Business Tools

This week, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the Government of Canada is providing nearly $200,000 in funding to Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+). “Canadian cattle producers care for their animals and our environment,” said Bibeau. “Canada’s beef industry, through the leadership of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and it’s Verified Beef Production Plus…

2021 has been an interesting year for ranchers to say the least. A pandemic year caused the world to appear crazy and in “lockdown” while, those of us in rural communities, were dumbfounded about what this means to us. Quite frankly, most ranchers just put their heads down and went to work doing what ranchers…

Applications for phase two of the 2021 Canada-Alberta Livestock Feed Assistance AgriRecovery initiative are set to open the first week of January. In phase two, producers can apply for additional compensation (a secondary payment) to help cover extraordinary costs over and above the phase one initial payment. This two-phased AgriRecovery initiative, which began in September…

The Alberta Government is making changes to how Water Act licenses managed by Alberta Environment and Parks are regulated in the province. Starting November 15, some Water Act licenses will be managed through the Digital Regulatory Assurance System (DRAS). This includes all new applicants for surface water and groundwater licenses, and all applications for amendments,…

Is the vigor of your cattle herd waning? The genetic vigor, that is.  It might be time to dig deeper than hide color to discover the actual genetic makeup, and then to refresh, the heterosis of your herd.  The what?  ‘Heterosis’ is the science term for the Hybrid Vigor factor, and while its known benefits…

As the days of summer fade away and we face the briskness of fall it is time to carefully consider livestock marketing plans for the farm and ranch. Traditionally, this time of year is referred to as ‘the fall run’ as most of the calves, yearlings and cull cows are offered for sale and the…

Selecting commercial beef cattle replacement heifers for the herd is not based on beauty. A pretty face is just that – a pretty face. What we are looking for in the commercial herd is a working girl with serious historical data behind her.   The “genes” she wears will come from a long line of females…

October 19, 2021 (Edmonton, Alberta) – Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) has invested $640,000 in a collaborative research project with the Canadian Beef Improvement Network (CBIN) to springboard the development of a unified, standardized, and producer-accessible beef cattle genetics data platform. Through this platform, CBIN will provide commercial cattle producers and the entire beef production chain…

The National Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) has released its updated Compliance and Enforcement Policy for confined feeding operations in Alberta. The policy outlines the compliance process, emphasizes education and prevention, and provides direction on appropriate enforcement actions. It is founded on three pillars: collaborative problem solving, risk-based compliance, and fair complaint response. For more information,…

Managing herd genetics is difficult without the right tools, and even harder when you produce crossbred cattle. Optimizing herd genetics The first part to optimizing herd genetics is selecting sires/dams with the best genes. This can be achieved by purchasing breeding stock that have the best estimated progeny differences (EPDs). However, EPDs can have low…