This barn will remain, but most of the rest of the facilities will be demolished at the University of Guelph’s Elora Beef Research Station to make way for new beef research buildings. (John Greig photo)

Guelph gets new beef research facility

The federal and provincial governments and the Beef Farmers of Ontario have all announced funding for buildings and programs at the University of Guelph’s renewed beef research station this week. The funds announced are to help create a completely new cow-calf and heifer research facility next to the current beef research station, and a new […] Read more

Animal welfare research is becoming about the emotional state of the animal rather than its health, Dr. Ed Pajor says. (John Greig photo)

Greig: Animal welfare research focusing more on emotional states

Animal welfare research is moving beyond identifying what keeps an animal healthy, to focus more on their state of being and their happiness. For years, farmers have justified the way they manage and house animals based on objective measures of their health: disease prevalence, growth rates and feed consumption. Consumer research, however, shows that’s not […] Read more


Stephen Miller is the new director of genetic research at Angus Genetics Inc.

Stephen Miller closes the loop

Miller well-known for his genomic research in Canada’s beef industry

Dr. Stephen Miller jumps from the frying pan into the fire, so to speak, with a recent career change from the leading edge of fundamental research in beef cattle genomics to the cutting edge of its implementation. “It’s exciting to be involved in the decisions on how to put the research into practice,” says Miller […] Read more

The Canadian Gelbvieh Association elected a new board of directors at its annual meeting during Canadian Western Agribition in November. Back row (l-r): Kert Ness, Ryan Sommerfeld, James Jasper, Neal Overby. Front row (l-r): Lon Carlson (vice-president), Aaron Birch, Lee Wirgau (president).

Canadian Gelbvieh Association elects new board

Purely Purebred with Mike Millar: News about you from the February 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

2016 was a record-setting year for the Canadian Angus Association with members registering 62,414 calves. The previous high was 61,578 calves in 2008. Sales of Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed tags was the second-highest amount on record at 278,010. Congratulations to Glen and Darlene Glessman of Glesbar Cattle Co. Ltd. for winning the Canadian Angus Foundation’s […] Read more


Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence director to retire

Newsmakers from the February 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Marty Carpenter, the director of the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence at Canada Beef in Calgary is set to retire March 1. He received his Certified Chefs de Cuisine designation in 1991 but for the past 23 years his career has focused totally on marketing Canadian beef with the Alberta Beef Producers, the Beef Information […] Read more

Midge larvae inside a canola floret. Federal researchers have documented a new midge species in Prairie canola that differs significantly from the swede midge it was believed to be. (AAFC photo by Julie Soroka from CanolaWatch.org)

Anonymous midge appears in Prairie canola

Canola crops in northeastern Saskatchewan and east-central Alberta have run up against a potential pest problem so new it doesn’t yet have a name. Researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the University of Guelph and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have reported a new species of midge damaging canola crops in those areas. The species […] Read more


Gerry Taillieu of Tomahawk Cattle Ranch received ALUS Canada’s Producer Innovation Award.

A year of firsts for ALUS

A celebration at Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in recognition of the W. Garfield Weston Foundation’s $5 million contribution to the ALUS (alternative land use services) program in support of conservation and agriculture across Canada marked the formal relaunch of ALUS as “ALUS Canada – a Weston Family Initiative,” and the debut of the New […] Read more

Non-O157 Shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC)

Non-O157 Shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC)

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

There are between 50,000 and 100,000 different serotypes (strains) of E. coli. Most are harmless, some may be beneficial, but some produce a very dangerous Shiga toxin. Shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC) can cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain in people. E. coli O157:H7 is the most well-known STEC, but it is not the only […] Read more


The project may look simple from above ground, but underground many sensors and scales take complex soil measures.

Soil health sensor project largest in North America

A new $2-million soil health research project aims to figure out the impact of different cropping systems on the environment. Research will also be conducted on crop productivity relating to soil health. The result should be new knowledge on productivity of traditional cropping systems versus those with cover crops. The project, at the new Soil […] Read more

Researchers chosen for Beef Researcher Mentorship program

Newsmakers from the October 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) has selected four bovine researchers for its 2016-17 Beef Researcher Mentorship program that puts young researchers in touch with producers and industry representatives to introduce them to the wider Canadian beef industry. They are: Dr. Getahun Legesse, a research associate at the University of Manitoba who is part of […] Read more