Don Campbell poses by the cow herd in April 2023.

Don Campbell on lifelong learning and personal growth

This long-time rancher and educator reflects on how holistic management has helped him make better decisions

Meadow Lake rancher Don Campbell has long been a holistic management advocate and a catalyst for change. Campbell and his wife Bev are household names within the global holistic management community, but Campbell also garnered a mainstream audience of beef and forage producers as a long-time contributor to Canadian Cattlemen. Campbell’s career as a rancher and […] Read more

Green needle grass in a pasture of native prairie near Hanley, Sask. Plants function differently within diverse polycutures than monocultures.

Essentials for profitable ranching: Part one

What makes a profitable ranch? Burke Teichert introduces his five ‘essentials’ and unpacks the first two

Since the end of World War Two, we have been developing a ranching and farming culture more dependent on fossil fuel, iron, synthetic fertilizers and chemicals. Early on those inputs (tractors, vehicles, equipment, seed, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) were relatively inexpensive. During the last 60 years, those input prices have increased more rapidly than the […] Read more


cow herd in aspen

Cows can control Canada thistle and brush

Managed grazing is one way to suppress aspen and thistles in your pasture

Last fall, while driving through central Alberta and Saskatchewan, I saw pasture after pasture full of mature Canada thistle and aspen regrowth, which reduce available forage. Over the years, research has found that rotational grazing can help control these weedy outbreaks. The main reason for rotational grazing is to give plants a chance to regrow […] Read more

Mark Hoimyr stands in front of his cattle as he addresses attendees at the Canadian Farm Writers Conference in September of 2022.

Box H Ranch explores severe grazing

Laura and Mark Hoimyr focus on longer rest periods on their ranch in southeastern Saskatchewan

It’s a September afternoon when a large charter bus coasts down the back roads near Gladmar, Sask. The hills roll like waves, and the bus rolls with them, inducing nausea. Before long, the bus slows, then stops. Farm journalists and communicators, part of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation annual conference, file off the bus and […] Read more


A large sprinkler waters a crop of carrots during dry conditions. The Nova Scotia Federation of Agri- culture is connecting livestock and vegetable producers to graze cropland.

Farmer seeking grazier: Matching crop and livestock producers to graze cropland

Manitoba and Nova Scotia farm groups are connecting producers interested in integrating livestock into crop production

Getting livestock back on the landscape — that is the goal for the Manitoba Grazing Exchange and a Living Labs initiative in Nova Scotia. And it benefits more than the livestock. The Manitoba Grazing Exchange started in 2021 as a partnership between the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association and Manitoba Organic Alliance. “It is a […] Read more

A protective cow stands over her calf. The Griswolds’ cows crossed the line from protective to down- right aggressive, making on-farm vet calls challenging.

Mud and ornery heifer make veterinary practice ‘fun’

Veterinary Case Study: Ron introduces a vet student to the fine art of managing manure, mud and high-strung heifers

Unfortunately, not all parts of any professional undertaking are characterized by grandeur despite excruciating hours of study, diagnostic challenges and creating positive financial outcomes for clients. There are memories less rosy than scrubbed Wellingtons, freshly laundered coveralls and starched lab coats. The bad things about large animal practice often involved mud and unseasonable snowfall driven […] Read more


Working with cattle is Phinney’s preferred job on his New Brunswick farm.

New CCA president has national view from Maritime farm

Nathan Phinney, the first CCA president from the East, is keen on connecting beef producers from one coast to the other

Early in the morning, just as the sun peeks over the horizon, Nathan Phinney is already working on his farm near Moncton, New Brunswick. He spends his morning working cattle, his preferred job on the farm. Through and through, Phinney is a cattleman. “I’ve been farming since I was able to walk,” he says. But […] Read more

A professor at UC Davis in California says proper ranching and proper livestock handling can intensify soil carbon sequestration by adding manure to the soil.

Another take on livestock GHGs

UC Davis professor says the source of methane is carbon that was already in the atmosphere

A professor and air quality specialist in co-operative extension in the department of animal science at UC Davis in California says the topic of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and how they affect climate is not always well understood. Dr. Frank Mitloehner took on the topic in his opening address to the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association’s […] Read more


Riparian field schools outline the importance of riparian areas, plus how to identify and manage them through grazing.

Grazing riparian areas judiciously

The thinking on riparian area protection has evolved from excluding grazing to carefully grazing to manage plant growth while protecting water courses

Riparian areas used to be thought of as areas of exclusion when it came to grazing. But those days are over. “In the past, a lot of the water courses were suffering bank or shoreline damage because they weren’t being protected,” says Greg Paranich, agriculture field specialist with the Grey Wooded Forage Association, based in […] Read more

Brahman cattle are a very common breed in Australia. They are resistant to insects due to their thick skin and the animal’s hump is made up of tissue that stores water.

What’s up with the beef industry down under?

A researcher who has lived and worked in both Canada and Australia offers some perspective on this beef-producing powerhouse

Australia is one of the largest beef exporters in the world and will have nearly 29 million head of cattle this year, according to Meat and Livestock Australia. New South Wales and Queensland account for more than 70 per cent of the red meat and livestock off-farm sales. The red meat industry, which includes beef, […] Read more