Tan, a red border collie handled by Calin Duce of Cardston, Alta., at work in the ring. (Melissa Bezan photo)

At Agribition: Young dogs debut their new tricks

'These guys show up to work'

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ranchers and livestock producers at a Regina farm show got a demonstration of a potential solution to looming labour shortages: dogs. Dogs and their handlers competed at the seventh annual Cattle Dog Futurity and Maturity competitions and the International Stock Dog Trials held Thursday at Canadian Western Agribition. The futurity event featured dogs born between […] Read more

Darren Wolchyn (at right), founder and CEO of Smart Paddock, receives the Innovation Award from Kevin Chung, director of innovation investments and programs at Innovation Saskatchewan, at the Canadian Animal Ag Tech Awards. (Lisa Guenther photo)

At Agribition: Livestock tech companies earn new spotlight

Canadian Animal Ag Tech Awards presented

Reading Time: 2 minutes Three companies were crowned winners at the first annual Canadian Animal Ag Tech Awards on Thursday during Canadian Western Agribition in Regina. The event spotlighted companies creating technology for the livestock industry, with products ranging from water sensors to artificial intelligence-powered monitoring systems. Australia’s Smart Paddock received the Innovation Award. The company’s GPS ear tags […] Read more


Jason Cardinal talks market gardens and tech to attendees of the Indigenous Ag Summit at Canadian Western Agribition in Regina. (Lisa Guenther photo)

At Agribition: Northern community integrates tech, education into market garden

Flying Dust working to improve operation's food distribution

Reading Time: 2 minutes Riverside Market Garden, operated by Flying Dust First Nation, started in 2009 with two people and an old alfalfa field. Today it employs about 20 people, plus summer students; provides food for the community and some wholesalers; and gives youth a chance to learn about agriculture. Over the years the First Nation, just north of […] Read more

CME February 2024 lean hogs with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs mixed after approaching four-week low

Chicago cattle futures end lower

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Lean hog futures hit their lowest level in about four weeks on Wednesday before ending mixed as traders adjusted positions before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. The market has dropped about eight per cent since rising on Nov. 7 to the highest price in more than a month, as ample U.S. supplies […] Read more


File photo of a desk in Canada’s Senate. (Dougall_Photography/iStock/Getty Images)

Internal dispute over privilege, bullying allegations ties up C-234

New amendment to farm fuel bill now under debate

Reading Time: 3 minutes A proposed amendment, and a dispute over senatorial behaviour, further geared down progress Tuesday of a federal private member’s bill to carve out a carbon tax exemption for grain drying and heating of barns and greenhouses. Bill C-234, which passed the House of Commons in late March, remained on the Senate’s order paper for debate […] Read more

(Keeperofthezoo/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast: Winter temperatures try to move in

Issued Nov. 22, covering Nov. 22-29

Reading Time: 3 minutes There is a large, deep area of low pressure spinning over the northern half of Hudson Bay along with a building area of high pressure over the Yukon. The counterclockwise rotation around the Hudson Bay low will create a north to northwesterly flow across the Prairies. This will allow the Yukon high to drop southward. […] Read more


CME February 2024 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs near four-week low amid large supply

Cattle futures slip lower

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell to their lowest price in nearly four weeks on Tuesday as large supplies hung over the market. Technical selling added pressure on prices as December hogs dropped below 70 cents/lb. for the first time since Nov. 1, analysts said (all figures US$). The contract […] Read more

(Geralyn Wichers file photo)

Klassen: Canadian feeder buyers ignore weaker futures market

U.S. feedlot placements up four per cent

Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending Nov. 18, western Canadian feeder cattle prices traded $3-$5/cwt on either side of unchanged compared to seven days earlier. Buyers appeared to shrug off the weaker futures market and the defensive tone from a week earlier evaporated. Eastern Prairie markets were firm, with larger packages of quality cattle trading a solid […] Read more


CME January 2024 feeder cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle top one-week high

Traders digest U.S. cattle placements data; December hogs lower

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. feeder cattle futures and deferred live cattle futures finished higher on Monday after the government reported placements in feedlots were lower than analysts expected last month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in monthly data issued after the close of trading on Friday, said producers placed 3.8 per cent more cattle […] Read more

File photo of cattle on pasture northeast of Calgary. (James_Gabbert/iStock/Getty Images)

Report aims to show animal agriculture’s interconnections

CAPI hopes to broaden policymakers' perspective

Reading Time: 3 minutes A new report for the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute seeks to educate policymakers about the impact of animal agriculture on economic, social and environmental levels. The report, titled Forces Impacting Animal Agriculture In Canada: A Synthesis, delves into the issues surrounding cattle, dairy and poultry production in the country and how it is interconnected within […] Read more