Issues & Insights

From the makers of Guardians of the Grasslands, comes a new short documentary — Too Close to Home. Too Close to Home documents recent fires in British Columbia, and showcases the opportunity to utilize cattle to reduce fire risk. Too Close to Home premieres April 20, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. MT, with a panel discussion…

The beef industry is changing. Cattle are forward contracted at a historic volume; consolidation is rampant and foreign ownership is threading itself throughout the industry. Identity and certified programs capture much of the market through to slaughter, while feeder cattle continue to swap countries just as readily as they do provincial borders.   Export markets demand…

Of all the agricultural plastics on prairie farms, baler twine is one of the easiest to overlook when it comes to a commitment to recycle. Unlike grain bags, which when empty, are a massive amount of plastic laying in the field, baler twine accumulates in smaller bunches, seemingly innocuous, until they start to take over…

Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) is changing the way its temporary diversion license (TDL) applications are processed. Effective April 4, the process will move from the use of the Water Act Temporary Diversion License Electronic Review System (WATERS) to the new Digital Regulatory Assurance System (DRAS). Alberta shifts Water Act licenses to DRAS This shift…

“It’s about family.” It’s among the first words expressed by Dyce Bolduc and his daughter Kaitlynn. They’re sitting down over a few cups of coffee after morning chores on their farm in Stavely, AB, two generations of purebred cattle operations at Cudlobe Angus.  Dyce can remember in detail the first three purebred Angus cows his…

A Ukrainian agriculture journalist chronicles the challenges of sowing a crop during wartime. By Ihor Pavliuk, GFM Network News Ukrainians will farm their land, even in the face of war. In the Kherson area of southern Ukraine, where war rages and the city of Kherson is seen by the Russian invaders as strategic, a column set…

Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) is pleased that Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail) and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC – Train and Engine Negotiating Committee agreed to enter into binding arbitration. “We are relieved that both parties have decided to enter arbitration,” said Dr. Melanie Wowk, Chair, ABP. “The beef industry is thankful to Premier Jason…

In 2018, Dr. Pat Burrage sold his veterinarian practice in Bluffton, Alberta to a young vet, thinking he would have a lot more time to spend with his family. He also thought he would find more time to talk to the Angus Cross and Longhorn herds on his farm just west of the central Alberta…

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are implementing a new policy to make it easier to for regulated animals to cross the border during emergencies. The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) of Canada, Dr. Mary Jane Ireland, and the United States CVO, Dr. Rosemary Sifford issued the following statement:…

Wow, have you looked at the price of a steak lately? Canadian retail beef prices are at the highest level in history, inflating over 20% a year. A good steak or roast can cost $25-50 in the store; can you believe it? That is for an unbranded commodity product sold from a largely undifferentiated commodity…