Recently I was chatting with a few ranchers over supper after a beef cattle tour about potential long-term effects of this drought. We discussed how it might affect businesses linked to the beef sector (truckers, processors, etc.), and whether it would eat into the “infrastructure” that supports our industry and our rural communities. We weren’t […] Read more
Comment: Getting through a crisis
Boosting forage quality through ammoniation
Anhydrous ammonia can improve poor-quality forage, but it comes with challenges and safety risks.
Ranchers and beef farmers who have sourced straw for their cows may now be looking for ways to boost the ration quality. Ammoniation is one option, but it’s not easily done. Applying anhydrous ammonia is a “tried-and-true technique” for improving poor-quality forages, says Dr. John McKinnon, speaking during a Beef Research Council of Canada webinar on […] Read more
Watch water quality and mineral consumption during drought
As drought grips Western Canada and parts of Ontario, producers need to watch water quality and mineral consumption. Dr. Cheryl Waldner, professor and research chair at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, says that total dissolved solids and sulphates are two issues that farmers and ranchers should be testing for right now. Waldner was one […] Read more
A Tale of Two Ministries: The provincial auditor weighs in on slaughterhouse inspections
If you haven’t done so already, please read my earlier blog post outlining Sask’s provincial meat inspection system before reading this one. When Merle Friesen first built his slaughter plant, it was inspected by Sask Health. While he emphasizes that he is only speaking from his personal experience, the Sask Health inspection he describes is not nearly as rigorous as Sask Ag’s […] Read more
Comment: BSE purgatory flanked by drought
After 18 years, we are crawling out of BSE purgatory, having been deemed “negligible risk” by the World Health Organization (OIE). Unfortunately, drought has bookended the BSE period for many beef farmers and ranchers. For me, the onset of BSE has always been linked to the drought of 2001 and 2002. The second year of […] Read more
A tale of two ministries: Saskatchewan’s provincial meat inspections
For the life of me, I can’t understand how anyone expects the average Saskatchewan resident to understand our provincial meat inspection system, without doing a lot of research. It’s a labyrinth, but I’ll do my best to draw a map of the current system. It’s a system Judy Ferguson, the recently retired provincial auditor, knows […] Read more
‘Time is ticking’ on drought response for beef cattle sector
'We need answers like yesterday'
As Canada’s beef farmers and ranchers face drought, industry leaders are trying to find ways to secure feed and help those forced to sell rebuild their herds. B.C. ranchers are dealing with high temperatures that have “parched the grass that was there,” Kevin Boone, general manager of B.C. Cattlemen’s Association, said during a Canadian Cattlemen’s […] Read more
It’s a very delicate system: Running a small abattoir
The pandemic-related disruptions to our packing plants have triggered a lot of questions about our beef supply chain. Much of the discussion centres around why we don’t have more small abattoirs to spread the risk to our domestic meat supply. Tackling this issue is a little like eating an elephant, one bite at a time. For that […] Read more
Comment: Eye on the future
I think we’ve all heard the saying “throwing good money after bad.” This is the concise, down-to-earth description of the sunk cost fallacy, a decision-making concept loved by people interested in economics and psychology alike. The sunk cost fallacy explains the human tendency to keep investing money, time or other resources into something that is […] Read more
Bringing livestock price insurance to the Maritimes
News Roundup, from the May 2021 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
Work is underway to bring livestock price insurance to Atlantic Canada’s beef producers. While producers in Western Canada have access to the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program and Quebec and Ontario also have risk management programs, producers in the Maritimes lack any program to offset market risk. “Producers in the Maritimes manage their risk by […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
