I first started covering the cattle business in 2007, at the start of the fall run. Prices were in the tank and the new specified risk material (SRM) rules to combat BSE had just been introduced. A couple of months later, the U.S. finally opened the border to over-30-month (OTM) cattle, even as the country-of-origin labelling debate was heating up.
It didn’t take me long to realize there was so much more to a steak than I had ever contemplated and certainly, that there are more politics in the beef business than there are recipes with which to prepare it. I was infatuated with the contrast between the grassroots cowboy culture and the corporate climate of processors, and all the economic nuances in between.
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As I learned more, there was one inescapable observation I couldn’t help but make over and over – there was a wide disconnect between the policy-makers and the people who must abide by the policies. And at least in Saskatchewan, producers and even feeders felt disenfranchised from the mainstream producer groups, both provincial and national.
It’s hard to say why that widely held sentiment had taken root within the industry. There was BSE of course, and the mistrust of packers that came as a result of bargain-bin prices for cows. There was the SRM removal wreck, and indeed, it was a wreck for many.
On the books, the laws do make scientific sense because if followed, they should eliminate any possibility of future cross-contamination between animal feeds. But what astounded me is how a government agency could make such sweeping changes to an already-beleaguered industry without taking the necessary steps before it was implemented to mitigate the immediate financial repercussions.
At the time, the dollar was high and often at par and back then, that was still a relatively new development, but cattle prices were low and the cost of feed just kept going up and up. The cattle business was on its knees, and from an outsider’s point of view, the CFIA walked on up and then proceeded to kick it in the stomach. All four of them.
This is why just one word – traceability – can send shivers up my SRM, and not in the good way. Is the concept a good idea? Certainly. Are we really beyond the conceptual stage and ready for the implementation stage? If we are going to implement full and measurable traceability with any measure of success and without harming the industry, several things must happen.
Vision needed
The CFIA and the CCIA have to release their unbridled vision of how they want this to work. Auction markets have no idea if they’re scanning in, out or out and in and no one seems prepared to answer them. We need to know what type of funding is on the table for capital costs to retrofit auction marts for full-scale traceability.
Perhaps the most critical piece of missing information is how everyone will participate in traceability. There must be a level playing field between auction markets and everyone else, and traceability needs to be implemented not in stages that victimize one industry sector, but collectively and competently throughout the whole industry.
It’s been nice to see producers feeling better about cattle prices, and I think about this business from gate to plate every time I stroll down a meat aisle. But when I contemplate the value of our dollar, the cost of feed and the effect of inflation, it’s hard to get excited. And then when I start to add in the cost of all the measures that were introduced to improve market access and sustain-ability, such as SRM removal, RFID tags and traceability, I can’t help but wonder who these measures were enacted for.
If we’re going to do traceability, we have to do it right. We simply cannot let the CFIA prematurely act to fulfil a theoretical fantasy for some dog-and-pony show to woo all those elusive Asian buyers overseas. We need a system that works for Canadian producers, consumers, processors and marketers.
