The Ontario Agricultural College’s Beef Science Club at Soderglen Ranches, one of the stops on the group’s “Alberta Bound” tour.

Alberta Bound: University of Guelph students tour the West

The student group’s event co-ordinator tells us how they organized a tour of Alberta ag businesses

The idea of the Alberta Bound Beef trip surfaced two years ago in the thick of the pandemic. A few members of the Ontario Agricultural College Beef Science Club were chatting about how Zoom calls and online classes aren’t substitutes for hands-on learning and being face-to-face. They joked about travelling to places they couldn’t go […] Read more

While concerns about high food prices remain, there is reason to be optimistic about domestic beef consumption in 2023.

Market Intelligence Update from Canada Beef: Retail beef prices support Canadian consumption

Amid food cost concerns in Canada, the average retail beef price throughout the second half of 2022 has been historically competitive with retail pork and chicken prices. The competitive retail beef price contributes to higher projected beef consumption for 2022. A sharp correction in the average retail beef price from September to October 2022 was […] Read more


File photo of a pedestrian crossing in front of the World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on Dec. 9, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

U.S. wants WTO dispute system fixed by 2024

Appeals body frozen since Trump era; Washington 'very committed' to reform

Geneva | Reuters — The United States is entering a third phase of talks with countries to reform the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) hobbled trade dispute arbitration system and aims for it to be “fully functioning” by the end of 2024, the U.S. ambassador to the WTO told Reuters on Thursday. The WTO’s appeals bench, […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley, wheat prices continue downward

Oats, canola meal also bound for feedlots

MarketsFarm — As colder temperatures descend onto the Prairies, buying activity for feed barley and wheat was just as frigid. “A lot of guys are fairly caught up with purchasing,” said Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities Inc. in Lethbridge. “You see the prices of wheat and barley start to trickle down a little bit. Corn’s […] Read more


CME February 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures up off lowest since December 2021

Cattle futures down with cash markets

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures rose on Thursday as strength in cash markets and rising export demand sparked a round of bargain buying after prices hit their lowest in more than a year. But weakness in the cash markets weighed on cattle futures. The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Thursday morning that export […] Read more

Miles Immerkar (Canadian Angus Association CEO), Sylvia Jackson, Bill Jackson and Canadian Angus Association president Graham McLean.

Bill and Sylvia Jackson honoured

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

Congratulations to Bill and Sylvia Jackson of Tullamore Angus on being recognized at this year’s Royal Winter Fair for their family farm’s 100-year membership in the Canadian Angus Association. If you’ve never had the pleasure of sitting down for a visit with Bill and Sylvia, you should, as they are Angus royalty and great ambassadors […] Read more


File photo of a cow grazing near Leader, Sask., about 85 km south of Kindersley. (James_Gabbert/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan holds Crown grazing rents at last year’s levels

Also, leaseholders on drought-downgraded land eligible for rate cut

Cattle producers leasing Crown land for grazing in Saskatchewan won’t see a rate hike this year and may be eligible for a significant rate cut. The provincial government announced Wednesday it has frozen the rates charged to producers who lease Crown grazing land in 2023 at their 2022 level. The freeze will apply to all […] Read more

Siddika Mithani — shown here in an illustration from a series of “superhero trading cards” published in 2022 featuring CFIA researchers and staff — has retired from her post as CFIA president. (CFIA via Twitter)

CFIA president retires

NFU calls for next agency boss to prevent 'regulatory capture'

Canada’s federal regulator for the food and animal and plant health sectors is in the market for a new president following the incumbent’s retirement. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed its president, Dr. Siddika Mithani, has retired from the federal public service effective Jan. 20. Mithani has led CFIA since February 2019, having served […] Read more


CME February 2023 lean hogs with 20- and 50-day moving averages and CME cash lean hog index (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit lowest since late 2021

Ballooning supplies an issue; cattle futures mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell to their lowest in more than a year on Wednesday, with plentiful supplies and weak export demand weighing on prices, traders said. Cattle futures were mixed, with nearby contracts easing while deferred contracts firmed on concerns about low animal weight. February lean hog futures ended […] Read more

A cow nuzzles her newborn calf. Anything from computer vision testing to a back-protecting belt may ease producers’ calving season troubles.

New calving tech and farmer-based innovations

Whether it’s artificial intelligence or a simple piece of equipment, there are several innovations that can help cut losses and make calving season easier

According to the 2017 Western Canadian Cow-Calf Survey completed by the University of Saskatchewan, 3.1 per cent of the overall 5.4 per cent calf death loss total occurred at birth or within 24 hours.  To help reduce these numbers, calving management and practices are constantly adapting with technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet […] Read more