For generations, Saskatchewan’s Touchwood Hills have been cattle country, a place where rolling grasslands, sheltering aspen bluffs and dependable water shaped ranching livelihoods and rural communities.

Sweeping job and program cuts across AAFC are reshaping Canada’s research landscape, as the Liberal government targets a 15% budget reduction across all federal departments. Seven research facilities are slated for closure.

Winter has faded in the rearview mirror, yet the summer road ahead is dogged by one unwelcome word: drought. Or, at the very least, excessive dryness. On beef ranches in parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, producers are also facing forecasts of an El Nino effect, which could worsen the conditions.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) remains a leading health concern in Canadian feedlots. Currently, pen riders quietly surveying thousands of cattle daily are a feedlot’s main defence against this challenging disease.

Whether up north in last summer’s ash or down south in the dust, winter feeding is nearing its end, and the need for a grazing plan is mounting. Year over year, producer efforts to balance grazing and growth will hopefully result in profitable calf crops as well as healthy grasslands.

Despite poor winter weather, 53 hardy individuals gathered in Kelliher, Saskatchewan, on Jan. 15, 2026, for a virtual fence field day. Roughly half of the attendees traveled an hour or more to attend, highlighting the strong interest in the emerging technology across the Prairies.

Although cattle can survive for a limited time without water, even short-term deprivation leads to declines in feed intake and health risks, particularly increasing mortality hazards and affecting fetal development during winter.

Bull buying strategies are a critical component of success for cow-calf producers across Canada. With operations ranging from small family farms to large-scale commercial enterprises, an important question must be asked: Do purchasing tactics differ depending on the size of the farm or ranch?

John and Deanne Chuiko and their children, Matt and Rylee, operate the family ranch, CJ Ranching, in St. Walburg, Saskatchewan, that was homesteaded by John’s grandfather in 1941.

Canada’s federal government ended its Community Pasture Program in 2012, which had provided grazing for 220,000 cattle owned by 2,500 producers in the Prairie provinces. Months after the announcements, the involved governments initiated a plan to transition federal pastures to patron operation.