NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER 27, 2015
ANNOUNCING THE BCCA 2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & CONVENTION...
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We are pleased to announce that the BC Cattlemen’s 2016 Annual General Meeting will be held in beautiful Penticton, BC on May 26th, 27th and 28th at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. The Kettle River Stockmen’s Association from the Rock Creek area will be the hosting association. WestJet and Air Canada both fly into Penticton for ease of travel. The committee is excited about putting on this event and invite you to mark these dates and plan to attend.
The 2016 AGM Organizing Committee includes:
Doug & Erika Fossen
Jennifer & Greg MacDonald
Holly & Grant Harfman
Erin & Ryan Culligan
Pat Campbell
Thank you to the Kettle River Stockmen's Association for stepping forward to host our annual convention! More details will be communicated as they become available. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Becky Everett at the BCC office @ 250.573.3611.
LOCAL NEWS & EVENTS
TRU's latest program offering in support of the ranching community in B.C. is set to kick off and is searching for students. The program's official launch will take place at the Tourism Discovery Centre in Williams Lake at 7pm, Tuesday December 1. All are welcome. BC Cattlemen's will be attendance with a industry booth at the event, as well as several beef producers who has been instrumental in bringing this program to fruition. See below a story written by our own David Zirnhelt in the Williams Lake Tribune about the upcoming event, and a special visit from Her Honour, Lieutenant Governor and Judith Guichon.
The Honorable Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, will honour the Cariboo On Dec. 1 with a visit.
by David Zirnhelt - Williams Lake Tribune
Officially she is the Queen’s representative to the government and people of B.C. Her job is to sign off in the Crown’s name new laws passed by the provincial legislature. No law becomes the law until it is given Royal Assent by the Lt. Governor. Unofficially, but in reality this position is a representative of the people of B.C., with huge symbolic importance based on the personal qualities of the people selected for the five-year term as Lt. governor.
Her Honour was invited to Williams Lake by TRU GRIT, a group of citizens who are devoted to the development of the local campus of Thompson Rivers University. They provide local support and raise money, in part for bursaries and other needs.
The occasion is the Dec.1 launch of a new program at TRU — The Applied Sustainable Ranching Program (ASUR). Yes it is aimed at helping to assure a future for ranching in B.C. and will serve local students and students from away and abroad.
The event at the Tourism Discovery Centre at 7 p.m., Dec. 1 will feature ranching industry and university speakers about the new program. The Hon. Judith Guichon however, will give the keynote address.
Everyone is welcome. Come meet ranchers, supporters, suppliers and of course Her Honour.
Click here for full Williams Lake Tribune story
Last night, over 45 people from all across B.C. and beyond participated in a webinar, a first for BCCA, following up on the workshop & field tour hosted in Prince George a few weeks ago. Despite a few technical glitches, participants were treated to dissemination of research information on Extending the Grazing Season & Winter feeding Strategies, and practical advice from a producer who has tried many of these strategies. Thank you to all who tuned in, and to our presenters, Dr. Bart Lardner of the Western Beef Development Centre in Lanigan SK, and Taylor Grafton, Ranch Manager at Bar K Ranch in Prince George. We had an great Q&A session at the end with a wide variety of questions from presenters. The session was recorded, and the recording will be available within the next week. Ww thank all those who stuck with us through some connection issues - it was a learning experience for us as well!
We have also launched a webpage on the BCCA website under PROGRAMS for the Technology Transfer Pilot Program, with information about the project, details of the events, as well as videos and links to other resources from the project. Click here to access the Tech Transfer page.We hope you will take some time to take a look over the winter. Our next event will take place in Fort St. John February 2, 2016, and will focus on the environment. Details will be communicated as they become available.
Help shape the future of agricultural resilience in the Okanagan by joining the BC Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative for this two-part workshop series.
It’s been quite the year! With a low snowpack, an early start to the growing season, spring hail storms, a summer of record breaking temperatures, drought, water restrictions and smoky skies; the impacts of climate change were hard to miss in the Okanagan in 2015. Individual farms bear the brunt of these impacts, but it can be difficult for producers to address the challenges associated with climate change at the farm level. Adaptation often requires tools, resources and decision-making processes that are beyond the individual farm.
This December, we will bring local governments and agricultural producers together to undertake climate change adaptation planning for the Okanagan’s agriculture sector. The process will identify and prioritize climate change impacts for Okanagan agriculture and develop locally suitable strategies and actions for addressing these impacts.
The completed plan – or Okanagan Adaptation Strategies - will feature:
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Climate change projections for the Okanagan region;
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Impacts and opportunities (associated with climate change) for the Okanagan agriculture sector;
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Specific strategies and actions for the Okanagan agricultural sector including near-term priorities for implementation;
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A commitment of $300,000 in Growing Forward 2 funds to implement priority projects between 2016-2018.
