Manure has been used as fertilizer for a very long time; however, with the advent of fewer mixed farms and access to commercial fertilizer, which is easier to transport and often easier to apply, nearly all farmers have moved away from using manure as the primary source of fertilizer on their operations. That being said,… Read More
Category: Livestock
Kent Bacus, executive director, government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, hasn’t had a dull moment in the last few weeks. He’s not had much sleep either. That’s not surprising, as any time there is a change in government leadership, his department is going to be busy. Add in a change from a Democrat… Read More
Volatility is always part of agriculture, but the ups and downs of the industry have never been more apparent than what farmers have experienced in recent years. From the impacts of a global pandemic to historic rises and falls in income, farmers are used to the roller-coaster ride; and there’s more uncertainty ahead as Trump… Read More
A strong cattle market depends on many factors, all of which play a role in ensuring producers’ long-term success. While beef demand in the United States is the highest it has been in the last 40 years, and retail prices have risen 4.6 per cent annually over the last 25 years, producers still face a… Read More
The U.S. and Canadian cow-herds are both at record lows, at a time when cattle prices are reaching record highs. The market signal to build the herd is there; however, the reality of realizing strong income selling at these prices and several years of drought means ranchers have been in sell mode, not build. That… Read More
Weather for the last half of this winter will likely be much different than what farmers and ranchers experienced in 2024. That’s because the pattern has flipped from the El Nino-influenced conditions of 2024 to a La Nina influence for 2025, says Matt Makens of Makens Weather. In this report, he shares his take on the… Read More
In the spring of 2024, H5N1, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, began to emerge as a disease that was impacting dairy cattle. Since that time, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has been working to establish the safety of the food chain, specifically for meat and milk. While research is ongoing to answer questions… Read More
Members of the cattle industry from Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. met Monday for a trilateral meeting while in San Antonio for the National Cattleman’s Beef Association’s annual CattleCon. Nathan Phinney, president of the Canadian Cattle Association, and Dennis Laycraft, executive vice president sat down with RealAgriculture’s Lyndsey Smith on location following the meeting to unpack… Read More
While no formal complaint has been filed, dairy industry representatives in Australia, the United States, and New Zealand are sounding the alarm over Canada’s dairy protein that they say is being “disposed of” on the world market. The Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ), and U.S. and Australian dairy industry representatives are calling for… Read More
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has reinstated livestock grain feeding use for insecticides containing lambda-cyhalothrin. A regulatory announcement in late 2022 changed the labeled approvals for crops treated with lambda-cy products, and resulted in two growing seasons with restricted use and access for growers. Syngenta shared the reinstatement news today, noting that a label… Read More