RJ Sigurdson, MLA for Highwood, is sworn in on June 9, 2023 as Alberta’s minister of agriculture and irrigation. (Government of Alberta video screengrab via YouTube)

Calgary-area MLA named Alberta’s new ag minister

RJ Sigurdson to handle ag file, Horner moves to finance

The Alberta government’s caucus lead on emergency medical services (EMS) reform has been promoted to handle the agriculture file in a post-election cabinet shuffle. RJ Sigurdson, MLA for the constituency of Highwood, just south of Calgary, was sworn in Friday by Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani as Alberta’s new minister of agriculture and irrigation, replacing Nate Horner. […] Read more

CME July 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs touch one-month high

August live cattle lower, feeders up

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures hit their highest level in more than a month on Friday following gains in cash prices. Recent advances in futures have built some upward momentum into the market, brokers said, though the sector continues to grapple with an excess of hogs and lacklustre demand for […] Read more


(Brett Holmes Photography/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast: Switch in pattern but summer sticking around

Forecast issued June 7, covering June 7-14

The weather models are doing a good job handling all the heat and humidity that has been driving thunderstorms and breaking temperature records across the eastern half of the Prairies over the last week. To the west it has been a little cooler and drier, with not as much instability to deal with, but nonetheless, […] Read more

The drill stem cradle holds the bale in place. As the animals eat, the bale slides down into the steamer wheel.

Building a heavy-duty feeder for bulls

Some steel odds and ends welded together can handle bull abuse

Bulls are so hard on bale feeders. They always seem to be pushing and rubbing against the feeders, which just don’t stand up to the pressure. Over time, the bars break off and then the top ring breaks, leaving a protruding piece of metal that is perfect for both people and animals to get hurt […] Read more


Cattle are often susceptible to frothy bloat when grazing lush alfalfa pastures. It is best to ease them into high-risk pastures and even provide some dry hay or straw.

Preventing frothy bloat on early spring pasture

A couple of treatments are available, but management practices can avoid the problem

As a beef nutritionist, I haven’t heard about many fatal cow bloat cases over the last 10 years, but of the few I’m aware of, it seems it takes only a few things to come together to make bloat deadly. From talking to experienced beef producers, I am also aware that the risk of annual […] Read more

File photo of grilled pork intestine on skewers at a street food stall in the Philippines. (Junpinzon/iStock/Getty Images)

Philippines to host Canada’s Indo-Pacific ag office

AAFC/CFIA base to be set up in Manila, Bibeau says

Canada’s agriculture department and food safety agency will carry out their part of the federal government’s Indo-Pacific strategy from a new office in Manila, Philippines. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the office’s location Wednesday in Ottawa during a meeting with the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), which represents Canada’s export-dependent ag commodity groups on […] Read more


CME August 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle down second day in a row

Chicago lean hogs close firm

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures fell Thursday on a wave of follow-through selling after contracts posted their first losses in more than a week on Wednesday. Hog futures closed firm but remained below recent peaks. Benchmark CME August live cattle futures settled down 0.95 cent at 172.25 cents/lb. (all figures US$). […] Read more

A climate change activist plays a violin in New York City’s Times Square as Manhattan is shrouded in haze and smoke which drifted south from wildfires in Canada, on June 7, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Maye-E Wong)

International help rolls in to fight unyielding Canadian wildfires

Almost 80 of Quebec's fires currently out of control

Ottawa | Reuters — Allies around the world are promising to boost support for Canada’s fight against hundreds of blazes amid the country’s worst-ever start to wildfire season, which is fueling concerns about the worsening consequences of climate change. Forest fires continued to burn across Canada on Thursday, forcing thousands of people from their homes […] Read more


Frost on land in Brazil’s Santa Catarina state. (Edson Hardt/iStock/Getty Images)

Brazil justice grants Congress more time on bill limiting Indigenous rights

Case pits Indigenous against Big Ag

Brasilia | Reuters — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday asked for more time to study a case pitting the country’s Indigenous people against its powerful farm sector, a decision that is likely to give lawmakers more time to pass a measure favouring Big Agriculture. The decision by Justice Andre Mendonca, an Evangelical pastor […] Read more

CME August 2023 feeder cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle weaken off new contract highs

Lean hogs down off highest since mid-May

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures weakened on a technical setback on Wednesday, closing in negative territory after rising to fresh contract highs during the session. Hog futures were also weaker. Benchmark CME August live cattle futures settled down 2.3 cents at 173.2 cents/lb. after posting a fresh contract high of 175.95 […] Read more