Curious about the types of projects that have been implemented in other regions? Click on the links below (scroll down to ‘Regional Projects’) to see the innovative pilot projects and capacity building initiatives taking place in Delta, the Peace River region, the Cariboo region and Cowichan Valley region as identified in their Regional Adaptation Strategies.
We are pleased to note that BC Cattlemen's Association has also been asked to make a presentation about our Technology Transfer Pilot Program and take part in an industry panel at this workshop series in Kelowna Dec 11, 2015.
Okanagan Workshop Details
Participate in the discussion and help us to address these key questions: How can the agricultural sector and partners in the Okanagan work together to build resilience to climate change? What are the risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities facing various production systems? What are the critical information gaps or areas where knowledge needs to be improved? How can we develop and/or fine tune adaptation tools and resources to assist producers with decisions at the farm-level?
Workshop Dates and Locations: choose one location (lunch provided!)
Penticton
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015, 9am to 2pm
at the Penticton Lake Resort, 21 Lakeshore Drive West, Penticton, BC
Vernon
Thursday, December 3rd, 2015, 9am to 2pm
at the Vernon Golf & Country Club, 800 Kalamalka Lake Road, Vernon, BC
Click here to RSVP (via webform) for this free workshop.
You can also RSVP or contact us with any questions, at [email protected] or call 778-676-7657.
A second workshop, which will build off the content of the first workshop, will be held in early February. Details will be provided in December.
The Okanagan Regional Adaptation Strategies are part of the Regional Adaptation Enhancement Program, which is being delivered by the BC Agriculture & Food Climate Action Initiative (CAI). Funding for this program is managed by the Investment Agriculture Foundation (IAF) and the B.C. Agricultural Research & Development Corporation (ArdCorp), and has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the BC Ministry of Agriculture through Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
Okanagan Shuswap District Natural Resource Officers are asking for the public’s help in finding the person or persons responsible for tampering with culverts at Dale Lake, causing a debris flood down Cooke Creek east of Enderby in May 2014.The natural resource officers would like to speak to anyone who may know the person(s) responsible for the tampering, or anyone who observed suspicious people or vehicles in the Dale Lake area leading up to May 2, 2014.Anyone with any information can submit a report by contacting the Natural Resource Violation reporting line at 1 844 NRO-TIPS (1 844 676-8477), or
online. Reports can be anonymous.
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The FINAL deadline to submit your 2014 AgriStability/AgriInvest Harmonized form is December 31, 2015. Click here to access forms.
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Individual forms must be mailed to:
Canada Revenue Agency
Winnipeg Tax Centre
66 Stapon Rd
Winnipeg, MB R3C 3M2
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Corporate forms must be mailed to:
AgriStability/AgriInvest
Box 3200
Winnipeg, MB R3C 5R7
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Producers who miss the December 31, 2015 deadline will not be eligible for the 2014 program year.
Please note that participants are required to file tax returns to report 2014 farming income (or loss) for income tax purposes to the Canada Revenue Agency by December 31, 2015 to be eligible for AgriStability program benefits.
AgriStability Offices
In July 2015, agricultural stakeholders gathered in Ottawa to help develop a national agricultural research policy for the 21st century. Broad consensus among participants identified building strong networks for research dissemination as a key area in the national policy for agricultural research released September 2015.
In order to further inform this area of the policy, the Agricultural Institute of Canada will be hosting a Conference that brings together stakeholders involved in, or who make use of agricultural research to discuss issues surrounding the dissemination and utilization of agricultural research including:
- Dissemination Strategies and Participation Channels for Agricultural Research
- Knowledge Transfer and Extension
- Intellectual Property Protection, Cooperation and Collaboration
Join us in Ottawa April 13-14, 2016 for AIC 2016, a conference that promises to engage participants and stimulate lively debate, with opportunities to learn from industry experts and contribute input on these important policy issues.
Visit the conference website for more information. The conversation has already started! Contribute your input to the pre-conference consultation.
NATIONAL NEWS
November 4, marked the beginning of Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau’s term as Prime Minister of Canada and with it, the appointment of a new Cabinet. As with the Conservative Government before them, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) looks forward to working closely with the Liberal Government to develop and implement policies and actions favourable to Canadian beef producers.
The CCA is particularly eager to embark on a collaborative working relationship with Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland to ensure the momentum of opening international markets for Canadian beef exports continues. The CCA will also work closely with Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, Health Minister Jane Philpott, Employment Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk and Immigration Minister John McCallum on behalf of Canadian beef producers.
