Sask. seedstock operation raises Angus cattle on its sixth-generation family farm
Trevor and Cheryl Branvold raise registered Angus cattle on their farm near Wawota, Sask., a farm that has been in Cheryl’s family since it was settled in 1888. “Our kids are the sixth generation of our family to be on our farm. We have two boys, Brett (13) and Carter (10). They are a lot […] Read more
Lab meat has plenty of hurdles to overcome before it can replace ruminants
Recent news that technology has been developed to produce artificial or “ersatz” meat has caused a ripple of concern in the livestock industry. NOT TO WORRY! A couple of generations ago there were confident predictions of manufactured fluid milk and it hasn’t happened. But while I say, not to worry, I don’t mean that it […] Read more
Continuous improvement leads to big cost savings
Mike Buis says that his approach to his vertically integrated beef business is to make “one new mistake every year” — the keys being “one” and “new.” “If we’re not making at least one mistake a year, we’re not trying hard enough to do different things,” he said. Buis has a fourth-generation farm with 300 […] Read more
Grazing with Steve Kenyon
We live in a world of band-aid solutions, symptom solvers and we are all looking for that next magic bullet. Agriculture has become dependent on these quick fixes to address symptoms. If there is an issue in agriculture, such as a pest, a weed, or a parasite, then somewhere in agriculture we have developed a band-aid solution to address the […] Read more
Testes development, fertility greatly impacted by being well-fed
Young bulls need to be fed adequately for proper growth and development, and future fertility, but we are still learning about the best way to feed them, according to John Kastelic, a professor of theriogenology and head of the department of production animal health, in the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine. “In beef […] Read more
Sask. producers find balance between beef production and nature
Beef producers in southwestern Saskatchewan are being rewarded for ensuring that species at risk have a home on native pastures. Tom Harrison is a rancher and executive director of the South of the Divide Conservation Action Program Inc. (SODCAP), an organization founded in 2014 to create and maintain habitat for species at risk on native […] Read more
In a word, no
Producers often wonder if genetic markers for feed efficiency based on drylot tests reflect feed efficiency on pasture where terrain, water sources and plant diversity are very different from a pen setting. Genetic markers for residual feed intake (RFI) have been identified that correlate well with actual RFI determined during the standard trials in pens […] Read more
Developed by researchers to quickly estimate carcass composition, it could some day usher in robotic cutting into beef processing plants
Five years, 334 beef carcasses, 212 pork carcasses and 155 lamb carcasses later, the meat science team at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lacombe Research and Development Centre has proof that dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) technology is capable of accurately estimating carcass composition. DXA units might best be described as oversized scanners. Their use in […] Read more
A way to capture nutrients and opportunities
A few decades ago, the practice of growing both crops and cattle on the same farm was far more common than it is now. Today’s no-till, organic, and conventional crop producers, however, are paying close attention to soil health and crop inputs. The potential benefits of incorporating cattle back onto their farms are leading to […] Read more
Extension agronomist offers his tips on growing high-quality forages
Dan Undersander, a forage extension agronomist from the University of Wisconsin, is one of North America’s best known promoters of high-quality forages. I have known and worked with Undersander for many years and sometimes we would be on the same program. As he will be retiring this summer, I wanted to record some of his […] Read more
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