PUBLISHED BY MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS
SEPTEMBER 2024
The 17th Annual Manitoba Youth Beef Round-Up was held August 2-4 in Neepawa with over 100 youth and 115 head of cattle gathered for an educational and fun weekend. Please see the full story on page 6. (Photo credit: Prairie Pistol Designs)
National Beef Strategy Has Made Good Progress Towards Its Goals
A recent status update on the National Beef Strategy shows there has been considerable progress towards its goals, despite many challenges that the beef industry has faced over the past two years. Those challenges include drought, feed shortages, rising energy and input costs, and a post-pandemic recovery that has caused food inflation and reduced consumer spending power. The Canadian beef industry developed the Strategy to capitalize on opportunities and identifies a number of priority goals related to increasing beef demand, improving beef competitiveness, boosting production efficiency and ensuring positive connections with the public and consumers. “The National Beef Strategy brings all the national associations together to collaborate and reduce duplication of efforts, providing the best return to producer investments,” says Nathan Phinney, Canadian Cattle
Association President. “A strategy provides clarity on where industry is going so that we can get there faster. Updating the strategy every five years allows industry to make adjustments for different points in the cattle cycle.” Positive stories about beef production One of the biggest highlights of the Strategy’s many achievements to date is a more positive public and consumer perception of the beef industry and its production practices, especially in terms of sustainability and the environment. Greenhouse gas emissions from the beef sector were down by 15% in 2021, halfway to the goal of reducing emissions by 30% by 2030. Public and Stakeholder Engagement (PSE) continues its work to build public trust. Successful advocacy campaigns such as ‘Don’t Label My Beef” and “Say No to a Bad Deal” have gained public support and influenced policy makers. PSE research shows strong support for
the beef industry and fewer negative perceptions about production practices than in the past. “Being able to highlight that our production practices are sustainable and good for the environment, and having some metrics and measurement supporting that, is huge,” says Matthew Atkinson, Manitoba Beef Producers president. “The industry has worked hard to highlight and show what we do and we have been able to change the narrative in our industry, and public perception is getting better of our industry and our production practices,” Craig Lehr, Chair of the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) says. “To be able to change perceptions and show what we do, and the benefits we provide to the environment and the quality product we provide, and the health benefits of it is huge.” page 5
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BY ANGELA LOVELL