“We’re still on the profitable side for the cow-calf guy,” said Charlie Christie, chair of Alberta Beef Producers.

“I’m hearing some optimism on the market side. Whether that will translate into good calf prices in the fall remains to be seen, but I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Right now, Alberta cattle producers are seeing record basis levels for both feeders and fat cattle, and that’s helping prices, said Christie, who farms near Trochu.

“The fat cattle side has turned and is on the rise again,” he said. “Usually, we have a July or August low, so whether we’ve hit the bottom isn’t clear. But right now, we have very strong basis in Alberta.”

Beef demand is strong. Canfax says that for the week ending June 23, the total national cattle slaughter was 67,975 head — the largest weekly slaughter in eight years. It was the same story south of the border, with weekly slaughter levels topping 660,000 head, said the agency, the market information arm of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

Strong prices are partially a result of the slow Canadian cow herd expansion, said Christie. The herd has expanded by just one per cent over the past year as a result of drought and higher feeding costs.

“It’s a supply-and-demand thing — there are only so many calves to go around, so that helps the price,” said Christie.

And that’s not likely to change any time soon. Barring any “crazy high” cattle prices, Christie suspects that the trend toward putting ranchland into crops will continue.

“As long as the grain sector is profitable, I don’t think we’re going to see a huge herd expansion on the beef side.”

Heavy death loss from the calf crop in southern Alberta has also limited supply, he added.

“We had a really tough spring. It will definitely put upward pressure on calf prices.”

But the price of feed could temper some of that optimism. Parts of Alberta are still dry, so finding affordable feed could become harder as the season progresses.

“I was pretty concerned about feed going into this summer and whether there would be any to spread around come winter,” said Christie. “It could still be a real challenge but right now, people have taken a deep breath because there has been some rain.

“With some rain and the feed prices dropping or levelling off, things will look stronger for the fall.”

Another worry is the growing threat of a trade war, and Christie is eyeing our neighbours to the south after Ottawa imposed a retaliatory tariff of 10 per cent on U.S. beef products in early July.

“Whenever you hear that your commodity is having a tariff put on it for import, it worries you that there may be some retaliation the other way. That could really hurt us,” he said.

“The administration in the States is very unpredictable, so it’s impossible to say what will happen. It’s definitely a concern. But hopefully cooler heads will prevail.

“At this point, we’re just holding our breath to see what happens.”

The news in coming weeks may not be good as China imposes tit-for-tat levies on U.S. products, including both American beef and soybeans. That could potentially lower U.S. demand for Canadian cattle or prompt higher beef exports despite the Canadian tariff (with rock-bottom soybean prices partially offsetting that cost on the feed side).

But even with a few storm clouds on the horizon, things look bright for the Alberta cattle industry.

“There are young people entering our industry more and more, and that’s a result of profitability,” said Christie. “As long as that profitability hangs in there, I think we’ll see a very measured, even, steady growth in the industry.”

The post Despite some stresses, ‘cautious’ optimism for cow-calf sector appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Young producers between the ages of 18 and 35 years have a chance to participate in provincial, national and international high-level discussions that define the direction and future of the Canadian cattle and beef industry.

The program gives participants a chance to explore a potential career choice or rewarding provincial/national producer organization involvement, while gaining essential business connections and learning tools along the way.

For more info, go to cattlemensyoungleaders.com. Applications must be received by March 31.

The post Apply now for Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The independent review found it did a good job of governance and the fund was an important catalyst for developing a distinct Canadian brand. It also “identified areas of improvement,” said Toews.

The review report can be found at cattle.ca.

The post Legacy Fund did its job to support cattle industry appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The BIISA is presented on behalf of beef cattle producers by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to recognize industry stakeholders and value chain members for their outstanding commitment to the sustainability of Canada’s beef industry through innovation.

