Logical and fascinating information

Canadian lamb has boldly gone where no sheep has gone before. It’s on blockchain.

Moving at warp speed, the Canadian Sheep Federation initiated a field trial in Nova Scotia in cooperation with SheepChain LLC of Wyoming. Factual data about processed Prince Edward Island lamb was digitized and put on the package label. The blockchain technology certifies the label’s accuracy, making the product very attractive to potential buyers. (See page 19.)

In this issue of Atlantic Beef & Sheep, you’ll find that Amy Higgins is very enthusiastic about her new position as industrial coordinator for the Maritime Beef Council (MBC). As George Fullerton reports on page 18, she looks forward to both the challenges it promises and to working on behalf of cattle producers in all three provinces.

Higgins is working with producer associations to coordinate the upcoming Maritime Beef Conference in Moncton on March 15-16. See page 12 for the conference lineup.

On page 32, you’ll also meet two new entrant farmers in Bishop’s Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador, who are passionate about agriculture, and you’ll learn about their accelerated sheep breeding program. Rodney Reid and Brad Smith’s goal “is to keep a registered Rideau Arcott ewe flock, focused on profitability, prolificacy, fertility, ease of lambing, health status, gains, and breed standard.”

We’ll take you on a visit of Steerman’s Quality Meats in Millview, Prince Edward Island. In the Farm Focus article on page 35, Kathy Birt explains how the Drake family manage all the responsibilities on their 300-head beef operation. Scott Drake tells her the buy local movement has been good for their business. “People want to know where their food is coming from – what’s in it. They like to buy from the neighbourhood – from people they know and trust.”

You’ll discover that increasing the legume content in Nappan paddocks is a major goal at the Nova Scotia experimental farm this year. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research biologist John Duynisveld informs Dan Woolley, on page 30, that legume seeding methods will be examined and cultivar pasture performance analyzed.

You’ll read about Jason Brock of Quebec’s La Coop fédérée’s presentation on bulls and fertility issues at a beef technical session in Sussex, New Brunswick. In the Farm Focus story on page 44, George Fullerton recounts the beef specialist’s advice on feed, genetics, economics, and semen production.

And you’ll learn more about McDonald’s. The restaurant chain began serving Angus burgers made from cattle raised under Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef standards last year, Emily Leeson writes on page 38. But she’s found some discrepancies in the company’s map-reading skills.

There’s also lots of news and information to pick up:

• Canada has adopted the American five yield class system for grading beef carcasses. A Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s Action News piece on page 22 looks at the impetus behind the move.

• Quebec forages and dairy production expert Robert Berthiaume offers top forage management tips in the New Brunswick Cattle Producers column on page 46.

• Jackie Irwin Paynter, aka The Sheep Lady, entertains shepherds as she prepares them for the delivery room.

• Duncan Fraser tells us that many feedlots would be interested in buying groups of calves.

• Les Halliday, in his Letter from the

Island, advises producers on cattle feed intake patterns and feed additives.

• And a preview of the 46th annual Maritime Beef Test Station Breeding Stock Sale in Nappan, N.S., can be found on page 30.