A side of beef. The grading system is the common language of the industry, writes Charlie Gracey.

Show us the money, Part 2: Balancing beef carcass quality and yield

Only by sharing grading information can the industry signal market demand to cow-calf producers

In my previous column, our editor kept me on track when she titled it Show Us the Money. That was appropriate because I have noted that cattle producers do follow the money. That is to say, they absolutely do respond to market signals, but when no such signal exists, they can’t. In this column, I […] Read more

A handful of corn silage. The feeder simulation program gave 4-H members a chance to learn about backgrounding rations, as well as purchasing and marketing cattle.

Risky Business — Feeder simulation program teaches youth ups and downs of the cattle market

During the simulation, participants ‘bought’ feeders, figured out the feeding costs and logistics and sold them into the spring grasser market

Farm simulator games are popular but recently, young members of the Nomads 4-H Club near Kyle, Sask., had the opportunity to try a realistic cattle version when they joined a simulated feeder pilot project. Buying and selling feeder calves on a large scale can be a challenge, with many factors affecting profit. To address the […] Read more


Retaining ownership of livestock in a feedlot, and marketing from there, is one choice that falls into the “place” category of marketing.

Don’t leave money on the table when marketing cattle

Remember the pillars of marketing when selling cattle: time, form and place

Marketing cattle from your ranch is dependent on the pillars of marketing that we learn in ag marketing classes at many of our universities — time, form and place. Market reports and information help us choose the time of marketing. We can choose the time to negotiate or take a price and a time to […] Read more

CARVE Premium Ontario Beef was launched by food distributor Flanagan Foodservice in 2017. Beef in the program is sourced through operations that are certified under the Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance program.

CARVE beefs up its offerings

While the pandemic has presented challenges, the people behind this made-in-Ontario beef brand are confident about its future prospects

Despite serious setbacks from the pandemic, an innovative beef branding program is on track to make even greater gains that benefit consumers and beef producers. CARVE Premium Ontario Beef is a brand launched by Flanagan Foodservice in 2017. Flanagan’s is a food distributor with 8,000 customers across the province, including restaurants, health care institutions, caterers, […] Read more


High boxed beef prices in 2021 were the result of several factors.

Dittmer: Experts analyze American fed cattle marketing

Free Market Reflections with Steve Dittmer

Texas A&M University’s Agricultural and Food Policy Center co-ordinated and has published a 201-page study authored by 17 agricultural economists and market analysts from 10 different universities, plus support from the USDA chief economist. Entitled U.S. Beef Supply Chain: Issues and Challenges, the study was commissioned in August of 2020 by the U.S. House Agriculture […] Read more

A flank steak. Nutrition, quality and cost are some of the factors millennials interviewed for this story cited when buying beef.

Winning over millennials

Overall millennials see beef production less favourably than other generations, but sharing positive stories and making personal connections can win longtime fans

This is the final instalment in a three-part series on millennial consumers and the opportunities for Canadian beef producers to better understand this demographic. You can read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. Junelle Dion is a fan of Canadian beef, and directly supporting a rancher makes purchasing beef even more satisfying. “I love […] Read more


Aaron Birch and Joe Barnett — co-owners of Twin View Livestock near the southern Saskatchewan hamlet of Parkbeg — have been helping clients adjust to buying and selling cattle online since the COVID-19 pandemic hit early in 2020.

2020 was ground zero for online cattle marketing, say producers

How two purebred cattle operations used social media to weather the COVID-19 pandemic storm

As long as most people can remember, live cattle shows and auctions have been essential to the cattle industry. They’re not only a key way for cattle producers to market their product, but they also offer plenty of opportunities to socialize with other cattlemen and women, trade production secrets and — maybe just occasionally — […] Read more

During the pandemic, Maryjo and Rob Tait of Celtic Ridge Farms have made a lot of sales of their beef using social media and their website.

Surviving the pandemic on a small beef farm

When COVID-19 struck, the Tait family pivoted their retail strategy, and some of those adaptions will serve them in the long-term

Bouncing back and thriving from a pandemic-caused blow to the business taught Maryjo and Rob Tait of Celtic Ridge Farms a number of valuable lessons. “We’re very much supported by our local people, which is awesome,” says Maryjo. “And with the online business, our reach is much wider.” The Taits have a 100-head mixed herd […] Read more


The new grading label conveys grading information to Canada’s international customers.

Canada Beef cooks up new marketing ideas

Marketing: News Roundup from the April 2020 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Canada Beef is looking for new ways to promote old favourites such as ground beef, Michael Young told attendees of the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference earlier this year. The ground beef category represents 60 to 65 per cent of retail sales, Young, president of Canada Beef, told the crowd. But a lack of recent innovations […] Read more

Wian Prinsloo and Lydia Carpenter 
raise poultry, lamb, pork and beef 
near Belmont, Man.

Following the farming dream

Lydia Carpenter and Wian Prinsloo are earning a living by selling meat directly to a growing customer base

For as long as he can remember, Wian Prinsloo has wanted to farm and graze livestock. “I started with chickens in the city, while we were still in South Africa. When we left Pretoria to come to Canada, I was 15 years old and had 300 layer hens, supplying eggs to a school, and an […] Read more