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Canadian beef in demand: feeding the European market and why it matters

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Global trade is a mark of success for any business, and that holds true for the beef industry as well.

One market that has not reached its full potential is Europe, where Canadian beef is in high demand. To learn more about this market, and why more Canadian beef doesn’t head east across the Atlantic, we spoke with Jason Hagel of Hagel Feeders.

His feedlot is one of the few in Canada that feeds cattle bound for the European market. The business was started by Jason’s grandfather in the mid 1950s and now feeds about 5,000 head of cattle each year, in addition to a cow/calf operation comprising about 1,000 head. Hagel Feeders can be found just east of Linden, Alberta.

In 2005, Jason was approached by a group of ranchers who had started a brand called Prairie Heritage. They were looking for a feedlot for their beef, which was supplied to local restaurants and grocery stores. The brand was based on providing beef grown by certified beef producers, with an environmental farm plan in place, and without the use of growth promotants or antibiotics. Success in the domestic market was eventually followed by expansion into the European market. “Even though tariffs made the product expensive to the European consumer,” said Jason, “they were hungry for it. About one-third of our product was being shipped there.”

In 2014, the Prairie Heritage brand was sold to One Earth Farms, but Hagel Feedlots continues to feed the cattle.

The cost of European beef exports, and why they matter

The main requirement for export to Europe is that the beef must be produced without the use of growth promotants. “It costs about 18 to 22 per cent more to finish an animal without growth promotants,” explained Jason, “because they take longer to finish, and require more feed.”

The animals must also be segregated, and RFID technology is required to provide the data needed to guarantee that the animals have been raised and fed as stated.

“Nonetheless, it’s very important for Canada to stretch out her arms to countries other than the U.S.,” he continued. “We send the majority of our product down there and that reduces our bargaining power when it comes to price. We have two American packing plants in Alberta, which have no real interest in going to anywhere other than the U.S. because it’s easy and they can buy a premium product for a lower price.”

CETA and tariffs: beef industry implications

The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), ratified in February 2017, is designed to encourage free trade between Canada and Europe. However, Canada already enjoys a tariff-free quota for beef exports. “Right now we don’t send much beef,” said Jason, “so we don’t even reach those quotas. It’s not because we don’t have the beef to send, but because there are not enough packing plants that are qualified to send beef to Europe.”

With the opening of Harmony Beef in Balzac, Alberta, later this month, that may well change. Stay tuned for an upcoming post in which we will feature this new business and discuss the implications for trade and for the Alberta economy.

Europe’s not the only market where our beef is in demand. Check out this earlier post to learn how people in 58 countries enjoy Canadian beef.

Cattle traceability and Canada’s place as a global beef producer: how a tag retention study is helping

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Canada has a reputation for producing some of the finest beef in the world. Part of what cements this international standing is our ability to accurately track cattle from their farm of origin right through to slaughter. Using radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, beef producers provide detailed information about each animal, including health and feed histories.

While this technology already sets Canada apart from other countries, there’s always room for improvement. One of the major concerns for livestock producers has been tags that fall off or become compromised, but until recently the degree of this problem was unclear. To address the issue, Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) commenced a National Tag Retention Project in 2011. This project studied the long-term viability of the tags in use.

We spoke with Paul Laronde, tag and technology manager at CCIA, about the project, which was four years in the making.

Q: Why was the tag retention project deemed necessary?

Paul: Tags are mandatory within the system for all cattle leaving the farm of origin. Tag retention is affected by a number of things, and it affects all livestock operators differently. While some industry members have little or no problem with tag retention, others are frustrated by tag loss, which costs time and money. Though there is a lot of anecdotal evidence regarding tag loss from industry members, it was determined that a science-based trial may be able to narrow down the causes and rates of tag loss that are outside of a livestock operator’s control.

Q: Was there a sense before the trial of the expected results?

Paul: Going into the trial, there were no expectations. As a research trial, it is important to generate unbiased data from actual field conditions. It was so important to remove bias from the testing that experienced, third-party cattle-handling experts – professional cowboys – were contracted to apply the approved tags to animals involved in the trial. Since there were no assumptions made about the research trial, there were no surprises.

Q: What were the results?

Paul: We gathered real-world tag retention data, which was analyzed by expert scientists to ensure the data interpretation was valid and relatable to industry. Among the learnings resulting from the trial, were the different retention rates between various tag applicators, and the preference by the professional cowboys for particular applicator(s). CCIA encourages livestock operators to try another brand of tags with matching applicator, if they are experiencing any challenges or frustration with the tag application process.

Q: What are some of the solutions that will be recommended?

