A close up on a nutrition facts label

U.S. group views Healthy Eating Strategy labels as trade barrier

Policy: News Roundup from the September 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

While all of agriculture is focused on retaining market access to the U.S. and Mexico embedded in the North American Free Trade Agreement, the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) based in Washington, D.C., is just as concerned about proposed changes to Canada’s food labels. In an August 15 letter to United States Trade Representative Robert […] Read more

On the global front, a recent survey looked at the growing push-back from consumers on producing animal proteins using hormones.

The interrelationship in animal protein

Straight from the hip with Brenda Schoepp

Consumers around the world are making their needs very clear when it comes to animal protein. The Nielsen Global Health and Ingredient Sentiment Survey (2016) revealed what folks do not want in food. Surprisingly, the respondent results were consistently universal. Respondents were overwhelmingly concerned and did not want hormones or antibiotics in food in North […] Read more


Why variety matters when growing barley for silage

Why variety matters when growing barley for silage

Nutrition with John McKinnon

When growing silage, particularly barley silage, most producers select varieties with proven agronomic traits such as yield, disease and lodging resistance. In contrast, relatively little information is available on the nutritional value of the numerous barley varieties that are available for seeding. Recently a joint research project was run at the University of Saskatchewan and […] Read more

cows at a mineral feeding trough

More questions on mineral nutrition (part 2)

Nutrition with John McKinnon

With this column, I want to continue our discussion on mineral feeding. Last month I addressed questions regarding the adequacy/availability of trace minerals naturally found in tame and native grasses and how effective they were in meeting requirements; the role of sulphur and molybdenum in copper deficiency, and the need to understand your mineral tag […] Read more


More questions on mineral nutrition

More questions on mineral nutrition

Nutrition with John McKinnon

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference. As with similar events held across the country, the objective was to transfer current research and technology to beef producers. One of the most interesting aspects of this conference was a bear-pit session hosted by the Beef Cattle Research Council which focused […] Read more

The makings of a perfect storm

The makings of a perfect storm

Nutrition with John McKinnon

The winter of 2016-17 is shaping up to be a challenge for cow-calf operators across Canada. While much of October and November were relatively stress free in terms of winter’s wrath, as we moved into the new year, extreme cold and snow has gripped much of the country. Coupled with hay shortages in Eastern Canada […] Read more


Vitamin E and selenium — the odd couple!

Vitamin E and selenium — the odd couple!

Nutrition with John McKinnon

Mineral nutrition is a recurring theme in this column, attesting to the importance of this class of nutrients in the diets of cattle. I have not, however, paid as much attention to vitamins, which, when deficient, can be as limiting to performance and health as many minerals. With this article I would like to specifically […] Read more



Barley variety and silage quality

Barley variety and silage quality

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

Barley silage is the main roughage fed in western Canadian feedlots, but few barley breeders try to improve its feed quality. Most breeders focus on improved grain yields, malting characteristics and better disease and lodging resistance, and pay little attention to feed quality traits like protein, starch, or neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content and digestibility […] Read more

beef on display at a meat counter

Schoepp: The value of beef

Beef remains the most valuable protein in the world. Surprisingly, the approximately 128 billion pounds now produced globally each year could supply each person on earth with 18 pounds. The imbalance in income and the lack of distribution in some places along with the massive per capita consumption in beef-producing countries like Argentina and the […] Read more