1. No category

Volume 13 Issue 6 • March 30, 2015
CCA IS THE NATIONAL VOICE OF CANADA’S 68,500 BEEF FARMS
In This Issue...
• CCA partakes in AAFC Asia
trade mission
• BSE, market prices update
• CCA AGM
• The Cash Advance Program
improves for cattle producers due to
Bill C-18 passage
• What beef producers need to know
about antimicrobial use and resistance
• CCA thanks its Prime Partners
CCA partakes in AAFC Asia trade mission
Earlier in March Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) President Dave Solverson and Executive Vice
President Dennis Laycraft participated in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Minister Gerry
Ritz’s trade mission to Asia. The CCA was on hand with the Minister for stops in Seoul, South Korea,
and Tokyo, Japan and was pleased to support him in his meetings there.
In Tokyo the CCA took part in a roundtable meeting involving cattle producers, government officials,
significant importers as well as Canada’s major exporters. Here the conversation focused on increasing
the supply of Canadian beef in Japan. Interest is high from importers, who indicated they would like a
second supply of grain fed beef to augment the supply stream out of the U.S.
While Japan has had a year round supply of Canadian beef since 2013, the major stumbling block
remains the tariff. The combination of the 38.5 per cent tariff and safeguard trigger (tariff increases
to 50% if imports increase beyond a set formula) have dampened Japanese importers’ ability to
significantly increase their purchases of Canadian beef.
The issue was raised at the roundtable as part of
the discussions towards achieving a bilateral trade
agreement with Japan that will benefit Canada’s beef producers. The CCA’s objective is that Canada
negotiate the elimination of both the tariff and the safeguard trigger in a bilateral agreement between
Canada and Japan or the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
More in-depth discussions on trade took place in Seoul where the CCA had the opportunity to meet with
Minister Ritz and his staff, as well as Fred Gorrell, Director General, Market Access Secretariat at AAFC.
In Seoul, the CCA supported the Minister and encouraged his meetings in South Korea.
Overall the trip was worthwhile and it was important for the CCA to be there as part of its ongoing efforts
to improve market access.
The Minister’s trade mission also included marketing and branding events with Canada Beef to showcase
Canadian beef and the Canadian Beef Advantage to the Asian markets.
L-R, Dave Solverson CCA, AAFC Minister
Gerry Ritz, and Jack Hextall Canada Beef, in
Seoul, South Korea.
Photo credit CCA
Volume 13 Issue 6 • March 30, 2015
BSE, market prices update
It’s been nearly two months since Canada announced its 19th case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
(BSE) to the world. The response from a small minority of countries was to move away from science-based
rules of trade and temporarily suspend imports of Canadian beef. But overall the market has shown that the
decision by those few countries, which together comprise about 5 per cent of Canadian beef exports, has
had little impact, as prices for Canadian feeders cows and calves continue to climb. In addition bull sales
this spring have been promising as prices for all cattle types remained very strong (and even strengthened)
which is a good indication of a rational response from the market regarding the
temporary suspensions.
The absence of a negative downward trend in pricing is due to the strong global demand for beef and
reduced production in major exporting countries (specifically Australia and the U.S). There are many markets
that are able and willing to take the ~5 per cent of Canadian beef exports that have been suspended due to
the most recent BSE case. Alberta fed steer cash prices have continued to trade at record high levels over
the last month.
Given the high demand, low supply scenario is global in scale, the priority for the CCA is to ensure each cut of Canadian beef goes to the highest value
market for that product. That is what maximizes the value of each and every carcass for the producer.
CCA AGM
The CCA would like to thank the Canadian
Meat Council for sponsoring the delicious
slow-roasted striploin served at the VIP
Reception in Ottawa earlier this month.
The Cash Advance Program improves for cattle producers due to
Bill C-18 passage
Today (March 30) CCA President Dave Solverson was in Saskatoon, SK where AAFC Minister Ritz spoke about the recently passed Bill C-18, the Agricultural
Growth Act. This bill received Royal Assent on February 25. The bill does many things, but of most immediate interest to cattle producers are the changes
Volume 13 Issue 6 • March 30, 2015
it makes to the ‘Cash Advance Program’ formally known as the Advance Payments Program (APP). This program is decades old but has only been available
for livestock advances since 2007. There have been incremental improvements since and C-18 marks another step to making this program more useful
for livestock producers. This is important to the CCA as an ongoing policy principle is that programs should not advantage one sector of agriculture over
another. The changes in Bill C-18 will help bring the benefits of the program into closer alignment between grain producers and cattle producers.
