Welcome to the digital edition of Ontario Beef, which in addition to our printed publication, is available each issue by visiting our website. With the conclusion of the labour negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers strike unknown and the anticipated backlog of mail within the postal system, we arrived at the unfortunate decision to forgo the printing and hard copy distribution of our December 2024 edition of the magazine. We look forward to the return of our traditional magazine in February 2025. In this issue, you will find a number of articles related to the preparation of BFO’s annual general meeting in February and a proposed increase in check-off. Turn to page 8 for a listing of county and district annual meetings that will take place across the province in the month of January, as well turn to page 42 for the auction markets’ holiday sales schedule. Happy holidays to all of our members!
Special thanks to BFO Director Jim Whitley from Creemore, Ontario for sharing this cover photo. Don’t miss out on submitting your photos for our February issue. Please send your winter-inspired photos by January 15 to be considered for the cover. Digital photos in portrait orientation that are at least 300dpi are preferred, and can be emailed to info@ontariobeef.com.
Guelph, ON Phone: 519-763-8833 • Fax: 519-763-8833 pams@sentex.net
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Ontario Beef is the official publication of the Beef Farmers of Ontario. Contents of this publication may be reproduced only by permission of the Editor and with credit acknowledged.
Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and/or editor and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Beef Farmers of Ontario. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement or approval by Ontario Beef or the Beef Farmers of Ontario of products or services advertised.
Advertising deadlines are January 10, April 15, July 15, September 15 and November 15. The publisher reserves the right to refuse or cancel any advertising, including advertising that is inconsistent with BFO’s Sponsorship Policy, available at www.ontariobeef.com. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published, however no responsibility can be assumed for advertising not received in clear, type-written form.
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Canadian addresses to: Beef Farmers of Ontario, 130 Malcolm Road, Guelph, ON N1K 1B1
TisGood Tidings and Trade AHEAD OF THE HEARD
By Craig McLaughlin, BFO President info@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com
the season for giving and in this edition of Ontario Beef, I invite you to turn to page 32 where you can read about how Ontario’s beef farmers are beefing up food banks, and more about BFO’s tenyear partnership with Feed Ontario and our Ontario Beef Program.
Even though all of our dollars are feeling stretched and rising costs are impacting everyone, it’s very satisfying to know that I am connected with a sector that will make the right choice when called upon. My father would remind me at times that in the end it’s often children and the most vulnerable who will often go without.
Speaking of giving, staff at BFO were recently given a gift with the announcement of much-needed and overdue bathroom renovations, which are currently underway at the Guelph office. The office on Malcolm Road is a testament of the professionalism we strive for when those visiting come to the premises. The new renovations will include a step-up bench for those who are vertically challenged - no names will be mentioned to protect the innocent! All male staff members and directors will be obligated to take the training course, “Stay Bright, Aim Right” to keep the upgraded facilities in tip-top shape.
Now, for more important news. Going back to 2015, the national beef and cattle organizations came together to develop a working document to create unity within the Canadian beef sector, and identify key targets to help improve our competitiveness. Out of this, the National Beef Strategy was created. Every five years, the Strategy has been reviewed and updated, with its newest iteration expected to be released early in the new year. To provide Ontario’s perspective on the newest draft, BFO Executive Director, Richard Horne, and I travelled to Calgary with our fellow provincial counterparts to share our thoughts and comments on what should be included.
Jason Leblond (Northern Director) – Vice President
Email: jacres5@gmail.com
Don Badour (Cow-Calf Director)
Email: don.badour@gmail.com
Don Hargrave (Cow-Calf Director)
Email: dchargrave@gmail.com
Jim Whitley (Cow-Calf Director)
Email: modelaranch@hotmail.com
Joost van der Heiden (Background Director)
Email: jcvdheiden@hotmail.com
Joe Dickenson (Feedlot Director)
Email: joe@dickensonfarms.com
Jairus Maus (Feedlot Director)
Email: ellengowanfarms@gmail.com
Tom Kroesbergen (Feedlot Director)
Email: tomkroes50@hotmail.com
Ron Stevenson (Southern Director)
Email: ron@metzgervet.com
Ralph Eyre (Director-At-Large)
Email: ralph@eyrefarms.ca
Kim Jo Bliss (Director-At-Large)
Email: kimjobliss@gmail.com
Emily Bromley (Youth Director)
Email: fondoak@live.ca
Other national work of mine over the last couple of months included participation in a number of Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) committee meetings, including Food Policy, Domestic Agriculture, Foreign Trade and a directors meeting. Throughout October and November, national efforts by both CCA and the National Cattle Feeders’ Association (NCFA), as well as BFO advocacy work, focused on opposition to Bill C-282.
From the Canadian beef sector’s perspective, the Bill, if passed, would hurt Canada’s ability to launch, negotiate, and renegotiate meaningful trade agreements. With the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) up for renegotiation in 2026, this Bill would put Canada’s trade position at a disadvantage.
BFO Vice President, Jason Leblond, spoke to our concerns by joining the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and I participated in an interview on BNN Bloomberg to discuss the same concerns. BFO also sent letters to all Ontario Senators urging them to vote down the Bill.
As of early November, the Committee completed its study and recommended an amendment to Bill C-282 such that it “would not apply to current trade agreements, trade agreements being renegotiated (i.e., CUSMA) or agreements currently being negotiated (i.e., Indonesia, ASEAN, Ecuador).” The Bill and this amendment will now be debated by the full Senate at third reading.
In other trade news, U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump recently announced his pledge to implement a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports after he is sworn in as president in January. Given the significance of our trading relationship for both beef and cattle, CCA is currently reviewing the economic impact of the proposed
BFO STAFF
Executive Director
Richard Horne • richard@ontariobeef.com
Manager of Policy and Issues
Thomas Brandstetter • thomas@ontariobeef.com
Policy Advisor
Evan Chaffe • evan@ontariobeef.com
Director of Communications
LeaAnne Wurmli • leaanne@ontariobeef.com
Manager of Public Engagement and Digital Strategy
Jennifer Kyle • jennifer@ontariobeef.com
Engagement Coordinator
Charlene Yungblut • charlene@ontariobeef.com
Member Information Coordinator
Jamie Gamble • markets@ontariobeef.com
Accountant
Amber McIntyre • amber@ontariobeef.com
Office Manager
Lisandra Lima • lisandra@ontariobeef.com
Manager of Producer Relations
Dan Ferguson • dan@ontariobeef.com
Senior Producer Relations Specialist
Jaclyn Horenberg • jaclyn@ontariobeef.com
Producer Relations Specialist
Robert McKinlay • robert@ontariobeef.com
Manager of Compliance
Chris Millar • chrism@ontariobeef.com
Provincial Supervisor, Ontario Feeder Cattle and Beef Breeder Co-op Programs
Cheryl Russwurm • crfeederfin@wightman.ca
Supervisor of Provincial Programs
Barb Caswell • barb@ontariobeef.com
tariffs to help prepare our defense, if needed. As we inch closer to January, we will be working all channels to maintain open trade for beef and cattle with Canada’s largest trading partner.
