A plant disease caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea, ergot, is nothing new, nor is its affect on animals who consume it. In fact, humans who ingested the fungus in the middle ages were said to have a problem known as "St. Anthony's fire," whereby narrowing of blood vessels would occur, and would often lead... Read More
Category: Livestock
In this episode of Ruminating with RealAg, I speak to Brad Johnson, a professor and chair in meat and muscle biology at Texas Tech University. Johnson has been heavily involved in research around steroidal implants and beta adrenergic agonists, and attended the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference in January as a speaker. The conversation starts off... Read More
Chipotle Mexican Grill — you know them from such controversial advertisements as: "The Scarecrow" and "Farmed and Dangerous" — has been urging American farmers to supply more beef that meets their standards. In fact, similar to A&W in Canada (check out Andrew Campbell's opinion piece on that decision), Chipotle has decided to cross the globe... Read More
You are probably reading a lot right now about the challenges with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Sheila Pratt with the Edmonton Journal has been focused on the issue as it applies to allegedly reducing labor costs and the mistreatment of workers. Keep in mind that that the temporary foreign worker program is accessed by... Read More
When it comes to nutrition, it’s safe to say modern farmers are diet conscious about their animals. Farm animals have a whole industry looking after their best interests. Professionals such as animal nutritionists make sure livestock don’t make bad nutrition decisions. How many humans can say the same? Granted, that option’s mostly taken away from... Read More
The role of genomics in the cattle industry continues to expand, as the price for genetic tests become more affordable for a wider demographic of producers. Parentage testing is only the tip of the iceberg available to interested parties, with understanding of expected progeny differences (EPD) and estimated breeding values (EBV) increasing and playing an... Read More
Not everyone can be an auctioneer. Especially not one that can drop the lyrics to a rap beat. A YouTube video has surfaced showcasing the mad lyrical skills of Whitewood Auction's Rhett Parks. Lets drop this beat...... If you cannot see the above embedded video CLICK HERE
In this weeks Beef Market Update with Anne Wasko, Shaun and Anne discuss the strong Western Canadian fed cattle market, a tight basis, strong retail prices / demand and ranchers waiting for the grass to green up. As per usual there is some fun as well. Anne has to console Shaun because he is devastated... Read More
Pasture rental rates in Alberta can vary significantly depending on the year, the contract, location and whether or not the landowner will take a supervisory role in livestock management. In 2012, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development published a survey that showed a range in pasture rental from $10.50-$33.50/AUM. In this video (also available as audio... Read More
Following on the heels of a recommendations report that came out of the Beef Strawman process, a new study completed by Toma & Bouma suggests three main ways Canada's beef industry can improve its profitability. The Canadian Beef Industry Benchmark study, conducted with the help of Drs. Steve Morgan Jones and Allan Preston, suggest that... Read More