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Cattle feeders’ Christmas crossword puzzle

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We hope you had a wonderful Christmas filled with plenty of fun, family, friends and good food. In the spirit of the season, we’re having some fun with this week’s blog post – print out and fill in the crossword puzzle below to find out how much you know about the business of cattle feeding.

Hint: the answers can all be found on the website, but if you have any trouble tracking down the answers, just click the link in each clue for the information you need.

Cattle feeders’ Christmas crossword puzzle:

Across

3. Grasslands help the environment by sequestering _______________
5. Burger restaurant that proudly supports Canadian beef and is helping build a verified sustainable program
6. A greenhouse gas emitted during the digestive process of cattle
8. Award-winning veterinarian (first name)
9. One of ACFA’s four strategic priorities
10. An under-serviced market that is crucial to the growth of Canada’s beef industry

Down

1. New beef processing plant where innovation is setting new standards
2. An organization dedicated to teaching students about agriculture
4. First name of ACFA’s CEO
7. Trade deal between Canada, U.S. and Mexico that has produced a strong, integrated beef industry

crossword puzzle

Did you find all the answers? If you’re missing any of the answers, you’ll find them below. In the meantime, we wish you all the best of the season. See you back here in the new year!

 

Across answers:

3. Carbon

5. McDonalds

6. Methane

8. Joyce

9. Collaboration

10. Europe

 

Down answers:

1.Harmony

2. InsideEducation

4. Bryan

7. NAFTA

The 7 stages of beef cattle production

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That delicious Canadian beef meal you’re enjoying is the product of a series of businesses and producers, each of whom plays a distinct role in the process. Here’s a quick rundown of the steps taken, and the hard-working players involved, in bringing beef to your table.

Cattle breeding: This is the first step in the beef production chain, and can take place naturally or through artificial insemination. Cattle breeders work to raise cattle with specific and superior genetics that can be sold to cow-calf ranchers. There are about 10,000 breeders of registered beef cattle in Canada. Our national herd was originally built on traditional British breeds such as Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn and Galloway. French breeds such as Charolais, Simmental, Limousin and Maine Anjou were introduced later.

Cow-Calf Ranching: Cow-calf producers keep a herd of cows that are bred annually to produce a crop of calves. These cow-calf pairs are raised on pasture. 

Auction Markets: This is where cattle are bought and sold. There are many different types of sales.  Some sales are cow-calf pairs that can be purchased by ranchers. Feeder calves that are ready for finishing are bought by cattle feeders. Cattle are also purchased at auction by beef processors. Every year a Canadian Auctioneer Championship is held by the Livestock Markets Association of Canada (LMAC) to enable auctioneers to improve and showcase their unique skills.

Cattle Feeders: Cattle feeders typically purchase feeder calves anywhere from 600-900 pounds. These cattle enter a feeding operation where they are fed a high energy ration of forage and grain such as barley, wheat, or corn. Cattle can spend anywhere from 60-220 days at a feeding operation until they reach market weight of 1,400 to 1,500 pounds. In 2016 Canada fed 2.7 million cattle, and produced three billion pounds of beef. Most of these cattle came from modern feedlots that use modern production technologies to improve quality, enhance environmental sustainability, and build the international competitiveness of Canada’s beef industry.

Beef Processing: The meat-packing industry handles the processing of cattle and the harvesting of beef, as well as the packaging and distribution of beef products.

Retail: The end beef product is sold by packers to the final consumer through grocery stores and other retail outlets.

Export: Approximately 39 per cent of Canadian beef goes to export markets, such as the US, Asia, and Europe.

Food Service: This includes any business, institution or company that prepares meals outside the home for resale, and includes restaurants. 

All of these “sectors” in the beef value chain are supported by a variety of industry associations and organizations that help look out for the interests of their members and collaborate to grow and strengthen Canada’s beef industry. Check the interactive image to learn more.

Environmental stewardship is a science at Harmony Beef

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Canada’s beef producers care about the environment – after all, their livelihoods depend on the health of the land where they work. Through ongoing research, innovation and best practices, they constantly strive to minimize their impact.

In parts 1 and 2 of our series on Harmony Beef, we showcased the food safety and animal care innovations practised at the new beef processing plant north of Calgary. The plant’s environmental stewardship systems are also leading edge.

“We aren’t just in the business of producing beef,” said marketing director, Cam Daniels. “We want to create the most value and show exceptional regard for everything that is touched along the way.”

Sustainability practices at the plant include:

    • Cattle waste is collected, dried, composted and turned into fertilizer.
    • Packaging is eco-friendly.
    • Waste heat from the refrigeration units is captured and used to warm the floors and barn.
    • A recycling program ensures all waste is managed responsibly.
    • More than 94 per cent of the water used is recycled.