With respect to other advocacy work, BFO Youth Representative Emily Bromley and I met with MP John Barlow who is also the Vice-Chair of Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. MP Barlow held an agriculture roundtable in eastern Ontario where we discussed the value of creating opportunities for youth and the proposed increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, which will have negative impacts on farm succession planning.
In mid-November, I travelled with Jaclyn Horenberg, BFO’s Senior Producer Relations Specialist, to Moncton, New Brunswick to attend the Maritime Beef Conference. The conference was wellorganized and attended, and a great opportunity for us to network with our fellow producers and leaders in eastern Canada.
At the time of writing, we are just wrapping up our regional meetings that were held across the province in six locations and were attended by three representatives from each of our local associations. The focus of these meetings was to hear from our members on regional issues, and to present our proposal for a $1.50 check-off increase in Ontario, which will be decided by our voting delegates at
our annual general meeting in February. Within this issue, you can read more about our proposal on page 10. I also encourage you to take some time to review the fourth edition of our Report Card, which can be found on page 17. This topic will also be a focus of our provincial update presentation at all county and district annual meetings next month.
Speaking of county and district meetings, I would invite you to visit page 8 where you will find a complete listing of meetings that will take place in over 45 locations across the province. I encourage you to join your fellow producers for some fellowship and an opportunity to discuss current issues and set the course for your local association in the year ahead. Each year, the BFO Board and staff look forward to connecting with our members at these meetings.
In closing, I welcome you to join us at our annual general meeting, which will be held on February 19-20, in Toronto, with our Ontario Beef Youth Alliance Reception and Cattle Academy program taking place on the evening of February 18th. Program details, including registration, can be found on our website at www.ontariobeef.com. I hope to see you there.
Wishing you a peaceful holiday with family and friends, and all the best in 2025.
Beef farming: Only for the brave. OB
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It’sPositioning the Value of Livestock at the World Food Forum THE BEEF BEAT
By Evan Chaffe, BFO Policy Advisor evan@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com
been over a year since I was appointed to the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) for the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock (GASL), which has been a great opportunity for me and has allowed me to share the excellent work that happens here in Ontario.
First, what is GASL? GASL is a multi-stakeholder working group with the goal of promoting the sustainable development of livestock sectors worldwide. It works with governments, the private sector, civil society, and international organizations to address the challenges and opportunities in livestock production.
Soon after my appointment in October of 2023, I was able to attend my first GASL multistakeholder working group conference, which took place in Chang Mai, Thailand. The focus of the conference was four sessions dedicated to exploring various drivers of change: geopolitical and socio-economic drivers, health and disease drivers, environmental drivers, and innovation and knowledge drivers. During the conference, I served as a panelist on two different panels, the first being Policies Needed to Address and Respond to the Drivers of Change, and the second being Youth Responses to the Drivers of Change.
During the first panel, I made the point that policy needs to be driven by grassroots producers as it affects their lives the most, and they understand the issues at a practical level. Developing policy with input from the grassroots producer promotes ownership from the producer but, more importantly, allows for policy to be developed in a way that the objectives are realistically
obtainable and will be more widely adopted by those producers since they had input on how to execute the policy.
The second panel focused on youth in the livestock sector, their role in the future of the livestock sector, and how youth see themselves responding to the drivers of change. I highlighted the programs we have in Canada and Ontario in the beef sector, particularly the Ontario Beef Youth Alliance, the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders (CYL) program, and the Canadian Cattle Youth Council program, as good examples of what we’re doing here to mentor and educate our young producers to become future leaders in the sector. Recently, I’ve been hearing that even though we’re preparing our youth for tomorrow, our youth are very much the now of the industry, and programs such as those allow for increased development of our young farmers. By further developing our youth voices, we’re ensuring a strong and growing industry with excellence in our production practices and excellence in the way we promote the sector through advocating to our politicians and communicating with the general public.
Fast forward to this year, and in October of 2024, I attended the World Food Forum (WFF) on behalf of the GASL YAG and the Food and Agricultural Organization United Nations headquarters, both in Rome, Italy. The WFF meeting had a wide array of food sector participants from across the globe, which was interesting as this allowed me to gain insight and perspective from individuals who provide different life experience and perspectives on food issues.
Over the four days of the meeting, I participated in multiple discussions on various topics, such as youth governance, water quality, youth leaders in livestock, and forest management techniques.
Day one of the summit focused on the opening ceremony and other introductory events to help establish the theme for the upcoming week: “Good food for all, for today and tomorrow.” This theme fits in well with the messaging the Canadian beef industry has been using for several years now with the creation of Guardians of the Grasslands film and game, and the new film Reduce, Reuse, Ruminate.
The second day consisted of meetings about Crosscutting Global Action for Food Action, Youth in Food Governance: Power and Participation, Global and Regional Water Strategies for Sustainable Agrifood Systems, and Regeneration of Soils for Future Generations. These were all very applicable topics as these have been key areas of interest within the Canadian agriculture sector, particularly as youth continue to be involved in policy development. The soil session was also relevant as the Senate of Canada recently released its study “Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human, and Social Health,” which focused on soil health within Canada. It was during these meetings, however, that I noticed for the first time, an underrepresentation of livestock farmers, people who produced food, and rural voices at the table discussing the future of food. This was a concern to me as discussions were happening without the individuals who have lived experience of exactly what’s happening on the ground around the world with our food producers. With that in mind, there is a lot to do through advocating and discussing our ideas with the individuals who attend these international events to ensure they have the information they need to make the best-informed decision.
The third day of meetings included Integrative Land Management for Food Sustainability, North America Regional Youth Assembly Workshop, and a High-Level Panel: Financing agrifood systems for “Good food for all, for today and tomorrow.” During the North American Regional Youth Assembly workshop, we focused on
assisting the North American chapter of the World Food Forum with generating ideas and their agenda for the upcoming year. The main point of the discussion was reducing waste at post-secondary institutions and strategies on how best to overcome this issue. There was a good discussion between all parties present, and I think there’s an opportunity to further the voice of livestock, especially cattle, which have been proven as up-cyclers when it comes to food waste. This is especially evident in the recently released Reduce, Reuse, Ruminate short documentary from the Public and Stakeholder Engagement (PSE) team at the Canadian Cattle Association.
Day four consisted of meetings relating to Forest and Farm Champions: Rural Youth Shaping Tomorrow’s Forests and Farm, Future Leaders: Youth Advancing Livestock Sustainability, and a meeting with the Special Envoy for Australia’s Agriculture sector. The highlight for me was the Future Leader’s Youth Advancing Livestock Sustainability Meeting, which was virtual; however, we did have individuals from the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock Youth Advisory Group, the Canadian Cattle Association, and the World Farmers Organization who were all livestock farmers and explained well why livestock should be a part of the solution and not labeled as the problem when it comes to food security and sustainability. This day also saw Canada host a reception where I met individuals from Global Affairs Canada and Agriculture Agrifood Canada representing us in Rome and Canada at the FAO UN. These are strong contacts to have in the future if any issues or challenges arise at the FAO regarding livestock. These contacts also provide us a conduit to help us express the ideas and solutions livestock offers in the global food arena and global environmental sustainability.
