The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) has recognized former Member of Parliament and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz with the 2017 Beef Industry Innovation and Sustainability Award. In its newsletter, the CCA listed changes the beef industry saw during Ritz’s time as Minister of Agriculture, including: His announcing, in 2014, over $3.8 million to fund the Canadian… Read More
Category: Livestock
A new software platform from Valley Agricultural Software (VAS) gives dairy producers real-time access to critical data and reporting from anywhere with an internet or cellular connection. The California-based software company unveiled its new VAS Platform at the recent World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. In this video, senior software developer James Moger explains that… Read More
An all-Canadian product that promises better pork health is coming onto the domestic market this month. It’s designed to reduce antimicrobial use in piglets, by making them healthier from the start. The product is called Nuvio. Its producers, MicroSintesis and Bio Agri Mix, call Nuvio technology “proteobiotics.” That’s the name they’ve given molecules produced by… Read More
There’s a flavour for strong beef demand in the country, says Anne Wasko, market analyst with Gateway Livestock, which has producers feeling good about market positioning. Last week’s slaughter report showed a 6.3 percent increase in animals killed in federally inspected plants in Canada, when compared to last year at this time. It’s good news… Read More
The Canadian cattle industry is seeing an increase in the levies paid to national beef programs, from $1.00 to $2.50 per head on live animals sold in the country. The increase stems from the National Beef Strategy, published in 2015, where all the provinces committed to increasing funding for market development, beef promotion and research… Read More
It can sometimes be difficult to figure out the meaning of a commercial. But not this Japanese milk commercial that was showcased on The Ellen Show. In North America, we’ve had milk moustaches, blue cows and spilled milk — our own approaches to and views on marketing milk — but you have to watch this Japanese… Read More
While margins have been “okay” for most of 2017 thanks to lower feed costs, large milk supplies continue to weigh on U.S. dairy prices and the outlook for the dairy market. “We’re so full in terms of capacity for processing, everybody’s looking at where export markets are going to go and how that’s going to… Read More
No two farm business plans are identical. A young, aggressive producer focused on expanding likely needs a comprehensive business plan with detailed cash flow and business projections to satisfy investors and partners. On the other extreme, the business plan for an established farm with no children interested in taking over can be very simple —… Read More
The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) is looking for public input on how the sustainability of beef processing should be measured. “With guidance from a steering committee of diverse expertise, the CRSB has developed sustainability indicators for beef processing that supplement indicators for beef production,” says Cherie Copithorne-Barnes, chair of the CRSB. “I believe these… Read More
Last week’s Cattle on Feed report, published by the United States Department of Agriculture, listed a 4 percent increase in cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market, when compared to September 1, 2016. In August, placements totalled 1.93 million head, up 3 percent from 2016. “There was a bearish surprise to the placement,”… Read More