Beef Cattle & Production Tips

Feeder cattle basis analysis

Finishing at least some of your own calves is a diversification measure

By Jerry Klassen February 23, 2018

In my previous article, I provided a brief overview of last year’s series of articles on price risk management for feeder cattle. In this column I will continue the discussion and also answer some of the main questions producers had last year. Cow-calf producers are becoming more familiar with the basis level for their local […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Livestock

Producers vote down Ontario beef checkoff increase

By GFM Network News February 22, 2018

A bid to increase the checkoff paid by Ontario’s beef farmers to Beef Farmers of Ontario was quashed when it failed to get the 66 per cent support it needed for approval. Why it matters: Beef Farmers of Ontario pulled from its reserves to fund at close-to $1 million deficit in 2017 and was planning […] Read more

Barley, Finishers, Livestock, Markets

Klassen: Stronger fed cattle prices jolt feeder market

By Jerry Klassen, GFM Network News February 20, 2018

Feeder cattle markets came alive last week as fed cattle prices took a fortuitous bounce. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $276-$279 on a dressed basis, up approximately $4 from week-ago levels. Improving beef demand enhanced wholesale beef prices, which quickly spilt over into the cattle complex. Compared to last week, […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf

Proper diets take a bite out of wind chill

When temperatures dip, it’s time to torque up the ration

By Peter Vitti February 15, 2018

Beef cow diets developed at the beginning of winter when temperatures were mild are not adequate to meet their energy requirements when new year’s winds blow. That’s because pregnant beef cows need extra calories in order to keep warm, rather than burning up fat reserves needed for the upcoming calving season. Therefore, if it is […] Read more

The difference between the cash market and the futures market is called the “basis,” and it can send an important message about when to sell or not sell.

Finishers, Livestock, Markets

More on feeder cattle risk management

Market Update: Looking a little deeper into messages from the market

By Jerry Klassen February 14, 2018

In the winter of 2017 I wrote a series of articles about price risk management for feeder cattle. I discussed hedging feeder cattle on the CME feeder cattle futures and also conducted a risk analysis on the basis for feeder cattle prices in Manitoba. Read more: Understanding feeder cattle risk: Pt. 1 Read more: Understanding feeder cattle […] Read more

Contracted tendons (knuckling over) in calf

Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf

Dealing with contracted or lax leg tendons in calves

Animal Health: In many cases, time and a bit of physiotherapy will fix the condition

By Roy Lewis February 13, 2018

It is not uncommon during calving season for producers to end up with calves with contracted tendons (knuckling over) or the complete opposite — cases of lax tendons whereby the back of the fetlock is touching the ground. Although it is difficult to prevent these abnormalities, fortunately they only occur sporadically. Even so it is […] Read more

Finishers, Livestock, Markets

Klassen: Feeder markets experience lacklustre trade

By Jerry Klassen, GFM Network News February 13, 2018

Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged from week-ago levels as extremely cold temperatures hinder market activity. Most auction barns reported small groups of various quality cattle on offer, which made the market hard to define. In the major markets of Alberta such as Lethbridge, there were very few yearlings available. This forced major […] Read more

An adult Thelazia gulosa removed from the eye of a human and shown here on a person’s finger. (CDC.gov)

Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Livestock, Reuters

Eye worm, known only in cattle, found in U.S. woman’s eye

By GFM Network News February 13, 2018

New York | Reuters — An Oregon woman has become the first person worldwide known to have had an eye infestation by a tiny worm species previously seen only in cattle that is spread by flies that feed on eyeball lubrication, U.S. government researchers said on Monday. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists […] Read more

Tuberculosis bacteria under an electron microscope. (Janice Haney Carr photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.))

Beef Cattle, Livestock

All quarantines lifted in bovine TB probe

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News February 12, 2018

The mystery of how six Prairie cattle caught a Mexican strain of bovine tuberculosis (TB) is now expected to remain a mystery indefinitely. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday announced quarantines have been lifted from all Prairie cattle operations tested during its probe of a bovine TB outbreak beginning in the fall of 2016. […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf, Livestock

Flight zones can teach some lessons

Cattle behaviour may not be all that much different than how humans handle life

By Bruce Derksen February 6, 2018

There are many things I have learned over the years about what makes a good pen checker in the feedlot. In my opinion, one of the most important is learning about the flight zones of cattle. Earlier in my career, I believed it was something you either understood or didn’t. There was no middle ground […] Read more

Daily Network News

Canadian drought conditions improve in March

PMRA renamed as Pesticides Regulatory Directorate

U.S. deputy farm secretary to meet with Mosaic amid high fertilizer prices

Beef Cattle