The WFF was a good event and helped expand the network of individuals who align with the interests of livestock producers globally. That being said, there is a lot of opportunity for livestock to play a larger role in this event as we continue to position livestock as a part of the solution with grassland biodiversity preservation, carbon sequestration, and upcycling food waste into a high-quality protein food source. OB
REGION DATE TIME DETAILS
Simcoe Jan. 2 7 p.m. Edgar Hall, 1167 Old Barrie Road West, Oro-Medonte
Niagara Jan. 6 6 p.m. Wellandport Community Centre, 5042 Canborough Road, Wellandport Supper at 6 p.m., Meeting at 7 p.m.
Algoma Jan. 7 7 p.m. Bruce Stations Hall, 109 Station Road, Bruce Mines
Prince Edward Jan. 7 7 p.m. Friendship United Church, 2765 County Road 5, Demorestville
Elgin Jan. 8 6 p.m. Lawrence Station Community Hall, 12344 William Street, Southwold
Wellington Jan. 17 6:30 p.m. Alma Bible Church, 59 Peel Street East, Alma
Cochrane Jan. 18 12 p.m. Porquis Junction Agricultural Hall, Main Street, Porquis Junction Lunch to start at 11:30 a.m.
Haliburton Jan. 18 6 p.m.
Lanark & Ottawa Jan. 18 10 a.m.
Leeds Jan. 18 11 a.m.
Muskoka/Parry Sound/Nipissing Jan. 18 10 a.m.
Northumberland Jan. 18 6 p.m.
Castle Antiques, 223 Highland Street, Haliburton Potluck supper at 6 p.m., Meeting at 7 p.m.
Brunton Community Hall, 2022 Beckwith Park Lane, Carleton Place
Royal Canadian Legion #475 (main hall), 320 County Road 8, Toledo 11 a.m. doors open, 12 p.m. luncheon, 1 p.m. meeting
Magnetawan Friendship Centre, Magnetawan
Alderville Community Centre, 8913 County Road 45, Alderville Tradeshow 5 p.m.; Dinner 6 p.m. and meeting to follow
Stormont Jan. 18 9 a.m. Cornwall Twp. Lion’s Club, 17413 McPhail Road, St. Andrew’s West
Temiskaming Jan. 18 6 p.m.
Kerns Community Hall, 279279 Milberta Road, New Liskeard Dinner at 6 p.m., Meeting at 7 p.m.
Russell Jan. 21 7 p.m. 4762 Rockdale Road, Navan
Haldimand & Norfolk Jan. 23 7 p.m.
Haldimand Agricultural Centre (Kohler Agricultural Hall), 1084 Kohler Road, Cayuga
At the time of printing, details for Essex and Kent had not yet been confirmed.
Local county & district annual general meetings held across the province in the month of January provide an excellent opportunity for members of the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) to meet with fellow farmers and neighbours, as well as directors and staff from BFO.
Before you plan to attend, please refer to the BFO website for updates and a current listing of meetings, or as always, you can contact the office by calling 1.866.370.2333.
27TH ANNUAL BEEF INDUSTRY CONVENTION
January 9-11, 2025
Best Western Plus Lamplighter Inn and Conference Centre, London, Ontario
Hosted by Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association and Ontario Corn Fed Beef
Once again, the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association and the staff of the Best Western Plus Lamplighter Inn & Conference Centre are pleased to offer our Industry Partners, Associations and all Stakeholders opportunities to share, learn and socialize at this beautiful venue.
As one of the leading agricultural information sessions in Ontario and Canada, the OCFA is committed to meeting everyone’s expectations once again. We feel this venue is a perfect fit for us, as well as for our attendees and their families.
You, and the organizations you represent, are the future of the beef industry and your active participation is key to the success of this Convention.
We look forward to working with you and your organization. www.beefindustryconvention.com or call 519-686-6226.
AGENDA
Thursday, January 9, 2025
4:00pm - Exhibitors Hall opening
5:30pm - Ontario Corn Fed Beef
Welcome Reception/Supper
7:00pm - Sponsored Speakers
Industry Sponsored Reception
Note: programming and times are approximate and subject to change.
FEES (including 13% HST)
Complete Registration Package $350.00
(includes all meals, breaks and convention handouts)
Thursday Supper
ACCOMMODATIONS
Friday, January 10, 2025
8:00am - Registration, Coffee, Exhibitors Hall
9:30am - Morning Session Speakers
12:00pm - Lunch
1:00pm - Afternoon Session Speakers
4:00pm - Wrap up, Trade Show
5:30pm - Exhibitors, Networking, Cocktails
6:00pm - Banquet
- Live Auction
- Industry Sponsored Reception
Saturday, January 11, 2025
8:00am - Sponsor Breakfast
Best Western Plus Lamplighter Inn & Conference Centre 591 Wellington Rd. S., London, ON N6C 4R3 • Tel:519-681-7151 • Fax:519-681-3271 www.lamplighterinn.ca • 1-888-232-6747
Reservations are to be made on an individual call-in basis directly to the hotel or to the toll free number above. Callers must quote “Ontario Cattle Feeders Association” to the Reservation Agent to receive the discounted rates. Alternatively, reservations can also be made online using the link below: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotel-rooms.66016.html?groupId=A90CU0H2
Pricing for our event:
Assorted Room Types: Thursday, January 09’25 > $159 to $199 plus applicable taxes. Friday, January 10’25 > $199 to $239 plus applicable taxes.
A block of bedrooms have been set aside for this event. Room rates vary depending on location. Rooms not reserved prior to January 04, 2025 will be released and subject to availability.
Registration and payment deadline is December 31, 2024.
Please email wendy@ontariocornfedbeef.com to register or please call 519.686.6226 fax 519.686.6227
Investing in the Future of the Ontario Beef Sector Proposed Check-off Increase
By: BFO Staff
Asan association, Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) uses valuable check-off dollars, provided by our membership, to advocate in the areas of sustainability, animal health and care, environment, food safety, and domestic and export market development to help beef farmers, and provide solutions to issues facing the beef sector in Ontario.
The check-off system has a long history in the province, dating back to its first introduction in 1968. Provincial check-off has been collected since that time at various rates, and the mandatory national check-off of one dollar was first implemented in Ontario in 2008. Prior to that, Ontario voluntarily directed funds to the national organizations to support marketing and research.
