Beef News

Beef Industry News

'SPONSOR A STEAK FOR A SOLDIER' NEEDS YOUR HELP
Harvey and Jackie Dann of Alert Agri Distributors Inc. in Manitoba are asking for help to "Sponsor a Steak for a Returning Soldier & Their Loved One". The idea is to supply a great Canadian steak for servicemen and women returning from active duty at homecomings held at bases across the country. Over 12,000 steaks will be required over a two year period with ribeyes and New York strips on the menu. This is being organized to show the beef industy's recognition and appreciation for service while deployed in Afghanistan and other locations throughout the world as members of the Canadian Military. To learn more about the program or to contribute, CLICK HERE.

BSE CLASS ACTION MEETING IN ALBERTA
A BSE Class Action Information Session, organized under the direction of BSE class action lawyer Cameron Pallett and beef producers from the province of Alberta will take place Wednesday, March 31st, at 12 noon in the Stockmens Pavilion at Westerner Park, Red Deer, AB. CLICK HERE to find out more.

AG GROUP OFFERS INPUT ON USDA'S TRACEABILITY FRAMEWORK
Following USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack’s announcement that his department is changing its approach to developing a national animal identification system, the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) has announced it will dedicate a portion of its annual meeting, to be held in Kansas City, MO March 15-17, to having industry representatives and participants offer needed input to State and Tribal officials as they begin the task of developing identification programs that will be compatible across state and tribal boundaries. Read the entire article HERE.

CANADIAN LIVESTOCK HERD AT LOWEST LEVEL IN DECADE
According to Statistics Canada hog farms and cattle herds in Canada and Alberta have shrunk to their lowest levels in more than a decade. The Calgary Herald reports Canadian exports of live cattle and calves fell 32 per cent last year, while slaughter levels fell four per cent. Read the full article HERE and the Canadian Cattlemen story HERE.

TABER, AB JUNIOR LIVESTOCK CLASSIC & STEER SHOW
SCHEDULED FOR OCT. 29/30, 2010
The Taber Junior Livestock Classic is open to Youth ages 21 years and under. The show is open to 2009 bred heifers, 2010 heifer calves and 2010 steers. Other activities include Showmanship, Sales Talk, Quiz Bowl, Print Marketing, Educational Displays, Photography and Others.
The Taber Steer Challenge is new for 2010 - this is open to calendar year calves for 2010 and all calves will come back in late Spring 2011 as finished steers for final Jackpot. Both the October 2010 and Spring 2011 shows will be a jackpot show.
If anyone is interested in more information please feel free to Contact Tracy Allen at 403-308-5964 or email.

Canadian bull congress ANOTHER SUCCESS
The Canadian Bull Congress in Camrose, AB this year enjoyed good weather and sold out crowds for the two day event. Reports say the event was such a succes that some exhibitors have already booked their space for next year. In 2011 a new component will be added to run a week before the congress entitled 'Cattle Preparation from Selection to Show Day'. Updates on this new event along with this year's winners are available on the CBC website, www.bullcongress.com (look for 'Results' in the left hand menu).

MANITOBA YOUTH WIN PUREBRED HEIFERS THROUGH GRANT MOFFAT HERDBUILDER PROGRAM
Nicholas Bray, a 16-year-old producer from Eddystone; Rachael Verwey, a 13-year-old producer from Portage la Prairie and Laura Tolton, a 14-year-old producer from Carberry, were the 2009 recipients of the Grant Moffat Herdbuilder Awards.
On August 18, 2006, Grant Moffat of Forrest, Manitoba went missing at the age of 55.
The Grant Moffat fund was set up with generous donations from cattleman, friends and relatives across the Canada to offer a reward for tips leading to his whereabouts. After a year, a committee handling the funds made the decision to channel the money to Manitoba Youth for the purpose of starting their own purebred cattle herds.
Grant Moffat, Holmsyde Charolais, Forrest, Manitoba, was a Charolais breeder, photographer, writer, youth enthusiast, judge, sales manager, fitter, editor and accountant. He was a special person that everyone could learn something from.
Grant spent many hours helping youth start in the livestock business. The Grand Moffat Herdbuilder award was set up to continue this initiative. Youth submit written applications and the committee reviews them to select the Juniors they feel will benefit the most from this award. Annually over 20 and up to 40 applicants have been received. For the past three years, up to $2,000 has been awarded to each of three Junior members to purchase a purebred female to start their herd. To date 9 juniors from across the province have benefited from the program.
Nicholas Bray selected a Black Angus heifer, Rachael Verwey selected a Charolais heifer and Laura Tolton purchased a Black Angus heifer. These heifers were selected at fall, purebred sales in Manitoba.
This program has benefited many youth in Manitoba. Check out the website GrantMoffat.com for more details. Click any photo to enlarge.

