Beef Cattle, Features

Alberta cattle producers turn to holistic management

Posted 7 hours ago by Heather Smith Thomas

Features, Livestock

Young cattle producers managing risk on the ranch

Posted 1 day ago by Kelly Sidoryk

Livestock, Vet advice

Vet Advice: Avoiding sweet clover poisoning

Posted 2 days ago by Dr. Ron Clarke

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Beef Cattle, Features

Alberta cattle producers turn to holistic management

Mounting debt and a holistic management course pushed Don and Marie Ruzicka to rethink the way they run their operation

By Heather Smith Thomas 7 hours ago

Don and Marie Ruzicka had been farming for over a decade when circumstances shifted, nudging them on a new course. Although Don Ruzicka had grown up on a mixed farm, after university he spent several years working in the timber industry, with no intention of coming back to the farm. But things changed and eventually […] Read more

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Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs sag as traders parse USDA pork sales data

By Julie Ingwersen 8 hours ago

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures closed lower on Friday after a roller-coaster session in which prices jumped on news of massive weekly pork export sales, only to turn down after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said its figures could include pork sold in previous weeks. Toward the close, lean hog futures […] Read more

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Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs slide on technical selling, China worries

By Julie Ingwersen 1 day ago

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures closed lower on Thursday for a second straight session on bearish chart signals and uncertainty about export demand from China, traders said. China is facing a huge pork shortage due to an outbreak of a fatal pig disease, African swine fever. But so far the country’s purchases […] Read more

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Features, Livestock

Young cattle producers managing risk on the ranch

Whether it’s growing feed or selling cattle, Trent Macnab likes to spread out risk

By Kelly Sidoryk 1 day ago

For Trent Macnab, diversity in the winter feeding program has been a way to reduce risk and help build soil nutrients. The regime includes standing corn, straight barley for swath grazing, a cocktail crop mix for swath grazing and bale grazing. It also allows them to have a rotation on their fields, “which cattlemen typically […] Read more

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Hogs, Livestock, Reuters

Tyson bans ractopamine from its U.S. hog supply

By Tom Polansek 1 day ago

Reuters — Tyson Foods in February will stop buying U.S. hogs raised with a growth drug banned by China, the company said on Thursday, as global meat suppliers seek an edge in boosting sales to Chinese buyers facing a huge pork shortage due to an outbreak of a fatal pig disease. The halt in the […] Read more

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Beef Cattle, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

Cargill suspends shifts at Kansas beef plant after explosion

By Reuters 1 day ago

Chicago | Reuters — Cargill said Thursday it had suspended some shifts at its Dodge City, Kansas beef-packing plant after an explosion injured two employees. Cargill spokesman Daniel Sullivan said the company expects the facility to be fully operational soon and that it would meet all it customer commitments. The company is investigating the cause […] Read more

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Livestock, Reuters, Weather

Angry farmers cause Dutch police to close off parliament square

By Reuters 2 days ago

The Hague | Reuters — Police in the Dutch city of The Hague closed its central parliament square on Wednesday to keep out farmers protesting over what they see as attempts to blame them for nitrogen pollution. Thousands of irate farmers had driven tractors to The Hague hours earlier in their third large protest in […] Read more

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Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Live cattle climb on hopes for higher cash trade

By Julie Ingwersen 2 days ago

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed modestly higher on Wednesday, extending a five-week rally tied to expectations of strong prices this week for cattle in the cash market, traders said. “Cash is $1-$2 higher every week, better than what people anticipated,” said Scott Varilek, a broker at Kooima and Kaemingk Commodities Inc. […] Read more

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Livestock, Vet advice

Vet Advice: Avoiding sweet clover poisoning

A variety of bacteria and moulds can grow in sweet clover once baled or put up as silage

By Dr. Ron Clarke 2 days ago

Preparing forages and getting them stored in perfect condition seldom happens. Spoilage is often linked to the production of moulds and a broad spectrum of mycotoxins in grains. Syndromes in domestic livestock following consumption of feed containing mycotoxins varies depending on the species of animal involved, the stage of the production cycle when it is […] Read more

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Beef Cattle, Features, Livestock

Strategies for wintering your cattle herd

This fall, focus on nutrients instead of feeds. Feeds are just a means of delivering nutrients

By Duane McCartney 3 days ago

With all the variable weather we had this year across Canada and the short winter feed supplies in some areas, producers need to solve the economic challenge of balancing the herd’s winter feed or nutrient supply when feed is short. “The problem with drought for Canadian beef producers often boils down to two options: buy […] Read more

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