What do Canadian speed skater Kim Boutin and your soil have in common? They both prosper and succeed when you treat them like an Olympic athlete. Boutin’s Olympic training earned her three medals at the recently-concluded Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. What would happen if farmers treated their soil like an Olympic athlete? Soil… Read More
Category: Livestock
The Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association (ACFA) met last week at the Alberta Beef Industry Conference for their Annual General Meeting, where a resounding 75 percent of the membership voted in favour of pursuing an agreement that is being called the “New Era Beef Industry.” This agreement, if successful, will see a change to the check-off… Read More
Cattle markets have remained strong, although we saw a technical correction lower on the futures market this week. “Maybe we’re getting a little numb to it, but futures markets continue to be extremely explosive whenever they tend to move. Up until this week, the market’s been building to recent highs, but futures markets, led by… Read More
Thin margins may have some farmers looking to cut costs, but for croppers and livestock producers alike, there’s an often overlooked option for making money: forage. Whether through higher dairy and beef production efficiency, or through cash sales, recent research out of Michigan State suggests that more farmers should be taking a harder look at forage… Read More
Lambing is an exciting but exhausting time for sheep farmers. A typical breeding cycle with natural service over two heat cycles usually results in well over two weeks of late nights, early mornings, and intense work. To manage the labour load (pun intended), some farmers have adopted a synchronization and induction program to tighten the… Read More
A ‘good rotation’ is often thought of as a cropping plan that involves diverse species, cultivars, and chemical actives. But that definition may be expanding, thanks to an ever-evolving understanding of soil health. “When you look at that environment, you kind of come down to five principles on soil health,” says United States Department Agriculture… Read More
There a great number of trade files open in Canada, with officials focused on Japan and Asia Pacific with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); the ongoing negotiations surrounding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); and the European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), just to name a few. “I… Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada this week announced a release of all quarantines related to the bovine tuberculosis investigation in Western Canada. According to a press release, the release from quarantine includes 79 trace-out herds with approximately 15,000 animals, and 71 trace-in herds, also with roughly 15,000 animals. “I am… Read More
Though you may not be able to tell from the last week of quiet trading, it’s been a busy month for the cattle markets. On January 31, the United States Department of Agriculture released its cattle inventory report for January 1, showing a one percent increase in all cattle and calves in the U.S. compared to… Read More
The federal Liberals remain non-committal on whether they will offer compensation to the supply-managed dairy and poultry sectors for market access that will be conceded if the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is ratified. The CPTPP terms agreed to last month would open up an additional 3.25 percent of Canada’s domestic dairy… Read More