In Alberta last week, weighted average fed steer and heifer prices closed the week around $249.25/cwt live, $6/cwt higher than the previous week. Fed cattle prices established new record highs. Competition on the Western Canadian market was good with packers actively making inquiries for cattle. Last week, a stronger price tone was noted from Wednesday…
Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) is looking for the next young farmer or rancher to join the Canadian Cattle Youth Council as a Provincial Representative. The Youth Council prepares beef cattle farmers and ranchers (ages 18-40) for future leadership roles, through professional development like governance and board training, and participation in events and meetings. Delegates have…
The Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) has initiated a program to verify that the livestock population of feedlots permitted by the NRCB are within their allotted numbers. The Livestock Population Verification Program is a response to evidence provided by complainants indicating that some operators in Lethbridge County may be exceeding the livestock numbers in their…
The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) is pleased to announce that Canadian Cattle Association has initiated an update to the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle. The update will be guided by NFACC’s Code development process. The Code development process includes a survey, launched at the outset of each Code,…
Alberta’s government is bringing forward legislation to establish the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE). If passed, the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence Act, 2024, will establish CoRE as a crown corporation to inform best practices in mental health and addiction; conduct research and program evaluation; and support the development of evidence-based policies for mental…
Canada’s food and beverage manufacturers face a mix of obstacles and optimism for profit margin improvements in the year ahead, according to the latest FCC Food and Beverage Report. After hitting a record $165 billion in food and beverage manufacturing sales last year, 2024 is expected to see sales moderate in sync with slowing inflation and…
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lawrence MacAulay, and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit have announced that additional payments will be provided to eligible livestock producers already enrolled in the 2023 Canada-Saskatchewan Feed Program. The program, introduced in October of 2023, was put in place to help maintain the breeding herd in drought-impacted regions of…
In an ongoing effort to maximize investment in programs that directly benefit producers, Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) is moving to a smaller, more affordable office space. “Our year ending March 31, 2022 showed that just under 25 per cent of our actual expenses went to administration,” says Brad Dubeau, General Manager of ABP. “We’ve made…
Lost ear tags are a costly and frustrating reality on Canadian cattle ranches. Yet, tags play an integral role in in disease outbreak investigations, as well as in maintaining the credibility of Canada’s traceability system. The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) both examines and investigates reports of retention issues on an ongoing basis. Most of…
The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) completed its 2024 Annual General Meeting on March 21, 2024 in Ottawa with a number of events, meetings and election of a new Board of Directors. The CCA Board heard from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) representatives and were pleased to see that CCA’s partnership lobbying efforts had resulted in…
The American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) has decided to refer to the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as Bovine Influenza A Virus (BIAV). Although caused by the same virus as HPAI, the disease presents differently in cattle compared to poultry, which is why the AABP has requested the name change. In the letter, the…
Global animal feed production remained steady in 2023 at 1.29 billion metric tons (BMT), a slight decrease of 2.6 million metric tons (MMT) — or 0.2 per cent — from 2022’s estimates, according to the 2024 Agri-Food Outlook, released by Alltech. The annual survey, now in its 13th year, includes data from 142 countries and more…