A cow leads her calf to higher ground, near Vogar, Man. in 2011. Lake Manitoba had overflowed, flooding nearby ranches.

After the flood: Manitoba cattle ranchers still recovering 14 years later

Producers around Lake Manitoba continue to deal with the effects of a 2011 flood

When Arvid Nottveit thinks about Manitoba’s infamous 2011 flood, he says he still feels all the emotions that came with it. “We all like to be all stoic and everything, be the captain on the ship facing the storm head-on, but I’m the guy that will say, ‘Okay, this is pretty bad. I need some […] Read more

This new channel would have lessened the devastation to farms along Lake Manitoba in 2011 and 2014.

Better flood protection on the way for Manitoba cattle producers

Flood-prone areas to see measures that protect both communities and livestock

Beef producers in flood-prone areas of Manitoba are looking forward to the construction of new outlet channels that should help to prevent a repeat of the devastating floods of 2011 and 2014, which caused mass evacuations of people and livestock, affected millions of hectares of farmland and cost billions of dollars in compensation. At a […] Read more


Ranchers prove essential in fighting B.C. wildfires

Ranchers prove essential in fighting B.C. wildfires

One of the main issues the BC Cattlemen’s Association confronted was animal welfare

The 2017 British Columbia wildfires, the largest in the province’s history, at that time, will likely loom in the collective memory of cattle producers for years. While the devastating scope of the fires is what many remember about that disastrous summer, ranchers contributed greatly to the firefighting efforts and set important precedents about the role […] Read more

Unlike the table-flat Red River Valley to the east, western Manitoba has a range of elevations such as these along the Birdtail River.

Fighting floods and drought — with grass

Manitoba’s forage group is leading a project which will allow more control of water on the landscape

Floods one year, drought the next. As we’ve seen this year, it’s a fact of life for residents of southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but a project led by the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) may help reduce the extremes. It’s being conducted by Aquanty, a Waterloo, Ont. company that has developed a HydroGeoSphere (HGS) […] Read more


Winter grazing options

Winter grazing options

Grazing with Steve Kenyon

As I write this, our summer is winding down and the evenings are starting to cool off. It won’t be long now until our killing frost hits us. This happens usually sometime in mid-September for us here in Busby, Alberta. We have had a good summer this year with plenty of moisture and we left extra residue all […] Read more

Preg-checking scorecard for cow-calf producers

Preg-checking scorecard for cow-calf producers

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

Pregnancy checking remains one of the most underutilized management tools in the cow-calf business. Overlooking the chance to gather herd information as cows come off pasture in the fall is a missed opportunity for the cow-calf producer. A trip through the chute in fall should be much more than determining which cows to keep and […] Read more


Abnormal weather doesn’t grow average forage

Abnormal weather doesn’t grow average forage

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

Averages are useful statistics, but sometimes averages can be misleading. As the University of Saskatchewan’s late Iain Christison said, “the average human has one breast and one testicle.” Canada’s rainfall may be close to average this year — but much of the country is experiencing severe drought, and most of the rest is soaked. Either […] Read more

In June, the U.S. gained access for several of its beef products. The Canadian government needs to engage China on behalf of Canadian beef producers to gain similar access.

CCA Report: Keeping tabs on trade

From the August 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Advocating for resources for the wildfires in British Columbia, preparing for the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), achieving equivalent trade access with the U.S. in China are among the priority issues keeping the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) busy this summer. The CCA is making officials aware of the need to address […] Read more