Paul: Approved tags performed well for the majority of this study. The comments from the researchers that applied tags have been shared with each approved tag manufacturer as feedback, with the continued goal of working together to improve tag and applicator design and retention in future. One of the critical outputs of the project was to highlight the need for further tag testing – to build on this project’s results and to test tags in the field for longer periods of time.

Moving forward to improve tag retention and effectiveness

CCIA will use the results of this study to recommend solutions for maximizing tag retention and readability, and also to hold manufacturers accountable for the performance of their own products.

You can learn more about the role RFID technology plays in the Canadian beef export market in ‘Why traceability is making Canada a world leader in beef production.’ In other posts you can learn about how RFID technology is assisting with the development of verified sustainable beef and with alleviating the agricultural labour crisis.

5 feedlot issues to watch for in 2017

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For our first post of 2017, we’re taking a look at some of the issues likely to affect feedlot operators in upcoming months. Here are five topics worth watching:

1. Transportation

The Canada Gazette recently published new regulations on transport times and conditions for cattle on livestock trucks. Cattle feeders provided input into the process, and will be submitting a response in February.

2. Traceability

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency plans to announce new traceability regulations in 2017. This important piece of legislation has been 10 years in the making due to the complexity of tracing and tracking cattle movement, but regulation is a crucial piece in the protection of public and animal health, and ensuring food safety.

3. Trade

With the U.S. election now over and Trump in the White House all eyes are on the trade implications. Cattle and beef are currently traded in both directions between Canada and the U.S. and any changes to Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) or NAFTA will have huge implications for our industry and Canadians.

4. Safety

The Alberta Farm and Ranch Workplace Act, or Bill 6, was a hot topic during 2016, with many farmers and ranchers concerned about the implications for their businesses. As the government’s roundtable consultation sessions wind up, we will all be interested to learn the outcomes, and their implications for farm safety.

5. Infrastructure

Finding the necessary funding to rehabilitate rural roads and replace bridges also emerged as a hot topic in 2016. Cattle feeders have made representations to both the federal and provincial governments on their responsibility to ensure agriculture can move products to market. While the federal government recently announced $2 billion over the next 11 years for rural infrastructure projects, much more is needed. Pressure on this policy priority must continue up to the spring budgets and beyond. 

Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts, as we explain more about these issues, and explore how they affect cattle feeders, the beef industry and even Canadians.

How technology is helping improve feedlot efficiencies

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If you’ve spent any time at a feedlot or on a cattle ranch, you might have noticed the numbered ear tags worn by each animal. More than a simple numbering system, these tags are sophisticated tagging and tracking devices that contain detailed, up-to-the-minute information about each individual animal.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are part of an industry-driven program, administered by the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency, and have many different purposes, such as age verification and traceability. But they are helping with more than just tracking. At Cattleland Feedyards, RFID tags are an integral component of a Residual Feed Intake (RFI) research program being conducted in their Integrated Beef Research Station (IBRS).

To learn more, we spoke with Sarah Van Schothorst, a research assistant at Cattleland:

Q: How is RFID technology used to monitor cattle feeding?

Sarah: Here at Cattleland, we use a feeding system created by GrowSafe Systems to measure individual feed intakes. Each animal eats at a feed bunk, which is a large feed tub on weigh bars, or load bars, which measure the food given. The system automatically reads the tag and starts collecting data on the amount consumed. The data is wirelessly transferred to a panel in the feedyard and then to a computer.

Q: Why is it important to measure intake in this way?

Sarah: We use the technology to help us monitor the feed efficiency of potential breeding bulls. We are able to determine which animals are gaining weight while eating less, through the calculation of feed to gain ratios. This is called ‘residual feed intake’, and it’s an inheritable trait. Having technology available that allows us to monitor individual intakes allows us to select genetic lines that will be more cost effective and more environmentally friendly due to less consumption of resources during the animal’s production life.

The technology also allows us to identify individual animals with reduced intakes, leading to earlier detection of animals that will need treatment.

Q: Who monitors the data, and what actions might follow?

Sarah: This technology is fairly labour intensive. GrowSafe Systems monitors all of their systems and records the data for each trial, and for each cattle pen. At Cattleland, I work with the GrowSafe support team to ensure that the animals are in the best condition, feeds are delivered properly, and the system is in working order by doing necessary maintenance and any repairs. The bunks need to remain clean and the load bars free from debris that may affect weighing of the feed or data collection.

Q: How long has this technology been used?

Sarah: GrowSafe Systems developed the technology in Canada starting in the mid- to late 90s. Cattleland implemented its use in 2002-2003.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts where we will continue our technology theme, and look at other ways innovation is helping make the cattle feeding industry more efficient and more sustainable.