THE BOTTOM LINE: CONSUMERS DON't CARE ABOUT COOL
THEY JUST WANT WHAT THEY WANT
A very interesting blog on the US Farm Journal website by Steve Cornett, editor emeritus at Beef Today. When it comes to cowboy boots, he buys what he likes, no matter where they are made. He says it is the same with beef as consumers buy the cuts they want and have paid little or no attention to COOL while beef producers pay for the extra paperwork and labels nobody reads. Sounds like another 'make work' and 'feel good' goverment project . . .
read the full blog HERE.

Baxter BLACK VOICE OF US BEEF CHECK-OFF COMMERCIALS
The US Cattleman's Beef Board is running commercials to explain where beef checkoff dollars are going, complete with return on investment details. The voice of Baxter Black tells producers to "get to know your checkoff at mybeefcheckoff.com." To view the spot on YouTube, CLICK HERE, or visit mybeefcheckoff.com.

CATTLE NEED A RIDE? CHECK OUT Cowpool.ca
In all aspects of the purebred cattle business, efficient management practises have become a necessity of survival. One of the noticable expenditures is delivery of animals across the country. All too often, cattlemen are seen on the highway with half a load, or worse still, an empty back haul. Out of a brainstorming session with cattleman, came an idea to raise efficiency with no cost to producers - cowpool.ca.
Cattlemen are invited to go on the site and enter information and read what is already there. It is hoped it will encourage efficiency and help everyone save a few dollars. "During the busy bull sale season, I always get calls from producers wondering if I know of anyone hauling cattle one direction or another. We try to help guys get their loads together instead of everyone making individual trips, but you always hear of someone who just made the trip and could have taken a few more head. We thought by putting it on the net, we would be able to broaden the scope for longer hauls and access a larger pool of producers. I usually know what is happening in a few breeds, but if all breeds participate, the benefits will multiply," says Helge By, co-owner of By Livestock, the company behind the idea. "It just seemed a natural extension of the services we provide. We're always looking for ways to help."
Within two days of launching the site, there was a cowpool posting which is encouraging. Many female sales will still have the opportunity to use the site this fall, but it is expected to be busiest in bull sale season. For further information contact: Helge By 306-536-4261.
(We think this is a terrific idea and fits right into the EverythingAngus philosophy. Be sure to visit cowpool.ca before you head out on that next long haul.)

"Environmentally Friendly" food myths debunked

A release from the University of Washington states that some well-intentioned consumer trends dubbed ecologically friendly are actually the opposite. Take grass-fed beef for instance. While growing in popularity "the time needed to grow an animal to slaughter weight is nearly double that of animals fed corn. This means that energy use and greenhouse gas emissions per pound of beef are increased three-fold in grass-fed beef cattle." Interesting reading. The full article by Jude Capper, Ph.D., assistant professor of dairy sciences, can be found HERE.