Ontario beef farmers and the entire beef sector have withstood both change and challenge in recent years. We’ve been through a global pandemic and experienced firsthand the impact of supply chain disruptions and our ability to access things like fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, equipment parts and processing space. We endured the temporary closure of Cargill in Guelph due to the pandemic and then later by labour negotiations. As a result of a number of factors, including drought and its impact on cattle inventories in North America, as well as an increase in global beef demand, we’ve been fortunate to experience strong cattle prices –both for calves and finished cattle. While prices have been strong, inflation continues to put pressure on input costs and farmers’ cost of production.
These experiences have also affected our association. With the impact of inflation and flat marketings, we have growing budget concerns. We believe in the work we do and the value it provides to our membership. We want to maintain and increase the level of support we provide to Ontario’s beef sector through our government relations and advocacy work, our focus on policy and
issues and the educational opportunities we provide to farmers through our producer relations team.
As we look ahead, in addition to addressing our own financial situation here in Ontario, we have some lingering national issues that date back to 2018 and need to be a part of this conversation. First, Ontario is misaligned in the national portion of our checkoff with the rest of the country, and second, we’re not meeting funding targets identified in the National Beef Strategy.
To give some history, in 2015, the national organizations came together to create unity within the Canadian beef sector and identify key targets to help improve our competitiveness. Out of this, the National Beef Strategy document was created. As part of the Strategy development, it was identified that an increase to the national portion of check-off was needed.
As of 2018, all provinces currently pay two dollars and fifty cents per head in national check-off, and we in Ontario have remained at one dollar for the last 16 years.
Since its establishment, we have supported the National Beef Strategy, but six years ago we did not support increasing the national portion of the check-off until a number of issues were resolved. A lot of work has been done by all parties since that time, and positive progress has been made in all areas and our concerns have been addressed.
If we maintain current income and expenses with modest increases, we’re looking at a growing deficit for the foreseeable future. This will require us to draw on reserves or make some significant budget cuts, both of which are not sustainable in the long term. If we do nothing, we will be faced with decisions on what services or programs we can scale back on, or possibly do without.
After careful consideration and consultation, BFO is requesting an increase in check-off of $1.50 per head which, combined with existing check-off, would make a total Ontario beef check-off of $7.00 per transaction. This would bring the total national portion of check-off to $2.50, which aligns with the rest of the country, and the provincial portion will remain at $4.50.
A breakdown of the current check-off rate and proposed check-off rate and how those dollars are allocated.
The estimated $1.2 million in additional funding will be directed to maintain BFO programming and services, increase support for the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association and the Ontario Beef Market Development Program, and increase investment in national research and building trust and consumer confidence in beef and beef farming.
Unlike other increases in recent years, this check-off increase request largely comes down to inflation and our ability to effectively maintain services, capacity and our presence with government and key decision makers, and to help align Ontario with our provincial counterparts and support our national groups who we believe are doing good work.
The other element at play is that if the national checkoff rate is increased by Ontario, a levy called the National Import Levy would also be triggered to increase. The National Import Levy is a fee collected by the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-off Agency that is applied on all beef, beef products and live cattle imported into Canada.
The levy rate is set at the lowest amount of national check-off which is currently at $1.00 per head and would move to $2.50 if the check-off increase is approved in Ontario. Close to 80 per cent of import levy revenue is generated from imported beef and beef products with the balance generated from live cattle.
Import levy dollars can be used for generic beef marketing and the promotion of unbranded beef. Largely used by Canada Beef, these activities focus on keeping beef on the plate of Canadian consumers by promoting the healthfulness of beef, growing consumer culinary skills, and reinforcing food safety practices.
One of the most convincing reasons for Ontario to consider supporting an increase to the National Import Levy is due to the amount of imported beef that lands in our market. We experienced this over the summer months when we saw a lot of Mexican beef being promoted by grocers, and the amount of media coverage as a result.
While we want consumers to choose Ontario beef, it’s important to keep beef available on store shelves at all price points. It’s easier to gain back market share from someone who purchases imported beef than to regain market share from someone who switched to chicken or pork.
If the levy is increased, imported product will be subject to a higher fee, and as a result retailers will have to take that into account as they price product on the shelves. This will help increase the competitiveness of Canadian and Ontario beef against imported product.
To help support discussions amongst our membership, we’ve created a couple of documents for review. The first is the fourth edition of our Report Card (see page 17), which highlights many of our accomplishments over the last three years. As well, we’ve compiled a question-and-answer document to help address questions you may still have. Both documents can be found on the BFO website at www. ontariobeef.com. Some of these common questions and their answers can also be found alongside this article. BFO Directors and staff will also be sharing a presentation on this topic at each county and district meeting in January. It will be important for our membership to participate in this discussion.
Ultimately, this decision lies with you, our voting delegates and entire membership to determine your level of investment and how we can best support you, your families and operations with those dollars.
It’s your decision and your vote. OB
Q. An increase in check-off from $5.50 to $7.00 seems like a big jump. Why such an increase?
We appreciate this is a significant request, but we also want to avoid coming to the membership for the foreseeable future. This increase will help us to tackle the impact of inflation on our operational budget, increase support for the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association and address the lingering request for an increase in national check-off. We do not currently have the resources to address all of these needs with current funding.
Q. Why doesn’t BFO just decrease its operating budget?
We have seriously considered scaling back efforts and looked at budget cuts that could help us reduce our operating costs. We have looked at reductions in lobbying capacity, consumer engagement work, sponsorships, research and programming. If we do nothing, we will be faced with making some decisions on what services or programs we can scale back on, or possibly do without.
Q. This proposal is to increase the national portion of check-off, how can you use national dollars to fund BFO and OCFA activities?
We will continue to allocate funding to the national organizations (Beef Cattle Research Council and Canada Beef), as well as return dollars to Ontario for provincial investment into research and marketing that shows a benefit to the Canadian beef industry as a whole.
Each year, we are required to submit a business plan to the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-off Agency demonstrating the use and impact of our provincial investment.
If the increase in check-off is approved, we will reevaluate the total $7 to ensure national check-off dollars are accounted for, as well as increasing support for BFO.
We intend to increase support for national research and public and stakeholder engagement, as well as our return for provincial investment.
Q. If the increase is approved at the BFO 2025 AGM, when would the increase take effect?
The question will be asked of BFO voting delegates at our annual general meeting on February 19, 2025, in Toronto. If approved by the delegates, the request for an amendment to the Beef Cattle Marketing Act will be directed to the Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food & Agribusiness and Cabinet for their approval, which historically has taken around 10 months to complete.
Q. Who receives the national import levy dollars, how are they enforced and what are they used for?
The national import levy is triggered by importation paperwork at the Canada Border Services Agency. The information is shared with Agriculture and AgriFood Canada who in turn generate invoices with funds to be delivered to the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-off Agency. Once the levy is collected, the Agency sends the net revenue to the service provider (currently Canada Beef) and retains the administration portion.
