Well, it sure has been a long haul with this pandemic, hasn’t it? I wonder what the world is going to look like in six months. Will we all remember how to socialize in real life once we re-emerge from these cycles of lockdowns and semi-lockdowns? Will we regain ground on the mental health front? […] Read more
Comment: The power of acknowledgement
We may need to drop the 'win the argument' mentality more often
Livestock Price Insurance Program expansion offers more strategic options for cow-calf producers
Recent changes to the Livestock Price Insurance program give cow-calf producers a few more tools to protect themselves against market risk. The Livestock Price Insurance Program, available to Western Canadian producers, protects producers from a range of market risks such as a rising Canadian dollar, a drop in the futures market, changes in basis levels […] Read more
Meat plant workers on deck for COVID-19 vaccination
The beef supply chain likely breathed a collective sigh of relief with news that Cargill plans to hold an on-site COVID-19 vaccine clinic for workers at its High River plant around April 20. With the rise of variants across the country, moves to vaccinate meat plant workers can’t come too soon. The Canadian Meat Council […] Read more
Comment: The problem or the solution?
March saw a flurry of press releases and articles related to climate change, the environment and agriculture. Notably, the Weston Family Foundation allocated $25 million to preserving grasslands over the next five years (see News Roundup). A pilot project for a carbon offset protocol that encourages grassland retention is also underway. This carbon offset protocol […] Read more
Comment: Still America first
Updated March 11 Depending on your political persuasion, you likely watched President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January with relief, worry or some mix of the two. Will we see a more protectionist U.S. government? Will Biden restore capacity at the World Trade Organization (WTO)? What will the mood be of our largest trading partner and […] Read more
Research shows feed additive cuts methane emissions at commercial feedlots
A recent two-year trial examined the effects of 3-NOP, an additive developed by Royal DSM, in the diets of both finishing and backgrounding cattle.
Recent research out of Alberta has confirmed that a novel feed additive cuts methane emissions from feedlot cattle by as much as 80 per cent, depending on the diet. The beef industry is frequently criticized for its greenhouse gas contributions, particularly methane produced by rumen bacteria as cattle digest feed. But methane produced by cattle […] Read more
Comment: Continuous improvement?
Canadian producers as a whole have become more efficient over the decades in almost any way you can think to measure. One example of those gains is a study conducted by researchers at the University of Manitoba, Environment Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Those researchers examined how beef production changed from 1981 to 2011. […] Read more
Alberta Beef Producers calls for reinstatement of provincial policy restricting coal mining in environmentally sensitive areas
The provincial cattle organization is asking the provincial government for "proper public consultation" on changes to land use policy
The Alberta Beef Producers are expressing frustration with the Alberta government’s decision to bin a decades-old policy restricting coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, a move that many ranchers see as threatening their livelihoods and the land they manage. Last spring Alberta’s Energy Minister Sonya Savage rescinded A Coal Development Policy for […] Read more
Comment: Your most important asset
About 15 years ago, I was sitting in a classroom at Royal Roads University on Vancouver Island when the professor said something that shifted my priorities. Bev McPhee was the professor who changed how I saw things. McPhee had a lot of experience in the corporate world, and her insights were very welcome to those […] Read more
Processing industry turns to technology to contain COVID-19
Online health-screening platforms and apps can help processors spot and control emerging outbreaks.
As communities and businesses across Canada face swelling COVID numbers, stakeholders in Canada’s beef industry are trying to help processors ride the second wave. Keeping employees healthy and containing outbreaks has been top-of-mind for processors across North America since COVID broke last spring. It’s become de rigueur to screen plant employees for symptoms each day, […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