BIISA is awarded to any value chain partner in the beef cattle industry who successfully implements innovation that clearly demonstrates a contribution to industry competitiveness and sustainability. Applications are accepted until Sept. 30 each calendar year and can be found at the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association website.

Companies can submit an application nominating themselves or individuals can submit an application on a company’s or individual’s behalf.

The post Applications for Beef Industry Innovation & Sustainability Award open appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The mentors are valuable resources of information about day-to-day cattle and forage production, industry structure and influences, and perspectives on industry challenges and opportunities at regional and national levels.

Applications are available at beefresearch.ca and must be submitted by June 1.

The post Beef research mentorship applications open appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

It was my mission to bring the message to the farming community about how cattle react to stress. To keep the message alive, I wrote articles, columns and stories about stress, shrink, and the economic cost to the farm.

I was driven by what I saw as a feedlot manager and by what I learned after an exhaustive literary search and dozens of interviews with scientists. In the end, I did it for the cattle because I could put a value on a healthy calf. Everything we do prior to marketing, during marketing and after the calf arrives affects its health and performance.

For my efforts I was bashed about pretty good.

One company tried to buy my silence and another threatened me physically, but most just talked back or yelled from the back of the room. In the end, common sense and perhaps a twinge of guilt prevailed and the introduction of feed and water pens, off-truck weighing, and reduction of commingling was introduced in cattle marketing. Our beef code of practice — adopted in 2013 (30 years later) — has one statement to address this and it reads: Locations receiving cattle should be equipped with personnel or facilities to meet the animals’ needs upon arrival, such as water or feed.

• More with Brenda Schoepp on the Alberta Farmer Express: Lessons to be learned from Quebec’s agriculture and agri-food industry

With three decades behind us, it would seem that we would have learned to make the economic and moral decision as an industry to be proactive on the animal welfare front. But today I can still see the wide gaps in the marketing of young cattle.

An excellent article in Meatingplace laid industry foot-dragging on welfare issues on the line. It features an interview with Dr. Candace Croney, Purdue’s director of the Centre for Animal Welfare Science. As a scientist, Croney comes out of the gate by stating that we should “stop pitting animal welfare against economics,” which is a completely different direction than industry takes. Industry tends to argue the economics of not changing just as it did years ago. It said we can’t put in extra pens, water, feed, or people because of cost.

The cost to the industry in not doing so was eventually seen to be much greater — but that’s not the entire point. It is: Why does someone else have to identify our areas of weakness and why is our first reaction to defend the status quo?

Many times we turn away from the scientific evidence or lack of it, as a stand for the continuation of a process. But Croney says it is more important to have trust and to say things in a way that the public understands than it is to be loaded and armed with science. Our initial reaction to focus on the voice of the problem is a weakness in itself. I have been through these exercises where there is an issue such as a downer cow. The process of handling the cow is the problem — not that a tattle-tale exposed the process (or lack of it).

The public has an expectation that we do what we say. It is not enough to claim good intentions. It is vital to actually bring that promise to life.

The article in Meatingplace went beyond animals in terms of welfare and addressed the issue of farm culture and the value in appreciated employees. Everyone in the food chain has a role to play in the welfare of farm animals and in building trust as a team. If the welfare of the food animal is not part of consciousness, then it will be hard to legislate, regulate or sell to the buying public. As an industry, we need a platform of truthful information backed by science so folks have a go-to place to see what is happening in our barns and on our farms.

It took two decades to bring the issue of cattle stress to life and three decades to get it into a code of practice. It was tough and challenging work as all good causes are. With the information and technology of the day, it need not take another 20 years to address the outstanding areas within the food animal industry.

These creatures are entrusted to our care and how we birth, feed, transport, house, handle, treat, vaccinate, load, stand, sort, and slaughter them is part of our social licence as producer, marketer, and processor. If one person can be a change agent to an industry then an industry can be a change agent to a nation.

It is a simple matter of choice.

The post The cattle industry hasn’t fully embraced animal welfare appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.