National import levy dollars are invested into generic beef marketing programs and the promotion of unbranded beef. These activities focus on keeping beef on the plate of Canadian consumers by promoting the healthfulness of beef, growing consumer culinary skills, and reinforcing food safety practices. Generic beef marketing resources and programming can be found on the ThinkBeef.ca website.
Q. How much revenue would the national import levy generate for generic marketing?
By increasing the national check-off in Ontario, it could subsequently unlock up to $1.5 million in additional import levy revenue. BFO does not collect or direct these proceeds, that work is done by the Canadian Beef Cattle Checkoff Agency, dollars which are spent primarily by Canada Beef.
Funding Available to Support Ontario Farmers
By Barb Caswell, BFO Supervisor of Provincial Programs
Ontario’s beef farmers are committed to improving their farms –be it through environmental stewardship or improvements to animal health and welfare or finding ways to be more productive and profitable. However, financial support can often be key to managing risk when implementing new equipment or practices. Having access to information around current funding programs helps producers make changes to move their farm – and the industry – forward. Here are two such funding programs that are currently available for Ontario farmers!
Resilient Agricultural Landscapes Program (RALP)
The Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program, commonly referred to as ‘RALP’, is still accepting applications for projects to be completed by December 2025. The program supports projects to help make our lands more resilient to climate change. Producers can get funding to implement projects like establishing warm season pastures. Warm season grasses experience optimal growth in the hot and dry months of summer, and can be an excellent addition to a grazing program. Producers can also get support for establishing or expanding water retention features like ponds that can be used for watering livestock or irrigating crops. Having the additional water holding capacity can help producers manage periods of drought by storing water from peak rain events. RALP also supports the planting of trees and shrubs to establish or improve shelterbelts and windbreaks to protect pastures and cropland.
The program can help with projects to support production, but there are also some great opportunities for unproductive areas of the farm. If you have marginal lands that are not ideal for production such as pastures or hay fields with low yields, or along stream banks, the program provides funding to establish grasslands or do a block tree planting. Areas that are wet may be ideal for establishing or expanding wetlands. Grasslands, tree plantings, and wetlands on marginal land not only help to turn those unproductive areas into long term carbon storage, but also create habitat for wildlife.
RALP also provides funding for projects like reducing tillage on annual cropland or establishing biomass crops like switchgrass.
The program provides a per acre payment to cover both implementation and the cost to maintain the project over a set time frame which can vary from four to ten years, depending on the project category. Farmers have to commit to that time frame by signing a land use agreement with the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA), who is delivering the program on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness. To apply, producers must have a farm business registration number or an eligible exemption, as well as a valid premises identification (PID) number for the farm property where the project will take place. PIDs can be obtained at www.ontariopid.com.
Special Provisions for Financial Difficulties
Farming is tough business – changing input costs and market fluctuations can make balancing the books a difficult process. For those that are experiencing challenges, there is help! Producers who are experiencing financial difficulties can apply for 100 per cent funding up to $5,650, to complete a farm financial analysis to help get their finances back on track. Examples of financial difficulties may include:
• Inability to make payments on time (e.g., loans, inputs, utilities)
• Lenders who have called in loans, reduced access to new/additional credit, or reduced current operating lines
• Significant losses in one or more successive years
• Requirements by suppliers for cash on delivery
• Financial hardships due to a medical condition or death
A farm financial analysis can provide producers with a review of their previous financial performance, an analysis of the current business climate, and opportunities to meet profitability and sustainability goals. The program may be a first step in addressing farm financial challenges early, and may compliment other initiatives like Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Farm Debt Mediation Program.
The financial analysis must be completed by a qualified, third-party financial advisor, who may be from your local bank or you can find an advisor in your area with the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA).
Applications are accepted on a continuous basis. A premises ID (PID) number is required to apply. PID’s can be obtained at www. ontariopid.com. The program is again delivered by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association.
Questions?
Both the RALP and the Special Provisions for Financial Difficulties programs are delivered by OSCIA. You can find additional information on the OSCIA program guide website at www.programguides.ontariosoilcrop.org or by contacting s-cap@ontariosoilcrop.org.
If you still have questions about your project’s fit, what other funding opportunities might be out there, or how to access these two specific opportunities, Beef Farmers of Ontario have welcomed a new staff member, Barb Caswell, to the team. Barb has taken on the role of Supervisor of Provincial Programs. Part of her role will be to help beef farmers navigate the many funding opportunities available and find the help needed to be successful. Barb brings with her almost two decades of experience working in the agricultural sector and supporting program development and delivery in Ontario. If you have questions about funding opportunities, you can reach out to her at barb@ontariobeef.com. OB
Consider Running for a BFO Director or Committee Position
The degree to which BFO can provide leadership in responding to industry needs is heavily dependent on the competencies and leadership of the BFO Board of Directors and committees. As a producer-driven organization, elected officials of BFO play a key role in identifying and prioritizing issues to better the Ontario beef sector, and provide direction in developing and advancing solutions to address a variety of issues in the areas of economic sustainability, animal health and welfare, food safety, environment, and domestic and export market development.
BFO is currently seeking nominations for various positions with the BFO Board of Directors, BFO Committees, and representatives to the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA). Candidates will be elected at the BFO Annual General Meeting (AGM) taking place on February 19 & 20, 2025 in Toronto.
Anyone interested in becoming a candidate for the BFO Board of Directors, Cow-Calf Committee, Feedlot Committee, or CCA positions must be elected as a voting delegate at their local annual meeting. Candidates must also be members in good standing of BFO.
Interested candidates are asked to submit their nomination form(s) and photo to the BFO office by Monday, January 20, 2025. Nominations will not be accepted after 4:30 p.m. on February 4, 2025. Nominations package and forms can be found on the BFO website at www.ontariobeef.com. For more information, please contact Charlene Yungblut at the BFO office at 519-824-0334.
Board of Directors
There are four elected positions open on the 2025 BFO Board of Directors. At the BFO Annual General Meeting, voting delegates will vote for the following director representatives: (1) Cow-Calf; (1) Feedlot; (1) Southern; and (1) At-Large.
Committee Members
There will be three elected positions open on the 2025 BFO Feedlot Committee and four elected positions open on the 2025 BFO Cow-Calf Committee, which includes one background position. The youth member on the BFO Research Committee will be elected by the Ontario Beef Youth Alliance the week prior to the AGM by electronic vote.
Ontario Directors to CCA
There are two elected positions open for Ontario directors to CCA. Nominees must be a member of the 2025 BFO Board of Directors, Advisory Council or alternate member of the Advisory Council. During the BFO Annual General Meeting in February, voting delegates will vote for two (2) representatives. The first available seat must be filled by a current BFO Director and the next available seat, and any subsequent available seats, will be filled by eligible candidate(s).
