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A year of speaking up for cattle feeders

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As advocates for our province’s cattle feeders, the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association champions their interests, freeing them to concentrate on what they do best – producing premium beef for the world.

This past year has been another busy one. Here are the major projects the association has undertaken:

International trade

ACFA worked closely with the National Cattle Feeders’ Association to advance swift passage of several Canadian trade deals:

– Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which replaced NAFTA.

– The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which broadens access to Asian markets.

– Opening markets in China for Canadian bone-in-beef products, including the creation of a pilot project to export fresh and chilled beef to China.

– Positive changes to the Restricted Feeder Cattle Program at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and postponement of changes to the CFIA Manual of Procedure that would have stalled trade with China.

Labour

To address the chronic labour shortage, ACFA reached an agreement with the Alberta ministry of Labour to facilitate faster and more direct applications for temporary foreign workers, as well as relaxed education, language and income requirements.

ACFA continues to work on this crucial program.

Taxation 

Lobbying for fair taxation has been a top priority. Efforts include:

– $75,000 in funding to appeal Lethbridge County Livestock Head Tax.

– Successfully advocating to drop proposed changes to the taxation of family owned corporations.

– Seeking rebates for carbon tax paid by agriculture.

– Successfully advocating for improved allowances and deductions from federal corporate income tax for capital investment (i.e., new Accelerated Investment Incentive).

Government consultation and submissions

ACFA regularly consults with municipal and provincial governments to represent our members’ interests. This year, ACFA:

– Urged a return to full funding for veterinary schools at the universities of Calgary and Saskatchewan.

– Called for improved regulations for winter manure management.

– Consulted on an Animal Health Pathfinding initiative for Foreign Animal Disease Preparedness.

– Attended the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) annual meeting, and met with the European vaccine bank.

– Worked with the province and Alberta Veterinary Medical Association on the dispensing of antimicrobial products.

Next week, we will explore upcoming priorities for 2019. In the meantime, we wish you a happy new year.

Test your cattle feeders knowledge

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Throughout 2018, we have provided you with insights and facts on Alberta’s cattle feeding industry. This holiday, take a few minutes to test how much you have learned from those posts.

The cattle feeders quiz has questions drawn from this year’s blogs. Some of the questions are easy, some a little trickier, and all the answers can be found in blog posts from 2018.

Answers:

1, B; 2, A; 3, B; 4, A; 5, A; 6, B; 7, C; 8, B

How did you do?

If you got all eight questions right, you’re a cattle feeder guru! If you got five to seven questions right, you’ve obviously been paying attention all year. If you got four or fewer, don’t worry — we’ll provide more great cattle feeder information throughout 2019.

Next week, we’ll be reviewing what our industry and our organization has been up to in the past year.

In the meantime, we wish you, and your friends and family a safe and happy holiday.

Budget 2017 and agriculture: 5 things you should know

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A major mandate for the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association, and for the National Cattle Feeders’ Association (NCFA), is to represent our industry to the government. We work hard to keep the lines of communication open, and to provide valuable information about the challenges our members face, and how that affects Canadians.

The recent federal budget, announced on March 22, 2017, is a testament to that dialogue. To learn how the budget has addressed the needs of the agricultural sector, we spoke with Cathy Noble of Noble Path Strategic Consulting. Noble Path provides consulting services to NCFA.

“Not only did this budget demonstrate a renewed interest by the government in the agriculture and agri-food sector, but it also addressed many priority issues upon which NCFA has advocated including labour, research, trade, food safety and infrastructure.” said Cathy.

Five agricultural priorities addressed

Cathy outlined some of the most pressing priorities that were addressed in the 2017 federal budget, and the commitments made:

#1 Temporary foreign workers

The budget includes support for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program, as well as amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to ensure that those immigration candidates who are most likely to succeed in Canada are granted express entry.

You can read more about why it’s so important for Canadian farmers to have access to temporary foreign workers in ‘Feeding the world: why the agri-food industry must be an economic priority.’

