Beef producers and packers may not always see eye to eye, but on two things they definitely agree — there’s a critical and chronic labour shortage at farms, ranches, feedlots and packing plants across the country and this issue needs a quick fix. Not a Band-Aid-style quick fix, but a well-thought-out strategy put into action […] Read more
URGENT: More temporary foreign workers needed
Absinth. An obnoxious weed for pastures
As the rains of 2010 brought signs of an end to a battering 10-year drought, Marj Veno could see that absinth wormwood was getting the upper hand in pastures around the ranch’s home place northeast of Hanna, Alta. Absinth first reared its ugly yellow-flowered head in the pasture west of the yard on the old […] Read more
Seeing the ranch as a classroom
Learning is a way of life at the Bar K
[UPDATED: Feb. 10, 2025] The Bar K Ranch has changed hands since this article was written in 2016. The current owners have a different management approach, and no longer use horses for the regular ranch work. From 400 auction market cows in the early 1980s, Bar K Ranch has evolved into a modern beef operation […] Read more
Going national with verified sustainable beef
As McDonald’s verified sustainable beef pilot heads to the finish line this April, the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) is stepping out with initiatives that have been in the works since it was formally established in early 2014. Anticipate hearing lots more from this group in the months ahead with the national verified sustainable […] Read more
Finding inspiration from within the farm community
Sarah and Logan Wray never doubted their future would involve raising beef cattle. The real decision came down to how to make it happen. Four years after setting their course they were able to start buying their first quarter of land near Bashaw, Alta., and the seeds had been planted for FarmOn, a virtual resource […] Read more
Ranching for beef and species at risk
The expansiveness of the native prairie landscape in southern Saskatchewan is in reality an illusion because at tops it’s only 21 per cent of the original grassland area at the time of settlement. Generations of ranching families have conserved vast tracts of native grasslands that may have otherwise been turned over to crops or lost […] Read more
Dan Darling heads up the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
To be known in beef industry circles as Dan Darling, vice-president and now president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), is a privilege, Darling acknowledges. To be known in his hometown area around Castleton, Ont., and at cattle shows as Dan Darling, dad of Carolyn, Julie and Margaret, is an honour. “I think I get […] Read more
Champions by design
Club-calf fever spreads across the West
Money-strip blaze, chrome, super hairy, freaky hairy, oh so stout, stylish, high in volume, show-ring swagger, long-spined, deep-sided, sweet-fronted… If you couldn’t be there, the catalogue descriptions of genetics on offer at Canadian Western Agribition’s first-ever Champions by Design club-calf genetics sale gives a glimpse of the excitement surrounding the emerging club-calf industry on the […] Read more
Big on forage brassicas
Versatility and volume outweigh any risks involved
Seeing is believing for Graeme Finn, who says New Zealanders are on to a good thing with forage brassicas for winter grazing in their grass-based systems that yield massive tons of high-quality beef, lamb and milk from the country’s tiny land base. A trip there four years ago convinced him that if forage brassicas are […] Read more
Jumping in with eyes wide open
It starts with a sound plan, say Tessa and Colin Verbeek, plus some parental support, a large helping of passion for the business, and a willingness to go for it
Tessa and Colin Verbeek will forever look back on 2015 as a landmark year. They married, established a new yardsite with a home and barn where they hosted their first annual prospect-calf open-house sale, she accepted a position as general manager of the Canadian Limousin Association, and he took the plunge into farming full time […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
