It is hard to believe it’s that time of year again! Hopefully these few months feel more like “tagging season” than “calving season.” However, if things don’t go quite as planned, the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) has put together some fantastic resources to help you improve the outcome for any compromised calf that hits…
Ruminant Nutritionist Lynne Girardin provides supplement recommendations to support health in weaning calves. Getting calves off to a healthy start depends on a combination of factors, including good genetics, a healthy heifer, and ample, high quality colostrum. “A healthy cow means healthy milk, and healthy milk means a healthy calf,” suggests Lynne Girardin, ruminant nutritionist…
High feed costs and shortages mean feedlot owners face a tighter squeeze than ever. Helping them maximize their feed dollars by hitting the optimal market moment for their cattle is the goal of a genetic tool with an economic twist. A program called Q-sort from Saskatoon-based Quantum Genetix provides data in a simplified form to…
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the April edition of ABP Magazine. Since then, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has stated its aware of ongoing tag supply challenges, and is working closely to monitor the issue. CFIA says there are sufficient tag supplies available, but producers may need to use an alternate source/dealer…
Ample fed supplies have continued to move through the system with strong slaughter levels in the first quarter. Strong domestic and international demand has kept fed prices above last year’s levels and the five-year average. Although cash fed prices have not been high enough for feedlots to be profitable, fed prices are in-line with 2017…
Editor’s Note: This opinion piece was provided by an Alberta rancher for the April edition of ABP, our quarterly print magazine. I feel compelled to write in response to Will Verboven comments in the January 2022 edition of Alberta Beef Magazine. Verboven accurately states the history of ABP since its inception in the late 60s….
Spring has returned to Alberta and with it brings the promise of new life and brighter days. I hope that as you are reading this, you feel the same way. Since the last issue of ABP, we continue to be very busy working for, with and on behalf of producers. The ABP Annual General Meeting…
In the months following publication, most of the articles in the magazine find a second home on ABP Daily. And so should the cover, and some of the many faces that make this magazine possible. Published by Brad Dubeau,Alberta Beef Producers EditorLindsay Roberts CreativeTracy Irving Front Cover DesignJason Stang WritingCraig LesterDianne FinstadElizabeth HomeroskyLaura LaingLori LoreeMary…
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…
Five years ago, the National Cattle Feeders’ Association (NCFA), along with our federal packers, Cargill, JBS and Tyson Foods, developed the Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment Program. This national feedlot program was created because our packers requested a way to develop verifiable welfare practices at feedlots, based on demands for verification from retailers. The program…
“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…
The short documentary, Guardians of the Grasslands, has earned a wide variety of audiences through premieres across the country, national and international film festivals and on broadcast television through RFDTV. Now, thanks to a pivotal funding partnership with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Foundation, the film will reach another vital audience – students. Agriculture in the Classroom…