Adherence to testing protocols for scrapie and correct identification of an animal have been called into question during a court case involving individuals who are charged with taking and hiding quarantined heritage breed sheep destined to be destroyed as part of Canada’s scrapie eradication program. The protocols and identification in question stem from a 2009… Read More
Category: Lamb
The federal government has announced a $7.5 million investment in a new agency that will look after developing and operating a national livestock traceability database. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced the funding for the Canadian Agri-Traceabiity Services in Calgary today. CATS is a not-for-profit corporation that brings together the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) and Agri-Traçabilité… Read More
Got cows but keep running out of pasture? Or maybe you’d like to decrease your feed bill but can’t afford more land (who can these days?). Jack Kyle, grazing specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, has four great options to help you extend the grazing season. As Kyle explains in… Read More
The possible arrival of the first widespread killing frost in Western Canada this week has implications for livestock producers looking to maximize feed quality for their animals. Freezing temperatures can cause nitrates to accumulate in cereal species grown for greenfeed, which can be toxic to cattle (more info here on the SaskAg website.) However, management… Read More
Corral feeding systems, though handy, can make for a lot of wasted grub, and depending on the voracity of the livestock, can also mean stuck animals. At this year’s Canada’s Farm Progress Show, there was a different sort of bale feeder on display, that seemingly addressed both of those problems while simultaneously simulating grazing. The Hayboss… Read More
Waking to the clatter of wind against the house, a dark sky and a still-sleeping sun never feels like a good omen. On June 5th, the early morning grey was entirely worth the effort, as I joined the Alberta Farm Writers’ Association on their annual tour. 1st Stop: Lakeland College Our first stop continued the northward… Read More
There has been many challenges that have faced the Australian beef industry in recent years, from floods and drought, record high currency, political challenges and global economic slowdown. However, despite all these issues, Australia’s beef export footprint has expanded into developing nations, helping to offset the slowness into traditional markets. Shaun Haney was at the… Read More
The business of food retailing is undergoing significant changes. There is significant consolidation happening, new entrants like Whole Foods, the growth of WalMart and all of this is happening while the consumer market is not growing overall. Just like farming technology is allowing food retailers to lower costs and gain more insight into its operations… Read More
It’s time to get down, get your hands dirty and take stock of, well, what you feed your stock. As discussed in the last Beef Research School, rangelands serve several purposes beyond just growing grass, and their health is a measure of five key components — species mix, nutrient cycling, site stability, water management and… Read More
How often do you walk the waterways, riverbanks and marshy areas of your pastures? These transitional areas from pasture to waterway, called riparian zones, are vital to soil and water health and deserve attention now and again to ensure cattle haven’t been too hard on them, or that invasive species or undesired species have moved… Read More
Well-managed pastures can produce good yields for years, but will produce best if fertility of those pastures is planned for the long-term. Big producing pastures require big fertility numbers, though grazing helps to cycle these nutrients back to the soil. Over-grazing, too low or high stocking densities and time all can begin to mine pasture… Read More
There is many a cowboy who likely wouldn’t dream of kicking the cows off his land and running sheep or goats. We get that. But if you haven’t thought about the benefits of using sheep and goats on pasture, you may be missing out on a very efficient means of getting more out your existing… Read More
So you’re a little sheepish about multi-species grazing. It’s understandable. Changing fencing strategies and planning handling, sorting, lambing and all the rest of it is a daunting task. Once you add predators to the mix, it can all seem a little overwhelming. Or, at least it did until I attended the Multi-Species Grazing Conference hosted… Read More
Editor’s note: This is Owen Roberts’ Real Talk, Real Action column. Each week, Owen will offer his insight into how farmers and the agricultural industry can participate in the rural- and ag-related discussions going on around them. Contact Owen at [email protected] or on Twitter at @TheUrbanCowboy. So you’ve done your homework, tested your feed for mold… Read More
The federal government handed over the more than a million acres of Saskatchewan’s PFRA community pastures to the provincial government last year, a move that some have argued jeopardizes the pastures’ future. Though announced in 2012, the first hand-off of the land is not slated to happen until next grazing season, and all of the… Read More