#2 Trade and market access

Reviews of, and investment in, rail service, gateways and ports will help Canadian producers get agri-food products to market. This will be boosted by the elimination of tariffs on many agri-food processing ingredients, strengthening the competitiveness of Canadian agri-food manufacturers both at home and abroad.

More trade commissioners will also be placed in strategic markets abroad to support this investment attraction, and new trade agreements with the European Union and Asia will be a boon for the economy as well.

To learn more about market access for Canadian beef, check out these posts on trade with the European market and Canada’s 58 most important beef export markets.

#3 Food Safety

Investments in core food safety inspection programming delivered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada, as well as food safety regulations will help build Canada’s global reputation for the highest standards of food safety.

#4 Agricultural science and innovation

The Liberals have committed to investing $70 million over six years to support agricultural discovery science and innovation, with a focus on addressing emerging priorities such as climate change and soil and water conservation.

#5 Agricultural policy framework

The next agricultural policy framework will be launched in 2018 where federal, provincial and territorial governments will renew their commitments to investing in this critical sector. As part of the development of the next framework, governments will consider the ways in which innovation in agriculture can help strengthen the sector as a whole, enhance our value-added exports and create stronger, more well-paying jobs for Canadians.

The full budget can be found on the Government of Canada website. And check out ‘Five feedlot issues to watch out for in 2017’, to see how many made the budget.

Meet the team: Ryan Kasko, vice-chair of the board

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Here at the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association we couldn’t truly represent the interests of our industry without input from our board of directors. Comprised of the men and women who work in the cattle feeding industry every day, our board helps provide direction for all our activities.

For this week’s post, we sat down with Ryan Kasko, CEO of Kasko Cattle Company in Coaldale, Alberta, and vice-chair of ACFA’s board of directors, for another installment of our meet the team series.

Ryan grew up just outside Coaldale, the son of a cattle dealer, but it wasn’t until after graduating from the University of Lethbridge, with a bachelor of management degree, that he became involved in the industry himself. At that time he joined his father’s business, and two years later they decided to buy a feedlot together.

That was 20 years ago, and Kasko Cattle Company now has feedlots in four different locations. As it has expanded, it has also provided opportunities for other family members – Ryan’s wife, Shannon, is the office manager, and his brother and brother-in-law, and their wives, also work in the business.

“It’s an exciting industry to be in,” said Ryan. “The technologies we are using today are really sophisticated, and we’ve made significant improvements over the last 20 years, in the way we manage people and how we take care of the animals – it’s an industry that’s just been constantly changing and it’s great to be a part of that change.”

Helping the ACFA represent a changing industry to the government

Ryan has been on the ACFA board for five years now, a responsibility he takes very seriously. “It’s important to serve the industry,” he said, “and I’ve done that in different organizations through the years. I think the ACFA does a very good job representing cattle feeders in Alberta and I thought it was important I take my turn.”

“There’s been a lot of things going on recently,” continued Ryan. “New laws around labour standards and safety, and initiatives like the carbon tax have significant impacts on our operations. The ACFA works with government to help them understand the industry, and what we do every day – to help them make decisions that are going to work for our industry and the people involved in it. As a board, we help provide the association with direction.”

The Kaskos at home

With four children – one in middle school, two in high school and one in his first year of college – Ryan and his wife have a very busy family. They enjoy watching basketball together, and while his kids also play, Ryan says that watching is enough for him. For stress relief, though, he plays squash and competes in triathlons.

In other posts in our meet the team series, we introduced you to Bryan Walton, CEO, Page Stuart, past board chair, Martin Zuidhof, board chair, Casey Vander Ploeg, manager of policy and research, and Jennifer Brunette, manager of events and member services.

Enjoy some holiday fun with our cattle feeders crossword puzzle

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With just three days to go until Christmas, we thought we’d have a little fun with this week’s blog post.

