U of S opens new cattle research centre

Oct 10, 2018

The Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence spans over 4,000 acres

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

The University of Saskatchewan cut the ribbon on a new cattle research facility yesterday.

The $38-million Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence is designed to bring researchers and industry representatives together in one space.

“As challenges come about, we have the research capacities to be able to overcome those challenges and be able to maintain the competitiveness of the industry,” Aaron Ivey, a producer from Ituna, Sask., who served as a committee co-chair, said yesterday to Global News.

The facility includes a 1,500-head feedlot, a 24-stall metabolism barn and a cattle handling area with a hydraulic chute system.

And covering a total of more than 4,000 acres between locations in Clavet and Saskatoon, Sask., the centre is Canada’s largest cattle and forage research space.

Scientists will study everything from animal biology to feed selection.

Producers have wanted a better understanding of forages for a long time, said Bill Jameson, past president of the Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association.

“Opening the research centre is a big deal for our industry,” he told Farms.com today. “We’ve been severely lacking research in forages, so this is a long time coming.

“If the researchers can look at better forages for this part of the country, that would be a big win. We also need information on better crossbreeding mixes and better grass mixes to give the cows increased nutrition.”

University of Saskatchewan photo

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.