An industry leading water treatment facility

During the plant’s design, owner Rich Vesta traveled to Holland to purchase a state-of-the-art water treatment system. Installed by a Calgary-based company, the system cleans the waste water to a standard higher than Canadian drinking water standards.

Water used in production processes and equipment cleaning comes from the water treatment system, reducing water usage at the plant by more than 96 per cent. That’s a reduction from 500,000 gallons per day to 18,000 gallons per day.

Water treatment system at Harmony Beef“We’re very proud of our water treatment plant because it demonstrates our high technology and our commitment to environmental stewardship,” said Cam.

Check out the other two posts on Harmony Beef: ‘How a beef plant is setting a new standard in food safety’ and ‘How respect for the animals that feed us aligns with beef cattle production’.

How respect for the animals that feed us aligns with beef cattle production

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Last week on this blog, we learned about the food safety innovations at Harmony Beef’s new processing plant. This week we’re exploring the new standards of animal care being practised at the plant.

We visited the plant and spoke with Harmony’s director of marketing, Cam Daniels to learn more. “One of the most important things in our business – and this came right from the owners – is that we must respect the animals that feed us,” said Cam. “They are treated with respect and dignity for the entire time they are with us.”

Warm dry barns keep the animals relaxed and calm

The high standards of animal care at Harmony Beef start with a covered, temperature controlled barn. Some of the barn’s features include:

    • A water vapour management system that keeps the barn comfortably dry at all times, and helps eliminate odours
    • Heated, slip-resistant floors that are well-drained so they remain dry and clean
    • Access to clean, fresh drinking water at all times, in every pen

“Animals that come in together are always kept together, to minimize the stress of new surroundings”, said Cam. “And we don’t keep any animals overnight – we only take in as many as we can process that day. It’s all part of keeping them as relaxed and calm as possible while they’re here.”

How a cow’s natural movement helps minimize stress

At Harmony Beef, the corral that brings the animals up to the harvest box follows a serpentine shape. “It’s influenced by the work of Dr Temple Grandin,” said Cam. “Cattle naturally tend to walk in an ’s’ and by allowing them to follow a natural pattern, it helps keep them moving, while also keeping them calm.

As the cattle move along the corral, they are gently nudged with paddles, rather than electric prods. A doorway allows only one animal at a time into the harvest box, ensuring the other animals stay relaxed until the end.

Better animal care leads to higher quality

Aside from the fact that treating animals well is the right thing to do, there is also a very practical reason why animal welfare matters. Glycogen in the muscles of relaxed animals is converted into lactic acid, which is necessary to produce tasty, tender meat. Stress causes the glycogen to be depleted, and the meat tends to be darker, dryer and less tender. So meat from a relaxed, calm animal is of a higher quality.

Check out last week’s post to find out how Harmony Beef is setting new standards in food safety. And stay tuned for an upcoming post in which we will learn about the lengths to which they have gone to minimize their impact on the environment.

How a beef plant is setting a new standard in food safety

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A beef processing plant which opened this year just north of Calgary is setting new industry standards for food safety, animal care and environmental stewardship.

This week, we’re exploring the food safety innovations introduced at Harmony Beef, which opened in Balzac, AB., in February 2017.

Hazard analysis and critical control points

The management team at Harmony Beef is committed to meeting or exceeding the stringent requirements of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Food Safety Enhancement Program.

One of the cornerstones of the program is HACCP System (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), a systematic approach to food safety that helps prevent, find and correct hazards throughout the production process.

At Harmony:

    • The plant and production protocols have been designed to meet European standards, which exceed those in North America.
    • Temperature control and air flow systems in the building were designed to control any potential microbial growth and prevent contamination.
    • Critical control points, where inspections and interventions take place, include everything from slaughter to packaging.
    • Supervisory and food safety personnel have the authority to enforce compliance with food safety systems on anyone entering and/or working in the facility.
    • All water used in the plant is treated, and the outflow exceeds Canadian drinking water standards.

Opening up a world of opportunity

Because the new plant demonstrably complies with European food safety standards, it provides the opportunity to increase our trade with EU countries.

International trade is crucial to the growth and sustainability of the beef industry, and to the contribution it makes to the Canadian economy. But, as you can learn in the blog post, Canadian beef in demand: feeding the European market and why it matters, Canada does not meet its tariff-free quota for beef exports to Europe. In the post, feedlot operator Jason Hagel says processing plants in Alberta tend to focus on the U.S. market, leaving the European market under-served.

You can read about another international trade issue concerning Canada’s beef producers in Canadian beef trade with China takes a serious blow.

In upcoming weeks, we will explore the high standards of animal care, including low-stress handling, and the environmental innovations introduced at the Harmony plant.