If you’ve been following our blog this year, you won’t have any problem with this crossword puzzle – just print it out to complete it. Scroll down to find the answers, and be sure to explore our blog for more information:

Cattle feeders crossword puzzle

Across

2) ACFA is the association for Alberta’s cattle ____________
4) The number of ‘pillars’ on which our social licence to operate is founded
6) The province that is the hub of Canada’s cattle feeding industry
7) A predominant cause of farm injury
9) Acronym for the tags attached to cows’ ears

Down

1) One of the possible keys to solving the agricultural labour crisis
3) The town where Alberta’s first feedlot was founded
5) The vacancy rate for on-farm jobs (per cent)
7) Feedlot cattle stand on these in wet weather
8) The percentage of Canada’s beef that is processed in Alberta

Cattle feeders crossword puzzle

How did you do? If you didn’t find all the answers, check below for the correct ones. In the meantime, we wish you a wonderful Christmas, with all the joys of the festive season.

Across Answers

2) FEEDERS
4) FOUR
6) ALBERTA
7) MACHINERY
9) RFID

Down Answers

1) TECHNOLOGY
3) STRATHMORE
5) SEVEN
7) MOUNDS
8) EIGHTY

The evolution of the cattle feeding industry: 7 decades in our history

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As we’ve seen in previous posts, such as ‘Feedlots 101: everything you need to know about cattle feeding in Alberta’, this province is the hub of Canada’s beef industry.

Although ranching in Alberta started as early as the 1860s, cattle feeding didn’t develop as a distinct sector until much later than that. Here’s a very condensed history, showing how cattle feeding has evolved over the years: Read more

Meet the team: Jennifer Brunette, manager of events and member services

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For any industry association, getting its members together in one place can be a monumental task. Here at ACFA that task falls to Jennifer Brunette, our manager of events and member services. This week on our meet the team series, we’re going to get to know a little about Jennifer and her work.

Before joining ACFA, Jennifer studied event management and public relations at Mount Royal University, and her training has stood her in good stead. She plays an instrumental role in ACFA’s day-to-day operations, as well coordinating events such as Big on Beef, our annual golf tournament, and – most importantly – the Alberta Beef Industry Conference.

The conference is hosted in conjunction with the Alberta Beef Producers, the Alberta Livestock Dealers and Order Buyers Association, the Alberta Auction Markets Association and the Western Stock Growers Association, and Jennifer does a great job of pulling together an event that unites beef producers, processors and suppliers from Alberta and around the world.

“I love dealing with our suppliers and producers,” said Jennifer. “I get to work with such a diverse group of people, and reach out to a lot of industry stakeholders. I take a great deal of pride in making sure that we showcase our sponsors and participants at the highest level possible.”

img_0359Jennifer grew up around ranch operations and feedlots, and yet her journey to this industry was not a direct one. As a teenager in Oliver, B.C., she went from high school into a position with a local credit union. Her career was going well, and she didn’t anticipate any reason to change.

But then Jennifer had an accident that put a wrench in her plans. After being involved in a pedestrian/motor vehicle accident, she was told that she might never walk again, and so began seven years of intensive therapy and the greatest challenge of her life.

“I was 21 when it happened, and that accident took a chunk of my youth,” said Jennifer. “I persevered through years of intensive therapy. Regaining the ability to walk on my own two feet has been one of the biggest achievements of my life. It has also given me the ability to approach life with passion and determination; I no longer take the simplest things for granted.”

Now Jennifer lives in Calgary with her husband and her two boys, aged three and six.

We asked Jennifer for one final word about her work with cattle feeders and the association – “Everyone who works in this industry is very passionate and driven to move the industry forward in a positive light. Our members and board are such an amazing group of people. I have great respect and admiration for the work they do, not only for the industry but on their own operations as well,” she said.

Check out these other posts in our meet the team series, in which we introduce Bryan Walton, CEO, Page Stuart, past board chair, Martin Zuidhof, board chair, and Casey Vander Ploeg, manager of policy and research.

