Purebred Beef Spotlight: May 27, 2022

Exhibitor News

Anchor D Ranch Simmentals celebrated a great 4-H year.
Avelyn Angus shared that it has 20 Angus cross or Angus/Simmental cross pairs for sale as it was forced to downsize its commercial herd after losing some pasture.
Brandl Cattle Co. said it has an “excellent selection” of private treaty bulls available.
Carpathian Land and Livestock has two yearling Simmental private treaty bulls tested and available. It also shared a video of the purebred registrable Dorset yearling rams available for sale on June 25.
Davidson Gelbvieh has both Red or Black purebred bulls for sale, including DVE Davidson Pedro 191J: “classy, stout, good, 86 lbs, homozygous polled, homozygous polled, semen tested.”
Long Lane Cattle Co. said it has one semen-tested and vet-checked Red Balancer bull left for sale.
Mader Ranches thanked the Chinook Jr Stock Show for a great show that was well-organized. “Hawk won the Junior showmanship and advanced in class with his heifer, Stella was reserve Int showmanship and was Reserve Overall Purebred Heifer.”
McAleer Ranching said it still has a couple of Red Angus bulls available for sale.
Riverside Angus said it still has a few Black Angus bulls available for private treaty sale. “Birth weights range from 65-88 pounds,” and the price is $3,300 to $4,500.
Shiloh Cattle Company congratulated Logan Brooke on placing well with his heifer, Red Shiloh Rosette 95J, at the Viking 4H Beef Club’s show.
Wilbar Cattle Co. decided to offer embryos and semen for sale earlier this month, including semen for the first time on Red Wilbar Motivation 686H.

Sales and Shows

May 19: Pound Maker Ram Sale
May 29: Bonnyville & District 4-H Show & Sale
May 30: Newell 4-H District Multi Sale – Beef & Sheep
June 1: Sundre and Bergen 4-H Annual Club Sales
June 4: Lethbridge & District 4-H Sale
June 7: Camrose & District 4-H Sale
June 9: Lac La Biche 4-H Club Sale 2022
June 11: Hanna District 4-H Beef & Swine Sale

Beef News

Brad Dubeau, general manager of Alberta Beef Producers, said recent data from Statistics Canada “shows the resiliency of beef producers in this province and the desire to continue to produce high-quality beef in Alberta.” The number of beef cattle ranching and farming operations in Alberta rose from 12,282 in 2016 to 14,601 in 2021.
Young producers are coming to the Alberta Beef Producers‘ table — and they’re bringing their ideas and passions with them. “I think my age offers a bit of a different perspective on the many topics that ABP discusses,” said Kaylee Chizawsky, a fourth-generation cattle farmer. “We come with new ideas, and it is our livelihood, so it is our job to protect it and stand behind it.”
Hard to come by cattle feed has led to a surge in scams, thefts, and bad cheques. “It’s just a sad state with everything that’s going on right now. People are desperate,” said Melanie Wowk, chair of Alberta Beef Producers.
Alberta Beef Producers is looking for applicants for four positions as part of its application to the Living Laboratories Initiative.
A new campaign called “Love beef? And the environment?” from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association aims to highlight some of the positive environmental impacts of cattle ranching. “We really wanted Canadian consumers to know that they can feel good about eating our beef because there’s a lot of positive environmental impacts that come from having cattle on the land,” said Amie Peck, stakeholder engagement manager.
Reg Schellenberg, the newly elected president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said he is committed to investing in the future of the industry. “I’m a strong proponent of the next generation, and there’s a lot of challenges out there for young people to get started, stay involved and stay viable,” he said.
Heather and Brenton Mundt, cattle producers in Oyen, Alberta, are participating in a pilot project for Ceres Tag, an Australia-made solar-powered smart tag that transmits data to satellites via GPS and monitors ambient temperature and animal activity. The Mundts say the tech has limitations — the biggest being cost — but is nonetheless something to be excited about.
Julie Sharp of Lacombe, Alberta — who has been building her own herd of Black Angus cattle since she was nine years old — placed first and received a $5,000 scholarship at the 16th annual Guiding Outstanding Angus Leaders (GOAL) conference.
The federal government has announced funding of $543,271 to support efforts by the Canadian Meat Council (CMC) to grow Canada’s exports of red meat. The organization is collaborating with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the Canadian Pork Council.
The Canadian cattle herd continues to shrink, with 3.5 million cows as of Jan. 1 (1.4 million of them in Alberta) which is down from a peak of 5.4 million in 2005.
Alberta’s Blue Ridge Farms has been named one of two recipients of the 2022 Alltech Canada Planet of Plenty Award which recognizes “those who are furthering a world of abundance through nutritional and digital technologies, innovation and sustainable management practices in the agri-food sector.”
According to Farm Credit Canada, cattle prices in 2022 are forecasted to remain at or above 2021, but margins will remain under pressure due to high feed costs.
Pigeon Lake cottagers and homeowners are concerned about a proposed feedlot from G&S Cattle of Ponoka that would add about 4,000 cattle to an existing operation of 1,000 head. The Natural Resources Conservation Board is expected to rule on the matter in mid-May.

