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Finances are among Cattle Feeders’ top issues

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Ryan Kasko, ACFA’s new board chair, talks in this blog about priority issues for the upcoming year.

Non-refundable checkoff

ACFA is working on a plan to collaborate with Alberta Beef Producers to build a new path forward that would include an Alberta Beef Industry Development Fund, Ryan said.

“We will be asking producers to vote in a plebiscite this fall to return to a non-refundable checkoff,” he said. “The money generated will be used to finance marketing activities, research and other projects that will benefit the Alberta beef industry.”

Ryan said the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA) used to provide $20 million for industry research and marketing initiatives. The funding has been eliminated, so it is hoped the checkoff proceeds will at least partly offset the lost funds. “We’re hoping to work with the government to show the value this investment is providing, and to hopefully get more government funding,” he said.

Farm safety

The association is also heavily invested in making sure its members understand recent changes to the Alberta Labour Code. “We’re offering a feedlot safety program to ACFA voting members so that feedlots can get up to speed on farm safety, specifically in reference to those changes,” Ryan said.

Trade

NAFTA is at the top of cattle feeders’ minds. “Although we’re not directly involved in negotiations, we work alongside the National Cattle Feeders’ Association and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to support them in their efforts to make sure the beef industry remains part of NAFTA.”

Looking for a new CEO

Bryan Walton, ACFA’s president and CEO, will retire this fall, and a search for a replacement has started.

“We will be sad to see Bryan go,” said Ryan. “He’ll be a hard person to replace. But at the same time, any change provides an opportunity for new ideas, and we’re looking forward to that process.”

You can learn more about Ryan and his work as a cattle feeder in an earlier Meet the team post.

2017: Cattle feeders’ year in review

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This past year saw a number of challenges arise that gave cattle feeders cause for concern, such as changing legislation and regulations, taxation, and trade. At each step, the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association (ACFA) has played an active role in advocating and negotiating for our members.

Here are some of the major projects we worked on in 2017:

Strategic plan

In March, ACFA board members, staff and industry partners met to renew the organization’s vision, mission and strategic plan. Here is a summary of the outcome of those talks:

Vision: Champion a sustainable cattle feeding sector in Alberta.

Mission: Pursue innovative and collaborative solutions for a thriving Alberta beef industry

Strategic priority #1: Build ACFA membership by delivering value to our members.

Strategic priority #2: Engage with the provincial government to strengthen the health of the cattle feeding sector in Alberta.

Strategic priority #3: Collaborate with partners to advance the industry.

Strategic priority #4: Strengthen ACFA governance.

Advocacy

There were many issues affecting cattle feeders in 2017 in which ACFA played an active role in advocating for our members’ interests. These included:

    • The Lethbridge County head tax which would severely impact cattle feeders in that area, resulting in feedlot closures.
    • The provincial carbon levy which could add costs by as much as $6 to $7 per head.
    • Federal income tax changes that will harm the viability of family-owned corporations.
    • Infrastructure needs, which are not receiving adequate provincial or federal funding.
    • Labour shortages, ongoing issues with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), and proposed changes to the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP).
    • Farm safety, employment standards and the Employment Standards Code.
    • Trade, and access to new markets for cattle feeders.

Outreach

ACFA’s communications with stakeholders and the public included:

    • Key provincial government ministers, decision-makers, MLAs and MPs.
    • Members, industry and the media.
    • Feedlot tours for educators, students, and government officials.

Watch for status reports, as we continue to stay on top of these issues throughout the coming year.

How these 4 strategic priorities will build a better Alberta cattle feeding industry

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It is good governance for an organization to revisit its vision and mission to make sure it is meeting the needs of everyone it works with.

The ACFA did just that in March 2017 during a three-day strategic planning session in Canmore, AB that involved the board of directors, staff and industry partners. 

The goal was to make sure we are staying true to our mandate – supporting our members and the industry we serve. We also wanted to ensure our members are represented accurately and fairly when we work with our stakeholders, including partners and the provincial government. 

Our main areas of focus

Our first task was to identify the primary opportunities and challenges that affect Alberta’s cattle feeders. As we continue to strengthen our working relationship with all levels of government, we are primarily focused on the following:

Our vision and mission

Our March session also involved a close examination of our organizational vision and mission. Through constructive conversation and feedback, we developed statements that more accurately reflect who we are, what we do and what we will achieve.

