science at the

Calvin Vaags, owner and operator of True North Foods

True North on the verge of official federal certification

At full capacity the plant will be able to kill 1,000 cattle per week

Manitoba is within weeks of having a modern federally certified livestock slaughter plant, says Calvin Vaags, owner and operator of True North Foods near Carman. “We are currently operating right now as a provincial plant but we are actively working towards our federal certification and it shouldn’t be that far away. I am estimating a


cattle eating hay in the snow

Properly processed feed wheat doesn’t cause tummy trouble

Researchers in Lethbridge swapped wheat for barley in a cattle ration without any 
negative effects — but the wheat must be properly processed

Shrinking barley acres have cattle producers on the hunt for a low-cost feed option. And feed wheat could be the answer — as long as the wheat is processed properly. “There was a feeling out there that you probably couldn’t feed more than 50 per cent wheat in the diet because wheat is quite rapidly

cattle in a snowy pasture

A new strategy for developing Canada’s beef sector

This strategy is about how we can work together to best position our industry to compete for a larger share 
of the world market and to become the high-quality beef product of choice in the world

The following is an excerpt from the executive summary from the recently released document “Investing in a strong future for Canada’s beef industry,” which maps out an aggressive strategy for industry development both short and long term. The full document can be found at: www.beefstrategy.com. The Canadian beef industry is at a pivotal point in time.


cows feeding on bales in winter

Beef leaders strive to drive industry forward

Goals include boosting production efficiency by 15 per cent and increasing 
carcass cut-out value by 15 per cent in just five years

Business gurus call them Big Hairy Audacious Goals — and now Canadian beef leaders have to figure out how to achieve the ones they’ve set for their industry. “You have to pick a place to get to,” said Trevor Atchison, co-chair of the National Beef Strategic Planning Group. “You can’t make every goal in life,

herd of cattle eating hay in the winter

Short hay this year? Try grain

MAFRD nutritionists have developed a feeding schedule to accommodate 
producers’ wallets during feed shortages

Cheap corn could be a lifesaver for Manitoba cattle producers who are short of feed this winter, but a provincial livestock specialist warns it must be handled with care. “Grain might be the ideal part of your diet this year,” Ray Bitner, livestock specialist with MAFRD, told listeners during the latest Stocktalk webinar. After calculating


cattle feeding at a trough

Label change opens door to relaunch of Zilmax

The weight gain product was pulled from the market in 2013 over concerns it caused lameness in cattle

Merck & Co. is taking steps to resume sales of its controversial cattle feed additive Zilmax by changing the way the drug is administered, hoping to recapture some market share in the beef industry, where the U.S. herd has the fewest animals in more than 60 years. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved

cattle feeding at a trough

Cattle producers have forage concerns after wet season

High nitrate levels in frost-stressed crops can be fatal for cattle

Cattle producers should test their feed this year because wet weather has compromised the nutritional value in late-seeded cereal crops, and cold weather could make them potentially dangerous, a provincial forage specialist says. “We’re quite concerned about nitrates this year after the stress that the plants have been under all summer and then with the recent