Reading Time: 4 minutes Fewer than 1,000 producers have signed up for the second go-round of a beleaguered cattle-tracking system — even though it’s free and designed to boost their bottom line. The Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS) is also intended to be the foundation for the “verified sustainable beef” initiative that McDonald’s is piloting in Canada. At the recent […] Read more
BIXS open for business, but only a fraction of producers have signed up
Fewer than 1,000 producers have signed up for the cattle-tracking database, but officials say the revamped system is greatly improved
McDonald’s pilot could usher in overdue reforms
The fast-food giant’s bid to use only ‘sustainable beef’ may finally force the industry to share data and work together
Reading Time: 3 minutes Did A&W’s “better beef” campaign pop into your head when you read the front-page story on McDonald’s picking Canada for its first-ever “sustainable beef” pilot? Did you think, ‘Oh goodie, more paperwork.’ And, of course, you must have noted McDonald’s is not offering premiums for this program. That’s a point made repeatedly by senior company […] Read more
Canada picked for sustainable beef pilot
EXCLUSIVE: McDonald’s working with CCA on ambitious project to make Canada the first country to supply it with sustainable beef
Reading Time: 6 minutes McDonald’s has chosen Canada over Australia and Europe as the site of its first pilot project in its ambitious quest to serve only “sustainable beef” in its massive global restaurant empire, Alberta Farmer has learned. The exact terms of the pilot — or even a definition of sustainable — have yet to be finalized, but […] Read more
FAQs on BIXS 2.0
Answering questions on the improved and updated beef cattle database
Reading Time: 2 minutes Is this a mandatory program? No. BIXS is strictly voluntary. Can I participate if my farm Internet connection is dial-up? Yes… but with a caveat. If your dial-up connection is slow or intermittent, access to BIXS may be problematic. At this time it’s felt that a minimum dial-up connection rate of 56.6 baud uninterrupted will […] Read more
Second version of beef database launched
Wonky first version has been scrapped and creators of BIXS 2.0 say the new edition of the database is vastly improved
Reading Time: 3 minutes BIXS 2.0 has been launched and is vastly superior to its ill-fated predecessor, says the national co-ordinator with the Beef Info Xchange System. “We had to make BIXS more user friendly,” said Larry Thomas. “It had to be compact, fast and on a different platform, and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association needed to own it outright.” […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
