(Bovins.qc.ca)

Quebec cattle producers join national body

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

David Haywood-Farmer. (We Heart Local BC video screengrab via YouTube)

New chief acclaimed for national cattle producer group

A former president of the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association is the new president of the national cattle producers’ body. David Haywood-Farmer was elected by acclamation as president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association at the group’s annual general meeting last week in Ottawa. Haywood-Farmer, a cow-calf producer at Savona, B.C., about 40 km west of Kamloops, was […] Read more

(Photo courtesy General Mills via Flickr)

Cheerios to remove ‘gluten-free’ claim

The maker of Cheerios cereal is pulling a controversial “gluten-free” claim from the product’s Canadian packaging starting in 2018, over what it says is a lack of a “consistent” testing protocol for oat products. General Mills announced last week it will remove the “gluten-free” claim from Cheerios sold in Canada starting in January, though it […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

More BSE tests, no BSE seen in 2016

Canadian beef cattle producers handed over more samples in 2016 than in 2015 to be tested for BSE, turning up zero cases of the brain-wasting disease. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association on Monday reported 27,346 samples were submitted to the national BSE surveillance program in 2016 — up four per cent from 26,285 in 2015, but […] Read more

Boyd Anderson, shown here in a video recounting his life in ranching in southwestern Saskatchewan, died this week at age 96. (GrandpaBoyd.com)

Cattle industry leader Boyd Anderson, 96

Memorial services will be held Dec. 10 in Glentworth, Sask. for Boyd Anderson, a respected rancher and leader in the Saskatchewan and Canadian beef cattle industries, who passed away Thursday in Moose Jaw at age 96. Anderson, who had started ranching in about 1937 near Fir Mountain, about 170 km southwest of Moose Jaw, is […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Cattle producers urge trade fight if Trump revives COOL

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian cattle producers will urge Ottawa to retaliate against the U.S. if the incoming Trump administration imposes a meat labelling program it views as discriminatory, restarting a six-year trade battle, an industry group said on Wednesday. U.S. news network CNN reported on Tuesday that a memo drafted by President-elect Donald Trump’s […] Read more

Irradiated ground beef, such as these burger patties, is expected to have a lower potential presence of harmful pathogens such as E. coli. (Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Proposals for irradiating ground beef back on table

Regulations to allow Canadian beef processors to irradiate fresh and/or frozen raw ground beef for food safety purposes will soon be up for public comment. Health Canada on Monday served notice it will soon propose amendments to its Food and Drug Regulations that would add fresh and frozen ground beef to its list of allowed […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Worker shortfall a three per cent hit for farms: Study

Having the Canadian economy’s highest job vacancy rate has cost the country’s primary ag sector three per cent of its value, new research shows. The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council on Tuesday released labour market information (LMI) research which, based on data for 2014, pegged primary agriculture’s annual farm cash receipt losses at $1.5 billion, […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. COOL rules formally off beef, pork

The U.S. Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has formally patched a long-sore spot in cross-border trade relations by pulling its country-of-origin labelling (COOL) regulations off beef and pork. The AMS, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), published its amendments Wednesday in the U.S. Federal Register. The changes, which took effect upon publication, mean […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill to supply Alberta carcass data to BIXS

One of Canada’s biggest beef packers is set to supply the specs on beef carcasses processed at its Alberta plant to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s (CCA) BIXS information-sharing system. Cargill and BIXSCo, the CCA-backed operators of BIXS (Beef InfoXchange System), announced Thursday that the multinational agrifood firm will provide its past three years of beef […] Read more