Kris Ringwall is the director of the newly minted Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence near Saskatoon, Sask.

Kris Ringwall takes the reins at Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence

Extension’s role is “always to make producers think,” says former NDSU extension director

It’s a foggy November morning south of Clavet, Sask. Cattle grazing bales gradually emerge from the mist to eye strangers. Near the grazing cattle is the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence. The recently opened centre is focused on research, teaching and working with the livestock and forage industries. It comprises 27 quarters of land […] Read more

Close-up view of a brown and white Hereford cow's eye.

Comment: Moving on from the plebiscite

From the January 2019 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

The Alberta Beef Producers plebiscite results were a disappointment for those hoping for a non-refundable provincial check-off. In case you haven’t been following it, here’s a quick summary of the situation. Each year the Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) collects $4.50 per head on cattle sold within the province. The national check-off, which supports the Beef […] Read more


A more tightly backed bale is better at shedding water than a less dense bale.

Managing weather risks to feed and water

You can’t control the weather but you can increase your operation’s resilience

Drought is a fact of life for beef producers. And if it’s not too dry, there’s a good chance it’s wet enough to complicate haying operations. Producers can’t control the weather, but they can mitigate risks to water sources, pasture and feed. Extension specialists with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry share ideas on protecting those resources […] Read more

The study tracks the performance of pregnant beef cows swath grazing a polycrop mixture versus straight barley.


Polycrop grazing goes under the microscope

Research: News Roundup from the November 2018 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Those wondering about polycrop potential to sequester carbon, improve soil health and benefit animal performance will have some answers by the fall of 2019 thanks to research underway at the University of Saskatchewan. Jacqueline Toews, a graduate student in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, is halfway through a two-year study comparing the costs and […] Read more





(Photo courtesy Jason Gizen)

Fire guts Saskatchewan town’s last elevator

Residents of Prelate, Sask. had a rude awakening Tuesday as the village’s last grain elevator, owned by Paterson Grain, was engulfed in flames. Calls to 9-1-1 started coming in at 5:48 a.m. Tuesday, according to Jason Gizen, a local volunteer firefighter and pedigreed seed grower. Gizen lives in the house closest to the elevator and […] Read more

(DonaldJTrump.com)

Protectionism game comes with raised economic stakes: Frum

As U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration day approaches, the business world is pondering how the new administration might affect the world economy. Trump’s pride in his unpredictability is troubling, given he’s the president-elect, said David Frum, political commentator, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, and a senior editor for Washington-based magazine The Atlantic. However, […] Read more


A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent monitors the Canada/U.S. border near Sweet Grass, Montana, about 100 km southeast of Lethbridge. (CBP.gov)

Guenther: Canada’s beef export sector waiting, watching

As speculation swirls around U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to renegotiate NAFTA, officials with Canada’s beef industry are taking a measured approach. They’re not ignoring the possibility of trade disruptions in the U.S., said Ryder Lee, CEO of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association — “but neither are we lighting our hair on fire yet at each […] Read more

Richardson Pioneer agronomist Jeneen Ewen shared this photo with us last summer showing what turned out to be stemphylium blight in a southwestern Saskatchewan lentil crop.

Guenther: Farmers aim to keep pulse diseases in check

Rain makes grain, the saying goes — but too much spring rain and farmers are likely to see disease in pulses. That’s certainly been the case in Saskatchewan, where farmers in most regions are actively scouting for, or in some cases spraying for, crop diseases, according to the provincial crop report. So which leaf diseases […] Read more