Features , Latest & Featured - Canadian Cattlemen

Erik Nottveit, Arvid Nottveit’s son checking cattle at Tribar Ranching Co., located on the northern edge of Lake Manitoba. Changes to Manitoba’s Crown lease program are creating uncertainty for leaseholders.

Crown land changes create uncertainty for Manitoba’s beef producers

New regulations for Manitoba’s Agricultural Crown Lands lease program caught lease-holders off guard, leaving many unsure about the future of their operations

By Piper Whelan June 15, 2020

Without his Crown land lease, Arvid Nottveit wouldn’t be able to make a living raising cattle. Nottveit and his family run Tribar Ranching Co., a cow-calf operation at Peonan Point, Man., and they rely on a Crown lease of 9,600 acres. Here on a 25-mile-long peninsula on the northern edge of Lake Manitoba, the family […] Read more

Dr. Diego Moya and his colleagues found that using lidocaine in addition to meloxicam during castration may control pain better than meloxicam alone.

Features, Livestock

Lidocaine shows promise in mitigating castration pain

Two ongoing projects highlight the potential of using this anaesthetic during processing

By Piper Whelan June 5, 2020

Producers may have another option to offset castration pain in calves in the future, thanks to work underway in Western Canada. Early results from a University of Saskatchewan study suggest using lidocaine in addition to meloxicam during castration may control pain better than meloxicam alone. Dr. Diego Moya, assistant professor at the Western College of […] Read more

Johne’s disease is tricky to diagnose, because while symptoms include weight loss and lower milk production, no fever or loss of appetite is present.

Features, Livestock, News

Developing a vaccine to combat Johne’s disease

Canadian researchers are trialling vaccine candidates, and plan to have results in the fall

By Lois Harris June 1, 2020

Just as researchers around the world are racing to find a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus, Canadian scientists have been diligently working to discover a vaccine that works on Johne’s disease in cattle. “We have successfully established and validated our research model using a commercial MAP vaccine currently licensed for use in Australia and Spain,” […] Read more

The Dycks funnel cows and calves down an alley to a split, where calves go under a half-gate.

Features, Livestock

Bringing water and cattle together

This ranching family has created water hubs in their pastures to support rotational grazing

By Bruce Derksen May 27, 2020

Sometimes a western Canadian rancher is faced with two things that just don’t seem to mesh or come together. It can become an “If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go the mountain” type of scenario. For Perry Dyck, owner and operator of Triangle D Land and Cattle Ltd. of Hanley, […] Read more

A woman herds cattle near Livingston, Montana. Market research shows that building on the credibility ranchers already hold is crucial to increasing consumer confidence.

Beef Cattle, Features

Market research reveals opportunity to educate U.S. beef consumers

Building on the public’s trust in farmers and ranchers key to communicating humane treatment of animals and increasing consumer confidence

By Piper Whelan May 26, 2020

Now more than ever, consumers are indicating they care about animal welfare in livestock production. However, the average consumer has little knowledge of beef production. In the United States, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) conducted focus groups as part of its market research to understand what consumers believe about beef production. Participants who considered […] Read more

CAAIN has allocated $15 million in its first open call for proposals, focusing on automation and digital technology that will help advance the agri-food sector and “demonstrate economic impact and value for Canada’s agri-food industry,” notes a media release from the group.

Features

Talking succession planning with Annessa Good

As a young woman and the daughter of a well-known farm transition consultant, Good brings an interesting perspective to succession planning

By Kelly Sidoryk May 22, 2020

[UPDATED: May 27, 2020] – Annessa Good refers to the transition process as a roller coaster ride and it is quite the ride, she says. If anyone should know, it is her. Not only is she a transition specialist in southern Alberta with Farm Credit Canada (FCC), but she is also the daughter of another well-known […] Read more

Smoke hangs over a pasture in a dry year.

Crops, Features, Forages

Perennial forage systems offer environmental, production benefits

More research is needed to better understand the effects of specific management practices in forage production under Canadian conditions

By Piper Whelan May 21, 2020

By optimizing the amount of carbon returned to the soil, forage production can play a major role in carbon sequestration while improving soil quality. Not only does this benefit yield, it has environmental advantages. “Soils contain two to three times more carbon than the vegetation or atmosphere, and that’s why we talk about soil carbon […] Read more

The Lasser family’s ranch is near Chetwynd, in northeastern B.C.

Beef Cattle, Features

Raising cattle at the gateway to Peace Country

Charlie Lasser has been farming since the 1940s, but he’s still trying new things to improve his feeding program and marketing strategy

By Heather Smith Thomas May 8, 2020

Charlie Lasser has been farming since he was 15, and he’s learned a few things over the decades. Today he ranches in Chetwynd, in the Peace region of B.C., but he started out in Powell River, on the coast, where his parents had a small acreage and a few milk cows. In 1940, the family […] Read more

There are many ways to improve marketing tactics, says Brian Perillat, manager and senior analyst at Canfax.

Beef Cattle, Features, Markets

Marketing game plan crucial in uncertain times

Here’s how to craft marketing tactics to manage risk and fatten your profit margin

By Heather Smith Thomas May 7, 2020

Beef producers face many uncertainties, from weather to market fluctuations. Profit margins are thin or even negative. All that risk and uncertainty can make it difficult to develop a good marketing plan or know when to tweak marketing strategies. But unexpected events are one reason producers need a good plan, says Anne Wasko, a market […] Read more

Regenerative grazing is designed to mimic the symbiotic relationships in nature.

Features, From the Ground Up, Livestock

The impact of herbivores

From the Ground Up with Steve Kenyon

By Steve Kenyon May 5, 2020

Grasslands need the herbivore just like the herbivore needs the grasslands. It is a symbiotic relationship that has lasted thousands of years without us. Nature already had this figured out long before humans came into the picture and we need to respect the laws of nature. The problems occur when we try to manipulate nature. […] Read more

New Quebec ag minister named in shuffle

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures fall on expectations of US agriculture secretary announcement

Agrichemicals firm Corteva explores splitting seed and pesticide units, WSJ reports

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