Ag News

The province has announced another $8.4 million for an expansion of the University of Calgary’s Veterinary Medicine (UCVM). That’s on top of the $59 million announced at the end of February. The faculty currently has seven times more applicants than it can graduate, said advanced education minister Demetrios Nicolaides.
According to new data from Statistics Canada, the average age of a producer in Alberta has gone up 1.4% to 56.5 years and there are almost twice as many producers over the age of 55 than under. “Farming is not an easy job, you have to be wearing a lot of hats,” said Tara Sawyer, chair of Alberta Barley. On the plus side, there has been a spike in succession planning, with 14% of farms having a plan in place.
The value of total farm capital is way up, according to Statistics Canada, with the market value of farms rising to $690 billion and the total value of farmland and buildings rising to $603 billion. The number of farms continues its downward trend however, with 189,000 in 2021 compared to 205,000 in 2011.
Avian influenza strain H5N1 has been detected in dozens of poultry operations across Alberta with nearly a million birds infected. “It’s an incredibly stressful time,” said David Hyink, chair of Alberta Chicken Producers. “We’re being very vigilant.”
According to a University of Alberta expert on avian influenza, the recent increase in cases presents very little risk of transmission to people and pets. It is believed that migratory birds may be the cause of the recent rise in cases.
The Agriculture Financial Services Corporation is sponsoring the Ag Next Gen Tour which will provide awareness of agriculture and potential career opportunities to 22 4-H members. The tour runs July 18-21.
Karla Bergstrom began her role as executive director of Alberta Canola on May 16.
Mario Masellis has been named the 2022-2023 chair of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association. “The key areas I would like to work on include improving education and training, raising consumer awareness around fresh produce consumption, and supporting an environment for diversity and inclusion within our industry,” he said.
Terry Kremeniuk will step down as executive director of the Canadian Bison Association after almost 20 years. “I wouldn’t have done the job if I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did,” he said.
Federated Co-operatives Limited has named Heather Ryan as its new CEO, effective May 9. “The opportunity to lead an iconic company that plays such a vital role in communities across Western Canada is truly humbling,” she said.
Alberta Milk has been granted approval to amend the Alberta Milk Plan Regulation, which means it can create its own bylaws and change how it governs itself without involving the provincial cabinet.
The Alberta Ag Plastic pilot program that enables farmers to recycle grain bags and baler twine has been extended until at least the end of August 2023 thanks to $115,000 in additional funding.
Lethbridge College and Southern Irrigation are partnering to study subsurface drip fertigation (SDF), a method of using pipes to apply water and fertilizer directly to roots. Last summer, 15 acres of SDF piping were set up on the college’s irrigation research farm for the first full-scale field study. “We hope that these research projects with Lethbridge College will help farmers and the agriculture industry boost yields by using SDF effectively on crops typically grown in the Canadian prairies,” said Kees Van Beek with Southern Irrigation.
The On-Farm Climate Action Fund, a program to encourage farmers to adopt practices that lower greenhouse gas emissions, will be offering grants to promote cover cropping, a technique not widely applied in Alberta, alongside rotational grazing and 4R fertilizer practices. The cover cropping grants would help with seed costs or provide a per-acre payment.
Persistent dry conditions in southern Alberta is cause for concern for many producers. “The old saying is ‘plant in the dust and your grain bins will bust’,” said Lynn Jacobson, president of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture. Autumn Barnes, manager of the Integrated Agriculture Technology Centre for Lethbridge College, said some areas of southern Alberta have been dry for four or five years.
TrustBIX has signed a master services agreement with JBS Canada under which the former will leverage its proprietary platform to “support the evolution of the JBS Angus beef brand.” JBS Canada president David Colwell said “working with the TrustBIX team will enhance the JBS journey to provide unmatched quality and service along with accountability and transparency.”
Grain Discovery is launching the first full-scale traceability system incorporating blockchain technology for use in Canadian agriculture. The $16-million project, which is receiving majority funding from the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN), builds on the company’s proof-of-concept pilot with Blindman Brewing last year, when the partners created a fully traceable IPA.
Joy Agnew, associate vice president of applied research for the Olds College Centre for Innovation, spoke about how the school’s smart farm is tackling the global food challenge on a recent episode of the Business Council of Alberta’s podcast.