The beef industry has lost one of its most influential industry builders and analysts, as Charlie Gracey succumbed to a heart attack in late May.
Beef industry bids farewell to Charlie Gracey
Gracey was instrumental in developing analytical programs and procedures the beef sector still uses
Canada, Mexico, U.S. and Australian cattle groups signal support for integrated beef market
The memo of understanding, signed at trilateral meetings in Mexico last week, calls on their respective governments to invest in infrastructure and plans to protect the industry from outbreaks of foreign animal disease. It asks governments to promote livestock production as "an effect tool in land and resource management."
The feedlot solution to food waste
Cattle industry documentary pitches rumination as great food waste upcycler
Reading Time: 3 minutes Food waste takes up space in landfills and its breakdown adds methane to the atmosphere, so there’s value in feeding it to livestock instead.
Beef stakeholders invited to weigh in on code of practice
Canada’s Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle to be updated
The Canadian Cattle Association has initiated an update to the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle.
Producers welcome change to cash advance program
After much lobbying, federal government increases interest-free portion of program to $250,000
The interest-free portion of the federal Advance Payments Program will be $250,000 this year, much to farmers’ relief. The amount had been set to drop back to $100,000 at the end of this month after sitting at $350,000 for 2023.
New communications manager joins Canadian Cattle Association
Carol Reynolds joined the CCA as communications manager in early January
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Canadian Cattle Association has a new teammate. Carol Reynolds is the group’s new communications manager who started the job Jan. 4. “Agriculture is literally in my blood,” said Reynolds, who grew up on a mixed family farm near Nipawin, Sask. “I’ve got a lot of fond memories of the farm, pitching bales and picking […] Read more
Canadian meat lobby says no deal better than bad deal
U.K. wants to have its cake and eat it too, meat lobby groups say
Reading Time: 4 minutes A trio of Canadian meat associations says no deal is better than a bad deal when it comes to trade. They’re protesting in advance of the United Kingdom’s acceptance into the Comprehensive Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The “Say ‘no’ to a bad deal” campaign implores the federal government to delay approving the U.K.’s acceptance […] Read more
Beef sector speaks out on costly processing rules
Producers, smaller processors bear the brunt of costs from BSE-era regulations
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta beef producers still feel the fallout from BSE through regulations intended for processors, though it is 20 years since the crisis began. Canadian beef processors pay millions more than their U.S. counterparts to process and dispose of specified risk material (SRM), first targeted during the BSE era, in cattle older than 30 months (OTM). […] Read more
Historic document protects the role of grazing on Crown lands
Having a clear, solid agreement recognizing ranchers as stewards is very important, say cattle leaders
Reading Time: 3 minutes Leaseholders can breathe a sigh of relief now that the province has formally recognized the role that grazing plays on public lands, say cattle leaders. The new Rangeland Grazing Framework recognizes that the stewardship of ranchers is critical to the health and future of Crown lands, said two signatories to the new agreement. “It helps […] Read more
The 20th anniversary of BSE: So much has changed
Border closures captured the headlines but BSE reshaped the cattle sector in profound ways
Reading Time: 4 minutes The dates are seared in Dennis Laycraft’s brain. May 20, 2003, when the first positive test of a cow with BSE was confirmed; Aug. 10, 2003, when the U.S. and Mexico restored import access for Canadian boneless beef from animals under 30 months of age; July 14, 2005, when the U.S. reopened full access for […] Read more
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