It’s 2003, and a crisis is descending on the Canadian cattle herd. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has just been found in a black Angus cow in Alberta. Chaos follows: borders slam shut and the government pledges millions in aid. The border to the United States will remain shuttered until 2005, when it opens for young […] Read more
Cattle sector weighs in on new traceability regulations
While some changes are seen as practical and positive, industry officials are concerned about others that could add complications and cost
Canadian company to launch anaesthetic-infused castration bands
Solvet’s new castration bands will release lidocaine slowly, providing long-term pain relief for animals during and after castration
Journalists pack the room at Solvet’s operations in Calgary, Alta., hands in the air as they pepper Anders Olson with questions. A table holds Gatorade and donuts for the media tour, part of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress held in Olds, Alta., this summer. Anders Olson, product manager and sales support for the […] Read more
Electronic logs in trucking industry raise concerns for fall cattle run
A shortage of drivers combined with regulations around rest times could add up to complications for truckers and auction marts this fall
Truck drivers have always travelled for long hours — especially when hauling livestock over the prairie or into the boreal forest of northern Ontario to their destination. Such trips illustrate the tricky balance between ensuring drivers get enough rest, yet complete the trip as quickly as possible for the sake of the animals they’re hauling. […] Read more
The drive to monetize environmental sustainability
While some are moving to create voluntary environmental goods and services markets, moves to bring in environmental accounting standards worry many in the industry
Does the push to link environmental sustainability to commerce present opportunities or risks to Canada’s beef producers? The answer, it seems, is: it depends. On the one hand, there is a grassroots movement to reward producers who are voluntarily providing ecosystem services. Ecosystem services include a variety of things: provisioning services (for example, flow of […] Read more
Bringing cattle to the classroom
Julie Mortenson’s ‘Classroom Cattle’ program encourages students to ‘adopt’ a calf from her family’s ranch and watch it grow
Julie Mortenson grew up in the heart of cattle country. Today, she’s found a way to share some of that experience with students who don’t have the chance to spend time on farms and ranches. Originally from north of Grand Prairie, Alta., Mortenson spent her childhood on the land as she helped on her parent’s […] Read more
Livestock investigator joins Sask. RCMP
Corporal Owen Third worked at the RCMP for 18 years before taking on the role of livestock investigator, a role new to the RCMP. With two in Alberta and one in British Columbia, he says it was time Saskatchewan had one, as well. “When I started at the beginning of October, it was number one, […] Read more
Rotating to managed grazing
Rancher Greg Judy of Missouri explains why he switched from continuous to rotational grazing
Greg Judy’s farm in Rucker, Missouri, sounds picturesque: mild winters, flat land broken by rolling hills, dotted by livestock. “It’s not row cropland,” Judy says, speaking at the Western Canadian Conference on Soil Health and Grazing last winter. “It’s just basically rolling hills, very thin topsoil. And so what we’re dealing with there, folks, is […] Read more
Rebuilding relationships between Indigenous and ranching communities in B.C.
The B.C. Cattlemen’s Association and First Nations communities are looking for common ground and ways to support Indigenous producers
British Columbia is the epitome of “land” with all its different landscapes — the rolling hills that turn into snow-capped mountains, the rainforests in the south and boreal forests in the north, the salty beaches on the coast and prairie near the Alberta border. This land is important to so many of the people who […] Read more
Largest conservation project in Canada underway
Ralph Thrall III says that if you’re going a reasonable speed, it takes an hour and a half to go from kitty-corner to kitty-corner of the McIntyre Ranch. “That’s if you don’t stop for pictures,” he says with a laugh at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) McIntyre Ranch announcement one June 15. The McIntyre […] Read more
Veterinarian pushes back against bias in ag and vet communities
Despite the vet shortage, some veterinarians feel less than welcome, says one vet
Dr. Sydney Crosby’s career path is a perfect example of taking the route less travelled by. It hasn’t been an easy road, but her passion has sustained her on the journey. Growing up in Athens, Georgia, she wasn’t introduced to beef medicine until she took an agriculture program at the University of Georgia. But today […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
