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Experts outline benefits, risk of retaining ownership

Tracking devices tell us everything from the number of steps we take to the amount of calories we consume to the hours of restful sleep we get at night. That data provides valuable information to those who are seeking it.

While the collection mechanisms are different, tracking data on cattle after they leave the ranch can offer beneficial information to cow-calf producers, said the experts at the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute on a recent Cattle Chat podcast.

“One of the best ways to get performance information on the calves after they leave the ranch is to retain ownership of them through the finishing phase,” Phillip Lancaster, beef cattle nutritionist, said in a news release.

Lancaster explains that with this system, the beef producer assumes the expenses through cattle feeding, and the cattle are managed as a separate group than others in the feedyard. Producers can learn the rate of gain and feed efficiency of the cattle that are managed that way.

He said electronic identification via an ear tag allows cattle to be tracked through the finishing phase and provides carcass information post-harvest.

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Ask A Farmer: How are broiler chickens raised in Canada?

Video: Ask A Farmer: How are broiler chickens raised in Canada?

As more and more Canadians become removed from farms and ranches, many people have questions about how animals are being raised on Canadian farms. Tiffany Martinka is active on social media and has made a point of sharing how their family farm takes care of their chickens. In this podcast, Tiffany explains the audited programs that all Canadian farmers must follow and describes how this system of raising chickens is unique in a global setting.

The main points of this podcast include:

What it is like on a broiler chicken farm and the process that chicken farmers go through.

The different programs that farmers must follow, and be audited on, to be licensed to sell broiler chicken in Canada.

The full circle of practices on Tiffany’s family farm, including growing their own feed for chickens, then recycling the manure back onto the fields to grow future crops.