Average sea surface temperature in degrees Celsius over the Pacific Ocean for the week centred on May 4, 2016. Anomalies computed with respect to the 1981-2010 base period weekly means. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

Forecasters see rising likelihood of La Nina in 2016

Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday heightened its projections for the La Nina weather phenomenon to take place in the Northern Hemisphere later this year, on the heels of an El Nino likely to fade by early summer. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the National Weather Service, in its […] Read more

Rustlers take more than your cattle

Rustlers take more than your cattle

Be sure you can identify your animals

Nearly six years after 10 bred heifers were stolen from them, Glenn and Christine Strube still feel the lingering stress of the long, drawn-out court process that ended with a guilty verdict. Most disturbing is knowing that the crime wasn’t committed by a fly-by-night thief, but by a neighbour who blatantly lied about it. Little […] Read more


cow with ear identification tag

Comment: Traceability, again

In his column in our May issue of Canadian Cattlemen, Dan Darling of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association raises a red flag over the traceability regulation Ottawa plans to Gazette by the end of this year. Well, maybe not, according to Darling. His basic message is that the cattle industry can’t implement what Ottawa wants and remain […] Read more

(JBSsa.com)

JBS posts large loss, announces reorganization

Brasilia | Reuters –– Brazilian meat packer JBS posted a much larger-than-expected first-quarter loss on Thursday, but its shares jumped the day after it announced a corporate reorganization to bring together international operations. JBS, the world’s biggest meat packer, lost 2.741 billion reais (C$1.02 billion) on currency hedging costs and poor results on the company’s […] Read more


A member of Wildfire Management Alberta’s Wild Mountain Unit pulls hose through smouldering forest in the Parsons Creek area of Fort McMurray on May 5. (Chris Schwarz photo courtesy Government of Alberta via Flickr)

Glacier pledges support for wildfire disaster relief

Farm Business Communications’ parent company, Glacier Media, is donating $50,000 toward the Canadian Red Cross’ disaster relief efforts in the Fort McMurray area. The Vancouver company said its donation is also on behalf of individual Glacier business units, which will undertake their own awareness and fundraising efforts to help the city and its residents rebuild […] Read more




cattle grazing

Grazing management: The essence of ranching

Cattle are unique: they came to us as creatures capable of grazing; as ruminants with the ability to convert roughage to energy; and, ultimately, energy to protein. Grazing is how ranches create value. Grazing management is maintaining the balance between soil health, plant growth, sunlight, and moisture on rangeland. The amount of effective moisture — […] Read more