Cattle liners at Red Deer, Alta. CFIA is requiring Transfer of Care documents for both short and long haul.

Linking probiotics and respiratory health

Studies on the bovine microbiota show the possibility of using probiotics to help prevent bovine respiratory disease

Ongoing studies are leading scientists closer to the development of an alternative to help prevent and treat the beef industry’s costliest disease. Researchers at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research centre in Lethbridge, Alta., are developing a probiotic to help reduce the incidence of bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Though several studies are still needed […] Read more




CME October 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise on supply concerns

CME lean hog futures down

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures rose to their highest in more than a month on Thursday, supported by signs of a stabilizing cash market and concerns about tight supplies in the coming months, traders said. “The feedlots believe… that we have a marketing hole for most of October into December,” Don Roose, president […] Read more


Six generations of the Hines family have been involved in the Marwayne-area ranch over the last 100 years.

Ranching in northeastern Alberta

In 1918, the Hines family shipped over 800 head of Hereford to Kitscoty by rail, and they’ve been raising cattle in the Marwayne area ever since

The roots run long and deep for the Hines family of Marwayne, Alta. They have been ranching in the Marwayne area for over 100 years. Over that time the family has grown to include many that are well-known in the cattle industry. In 1906, Jim Hine’s grandfather, George (Judge), had come north from Montana to […] Read more

CME December 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures up ahead of USDA report

Hogs also up ahead of separate USDA data

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures gained on Wednesday, as traders weighed continued strong slaughter rates against expectations for higher placements in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s end-of-week Cattle on Feed report. “The beef market looks like it’s possibly stabilizing, and that should be supportive for cattle prices in the near term,” said […] Read more


A tract of Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by farmers at Rio Pardo in Brazil’s Rondonia state on Sept. 15, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)

JBS vows to monitor whole cattle supply chain’s impact on Amazon

Packer plans to move against cattle 'laundering'

Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s top meatpacker, said Wednesday it plans to combat destruction in the Amazon by monitoring its entire supply chain for deforestation by 2025, as pressure mounts from environmentalists and investors. Brazilian meatpackers are facing increasing criticism that beef production is fueling deforestation in the Amazon, where cleared […] Read more

Carcass yield grades on the decline

Carcass yield grades on the decline

A close look at what’s behind the shift to lower yield grades in recent years and how the industry might reverse the trend

I have kept an annual record of grade and yield statistics since 1993 when a new grading system was introduced. It tells quite a story. I begin with the quality grades. One can see that the percentage of “Canada AAA” carcasses was below 20 per cent in 1993 and that the AA and A grades […] Read more


(File photo by Allan Dawson)

Beef sector aims for new 2030 targets

Organizations involved in Canada's National Beef Strategy have announced new goals for the beef sector for the next decade

The Canadian beef industry has new benchmarks to reach for in the next decade. The organizations involved in Canada’s National Beef Strategy — the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canada Beef Breeds Council, Beef Cattle Research Council, Canada Beef, The National Cattle Feeders’ Association, Canadian Meat Council and Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef have announced new 2030 […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Quality features influence feeder cattle prices

Western Canadian yearling markets have traded in a sideways range over the past couple of weeks; major feedlot operators have been aggressive for 800-pound-plus feeders just off grass because these cattle are most efficient and therefore, most profitable. Grass yearlings were quoted steady to as much as $5 higher this past week. Backgrounded yearlings were […] Read more