Comment: Checked-off

If you’re confused about how much check-off you will be paying the next time you market cattle you are probably not alone. It all depends on where you live. New Brunswick producers started paying the new $2.50 national check-off on February 1, which brings their total to $6.00 per head when the $3.50 provincial levy […] Read more



Andrea Stroeve-Sawa is the manager of Shipwheel Cattle Feeders near Taber, Alta.

She’s the boss now

Management: Andrea Stroeve-Sawa is the manager of Shipwheel Cattle Feeders

She can’t say she’s surprised when people walk over and ask if the boss is around. After all the feedlot sector is dominated by male operators, but Andrea Stroeve-Sawa couldn’t be prouder as the fourth generation to carry on the Shipwheel brand to say, “you’re talking to her.” She admits that it was a little […] Read more

Comment: Albertans now get to choose

With his introduction of Bill 9 on April 11 Alberta Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier gave the Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) the gift of a second chance to unify the provincial cattle industry as it faces increasingly uncertain times. The bill revokes previous marketing legislation to give producers the right to choose via a plebiscite whether […] Read more


cattle in a feedlot

Cattle Feeders’ Association in levy land

Associations: News Roundup from the April 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

A mix of old and new sprinkled with unknowns marks Martin Zuidhof’s second year as chair of the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association (ACFA). A priority internal project already underway this year involves working with a consultant to put a new strategic plan in place to ensure the association stays on track providing services of value […] Read more

NCFA’s Casey Vanderploeg, Andre Roy, Ryan Thompson, and John Shooten in Ottawa.

National Cattle Feeders’ Association focused on competitiveness

Associations: News Roundup from the April 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

“That will be a focus this year,” says NCFA chair Ryan Thompson. “We have made the federal government aware of it and other national organizations are also aware of and using it. It’s a public document on our website for anyone who wants the information.” A feature of this report is the detailed economic analyses […] Read more


Ben Fox is the new president of the Manitoba Beef Producers.

Manitoba Beef Producers elects a new president

Newsmakers from the March 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Ben Fox of Dauphin is the new president of the Manitoba Beef Producers. Joining him on the executive are first vice-president Ramona Blyth from MacGregor, second vice-president Tom Teichroeb of Langruth and treasurer Peter Penner from Winkler. Dianne Riding of Lake Francis replaces Fox as board secretary.     Ryan Beierbach of Whitewood returns as […] Read more

Deciding what beef research and innovation to fund

Deciding what beef research and innovation to fund

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

This column usually features Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) projects supported by Canada’s national checkoff, mainly through Canada’s Beef Science Cluster. The current Beef Cluster involves the BCRC, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Beef Producers, the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association, Manitoba Beef Producers, Beef Farmers of Ontario, the Quebec Beef Producers Federation, DuPont Pioneer, the […] Read more


Age verification is getting old

Age verification is getting old

Nobody wants to say age verification isn’t worth the hassle, but neither will they say it is, at least not in the way cow-calf producers would like to see, with premiums. One message that does come across loud and clear is that incorrect birthdates create headaches and losses all along the value chain. The responsibility […] Read more

Calvin Lamport, along with his sons Layne and Cole and daughter Kayla, got to see a quad birth in early March at their farm at Alida, Sask. The five-year old Charolais cross cow had birthed twins two years in a row so it wasn’t too surprising when Calvin pulled three calves from her. The bonus calf came about a half hour after the new family was put into a fresh pen. They weighed 50, 47, 46 and 46 pounds a couple of hours after the birth.

Cowboy politics

News Roundup from the April 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Beef Farmers of Ontario BFO is looking forward to another year of advancing its Beef North initiative as well as projects in southern Ontario, all aimed at expanding the province’s cow herd by at least 100,000 head. That’s the number of calves needed just by the Ontario Corn-Fed Beef value chain to meet its requirements […] Read more