Our new vision and mission are:

Vision: championing a sustainable cattle feeding sector in Alberta

Mission: pursuing innovative and collaborative solutions for a thriving Alberta beef industry

Our strategic priorities

Our updated strategic plan will help ensure ACFA remains accountable and relevant to itself, its membership, and our sector. We also want to make certain we communicate effectively with stakeholders and government.

As we implement our new strategic plan, association project areas will be reviewed and approved within the context of the following strategic priorities:

Strategic Priority 1 – We will build the ACFA membership by delivering value to our members

Strategic Priority 2 – We will engage with the provincial government to strengthen the health and vitality of the cattle feeding sector in Alberta

Strategic Priority 3 – We will collaborate with partners to advance the industry

Strategic Priority 4 – We will strengthen ACFA governance

Our ability to move forward with clarity on our top issues, our mission and vision, and our strategic priorities will help us more effectively support our membership, the cattle feeding sector and Alberta’s beef industry.

To learn more about our organization, check out ‘5 must-know facts about the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association’.

New HR Toolkit provides the building blocks for an effective farm safety program

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Today’s farmer realizes the importance of formalized safety programs when it comes to keeping their employees safe and their operations running smoothly. But the challenge with standardized safety programs for farms is the unique nature of every operation.

That’s why the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) put together an Agri HR Toolkit specifically for farms. The toolkit gives agricultural operations of all types and sizes the information and resources they need to understand their responsibilities and liabilities, and to build a customized workforce management program.

CAHRC has recently updated the toolkit, and the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association has purchased a subscription for every one of their current members.

What is an HR toolkit?

That’s a question we asked CAHRC’s Project Manager, Tracy Biernacki-Dusza. Tracy explained that the toolkit covers everything involved in managing a workforce. It isn’t a safety program, but it does include a whole section on health and safety, with lots of detailed information on everything that should be considered when building a program, including steps to get started, links to other templates, and action plans. Some of the elements include:

    • Canadian Occupational Health and Safety legislation
    • WHMIS
    • Provincial legislation
    • Workplace conditions and expectations
    • Policies on drug and alcohol abuse
    • Hazard audits
    • Farm equipment safety
    • Animal safety
    • Bio-security

“It helps the business owner consider every aspect of their workforce management, to protect themselves and their employees. It includes everything from health and safety policies to hiring; from workplace wellness to succession planning – and lots more,” said Tracy.

Why is the toolkit an important resource?

Because agriculture is such a unique industry, the Agri HR Toolkit has been designed to be extremely customizable. “Rather than a checklist, we’ve included the information in a human resources handbook,” Tracy explained. “It runs through all the policies and procedures a farm operator should have in place, and helps them work out how they pertain to their operation.”

As part of their work with ACFA, CAHRC has helped create seven different feedlot role job descriptions, complete with training requirements, and has conducted training sessions on recruitment, selection and hiring.

Good for owners and employees alike

The primary purpose of the toolkit is to help business owners comply with standards and legislation. By helping them make their operations safer for their employees and visitors to their farms, it will also protect them against employment related claims.

You can read more about safety in the agriculture industry in these earlier blog posts:

New program customizes farm safety for feedlots

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Feedlot safety is a top priority for Alberta’s cattle feeders, but farming is unique, and the complexities of farm safety cannot be compared to any other sector. So how do you address safety in an industry where people often live where they work, raise their children there, and employ their friends and neighbours? Read more

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.

The top 5 cattle feeding posts of 2016

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We’ve been publishing our cattle feeders’ blog for a full year now – and as 2016 draws to a close, we thought it would be fun to look back and see which posts were the most popular. Here’s the list of the top five blog posts of 2016: Read more

Why farm safety starts with people

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Farm safety is a hot topic, and one that’s highly personal for many people in this industry.

As we discussed in ‘How the agriculture sector is pulling together to promote farm safety’, farm safety is unique in many ways. For instance, in no other industry do operators typically live and raise their families in the same place where they work. And in many instances, their employees are their family, friends and neighbours.

And yet, farming is one of the highest risk occupations in Canada. According to Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, there were an average of 17 farm-related deaths per year, between 1985 and 2010.

