Canada’s beef production system is working at an improved feedback-mechanism to cow-calf producers on carcass quality traits. Why? Because, ultimately, it’s the cow-calf producer making genetic pairings and selections, but it’s the feedlot operators seeing the results and often receiving the feedback on carcass quality. As the Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS) 2.0 moves into place,… Read More

If you’re a cattle producer in Western Canada, I expect you’ll find an opportunity for a mid-winter change of scenery rather interesting. Although the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference organizers likely won’t guarantee warm temperatures or a lack of snow, they are offering the chance to attend an industry tradeshow, breed and association meetings and the… Read More

Activists (some would say anarchists) seem to be routinely using the method of releasing shocking undercover videos that attempt to create the perception that all producers are using horrible practices. Whether it be the W5 Poultry video, Ohio Hog Farm Video or any other, this undercover scenario is something that not many producers would be… Read More

The Lancet Infectious Diseases published an editorial entitled Antibiotic resistance—the need for global solutions to mark Antibiotic Awareness Week (which is this week, FYI). The article is as long as the situation is complicated. With twenty-six contributors and nearly 400 references, it looks to address the concerns around antibiotic resistance, factors that cause resistance, and recommended strategies… Read More

If you asked me a year ago today what I was up to for the winter, I would have grinned and said, “feeding cows.” A few months in, and I may not have been grinning much, save for one thing: podcasts. (sorry AM/FM radio stations, our rural tractors don’t come with 30′ antennas) Long, cold… Read More

If you’ve been wary when fall-grazing alfalfa because of the risk of nitrate poisoning, you’ve been right to be careful, but for all the wrong reasons. Because alfalfa is a perennial legume, nitrogen is fixed and stored in the nodules of its root system and doesn’t actually accumulate in the tissues (something that can be… Read More

If you’ve got livestock, eventually you’ve got deadstock, too. Disposing of that deadstock can be a source of disease transmission or environmental contamination if not done properly, so it’s very important that ranchers and feedlot owners have a plan in place to deal with deadstock. There are several options available, all with pros and cons,… Read More

By Michael Grant, Director, Research, Centre for Food in Canada This post first appeared here, and is re-posted here with permission. An upcoming report for The Conference Board of Canada’s Centre for Food in Canada argues that it is time for the Canadian dairy sector to transition from playing defence to playing offense. The notion… Read More

“There are no facts, only interpretations,” is a common quote I refer to from poet Friedrich Nietzsche. Modernizing the language, I take it as, “Facts don’t matter, only the perception.” The struggle for perception in food is at an all time high. I talked last month about A&W’s perception of what ‘Better Beef’ represents, despite… Read More

 

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