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility
BFO is committed to advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion in the agriculture sector, which includes ensuring our nominations practices are inclusive and accessible. We strongly encourage people from all kinds of diverse backgrounds to consider running for a leadership position with BFO. Should you require any accommodation measures to fully participate in our nominations process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs. Information received relating to accommodation measures will be addressed confidentially. OB
Make Your Herd Records Work for You
By the Beef Cattle Research Council
In beef production, genetics play a critical role in both management and profitability. Regardless of the size of your operation or whether you are a commercial or purebred breeder, keeping records is an important part of managing your herd genetics.
“Without accurate records you have no way of knowing whether or not your herd is improving or if you are simply going in circles,” explains Karin Schmid, Beef Production and Extension Lead with Alberta Beef Producers.
Today, producers are flooded with information as genetic tools and prediction accuracies are continuously improving. With all this information, it can be overwhelming to turn knowledge into breeding decisions that meet specific operational goals.
Keeping Records to Track Genetic Improvements
How can genetic selection help me achieve my farm goals? Which breeding system is right for my operation? What records do I keep? How do I use these records?
Collecting, maintaining and analyzing records takes a commitment, but the payoff is worth it.
It’s not enough to know which data to collect, you have to know how to use it. To assist producers with this process, the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC), in partnership with Alberta Beef Producers, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Canadian Beef Breeds Council, Maritime Beef Test Station and the University of Guelph launched a free Records for Tracking Genetic Improvements email course in February 2024. A new updated version was recently released in November 2024.
GLEN ISLAY HEADLINER
Thank you to all our friends and customers who helped make 2024 another enjoyable and successful year.
Sincere best wishes for a healthy and prosperous new year.
“This course provides a template that helps to ensure that the selection choices you make today will result in measurable progress for your herd in the future. The course helps you to identify the most critical records for your particular situation, taking some of the guesswork out of it,” Schmid explains.
Consisting of seven modules, the course covers topics including criteria for selecting breeding goals and breeding programs, understanding EPDs and heritability, using genetic records to inform culling decisions and how to use records to select replacement heifers.
A comprehensive course workbook provides guidance towards the practical application of concepts and information discussed. Those enrolled are also encouraged to input their own farm data through exercises outlined in each module, culminating in a guide on how to transform their herd data into information to help meet on-farm goals.
“No matter the level producers are at with genetic selection, this course provides value in goal setting and monitoring your decision-making successes,” says Sandy Russell, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Beef Breeds Council. “The true value is in how the course guides producers in a very methodical approach to tracking genetic improvements within their herd while still being flexible to the variable needs of beef producers.”
Work at Your Own Pace
Busy schedule? Don’t feel like you have the time to commit to this course? No problem! The course is designed to be “work at your own pace”. In addition, you get to pick the frequency you wish to receive the course emails - once a day for seven days, two-times per week for four weeks or one email per week for seven weeks.
The old adage “knowledge is power” rings true when it comes to tracking genetic advancements in a beef herd. Understanding the starting point of your herd will allow you to track improvements over time and positively impact your bottom line. Register for the free e-course at BeefResearch.ca/genetics-course. OB
OTM WAIVER AND CATTLE ENROLLED IN RMP
Please be advised that that temporary exemption to allow marketready animals over thirty months of age (OTM) to be eligible for Ontario Risk Management Program (RMP) coverage, a measure put in place in response to the labour disruption that occurred earlier this year, will not apply to any marketings after September 30th, 2024. Agricorp will be communicating with enrolled producers in advance of the Q4 sales report deadline of January 31, 2025.
As a reminder, OTM cattle (fed cattle and culls) are not eligible for RMP coverage and should not be reported on sales reports. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Agricorp or the BFO office.
INDUSTRY FUTURE
For over 60 years, the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) has been a tough and credible advocate and unified voice for the province’s 19,000 beef farmers, representing all sectors of the industry.
As an organization, BFO utilizes valuable check-off dollars, provided by its membership, to advocate in the areas of sustainability, animal health and care, environment, food safety, and domestic and export market development to help beef farmers and provide solutions to issues facing the beef industry in Ontario.
Take a look through the fourth edition of our Report Card to read about how BFO has used your check-off dollars over the last three years, and how we continue to use these valuable check-off dollars to move our industry forward.
While we have done our best to provide a high-level overview of activities, this summary is not exhaustive.
POLICY & ISSUES
• Responded to 57 resolutions brought forward by beef farmers from across the province.
• Prepared over 35 consultation submissions for government on issues and proposed regulations affecting beef farmers and the Ontario beef sector.
• Worked with the Arrell Food Institute to conduct a study on the use of community pastures to encourage cow herd expansion.
• Participated in the Veterinary Medicine and Beef Farming Sector Working Group to address the lack of access to large animal veterinary care in underserved areas of the province. A strategy document was formalized to guide our collective actions in response to this issue.
• Provided recommendations in response to the Veterinarians Act public consultation and supported the formal review of the Veterinary Assistance Program.
• Supported the proposal by the University of Guelph and Lakehead University to train 20 per cent more veterinarians annually with targeted recruitment from northern and rural areas through a collaborative DVM in Rural and Northern Community Practice Program.
• In collaboration with other livestock groups, investigated policy and program options that would help address deadstock pickup and disposal gaps in the province.
• Secured an increase to the claim threshold for reasonable care plans from five claims to 10 under the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program.
• Led consultations with the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association, the Ontario Livestock Markets Association, and the Ontario Livestock Dealers’ Association to develop a unified position on future amendments to the Ontario Beef Cattle Financial Protection Program.
• Co-authored a report outlining the rising rate of cattle condemnations in the province, specifically at provincially inspected abattoirs. In collaboration with Meat and Poultry Ontario, Veal Farmers of Ontario, and the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association, struck a working group with OMAFRA’s meat inspection branch to find solutions.
• Signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Solicitor General to formalize the working relationship between BFO Animal Care Advisors and Animal Welfare Services (AWS) investigators on animal welfare cases involving beef cattle.
• With our partners in the Ontario Agricultural Sustainability Coalition, commissioned a study on the economic value and impact of the Risk Management Program (RMP) in Ontario.
• Ongoing comment submissions on CFIA’s proposed traceability amendments to Part XV of the Health of Animals Regulations.
• Conducted a review of internal policies, as well as a review of our by-laws to assess compliance with Ontario’s Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA). Subsequently, our by-laws were revised in early 2024.
• Submitted comments to Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) to support the development of the renewed Beef Code of Practice of the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle.
• During the Cargill labour negotiations, submitted a formal proposal to government aimed to help producers cashflow their operations. Subsequently, an accelerated reporting and payment timeline under RMP, temporary acceptance of OTM cattle under RMP, and increased AgriStability interim payments from 50 per cent to 75 per cent were announced.
• Worked with OMAFA and Agricorp to address producer concerns on RMP file reviews most specifically related to Agricorp’s request for railgrade information on cattle sold on a live basis - a practice no longer being employed.
• Completed a strategic plan review process and launched our BFO Strategic Plan (2023-27).