To put that number in perspective, it’s worth noting two things:

    1. Farm injury statistics do not differentiate between work related injuries on farms, and non-work related injuries.
    2. Because agriculture plays such a large role in Alberta’s economy and there are so many farms, the ratio of fatalities to the number of farms is one of the lowest rates of any province in Canada.

Is legislation the answer?

In Alberta, agriculture was exempt from provincial Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation, but Bill 6 has changed that. OHS now applies to agriculture in Alberta. But there is dispute as to whether simply passing such legislation is really effective in reducing farm injuries. In provinces such as B.C., which included agriculture in OHS legislation in 2005, and Ontario, which did the same in 2006, there has been no significant impact.

In fact, in 2013, 42 per cent of Canada’s farm fatalities were in Ontario, on just 25 per cent of the nation’s farms.

Creating a culture of safety

If legislation has not proven to be the answer, then perhaps the solution must come from within the industry itself. We believe that reducing on-farm injuries and fatalities depends on creating a culture of safety that is built collaboratively by everyone involved in the industry.

This view is supported by recommendations made to the Minister of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (PDF), by the Farm Safety Advisory Council in 2012. They advocated the establishment of a province-wide coordinating body to provide leadership, expertise and direction for farm safety awareness, education, training and certification.

Among their recommendations were an increase in educational resources, training and certification, as well as industry best practices, and government guidelines and policies.

What is safety culture?

Just as corporate culture can be defined by the values, beliefs and attitudes of people within an organization, so safety culture is characterized by the pervading behaviours and attitudes towards safety.

When organizations start to value safety as a practice, and to develop the practices and protocols in support of safe behaviours, then everyone within that organization is safer.

Some recent or ongoing farm safety initiatives with which the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association has been involved include:

For more information, check out the Farm Safety Advisory Council’s Recommendations to the Minister of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, on Enhanced Farm Safety Education and Training.

Stay tuned as we continue to explore farm safety issues in upcoming blog posts. In the meantime, you can read our previous posts on the topic: ‘How safe is farm equipment’, and ‘How the agriculture sector is pulling together to promote farm safety’.

How safe is farm equipment?

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Statistics show us that agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in Canada. But statistics don’t always tell the whole story. As we learned in ‘How the agriculture sector is pulling together to promote farm safety’, it’s hard to compare farming to other industries, because so many people live where they work. Without data that separates work-related incidents from non-work related incidents that happen on farms, the statistics are very hard to interpret.

One thing that’s certain, though, is that farm equipment is a major cause of injuries. According to Glen Blahey, agricultural health and safety specialist at the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, “machinery is one of the predominant causes of injury simply because of the frequency of use. After machinery, it tends to be livestock and then slips, trips and falls.”

What is being done about equipment injuries?

First and foremost, equipment manufacturers have taken great strides in making equipment safer to operate. “Equipment design has improved very significantly over the years,” said Glen, “and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) has a technical committee that looks specifically at agricultural machinery. They look at it from a design perspective, in terms of how to keep that equipment as functional as possible and yet as safe as possible.”

The missing piece, in many instances, is the ability of the end user to operate that machinery effectively.

“It’s not necessarily that the equipment is dangerous or has unsafe features in it,” Glen explained, “but rather that there is operator error or a lack of adequate training. There may even be a lack of adequate protocol practices that are set out to the people who are going to be operating the equipment.”

Training and awareness is improving due to the availability of training, both online and in person. But when it comes to enforcing those protocols, that’s where farm operators and owners have to truly step up.

“I believe that there is a growing awareness and understanding in regards to overall safety and health and wellbeing,” concluded Glen. “The next generation of farmers coming up is more conscious of environmental issues, and more conscious of what people think of the agriculture industry. Additionally they have a higher awareness of the implications of an injury and of sustaining permanent disability injuries.”

There’s still a great deal of progress to be made, but Canada’s beef industry, and farmers everywhere are committed to continued improvement. Representatives are currently participating in consultation sessions regarding the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act (Bill 6).

You can read more about farm safety in our Farm Safety Policy Statement, and in ‘How the agriculture industry is pulling together to promote farm safety’.

New benchmarking program will help improve farm safety

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Farm safety is a huge issue in agriculture—after all, in what other industry do owners and workers typically live at the same place they work? Read more