Priority areas for the CCA include repeal of the discriminatory U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) legislation, improving access to the Japanese and other international markets through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), bolstering agriculture research and increasing the agricultural workforce, said CCA President Dave Solverson.
“The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) information communicated to CCA indicates that their objectives align with ours in many of these priority areas, including trade, research and workforce issues,” he said. “That’s a great starting point for industry. The CCA looks forward to working with the new Ministers to advocate on the issues and policies that are important to the Canadian beef sector.”
The full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is now available online, posted by the New Zealand Government as the agreed depository of the text. All signatories to the TPP, including Canada, must go through their domestic processes and ratify the agreement. Canada’s new International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland has yet to formalize a position on the Agreement but issued a statement last week indicating she looks forward to reviewing the TPP text in its entirety.
With the text now public, the CCA can officially confirm that the TPP is an excellent and essential deal for Canadian beef producers and exporters. The Agreement is consistent with the briefings received from government officials as negotiations concluded. The Agreement achieves CCA’s primary objective in ensuring Canadian beef access to Japan is significantly liberalized in a manner that restores our competitive position in that market.
This is essential as Australia implemented last year a free trade agreement with Japan, gaining a tariff advantage for its beef exports to that market. Also, once the TPP is implemented, should the Japanese tariff for Australian beef under the existing agreement ever drop below the Japanese beef tariff under the TPP, then Canadian beef will get the lower tariff. While it may never need to be triggered, it is very positive to see this commitment to maintaining level terms of access.
Fifteen years after the TPP Agreement comes into force, the Japanese tariff on Canadian beef will reach its final level of 9%. At the current tariff level of 38.5%, Canada exported $103 million of beef to Japan in 2014. As the tariff gradually reduces down to 9%, Canada could double or triple its annual beef exports to Japan. CCA President Dave Solverson called the TPP a game-changer for Canada’s beef industry -- and Canadian agriculture as a whole. Click here to review the Agreement in full, which runs 30 chapters in length.
The CCA has been busy evaluating the current Agriculture Policy Framework Growing Forward 2, which is scheduled to expire in 2018. Presently, the CCA is working to identify ways to improve existing programs and developing priority requests for Growing Forward 2’s successor. With the election of a new Liberal Government, there is a great opportunity for the CCA to inform current policy makers about beef producers’ priorities for the next framework.
The Liberal Government has identified many areas in domestic agricultural policy that the CCA can collaborate with them on. With the likelihood of increased infrastructure investment under this government, there is a chance to provide input on many projects that could benefit the beef industry such as improved water management systems and value-added processing facilities. Enhanced, long-term funding for basic research and Beef Science Cluster programing continues to be a key goal for the industry. The CCA is well positioned to present government with the benefits research has generated not only for the cattle industry but for the general public as well.
There is also a tremendous opportunity for the cattle industry to advance its priorities for business risk management programs and encourage investments in young beef producers. Additionally, the CCA will continue to educate new policy makers about why industry initiatives such as Traceability and the Verified Beef Production® program are advantageous for Canadian agriculture and therefore require further implementation.
The CCA is also consistently working with other agriculture industry groups to address labour shortages, which continues to be an issue for beef farmers and meat processors. As a member of the Labour Task Force, the CCA is participating with the Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council, which developed an Agriculture and Agri-Food Workforce Action Plan. Again, the changes in Parliament provide an excellent opportunity for agriculture and agri-food to work closely with government to develop policies that allows the beef cattle and meat processing industries access to much needed workers.
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With the new Liberal Government focused on a number of initiatives around job creation, the CCA is eager to collaborate with them to address the chronic workforce issue in agriculture. In the beef industry, producers, feedlots and packers struggle to find skilled and willing workers interested in long-term employment. While the residual impacts of the downturn in the energy sector may see an increase in people with little or no previous agriculture experience applying for work in the beef industry, employers in Canadian agriculture must remain vigilant in their hiring practices. It’s important to exercise proper due diligence in hiring practices, particularly when reviewing resumes, to ensure employers do not hire someone that could endanger themselves, the animals and land in their care or their business.
Hiring is an excellent time for employers to discuss on-farm animal welfare practices with potential candidates and to remind current staff to remain vigilant at all times about animal welfare. Ensure all staff are familiar with and useThe Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle, which sets out scientifically informed practices for the care and handling of beef cattle. Require and encourage staff to report animal abuse if and when they see it. This is particularly important to consider in terms of livestock transportation. It is illegal in Canada to haul infirm animals unless to a veterinarian for treatment and it is the responsibility of producers, transporters and their employees to ensure all animals are fit to ship and are treated humanely. Check to see if transporters have completed the Canadian Livestock Transport (CLT) Certification Program and be thorough in reviewing safe loading and handling practices. For additional information on transportation and determining if an animal can be safely transported, clickhere.