• Committed member of the Agriculture Adaptation Council, Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef; Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario; Farm and Food Care Ontario, Livestock Research Innovation Corporation; Meat & Poultry Ontario; National Cattle Feeders’ Association, Ontario Agriculture Commodity Council, Ontario Livestock and Poultry Council; Ontario Forage Council; Ontario Federation of Agriculture; and Presidents’ Council.
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS & ADVOCACY
• Point of contact with key government officials on new regulations and legislation that may affect beef farmers.
• Hosted over 500 MPPs, legislative and bureaucratic staff at each of our Queen’s Park beef barbecues in 2022 and 2023.
• Facilitated over 150 meetings with MPs, MPPs and Senators to build support for beef sector issues and priorities.
• Participated in over 50 government roundtables, standing committee appearances, pre-budget consultations and committee receptions.
• Helped to secure over $300 million in federal and provincial funding commitments that support Ontario’s beef farmers and beef sector. Some of the funding was directed to building veterinary, processing and deadstock capacity in the province, as well as market development and trade opportunities for Ontario beef.
• Ongoing advocacy for increased investment in RMP –the single most valuable business tool for beef farmers and rural communities.
• Participated in pre-budget consultations, meetings with staff and members from Treasury Board, Finance, OMAFRA, the finance committee and the Premier’s Office on multiple occasions to advocate for increased investment in RMP.
• Secured a provincial investment of $2 million over four years to help augment our market development efforts to develop new brands and markets for Ontario beef both domestically and around the world.
• Along with CCA, advocated for harmonization with U.S. practices on SRM removal requirements.
• Attended the anti-carbon tax rally, the Parkhill Meats expansion announcement and the FTP rural economic development reception.
• Attended the Ontario Food Summit hosted by Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture to discuss food security and strategies to strengthen our food system.
• Attended the State Agriculture and Rural Leaders Ag Chairs Summit to meet with Minister Thompson and other influential agriculture leaders from across Canada and the U.S.
• Joined Minister Thompson and OMAFRA on their trade mission trip to Japan and Vietnam to build our relations in Asia and bolster the value these markets hold for Ontario beef farmers.
• In 2022, secured an increase in the loan limits under the Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program from $500,000 to $1 million for individual members and $1.5 million for corporations.
• In 2024, secured an increase to the provincial government guarantee under the Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program from $65 million to $125 million. In addition, loan limits for individuals and corporations were doubled.
• In collaboration with other livestock groups, secured OMAFRA funding (led by LRIC) to investigate policy and program options that would help address deadstock pickup and disposal gaps in the province.
• Ongoing advocate for the protection of grazing and pasture lands, including our active lobby against the proposal to allow up to three severances on agriculturally zoned lands under the Provincial Planning Statement, which was later repealed.
• Appeared before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food regarding electronic logging devices (ELDs) and our call for clearer language in the guidelines for livestock transporters and request for harmonization with the U.S.
• Along with our allies across the livestock sector, advocated and received increased flexibility with respect to ELDs and hours of service under the humane transport regulations to ensure animals are delivered safely to their destinations.
• Requested amendments under the Beef Cattle Marketing Act to modernize the check-off collection process and eliminate the current exemption on custom processing.
• Attended several meetings with MPPs and the Solicitor General’s office, as well as appeared before the Standing Committee on Justice Policy outlining our concerns with the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act and improvements to better align with beef production practices.
• In partnership with CCA, executed a successful lobby and Don’t Label My Beef campaign that generated attention from policymakers, the media, and the general public. The Government of Canada listened to our sector’s concerns and reversed the policy proposal on ground beef, a nutrient-dense protein.
• Along with CCA, advocated for and secured a federal commitment of $57.5 million over five years to fund a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine bank, and support for the development of emergency response plans related to foreign animal disease outbreaks.
• Worked with Senator Rob Black and MP Gerretsen’s office to develop a parliamentary petition to help expedite the RFP process to help re-open the Joyceville abattoir in Kingston.
• Ongoing advocacy and letter-writing efforts to defeat Bill C-282 (the Supply Management bill).
• Appeared before the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade to talk about the Canadian beef sector’s concerns with Bill C-282.
• Lobbied to obtain a more reflective grain corn to silage conversion formula under production insurance in response to a 2021 resolution, which was successful.
• Advocated for an increase in the interest-free portion of the Advance Payments Program (APP), which was increased from $100,000 to $350,000, and now at its current level of $250,000.
• Obtained an amendment to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Act to exempt feeder cattle under the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program from the Innkeepers Act to allow co-ops the ability to offer custom feeding agreements.
• Collaborated with other farm organizations to help modernize, in partnership with the government, the Agriculture Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO) Act.
• Joined the National Cattle Feeders’ Association (NCFA) to augment our advocacy work in Ottawa, along with our national efforts with CCA.
• Sponsored the Ontario Legislative Internship Programme and hosted interns on two farm tours to provide them with the opportunity to learn about beef farming.
PRODUCER EDUCATION & SUPPORT
• Delivered $575,000* to our local associations in support of producer and consumer education and initiatives through the Sharecost Program, and County and District Grant Program. * Includes estimates for 2024 due to time of publishing.
• Administered the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program, the Ontario Beef Breeder Co-operative Program and the Advance Payments Program, which support both expanding and young farmers.
• Attended various farm shows, producer events, and local meetings, both in-person and virtually, to support farmers.
• Helped address individual producer concerns on a variety of topics, like expropriation challenges, line fences act, municipal issues, land use challenges, implementation of regulations, age verification, funding applications to name a few.
• Hosted regional meetings to discuss looming issues in our sector including what BFO can do to help address them, and how we can best position the Ontario beef sector for growth and sustainability.
• Hosted three Cow-Calf Management Tours with a combined attendance of 175 individuals. The events focused on herd health protocols, best management practices, and grazing management.
• Hosted two Feedlot Management Schools together with the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association (OCFA) with a combined attendance of 200 individuals. The events focused on receiving cattle protocols, bunk management, and managing risk.
• Hosted an Ontario Beef Feedlot Market Security Forum together with the OCFA for 75 individuals to help stimulate discussion on strategies and market options the Ontario feedlot sector can use to improve market and price security, and to mitigate against escalating risks.
• Hosted a virtual meeting as a follow-up to the Ontario Beef Feedlot Market Security Forum called Hedging Strategies in Today’s Market, which had close to 40 participants.
• Ongoing support of youth development, including the administration of the Ontario Beef Youth Alliance (OBYA), now with over 250 members.
• Hosted three OBYA tours, with a combined attendance of 85 individuals. The 2024 tour included a partnership with the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders annual Spring Forum, which provided an opportunity for the provincial and national groups to network.
• Hosted the BUILD Leadership Program with the Rural Ontario Institute to provide beef industry leaders with practical governance, communications and advocacy training. 14 graduates successfully completed the program, and joined the previous 96 graduates of the program since it was first launched in 2012.
