Reading Time: < 1 minute A number of Albertans will serve on the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency board of directors and executive committee in 2018. The agency has 19 directors, who are appointed by member organizations, with five serving on the executive committee. Joining chair Mark Elford (Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association) on the executive are Albertans Howard Bekkering (Alberta Beef […] Read more
Cattle ID agency names 2018 board of directors
National cattle checkoff on its way up this spring
The national levy used to fund marketing and research is going up by $1.50 — the first increase since 2002
Reading Time: 3 minutes Come spring, more than the grass will be rising — the national cattle levy is going up $1.50 per head on April 1. “The impetus for us was the national beef strategy,” said Rich Smith, executive director of Alberta Beef Producers. “The national beef strategy is a plan for us for the next five years […] Read more
There’s a new look to Alberta Beef’s 2018 board of directors
There are five women, including the vice-chair and finance chair, on this year’s board and a quarter of the directors are under age 40
Reading Time: 3 minutes One look at a photo of the new board of Alberta Beef Producers tells you something very different is happening at the province’s largest livestock organization. Five of the 17 directors on the 2018 board are women and a quarter are under age 40. Both are welcomed by new ABP chair Charlie Christie, a cow-calf […] Read more
World’s first verified sustainable beef plan is ready to roll
It’s taken two years of work and looks much like McDonald’s pilot, but its creators say it’s a historic step forward
Reading Time: 4 minutes After two years of consultations and review, the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef has rolled out the official list of procedures and standards for producing beef in a humane, environmentally friendly way. And while the Certified Sustainable Beef Framework looks a lot like the one developed for McDonald’s 2014 pilot project, its launch is historic, […] Read more
Long-running cattle checkoff battle may be coming to an end
An agreement on an industry development fund is key to a tentative deal between Alberta Beef Producers and cattle feeders
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s not finalized yet, but the organizations representing cattle producers and feeders say they’re close to creating a fund to advance the province’s beef sector — and ending a nearly decade-long checkoff. “The Alberta Beef Industry Development Fund is a concept that would be able to be implemented with a non-refundable service charge,” said Rich […] Read more
Cattle organizations still talking — but no checkoff deal in sight
One proposal to resolve contentious issue of non-refundable checkoffs shot down in May and a new one is still being ‘analyzed’
Reading Time: 3 minutes Despite years of talks, the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association and Alberta Beef Producers still appear to be far apart in making a non-refundable provincial checkoff a reality. A new proposal was put on the table late last month, but while the chair of Alberta Beef Producers describes it as a major step forward, his counterpart […] Read more
High costs threaten southern Alberta feedlot sector
Lethbridge County’s ‘head tax,’ WCB premiums, and a looming carbon tax are making his business uneconomical, says a prominent feeder
Reading Time: 4 minutes Other cattle feeders in southern Alberta may suffer the same fate as Western Feedlots if a local $3-per-head tax isn’t reversed. Last month, Western Feedlots — one of the country’s largest with 100,000-head capacity at its facilities near Strathmore, High River, and Mossleigh — announced that it would be winding down cattle ownership and feeding […] Read more
Cattle producers and feeders in checkoff stalemate
ABP has proposed a new funding council, but that wasn’t enough to sway cattle feeders
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Alberta Beef Producers and the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association have come to an impasse on making the provincial checkoff non-refundable. And that’s put the controversial matter in the hands of the provincial government. “We’re trying to come up with a plan,” said Martin Zuidhof, chair of the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association. “That’s where it’s […] Read more
Public comments sought on definition of ‘sustainable’ beef
Committee seeks indicators which accommodate producers, consumers and the environment
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) is seeking the public’s comments on the first draft of its sustainability “indicators” for beef operations. The indicators are part of the verified sustainable beef framework the organization is developing, and reflect what will be measured in terms of sustainability on individual operations. “The CRSB has developed indicators […] Read more
Feedlot association has a beef with crumbling infrastructure
Election 2015: More money needed to properly maintain rural roads and bridges
Reading Time: < 1 minute The next Alberta government needs to invest in rural roads and bridges — not just infrastructure in urban centres, says Alberta Cattle Feeders CEO Bryan Walton. “There was a commitment in the budget of $20.5 billion over the next five years, starting with $6.7 billion on a capital program (for roads and bridges),” said Walton. […] Read more
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