There are a number of steps employers can take to ensure their hiring practices are solid. Screen candidates thoroughly. Scrutinize the applicant’s employment history. Take the time to check references by verifying previous employment. Check the applicant’s home address. Be sure to have an open dialogue with the candidate, particularly if there is no previous experience working with livestock or if a candidate is seeking no pay in exchange for the work experience. Be sure to have an open dialogue with the candidate, particularly if there is no previous experience working with livestock or if a candidate is seeking no pay in exchange for the work experience. Unfortunately, some candidates may have other motives and it takes only seconds for someone to take a potentially unflattering video on a smartphone and post it to the internet.
Feedlot owner/operator John Schooten checks out all the references provided for both business and personal in the resumes of potential candidates. “We also talk about and show them our safety manuals and discuss with them our animal welfare practices and the importance of adhering to those. We have several templates that we go over and discuss including biosecurity,” he said.
Animal welfare is a top priority for the CCA and the industry as a whole. Careful screening of potential applicants and regular conversations about safe and humane handling practices can ensure producers get the help they need while protecting their stock, their land and their livelihood.
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Blame it on the Rain
This article written by Dr. Reynold Bergen, BCRC Science Director, originally appeared in the October 26, 2015 issue of Canadian Cattlemen magazine and is reprinted on the BCRC Blog with permission of the publisher.
This summer has seen unusual rainfall patterns, low river levels and drought in large parts of Western Canada and the Western States. Some people blame water shortages on the beef industry and are ready to answer the question “how much water does beef production use?” Unfortunately, these answers are often wrong, highly misleading and based on “how big a number will people possibly swallow?”
One common water use figure comes from a 2012 paper by Mekkonen and Hoekstra (“A Global Assessment of the Water Footprint of Farm Animal Products”, Ecosystems 15:401-415). These researchers reported that it takes 15,415 liters to produce one kilogram of beef. Few people look beyond that number, but it’s worth understanding the shallow science behind that calculation.
They divided water into three categories. “Blue water” is used to water cattle, irrigate pastures, forage or feed crops, process carcasses at packing plants, etc. Blue water can often be used for other human uses like crops, golf courses, or swimming pools. “Grey water” dilutes fertilizer or manure runoff associated with feed or cattle production. “Green water” is rain that falls on pastures, forages and feed crops and doesn’t run off (runoff becomes blue water).
Actual rainfall measurements are sparse in remote areas, so green water is usually estimated. Here’s how that calculation works. They estimate how much forage and grain it takes to raise cattle on pasture or in feedlots, based on average feed conversion efficiencies. They adjust average live finished weights to a “per kg beef” equivalent using dressing percentages and lean meat yields. Then they estimate how much water is needed to grow all the forage and feed needed to produce that beef. They use government statistics to estimate how much of that water comes from irrigation (blue water), and bill the green water (rain) to the cattle.
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These Little Piggies ate a Quarter Pounder a Day
This article written by Dr. Reynold Bergen, BCRC Science Director, originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of Canadian Cattlemen magazine and is reprinted on the BCRC Blog with permission of the publisher.
Does eating beef from implanted cattle cause young girls to reach puberty sooner?
Hormonal growth promotants have been used in beef cattle for a long time. The newest one (trenbolone acetate) has been around for nearly 35 years, while implants containing estradiol have been around for 60 years. Growth promotants improve growth rates and feed efficiency, but also reduce environmental impacts. A 2012 paper by Capper and Hayes (J. Anim. Sci. 90:3527-3537) estimated that producing the same amount of beef without growth promotants would require 12% more cattle, 11% more feed, 10% more land, 7% more fertilizer, 8% more fuel, produce 10% more manure and greenhouse gas, and increase retail prices by 8%.
Consumer concerns around the safety of the beef from implanted cattle are more recent. Plants also contain estrogen-like hormones (phytoestrogens), so a counter-argument is that ‘there are more hormones in the bun than in the burger’.
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Click on the logo below for all the latest in beef marketing news from Canada Beef Inc.
| EVENTSCALENDAR |
November 30, 2015
7:00-9:00 pm |
150 Mile House & Rose Lake Livestock Association Joint Fall Meeting
Miocene Hall
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| December 24-January 3 |
BCCA Office will be closed for the Christmas holidays |
| January 30, 2015 |
Kootenay Livestock Association AGM
Heritage Inn & Conference Centre
Cranbrook BC
Tickets: $30. Contact 250.426.4315 for more info.
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January 30, 2015
6:00 pm |
North Peace Cattlemen's Dance
Quality Inn Grand Hotel
Fort St. John
Tickets: $45.00. Contact Kathy Bentley for info @250.787.1875
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