Calf carrier

A farm built for two

700 cows, a feedlot, two people… and it works

A picture-perfect scene of 700 black cows set against a canvas of white transforms to pairs on a collage of gold and green as Bryce and Dawn McKenzie put the final touches on their calving season. They have the strokes down pat after 38 years in the beef business and share some insights on how […] Read more

NCFA settles into its role

As the National Cattle Feeders Association (NCFA) settles into its eighth year of operation, chair Jeff Warrack says the group is now having an impact on government decision makers in Ottawa. “Our specific focus is on national issues that affect feedlots and with our presence in Ottawa people recognize we have made contributions and want […] Read more



My best employee ever!

My best employee ever!

When you run a business, it is always important to make sure you find and keep really good employees. To do this you need to follow a couple of simple rules. First, you need to make sure you make the working conditions favourable to attract good employees. This means you need to understand what they […] Read more


Free range, grass-fed beef, born and grazed in Hawaii

Free range, grass-fed beef, born and grazed in Hawaii

Large-scale ranch raises premium quality beef for local economy

There is more to Hawaii than bikinis and surfing! There is a big-scale ranching industry, especially on Maui. The 29,000-acre Haleakala Ranch situated in Maui at the base of the Haleakala Mountain (Maui’s tallest) has kept the same core values of family and community that it had when H. P. Baldwin incorporated the ranch back […] Read more

Genome Alberta CEO David Bailey says people’s relationship with food has changed.

Rethinking the public perception of genomics

People’s relationship with food has changed. We now want to know where it came from and how it was raised and grown,” says David Bailey, president and CEO of Genome Alberta, as part of his introductory remarks during a workshop in Calgary this spring to discuss the public side of using genomics to improve cattle […] Read more


John and his daughter Tanis are the third and fourth generation of the Cross family on the A7.

No hay here

The evolution of grazing on A7

The southern Alberta foothills back of Nanton have long been known as prime ranch land, distinguished by productive clay soils with great water-holding capacity, plentiful springs and a reasonably amicable climate. That’s just part of the story behind why you’ll no longer find hay on A7 Ranche, now in the hands of the third and […] Read more

An AI Cowculator

An AI Cowculator

Dr. Cliff Lamb, University of Florida, launched his AI Cowculator app as a free download from iTunes or Google Play last August and an online version this March. There’s also a Facebook page to get answers to questions as you work through the “what ifs” when comparing the impact of fixed-time artificial insemination versus buying […] Read more


black bulls

Assessing risks for venereal disease in cattle

There are several sexually transmitted diseases in cattle that can be costly if they sneak into your herd, resulting in reproductive losses, says Dr. Cheryl Waldner, professor of epidemiology at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon. “Diseases we’ve seen in the last few years that are having an important impact on reproductive performance […] Read more

inserting an AI device into a heifer

Deflating fixed-time AI myths

Conception rates in these three herds averaged 62, 65 and 76 per cent for an overall average of 67 per cent compared to an industry average of 50 per cent with a range of 40 to 60 per cent

If the advantages of using fixed-time artificial insemination in your breeding program aren’t enough to convince you to give it a try, turn it around and ask yourself, “why not?” Three Saskatchewan producers who had never used fixed-time AI put that question to the test last spring as part of a fixed-time AI project sponsored […] Read more