Reading Time: 2 minutes McDonald’s has started verifying producers, as part of its promise to start selling sustainable beef in 2016. Here’s what’s been happening on Alberta farms so far: Earlier this year, McDonald’s said it had a list of 40 “indicators” that will be used to rate a beef operation. The indicators — which cover areas such as […] Read more
How the ‘verified sustainable beef’ process works
Alberta Beef Producers Young Guns Contest open
Submission deadline is midnight, May 30
Reading Time: < 1 minute If you are between the ages of eight and 21, and are involved in Beef 4-H, junior cattle shows or beef production – you could win $1,000 in the Young Guns Contest. The contest is put on Alberta Beef Producers and this year’s theme is: What sustainability means to you and what it looks like […] Read more
Cow-calf sector needs a different approach when it comes to investing
Pay attention to working capital, and invest in productive assets, herd health and yourself, says expert
Reading Time: 2 minutes Now that the cow-calf business is providing positive margins, an Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development specialist has some suggestions where cow-calf operators can invest to help improve their bottom line. In the Managing Prosperity in the Beef Industry presentation now available from Cow-Calfenomics risk management series, farm financial specialist Rick Dehod suggests that improving working […] Read more
What does farm sustainability mean to you?
Entry deadline for 'Young Guns' contest is midnight, May 30
Reading Time: < 1 minute Youth between the ages of eight and 21 who are involved in Beef 4-H, junior cattle shows or beef production can win cash in the Young Guns essay contest. The theme of the contest is what sustainability means to you and what it looks like on your farm or ranch. An entry may be submitted […] Read more
Basic info from cattle database will remain free
But new owners of BIXS also need to create revenue now that government funding has dried up
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cattle producers will be able to access basic data from the now privatized Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS), but may have to pay for some types of information, says the head of the company. “BIXS is totally voluntary, just like the Internet,” said Hubert Lau, president and CEO of BIXSco. “You can use the Internet and […] Read more
In their words: Beef leaders talk about new national strategy
More co-operation, research, and efficiency — and less red tape — hailed as keys to a more prosperous future
Reading Time: 4 minutes The new national beef strategy is being led by a group of “Canadian beef advisers.” Five of those industry leaders spoke about the five-year plan at the recent Alberta Beef Industry Conference. Here is a condensed version of some of their comments. Jeff Warrack, National Cattle Feeders Association past chair, on working together: “We’ve been […] Read more
McDonald’s sustainable beef pilot moves into high gear
Fast-food giant has a long list of ‘indicators’ and is seeking producers ready to prove they’re good stewards
Reading Time: 5 minutes Updated Mar. 16, 2015 for clarification: This story states below (paragraph six) that the indicators for the verified sustainable initiative are scored from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). In fact, McDonald’s Canada is still developing the terms that go with the scoring system. In its presentation at the Alberta Beef Industry Conference, an example was given […] Read more
U.S. pork production seen at record high in 2015, beef lower
Washington | Reuters –– U.S. meat and poultry production will rise to a record 95.13 million pounds in 2015, with gains in pork and poultry output more than offsetting a slight drop in beef production, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast on Thursday. Total U.S. pork production was seen up 5.5 per cent at 24.09 […] Read more
New national beef strategy is on the right track
The goals are ambitious, but what’s key is that the cattle sector is coalescing around a common vision
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beef industry leaders have outlined some gutsy goals for their sector to meet with their recently released National Beef Strategy. Boosting production efficiency by 15 per cent, increasing carcass cut-out value by 15 per cent and reducing cost disadvantage relative to global competitors by seven per cent by 2020 won’t be easy. But much of […] Read more
Canada picked for ‘sustainable beef pilot’
Five to Remember: The country’s largest beef buyer wants to establish its sustainability credentials, and that means big things for the cattle sector
Reading Time: 2 minutes It was anything but a conspiracy of silence. After all, McDonald’s announced to the world a year ago that it would start sourcing “verified sustainable beef” from some country on the planet beginning in 2016. But there was no big announcement when it decided Canada would be that country — although the fast-food giant told […] Read more
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