NATIONAL CATTLE FEEDERS’ ASSOCIATION

MICHEL DAIGLE, NCFA CHAIR

REPORT FROM

NATIONAL CATTLE FEEDERS’ ASSOCIATION

The National Cattle Feeders’ Association (NCFA) represents Canadian cattle feeders on federal policy and regulatory issues, and partners with other national organizations to strengthen the beef industry. Created in 2007, NCFA serves as a unified voice for cattle feeders on the challenges and opportunities facing the fed cattle production chain.

Our membership is comprised of provincial beef organizations, each of which contributes funding based on their province’s proportionate share of Canada’s total fed cattle production. Each organization appoints Directors to the Board and a provincial staff representative. NCFA maintains a full-time presence in Ottawa with a dedicated team of consultants who lend their expertise and advice on our political, regulatory, and trade priorities. The NCFA team was kept very busy across 2019, and I am pleased to report on our achievements.

Government Relations

Nurturing political champions for the beef industry and advocating with government is a significant part of the NCFA mandate. Each year NCFA builds an Ottawa Engagement Strategy that sets out goals for our most important policy priorities and executes on the three elements of our Strategic Plan – growing and sustaining the industry, boosting international competitiveness, and delivering on NCFA’s reputation as a credible and solutions-oriented beef industry leader.

In 2019, NCFA undertook a set of week-long engagements in Ottawa where NCFA representatives met with federal Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Members of Parliament, political aides, public servants, and government regulators. Sustaining these relationships is essential to moving forward on our trade, labour, infrastructure, taxation, and regulatory priorities. NCFA also appeared in front of the House Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food to give testimony on the urgent need to improve public trust and confidence in Canadian agriculture.

The electoral map of Canada has changed dramatically as a result of the October 2019 federal election and the establishment of Canada’s 43rd Parliament. The election served as a unique opportunity to engage with political leaders. NCFA developed an Election Priorities White Paper that was sent to all political parties, and we communicated our issues with each party leader both before and after the election. Key messages and action tips were developed for our provincial member organizations to engage local candidates, and NCFA was active on numerous social media channels throughout the campaign.

Regulatory and Policy Submissions

In 2019, NCFA made numerous formal policy and regulatory submissions to various departments and agencies of the federal government on issues of direct impact to producers. These submissions included:

• Improving Access to Generic Veterinary Drugs (Health Canada, Veterinary Drug Directorate) • Improving the Emergency Drug Release Program (Health Canada, Veterinary Drug Directorate) • Revised Cost Recovery for Veterinary Drugs (Health Canada, Veterinary Drug Directorate) • Food Nutrition Trends and Technologies (Health Canada, Food Products Branch) • Antimicrobial Usage (European Medicines Agency, EU) • CPTPP Accession (Global Affairs Canada, International Trade) • Open Work Permits for Temporary Foreign Workers (Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada) • Phase Two of Targeted Regulatory Review (Treasury Board Canada) • Mandatory Electronic Logging Devices (Transport Canada) • Proposal to Amend Export Certificates for Fed Cattle (CFIA, Animal ImportExport Division)

Collaborative Partnerships

The entire beef value chain benefits when multiple organizations work together. To that end, NCFA maintains membership in the Canadian AgriFood Trade Alliance (CAFTA), the Canadian Beef Advisors (CBA), the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), and the Canadian Beef Industry Conference (CBIC). NCFA also engages with the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC), the Market Access Secretariat (MAS), the Beef Value Chain Roundtable (BVCRT), the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), and MBP MEMBERS OF CCA BOARD: Harry Dalke, Carson Callum the Canadian Meat Council (CMC). Examples of effective collaboration efforts in 2019 include:

• Establishing a new director position on the NCFA Board for a CCA representative • Membership in the CFIA-Industry Working Group for application to the OIE for negligible BSE risk status • Participation on the CFIA-Industry Working Group on the new transport regulations • Membership on the CFIA Steering Committee for the new Digital Services Delivery Platform • Joint communications with CCA and CMC to Transport Canada and CFIA on transportation regulations • Hosting a session at the CBIC with Harmony Beef President Rich Vesta and CBGA Director Joe Jackson • Membership on the new Animal Health Canada Working Group

Pilot Projects

Over the past few years, NCFA has played a critical role in helping establish various pilot projects between the CFIA and USDA to smooth trade at the Canada-US border by testing new regulatory approaches and removing various export impediments:

• Northern Border Ports Pilot (No unloading of Canadian feeder cattle destined to the US) • Digital Service Delivery Platform Pilot (Beta-testing of new electronic certification system) • Convoy Pilot (Exporting multiple loads or convoys of feeder cattle via one export certificate)

Industry Development and Outreach

NCFA facilitates various research and development projects as well as outreach activities designed to strengthen the cattle feeding sector and better position it for success. In 2019, NCFA helped secure funding from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership for continued work on our Canadian Feedlot Animal Care (CFAC) Assessment Program and funding to monitor antimicrobial usage at sentinel feedlot sites in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. NCFA also served as the host for a number of feedlot tours including one with 20 producers and livestock professionals from Interbev France (L’Association nationale interprofessionnelle du bétail et des viandes) and another with Mr. Luc Marchand, the new Director of the Animal Industry Division at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

International Trade

Numerous trade developments emerged throughout 2019 including a temporary closure of China to Canadian beef and pork, the continued unfolding of the Brexit drama in the UK, the signing of a new US-Japan bilateral trade agreement, and significant tariff reductions for Canadian beef producers as a result of CPTPP implementation. An amended CUSMA deal was also signed. NCFA continues to advocate strongly for liberalized global trade and a rules-based trading system. To that end, we consult regularly with the Trade Agreements and Negotiations Directorate at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and continue to engage the expertise of Mr. John Weekes (Canada’s former Ambassador to the WTO and Chief Negotiator for the original NAFTA agreement) on our important trade files.

Labour Shortages

A shortage of over 16,000 workers continues to negatively impact agriculture and agri-food. This shortage is twice that of other Canadian industries and results in almost $3 billion in lost agriculture and agri-food sales annually. NCFA has continued to lobby for improvements in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and to develop better pathways to permanent residency for temporary workers. A key accomplishment was the announcement in 2019 of a new federal Immigration Pilot Program set to roll out in 2020 that will attract experience and non-seasonal workers to fill labour needs in agriculture and agri-food. Details are expected to be released in early 2020.

NCFA had a banner year in 2019. This is a direct result of our dedicated Board of Directors, our committed provincial staff representatives, and the expertise of our consultants. I thank you all for working diligently to position our industry for success.