3 challenges facing Alberta’s beef industry

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Beef is big business in Alberta – but like any business owners, ranchers and cattle feeders must navigate regulations, market conditions, public opinion and much more in their bid to stay competitive and profitable.

This was the subject of a recent article in Alberta Beef Magazine, in which ACFA chair Martin Zuidhoff and vice-chair Ryan Kasko were asked about cattle feeders’ new and old challenges. Read more

Feedlot people – veterinarian Lynn Locatelli

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This is the second in our feedlot people series, and this week we meet Dr. Lynn Locatelli from Cattlexpressions. Lynn hails from New Mexico, U.S.A., but she’s a familiar sight in Alberta, where she consults with feedlots and other cattle operations on low stress cattle handling. Read more

Are feedlot operators prepared for an emergency?

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In any industry there are two types of emergency – those that affect a single operator, and those that affect the entire sector. While the first can be devastating for the business involved, the second can have serious consequences for an entire industry, and for its contribution to the Canadian economy.

That’s why Alberta’s feedlot operators have produced a Feedlot Emergency Preparedness Plan. It’s a comprehensive tool to help cattle feeders prepare for, and respond to, an emergency that causes widespread losses across the cattle feeding industry.

To learn more about the tool, we spoke with Matt Taylor, of Livestock Intelligence. Matt is a specialist in animal health emergency management and consults on animal health systems and the broader livestock industry, and he coordinated the development of the tool.

Here’s what Matt told us:

Q: Why do feedlot operators need to prepare for a disease outbreak?

Matt: The tool was developed in response to a long-held feeling that, even though feedlot producers have done their best to protect against potential risks, they were not protected against the possibility of a major event impacting the sector as a whole. The goal is to give feedlot operators and their staff a tool that allows them to better prepare for such an eventuality. In reality, any such emergency will most likely be a disease outbreak, so that is the focus of the plan.

Q: How was the tool developed?

Matt: The first step was to form a steering committee to guide the process — a group of ‘gurus’ if you will — including people with knowledge of the veterinary profession as feedlot practitioners and from a regulatory perspective, emergency management professionals, and representatives from various service aspects and other segments of the industry itself, like Alberta Beef Producers and Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

Then we identified the key activities that operators were going to be involved in, while the sector was being ‘hit’ by a major disease outbreak — everything from identifying something unusual and responding to that unusual event, and receiving confirmation from CFIA or Alberta Agriculture of a major foreign animal disease event, through to containment, stopping cattle movement, vaccination, depopulation and more. Then we just identified the steps involved in doing those activities at the feedlot. 

One of the last steps was quite significant actually, as it hadn’t been done in Canada’s beef sector before – we did a simulation exercise, with participation from CFIA, Alberta Agriculture, and Alberta’s Emergency Management Agency, testing these guidelines in scenarios that were as real as we could make them, in order to see where we needed to make some final revisions.

Q: Has the tool been tested in a real life emergency?

Matt: That’s part of the problem! When an event never happens, people often wonder why they should prepare for it. Canada’s beef industry has been very fortunate in not having had a major disease outbreak with sector wide impacts — not withstanding our experience with BSE, which has been significant. But BSE is a very atypical disease that doesn’t ‘spread’ or have ‘operational’ impacts upon a multitude of operations, though it certainly had widespread financial impacts.

Other sectors of Canada’s livestock industry have had major disease outbreaks that affected the whole sector – for instance PED and circovirus in the swine industry, and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the poultry industry. But the reality is that there are diseases capable of having a much greater impact on Canada’s beef industry than any of these, or BSE. We know that, from observation of foot and mouth outbreaks in the UK and elsewhere.

So the short answer is: no, we’ve not tested these particular guidelines in a real-life outbreak. Hopefully we don’t have to. However, a few fire drills, a few false calls, would be a good thing so we could test our capacity to respond effectively. The task now is to steadily improve our guidelines so feedlot operators know how to respond effectively and are prepared to do so.

To learn about other initiatives spearheaded by the ACFA, check out these blog posts: