Beef Cattle & Production Tips

Give cattle some feeding area options with plenty of space.

Ease new cattle into the herd

Give cows time and space to sort out pecking order

By Heather Eppich April 16, 2018

Cows can be very aggressive, especially when establishing a pecking order, so you need to watch how new and especially pregnant animals are integrated into an established herd. Two cows fighting can result in a cow losing the calf because of the direct hits to the belly by the other cow’s head; a cow slipping […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf

Can you afford to select cows for longevity?

Keeping old cows isn’t improving performance of the beef herd

By Sean McGrath April 11, 2018

One of the biggest costs on a cow-calf operation is cow herd depreciation. For most of us, even if we are not aware of it, cow depreciation is our second-highest expense after cow herd maintenance. It is a problem often ignored because cull cows generate cash flow, but having cows drop out of the cow […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf, Markets

Calf market will feel the pinch come fall

Market Update: It will take time to work burdensome beef supplies through the U.S. system

By Jerry Klassen April 10, 2018

Alberta fed cattle prices have traded in the range of $162 to $166 throughout February and March, but the market is poised to grind lower during the second quarter due to the large year-over-year increase in second-quarter beef production. Fed cattle are poised for a $15 to $20 drop over the next couple of months […] Read more

Finishers, Livestock, Markets

Klassen: Feeder market continues lower trend

By Jerry Klassen, GFM Network News April 9, 2018

Western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $5 to $8 below week-ago levels; noticeable declines were noted in the lighter weight categories, which were down $6 to as much as $10. Adverse weather continues to plague the feedlot regions of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Another snowfall over the weekend caused pen conditions to erode to lowest levels […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf

Treating colicky bloat in calves

Calf Management: Timeliness is critical and treatments are no guarantee 

By Heather Smith Thomas April 9, 2018

In some herds, calves die nearly every year from enterotoxemia caused by bacterial toxins. The calves are usually about a month old, but may be as young as a few days or as old as two to three months. They are generally healthy, fast-growing calves that suddenly develop acute gut pain, kicking at their belly […] Read more

(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Beef Cattle, Hogs, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs jump on short-covering

By GFM Network News April 9, 2018

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rallied more than three per cent on Monday in a short-covering and bargain-buying rebound from life-of-contract lows posted last week, traders said. Some contracts, including actively-traded June, rose by as much as the daily three-cent limit as a steady slide in prices over the past […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Livestock, Reuters

Marfrig to buy control of U.S.-based National Beef

By GFM Network News April 9, 2018

Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Brazil’s Marfrig Global Foods said Monday it would buy control of Kansas City-based National Beef Packing for US$969 million, in a deal that would make it the world’s No. 2 beef processor. Marfrig also said it was seeking to sell an existing U.S. unit, Keystone Food. The proceeds will be […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Livestock

Quebec cattle producers join national body

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News April 7, 2018

Quebec’s cattle producer group is now the ninth provincial member cattle organization in the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. Les producteurs de bovins du Quebec (PBQ) announced its membership in the CCA during the provincial body’s annual meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Quebec City. “At a time when new frontiers are continually opening up and our buyers […] Read more

Attendees at the 2017 Food and Hotel China trade show watch USMEF chefs prepare U.S. beef and pork. (USMEF.org)

Beef Cattle, Hogs, Livestock, Reuters

U.S. meat groups fear for market growth with China beef tariff hike

By GFM Network News April 4, 2018

Chicago | Reuters — China’s proposal on Wednesday for tariffs on U.S. beef confirmed the worst-case scenario for the U.S. cattle industry, trade groups said Wednesday, even as they remained hopeful the dispute could be resolved quickly. China listed U.S. goods from soybeans to beef that could potentially incur a 25 per cent import tariff […] Read more

Duane and Bonnie Friesen and their three children, Daniel, Rebekka and Adele.

Cow-Calf, Crops, Features

Meet your farming neighbours: Duane and Bonnie Friesen

This is the story of Duane and Bonnie Friesen,  near Cecil Lake, B.C.

By Marianne Stamm April 4, 2018

Every farm has its own story. No two farms (or farmers) are exactly alike. Everyone got started in a different way, and every farm has a different combination of family and hired staff who make the decisions and keep things running. But, in general, even after you consider all of the details, farmers are more alike than different. This is the story of Duane Freisen, who farms […] Read more

Daily Network News

JBS reaches deal with U.S. meatpacking workers who went on strike

Public consultation open on national beef code of practice

Pulse weekly: Indian forecasters predict below-normal monsoon

Beef Cattle