C-18’s passage means producers selling bred heifers will now be able to use those heifers for advances in the program. Bill C-18 allows for administrators
to advance on more types of commodities which should make more single window shopping for producers reducing paperwork. Also reducing paperwork is
the ability for administrators to now enter into multi-year agreements with producers. The program still works the same but there is less paperwork and more
availability which should benefit beef cattle producers looking to access the program.
The APP is a program of the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act. Producers can access the program to facilitate marketing. In its initial stages it was seen
as a help to allow producers to move away from marketing grain right off the combine and to address delivery (and payment) schedules on Canadian Wheat
Board harvested grain. As the program has matured other commodities have been added acknowledging that the time when everyone is harvesting or likely
to sell may not be the best time to sell but there are cash flow needs to be addressed.
For cattle producers the program may help producers move their marketing from the fall run to another time. It may help producers move to selling more
yearlings or bred heifers by offsetting some of the cash flow challenges of switching up marketing times. The first $100,000 of advances under the program
are interest free. The maximum advance amount is $400,000.
There are different APP administrators across Canada. For details producers can go to http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/?id=1290184966199.
Bill C-18 also modernizes several pieces of legislation that should be good for regulatory processes and improve the environment for innovation in Canada.
What beef producers need to know about antimicrobial use
and resistance
There’s no avoiding the topics of antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance
(AMR) these days.
We often see headlines like “Agricultural folly spawns superbugs”, “Antibiotic
Resistance Declared A ‘Serious Health Threat’ By CDC As Use In Meat Industry
Skyrockets”, and “Doctors call for ban of antibiotic use in farm animals as drugresistant human infections hit ‘dangerous level’” in the mainstream media. Headlines
like that are alarming for most of us – consumers, government officials, and people
who make a living raising livestock.
https://youtu.be/RAvPpvzMEFc
Flip through your favorite industry publication and you’re bound to find stories on the
latest release of AMR reports by influential organizations, regulatory moves by the
Federal government to restrict the use of various antimicrobial drugs, announcements
by grocery and restaurant chains to source meat produced with particular practices,
or articles that encourage producers and industry groups to be transparent about why
and how antimicrobials are used on farms.
At the heart of it all, we know three things:
• AMR is a real threat. If antimicrobials become less effective, then human health and animal welfare will suffer.
• AMR is a natural and very complex phenomenon, but improper use of antibiotics favours the development of AMR.
• AMU is necessary in beef production, and prudent AMU will slow the development of AMR.
Volume 13 Issue 6 • March 30, 2015
To learn science-based facts about Canadian beef producers’ impacts and responsibilities related to AMR and to find an excellent short new video,
visit www.beefresearch.ca/AMR and talk to a veterinarian. The webpage includes a list of tips on how to avoid illness in cattle to reduce the need to use
antimicrobials, and how to responsibly treat cattle when antimicrobial use is necessary.
CCA thanks its Prime Partners
The CCA would like to thank and highlight its Prime Partners for their continued support of the Canadian cattle industry:
Scotiabank (http://www.scotiabank.com), Merck Animal Health (http://www.merck-animal-health.ca/company/intervet-Canada.aspx), Farm Credit Canada
(https://www.fcc-fac.ca) and John Deere (http://www.deere.ca). For more information on the CCA Partners Program, visit
www.cattle.ca/about-us/partners-program/.
http://www.beefresearch.ca/blog/modern-nutrient-management-in-forages-webinar/
CCA Action News
Staff Contributors: Brenna Grant, Tracy Herbert, Ryder Lee, John Masswohl, Brian Perillat
Written, edited and compiled by: Gina Teel, Anthony Murdoch
The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is the national voice for Canada’s beef cattle industry representing 68,500 beef
farms and feedlots.
To sign up for CCA’s “Action News:”
For more information, contact:
Visit www.cattle.ca and click on “Action News Signup”
CCA Communications at feedback@cattle.ca or visit our
website at www.cattle.ca
Head office:
Ste. 180, 6815 8th Street NE, Calgary, AB T2E 7H7
Phone: 403.275.8558 Fax: 403.274.5686
Ottawa office:
1207, 350 Sparks Street, Ottawa, ON K1R 7S8
Phone: 613.233.9375 Fax: 613.233.2860