Beef & the environment - know the facts

On the heels of yet another environmental group claiming giving up eating meat will save the planet, here's a couple of articles with FACTS about the GOOD cattle do for mother earth. Unfortunately the articles are US or UK based, but the information is valid no matter where cattle are grazing.
Read "Give up meat to save the planet?" (which appeared on the front page of The Times UK and on TimesOnline.co.uk) from Agwired.com and the accompanying facts as a "Top Ten List" of ways that meat production is beneficial to the environment which appears on BeefMagazine.com's blog. This is the kind of info needed to educate the general public to combat the "eat less beef" message being given not only by environmental groups but also prevalent in the media including a recent feature on 20/20.
As a side note, the NFU (UK) issued a response to the London Times story available HERE. (Why is it that news outlets always use a photo of a dairy cow when talking about beef???)

New rural dating service launches in Canada

The first Canadian service to target a national audience of farmers is rolling out. FindYourRuralDate.com is the English-language version of Agrirencontre.com, a French-language service for Quebec farmers that debuted in 2001. The site is currently operating in beta mode, with a formal launch planned before the end of this year. Read the feature story from Canadian Business Online entitled "Rural Dating Service: After trade wars and climate change, what's the biggest threat to the ag economy? Single farmers. Enter rural dating services."

Subsidies for grain-based ethanol threaten North American human food supply: report

According to an editorial in the Owen Sound Sun Times, someone inside Canadian agriculture has finally said out loud that subsidies for grain-based ethanol may not be totally rosie for agriculture, the red meat sector or consumers.
"Rarely have two elements of Canadian public policy been so profoundly at odds with one another," a report by George Morris Centre researchers says of the general situation. That's because grain demand for ethanol fuel production conflicts directly with the needs of livestock feeders for relatively low cost grain. As a result, "the viability of export-based livestock feeding segments becomes compromised," it states. Read the full editorial HERE.

Are you buying Canadian Food?

According to the video "Choose Canadian" produced by the makers of Hellmann's Mayonnaise the chances are slim unless you make a conscious effort. Did you know that over a 15 year period our food imports have risen 160% while Canada's population only rose 15%? That includes a 600 (yes, I said 600) per cent rise in red meat imports over the last 40 years. That might just explain the current state of the beef industry in Canada.
To view the video, CLICK HERE or visit EatRealEatLocal.ca (newest version of Flash is required to view the Hellmann's site.) The video has been making the email rounds and is definitely worth passing on to all your city friends and contacts. To insert a link to the video in an email, link to the EverythingAngus "Where's the Beef" blog named Angus Beef Canada HERE: http://www.angusbeefcanada.blogspot.com (copy and paste). And remember to pass on your local sources of Angus Beef so city folks know where to find the good stuff.

Recipe for humour . . .

Ever made a pound cake? Or sent a male grocery shopping? If so, you'll appreciate this bit from comedian Jeanne Robertson. For the audio file, click the link below . It's worth every second!
- Thanks to Sharon Cooke for passing this on
AUDIO FILE:

Canadian cattle: Their role in caring for a sustainable Earth

The Canadian Cattlemen's Association has issued an information bulletin and fact sheet pointing out the essential role cattle play in sustainable agriculture. BULLETIN - FACT SHEET (pdf). Lots of positive information, unfortunately no studies quoted or proof of any of the points made . . . resulting in few news articles addressing the releases (only three short internet articles have been found to date - Discover Moose Jaw, Portage Online & Discover Foothills, plus a posting on CattleNetwork.com)..

Verified Beef Production workshops online

Beef producers across Canada wishing to participate in Canada's Verified Beef Production (VBP) on-farm food safety program can now complete their workshops online. "This new online workshop feature is designed to improve VBP workshop access for producers in remote areas and for others who simply prefer the convenience of online training," says Terry Grajczyk, national manager of the program.
The VBP program fits directly into the management of modern beef operations of every size and type, says Grajczyk. "VBP is a voluntary, producer-driven on-farm program designed to complement food safety programs in meat processing plants and at the retail level to manage food safety risks across the food chain," she says.
To read the full news release about the new service CLICK HERE. A list of provincial contacts can be found HERE.

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