Cattle

The fall run: the rancher’s sprint

A Little Bit Western: Most of the revenue, data and calf movement come in the fall

I like to joke that ranching is a marathon, except when it is a sprint, and then it’s that too. There are certainly times when you are racing from one urgent task to another. While it feels like the rest of the working world has three to five business days to respond to a request, […] Read more

cattle in alberta feedlot

Feeder market trades at or near historical highs

The Markets: Larger supplies by numbers and weight will mean more beef supply year over year

During the last week of October, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $403-$408 per hundredweight ($242-$245/cwt on a live basis). This was unchanged from a month earlier. Breakeven pen closeouts are in the range of $250-$255/cwt, so margins are in negative territory for the time being. The […] Read more


Fed cattle prices are expected to trend lower from October 2024 to December 2025.

Cattle market vulnerable to slower economic growth

The Markets: Watch consumer trends for indications of a beef price slowdown

Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $425-$428/cwt delivered in mid-August. Live prices were quoted at $255/cwt (US$186), f.o.b. feedlot, in southern Alberta. The fed market has come off the summer highs as demand eases moving into the fall period. Monthly restaurant spending on both sides of the […] Read more

File photo of cattle on feed near Champion, Alta., about 75 km north of Lethbridge. (James_Gabbert/iStock/Getty Images)

Tighter fed cattle supplies support feeder market

U.S. beef producers are not yet holding back enough heifers for expansion

During the first week of June, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a live basis at $261 per hundredweight, f.o.b, feedlot in southern Alberta, up $4/cwt from a month earlier. Market-ready supplies of fed cattle were sharply above year-ago levels earlier in winter, but the backlog has slowly been alleviated through the spring period. […] Read more


Kit Pharo says ranchers can increase their production per acre and their profitability.

A key to cattle business survival

Produce more pounds of beef per acre versus more pounds per cow, this U.S. rancher says

North America producers are receiving higher prices for cattle than ever before — “yet very few are really profitable,” Kit Pharo says. Most cow-calf producers “are too dependent on outside inputs, which are also at record-high costs,” says Pharo, who operates Pharo Cattle Company in Colorado and was the keynote speaker at the recent Holistic […] Read more

It makes sense to place positivity and profit above production values on ranches.

Rethinking ranch priorities

Positivity and profit can be more important priorities than production

The beginning of a New Year marks a good time to work on planning for the year ahead. I believe we should be planning for “Profitivity” on our farms and ranches. Profitivity is a combination of profitability, productivity and positivity. For an operation to thrive, these three things are important to get right. Profit and […] Read more


It just takes one colostrum-deprived calf to start a bad clinical case and the rest of the herd becomes highly exposed to infectious scour causing organism and a wreck develops.

Second year for scours vaccine shortage

Animal Health: Preventing disease is always a good place to start

We live in a world where vaccinology has been one of the mainstays of disease prevention in livestock in general — producers definitely rely on it. This year, one of the main scour vaccines has been absent in the marketplace for the second straight year. There are alternative products, but their use may mean tweaking […] Read more

Coming up with a vision for the Canadian beef industry, ahead — keep it focused and simple.

A vision of what the beef industry needs: Part 3

It’s a big economic driver that needs smart, progressive leadership

Editor’s Note: This is Part 3 of a three-part series by Alberta rancher and consultant Sean McGrath with some thoughts on actions to benefit the Canadian beef industry. After a few more thoughts on where the industry is at today, McGrath takes a stab at what he thinks a vision statement might contain and welcomes […] Read more


A.I. service can be an option for introducing improved genetics and overall herd performance.

Something magical about 10:2:1 ratio

A per cent hear and there in reproduction and growth makes a difference

If it is possible to have a favourite ratio, 10:2:1 is mine. The reason for the favouritism is this ratio comes from one of my favourite pieces of extension material, done by Melton et al. way back in 1995. The 10:2:1 ratio reflects the relative importance of reproduction:production:product, particularly for those marketing calves directly from […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Study finds Canadian beef’s GHG footprint shrunk over 30 years

Efficiencies in cattle production and feeding have allowed Canada’s beef industry to produce the same weight in beef as 30 years ago with smaller breeding herds, less land — and smaller greenhouse gas (GHG) output, a new study finds. The study, led by research scientist Tim McAllister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, with […] Read more