There’s new competition coming in the area of farm cash advance administration in Alberta. The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) has announced it will be launching its own program called “FarmCash” to administer advances for Alberta farmers and ranchers through the federal government’s Advance Payments Program. Starting September 1, 2018, FarmCash will offer interest-free and low… Read more »
Category: Livestock
Massive milestone for sustainable beef pilot program: Cargill
In the third quarter alone, more than one million pounds of beef was produced through the Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration (CBSA) pilot, with huge demand for more. Cargill announced this week its third quarter results from the pilot project initiated in fall of 2017. At just over 1 million pounds of beef from certified sustainable sources, the… Read more »
Be cautious when buying in hay, says forage specialist
If you’re running low on forage, chances are you might already be starting to look for hay suppliers outside of your area. Terry Kowalchuk, forage specialist for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, says you have to be conscious of who you buy from, so that you do not get more than you bargained for. He… Read more »
BIXS updates name ahead of going public
Cattle traceability platform BIXS is getting a rebrand ahead of its parent Business Information Exchange Systems (BIXS) moving forward on plans to go public in late 2018. BIXSco Inc. announced this month that the company has rebranded as BIX Systems, comprised of Viewtrak Technologies and BIXSco Inc., as they work on first round fund-raising with… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Anticipating an early fall run
Excessive heat has taken its toll on pastures, hay supplies, and water consumption for cattle, and while this may not be a big market issue today, Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, says that these factors will mean an earlier, stronger fall run. That’s just one of the topics discussed in this week’s Beef Market Update…. Read more »
10 tips to stretch forage supplies
Lack of forage due to dry conditions is weighing heavily on the minds of livestock producers across Canada. Manitoba’s Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) recently released a list of tips on minimizing the impact of dry condition on forage supplies. MFGA chair Darren Chapman says it’s all about being prepared in advanced, but sometimes even that… Read more »
U.S. coalition calls for reinstatement of COOL
A U.S. lobby group that is closely aligned with the Trump administration on trade policy is trying to bring mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) back into the spotlight through the NAFTA negotiations. The Coalition for a Prosperous America, whose board includes R-CALF USA director Bill Bullard, sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on… Read more »
Beef School, Ep 10: Planning for your priorities in grazing management
A grazing plan doesn’t have to be all or nothing — some ranchers will use set-stock grazing, rotational grazing, and any combination of corn, swath, or stock-piled grazing. The key is to figure out what you’re trying to accomplish, then use the strategy that’s best suited to your land base, calving season, and labour availability…. Read more »
Maple Leaf Foods spending $28 million on Edmonton plant upgrades
Maple Leaf Foods (MLF) is spending $28 million to transitioning the company’s Edmonton poultry processing plant to a “world-class controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) technology facility.” The company plans to convert is transportation, receiving and holding area and handling systems to optimize rest time and create a climate-controlled environment as it implements the CAS technology, the… Read more »
Producers grapple with potential hay shortage
Depending on where you’re located, what you have for cattle feed could be drastically different then what your neighbour 10 miles away has. It also differs from province to province. It’s been dry in much of Western Canada, as well as parts of Ontario, resulting in low yields and producers scrambling for feed come the… Read more »
City kids connect farmers to consumers in ‘Before the Plate’
What do you get when you connect two ‘city kid’ filmmakers, a world-class chef, and nine farmers and their families? You get Before The Plate, a genuine behind-the-kitchen-door, on-the-farm look at how food is produced in Canada, and the passion and commitment chefs and farmers apply to their craft. The driving force behind the film… Read more »
Keenan moves to a horizontal design for its mixer wagon
Keenan Alltech is going in a different direction with mixer wagons, literally. The company is gong horizontal rather than vertical with its mixer. Field editor Dale Leftwich was at Ag in Motion last month and got a chance to talk to Keenan’s western Canadian sales manager, Brayden Van Driesten, about what can happen when you… Read more »
A West Nile update for the Prairies
Announced today, the first human case of the West Nile virus (WNv) was found in Manitoba for the year. The child, under 10-years-old, likely got the virus near the beginning of July. In other parts of the Prairies, Saskatchewan so far has one positive lab test and those who live in Alberta are lucky enough… Read more »
5 scenarios for Canadian dairy in NAFTA 2.0 talks
The three NAFTA partners are reportedly making progress on a deal around auto-content rules, meaning we could see a change in focus to the remaining issues, which includes Canadian market access for U.S. dairy products. There’s plenty of speculation about what the ultimate compromise required to get a deal done will be, but we can… Read more »
What I’m looking forward to at this year’s Canadian Beef Industry Conference
As a first-timer heading to the Canadian Beef Industry Conference (CBIC) in London, Ont. in less than two weeks, it excites me to see the vast amount of topics covered in the three-day conference. Everything from best transport practises, breeding, and how knowing what the packer wants can help you as a producer in the… Read more »