Motherland Monument, Kiev. (CIA.gov)

Packers approved to move beef, pork to Ukraine

Inspectors have approved 15 Canadian beef and pork processing plants to export to Ukraine, more than doubling the number of Canadian meat plants able to ship to the country. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday announced Ukraine has, essentially, approved beef and pork exports from any Canadian federally-registered establishment […] Read more

(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

China to resume imports from U.S. pork plants

Chicago | Reuters — China, the world’s largest pork consumer, will soon resume imports from 14 U.S. pork plants and warehouses, after halting some shipments last year over the use of a feed additive, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday. USDA did not provide a date on which China will resume the imports. China’s […] Read more


(Subway.ca)

Subway shifting all U.S. meat supplies to no antibiotics, ever

Chicago | Reuters –– Sandwich chain Subway will start serving antibiotic-free chicken and turkey at its U.S. restaurants next year, and within the next nine years will stop selling any meat from animals given antibiotics, the company said Tuesday. Rivals such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and McDonald’s have announced similar supply-chain shifts, adding pressure on […] Read more

(PortMetroVancouver.com)

Dawson: Ag exporters applaud historic TPP deal

Export-oriented Canadian farmers are giving the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement reached in Atlanta on Monday two thumbs up. The deal, which remains to be debated in Canada’s House of Commons and could take more than a year to be ratified by all 12 member countries, will see tariffs on Canadian products in those markets eliminated […] Read more


(Tkeban Jahannes photo courtesy AtlantaGa.gov via Flickr)

Producer groups lobby for TPP deal in Atlanta

Several Canadian grain and livestock commodity groups have representatives in Atlanta this week pressing for federal negotiators to keep Canada in play on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Trade ministers from the 12 TPP countries — also including the U.S., Mexico, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam — are meeting in […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

McDonald’s investor wants it to cut antibiotics in all meats

Los Angeles | Reuters –– A McDonald’s Corp. shareholder group is renewing its call for the fast-food chain to stop buying any meat from animals raised with antibiotics vital to fighting human infections. The move from the Congregation of Benedictine Sisters of Boerne, Texas, comes amid growing concern from public health experts that the overuse […] Read more


meat display in store

Tough times in the meat case

Prime Cuts from the August 2015 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

May and June are the two best months of the year for retail beef sales in the U.S. But high prices and consumers’ reluctance to spend more on beef put a damper on sales this year. The week leading up to the Memorial Day holiday has the second-largest sales in volume and value while the […] Read more

woman shopping near a meat display in a grocery store

COOL legislation had no benefit for the U.S. beef industry

Prime Cuts from the May 2015 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

It’s a coincidence that May heralded one of the last chapters in the long-running saga over country-of-origin labelling just as the spring grilling season begins. But it’s worth noting that COOL supporters claimed that COOL would improve demand for U.S. beef and that consumers would pay more for it. What has happened since COOL was […] Read more


(Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Canada preparing shorter list of tariff targets in COOL fight

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada is whittling down its list of U.S. products that it may hit with steep tariffs in retaliation against contentious meat-labeling laws, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Tuesday. The Canadian government is likely to target beef, pork, California wines, mattresses, cherries and office furniture, possibly along with other goods, from […] Read more

Holistic Ranching annual conference

About 150 people attended our annual HR conference at Manitou Beach near Watrous, Sask. David Irvine’s keynote address gave us two tasks for an integrated, successful life, individuation (growing up) and connection (having relationships). He says an integrated family business has four main points: People have their own goals and support each other in achieving […] Read more