cattle drinking water at a dugout

Unpacking a water quality test

Learn how to read the results of a water quality test and what they mean for your herd

Water quality is often overlooked when developing cattle rations. For every kilogram of dry feed consumed, an animal drinks between three to five kg of water. Temperature and feed type can affect water intake. As well, lactating cows have a higher water intake compared to pregnant animals. A lack of water reduces feed intake and […] Read more

CME October 2023 live cattle with 20- and 50-day moving averages and August 2023 live cattle (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle firm, hogs mixed

Cattle supply outlook overrides demand concerns

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures firmed on Thursday, buoyed by a round of technical support as the market remained near last week’s highs. Feeder cattle contracts also posted gains, while lean hog futures were mixed Traders said that tight supplies underpinned cattle futures prices despite demand concerns. CME August live […] Read more


Calgary hosts Beef Improvement Federation

Calgary hosts Beef Improvement Federation

Purely Purebred, news from the August 2023 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

In early July, the Beef Improvement Federation held their 55th Annual Research Symposium and Convention in Calgary, Alta. The last time it was held in Canada was back in 2008 and this year, 356 attendees came from Canada, U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Northern Ireland, Finland and the UK. The organizing committee had their work […] Read more

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Drought Monitor map at July 31, 2023. (AAFC)

Prairie Forecast: Cooler and unsettled

Issued Aug. 9, covering Aug. 9 to 16

First off, I must apologize for not producing an update to the last forecast; I had the opportunity to do some backwoods camping, which meant I was off the grid for about five days. I’m back now, and from the weather model runs I’ve been able to check out, this forecast period is going to […] Read more


CME October 2023 live cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle up on U.S. supply worries

CME lean hog futures sag

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures strengthened on Wednesday as tight U.S. supplies continued to support the market, analysts said. Feeder cattle futures also advanced, while lean hog futures declined. The live cattle market is largely trading sideways in the most-active contract this week after finishing with strong gains on Friday, […] Read more

Comment: Resilience

Comment: Resilience

On July 5, a young man named Lane from Alberta called into The Ramsey Show, a personal finance podcast and radio show founded by a southern Baptist named Dave Ramsey, who issues fiery sermons against personal debt. Asked by the show’s hosts how he was doing, Lane said: “Pretty good, pretty good, can’t complain.” Lane […] Read more


CME October 2023 live cattle with 20-, 30- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle steady to weak

Hogs mixed with demand in focus

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures were steady to weak, while hog futures were mixed on Tuesday, with the market pressured by demand concerns as the end of grilling season nears, traders said. August live cattle futures ended unchanged at 179.7 cents/lb. (all figures US$). Most-active October live cattle fell 0.525 cent, […] Read more

Pasture sage on a sandy hillside near Olds, Alta. There’s movement to create voluntary markets for environmental services provided by ranchers, but attempts to introduce mandatory environmental accounting standards worry industry leaders.

The drive to monetize environmental sustainability

While some are moving to create voluntary environmental goods and services markets, moves to bring in environmental accounting standards worry many in the industry

Does the push to link environmental sustainability to commerce present opportunities or risks to Canada’s beef producers? The answer, it seems, is: it depends. On the one hand, there is a grassroots movement to reward producers who are voluntarily providing ecosystem services. Ecosystem services include a variety of things: provisioning services (for example, flow of […] Read more


Aerial view of Centerm, a Burrard Inlet terminal for containerized cargo at the Port of Vancouver. (Bloodua/iStock/Getty Images)

B.C. longshore workers ratify new deal

Minister pledges review of 'how disruption on this scale unfolded'

Longshore workers at British Columbia’s seaports have voted to accept the terms of a new four-year labour deal, ending five weeks of labour outages at Canada’s West Coast. Negotiators with the B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and International Labour and Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada), working with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), reached a new […] Read more

(Geralyn Wichers photo)

Klassen: Upward momentum in feeder market eases

Feedlots seen in 'risk assessment mode'

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets were relatively unchanged. Higher-quality groups of yearling heifers appeared to trade steady to $2 higher on average while steer markets traded $3-$4 higher to $2 lower. Calf prices are unchanged from seven days earlier. The rally in deferred live cattle futures has stalled for the time […] Read more