Debbie Furber

As Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada moves ahead with implementing full traceability of livestock next year, they will at some point have to start reporting the movement of cattle at the 84 federally managed communal pastures in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta. The government’s own trials with panel and wand readers to track cattle in or out […] Read more

* ern and Vivienne Pancoast have never shied away from striking out in new directions. Their openness to trying new ideas and technology has seen their first-generation farm, * &* Farms, near Redcliff, Alta. grow from one quarter and a few cows back in the 1970s into a mixed grain and beef operation with 300 […] Read more

Sheldon and Gerry Scheck had two goals in mind when they moved home from Alberta to the Scheck family farm near Cactus Lake, Sask. in 1997. They wanted to raise a family and become organic farmers. Today, with their family of four, they are making a name for their farm, Cactus Organics, by producing quality […] Read more

The fourth update of Alberta Agriculture’s popular ration balancing and feed management program, CowBytes (version 5), was on track to be released in early December. More than 2,500 ranchers, extension personnel, and feed company representatives in Canada, the U.S. and abroad have purchased the program since it was first released in 1989, while numerous colleges […] Read more

A forward-looking strategic plan has underpinned Border Line Feeders’ growth through some of the most tumultuous years the beef industry has ever witnessed. The strength of the plan is its recognition that the feedlot business is as much about people — dedicated employees, satisfied customers and community support — as it is about feeding cattle. […] Read more

Of the 1.7 million litres of ethanol fermented in Canadian plants in 2009, 67 per cent came from corn and the rest from wheat or a corn-wheat blend. At this level the plants generate about 450,000 tonnes of wheat and wheat-corn DDGS (dried distillers grains with solubles) and about 900,000 tonnes of corn DDGS. On […] Read more

They didn’t get the result they were hoping for, but a trio of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists have discovered feeding flax to cattle makes for healthier beef. The AAFC scientists recently completed a comprehensive project investigating whether long-term flax supplementation in cattle diets could increase the level of omega-3 fatty acids in the beef […] Read more

A series of studies carried out at Lethbridge Research Centre indicates withdrawing feed from beef calves for one or more 48-hour intervals during the backgrounding period is a simple and low-cost way to promote marbling in the finishing stage. In the latest trial, heifers denied feed for one 48-hour cycle just before stepping-up to the […] Read more

Here’s a great winter project if you are planning to establish treed shelterbelts around winter grazing sites or rejuvenate old shelterbelts around the yard and fields. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agroforestry Development Centre at Indian Head, Sask. has developed a new design for low-maintenance shelterbelts modelled after natural bluffs. The eco-buffers are created with three […] Read more

Last year, Alberta beef and forage specialist Barry Yaremcio was fielding all sorts of drought-related questions about balancing rations when utilizing various alternative feeds and supplements. Come spring, producers who hadn’t balanced rations were dealing with impaction problems, thin cows, downer cows, and weak calves with poor immunity. It’s the reverse this year. Most regions […] Read more