The U.S. calf crop for 2023 came in at 33.593 million head, down 846,500 from the 2022 calf crop of 34.44 million.

Lower U.S. calf crop supports cattle complex

Conditions are developing that should support record calf prices next fall

The Alberta fed cattle market remains under pressure due to a buildup of market-ready cattle, larger carcass weights and seasonally low demand. During the last week of January, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $360-$365 per hundredweight delivered. Live bids f.o.b. feedlot in southern Alberta were quoted […] Read more






Whether we use our equipment daily or not, we can’t ignore the overhead cost of having and maintaining it.

Rethinking yardage costs

Those costs can be higher than most think, so running your own numbers is important

For many of us, winter is a season of feeding cows. Feed is one of the key drivers of animal performance and is one of the highest direct costs for most cattle operations. Notice the use of the word feed. Feeding — that is, the act of providing feed — can also be one of […] Read more



photos: CNH

Compostable bale wrap heads toward wide release

Nature's Net Wrap an environment-friendly alternative to long-lived plastic

Virtually every cattle farmer and rancher has tripped over an old piece of plastic baler twine or net wrap stuck in the ground in a corral or bale yard. The stuff just never seems to go away. But an entrepreneurial Alberta ranching family has come up with a solution to eliminate that problem with a […] Read more


Beef cows’ TDN energy maintenance requirements generally increase about two per cent for every degree Celsius drop in temperature below freezing.

Beef cows in good condition, feed accordingly

Optimize cows' condition with target diets based on the animals' BCS

A warm start to winter has caused many beef cows after weaning to come off pasture in decent shape. Some of these cows are not truly obese, but they retained a lot of flesh. Those beef cows in optimum body condition should be put on a nutritious feeding program that maintains them until they calve […] Read more