Yearlings in the ring at Northern Livestock Sales in Lloydminster, Sask. Livestock auction marts will play a crucial role in new traceability regulations next year.

A change to how the cattle check-off rate is set in Western Canada

The check-off rate is now based on where the beef producer resides, not where they sell their cattle.

On August 1, the Saskatchewan Cattle Association raised the provincial portion of its check-off, raising the total check-off from $4.50 to $5.25 per head. This also put Saskatchewan’s check-off higher than Alberta’s, which still sits at $4.50. And because so many cattle are sold across that provincial border, everyone had to put their heads together […] Read more

A helicopter dumps water on a forest fire in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.

Comment: Trying to keep ahead of the fire

Back in May 2002, a guy was running a log skidder in some bush pasture on the north side of Turtle Lake, Sask. It was hot and dry, one of those days when the temperature was higher than the humidity. I’m not sure exactly what happened. Perhaps it was just a spark from the log […] Read more


Lisa Guenther leans on a fence at a farm, with a field in the background.

Canadian Cattlemen at Sask Ag Today

Listen below as Canadian Cattlemen editor Lisa Guenther visits Ryan Young at Sask Ag Today on CKRM each week to share with listeners some of the current issues facing cattle producers. February 12, 2025 episode (above): Lisa talks tariffs — specifically, what Canadian beef industry leaders heard from their American counterparts while at CattleCon in […] Read more