• Co-hosted three annual virtual Beef Symposium events together with the University of Guelph, and OMAFRA. These events had a combined registration of close to 400 people.
• Together with OMAFRA and the University of Guelph, hosted over 150 registrants for the Beef Day@Guelph and Calving School events to showcase current research, carcass evaluation in the University of Guelph meat lab, calving techniques and resources, as well as a tour of the Ontario Beef Research Centre.
• Along with OMAFRA and Ontario Sheep Farmers, hosted Grazing Cover Crops webinars and supported the Advance Grazing Sessions with the Ontario Forage Council.
• Offered the Ontario Beef Quality Assurance Rebate Incentive Program to provide BFO check-off paying members with a rebate on VBP+ audit fees. In Ontario, there are 482 VBP+ trained producers and 63 audited (active) VBP+ farms.
• Completed numerous VBP+ training workshops online and in-person, along with many speaking engagements at producer events like the Grey-Bruce Farmers’ Week, breed association meetings and post-secondary agricultural programs.
• Hosted a webinar with the bovine veterinarian community to increase the awareness of the VBP+ program.
• Conducted two presentations to Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) students in the Food Animal Club regarding Ontario’s beef sector, vet access, beef quality assurance, and the relationship between beef producers and veterinarians.
• Hosted a webinar to highlight RMP using producer examples on how the program works for cow-calf, backgrounder, and feedlot operations.
• Hosted a webinar with CFIA on the federal transportation regulations.
• Responded to 92 animal care complaints received through Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS).
• Provided Basics of Beef Production training to over 100 Animal Welfare Services inspectors.
• With Dairy Farmers of Ontario and Veal Farmers of Ontario, secured funding from OMAFRA to train staff in Incident Management Systems (IMS) and host a foreign animal disease table-top simulation workshop.
• Participation in the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Systems (CAHSS) Beef Network with academics, veterinarians and industry professionals from across Canada.
• Hosted a briefing meeting regarding the Cargill labour negotiations for 20 industry representatives (i.e. nutritionists, vets, salespeople).
• Issued over 750 daily reports and 156 weekly reports by recording, mail, fax, email and through the BFO website.
• Delivery of the Ontario Fed Cattle Price Reporting Program in partnership with Canfax, and distributed 156 weekly reports to program participants.
• Tracked statistical data to support Canfax in its analysis of national markets and trends.
• Provided daily voice-recorded market commentary and pricing on a number or radio stations.
MARKET INFORMATION
• Provided weekly market commentary and pricing to the Ontario Farmer publication and on radio stations.
• Provided industry and media with an accessible resource for market commentary and statistical data.
• Ongoing information resource for auction markets.
• Provided auction market spring and fall stocker sale listing information and holiday hours to members through the BFO website and Ontario Beef magazine.
RESEARCH & INNOVATION
• Through national check-off, BFO distributed producer funds to the Beef Cattle Research Council to support national beef, cattle and forage research and extension.
• Delivered $120,000 to the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC) in support of livestock research in Ontario.
• Funded seven new BFO research projects through the BFO Research Program all based out of the Ontario Beef Research Centre. Projects focus on forages, dairy crossbred calves, GHG and efficiency through genomic and practical innovations, and antimicrobial use and resistance.
• BFO committed to an investment of $645,000 over three years (2023-26) in beef research here within the province.
• Provided $25,000 in financial support for a beefspecific research kickstart fund with the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) and the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) to assist with ruminant health researcher recruitment efforts.
• Supported LRIC in speaking at their Farm Innovation Tour hosted at Gilbrea Farms for 25 academics and industry professionals.
• In collaboration with LRIC, hosted Dr. Charlotte Yates, President of University of Guelph, and Rene Van Acker, Dean of the Ontario Agriculture College at Schaus Land & Cattle Co. in Walkerton.
• Invested $15,000 per year for five years in the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) Living Labs project to advance the greenhouse gas and carbon sequestration goals outlined in the Canadian Beef Industry 2030 Goals, as well as supported additional projects that align with the environmental sustainability priorities of BFO’s Research Committee. We have three beef sites involved in the project with a focus on fall grazing cover crops and its impact on the following year’s corn crop yields.
CONSUMER & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
• Executed six major social media campaigns (2 BBQ Battles, 3 Local Flavour and 1 Ask Your Butcher Anything) that have collectively garnered 83,686,226 impressions and 3,734,728 engagements at the time of publishing.
• Garnered 226,848 visits to the Ontario Beef website (ontbeef.ca), and now have over 215 businesses listed on the site’s product locator.
• Executed a traditional PR campaign in 2021/2022 that garnered 152 pieces of media coverage and over 45,000,000 impressions (for context, our target was 15,000,000!).
• Ran six waves of podcast ads, which featured environmental, nutrition and social messaging. Ads were read by hosts including Conan O’Brien, Alan Cross and Kathy Kenzora and gleaned 5,843,000 impressions.
• Completed two editions of a high-profile influencer campaign that garnered 8,400,000 impressions, 4,500,000 video views and over 12,000 link clicks.
• Ran two video advertising campaigns on streaming services that garnered 14,300,000 impressions.
• Participated in eight Breakfast on the Farm events and a Source Local event, had a presence at the Canadian National Exhibition and Royal Agricultural Winter Fair each year, partnered with Samurai Media on a presence at Toronto Food & Drink Festival in 2023 and 2024 and a Chef Collective Chef Battle in 2022.
• Completed videos of each of the three annual Ontario TESA award winners and photo shoots at nine different farms in addition to a retail photo shoot.
• Created and published three new fact sheets geared towards consumers, as well as partnering with Canada Beef on a “Make the Most of Your Beef” guide. These pieces complement our other resources and recipe cards that we continue to have incredible and increasing demand for.
• Partnered with AgScape to create a curriculum-linked resource called An Exploration of Beef Farming in Ontario.
ONTARIO BEEF MARKET DEVELOPMENT - IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OCFA
• Commissioned a third-party evaluation on the impact and success of the Ontario Beef Market Development Program. It was deemed to be having a positive impact on the growth in domestic and export markets for Ontario branded beef.
• Signed a long-term agreement with the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association to make the Ontario Beef Market Development (OBMD) Program permanent.
• Ontario Beef was represented in major markets through trade events in Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa, Vietnam, Riyadh and Jeddah.
• Participated in major food events in Ontario including the Restaurants Canada Show, Grocery Innovations Canada, SIAL Canada and the Meat & Poultry Ontario Meating Place Conference.
• Hosted a number of incoming trade missions with existing and new customers from Japan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
• Hosted Kinsho Stores and Prima Meat Packers from Japan who are long-standing supporters of Ontario beef.
• Secured a restaurant chain partnership with Lone Star Texas Grill in Ontario and hosted a farm-to-fork tour for their staff.
• Participated in the Ontario Agri-Food Trade Mission to Japan and Vietnam with OMAFRA.
• Secured a new distributor partner in Vietnam (Qualifoods), Saudi Arabia (Tamimi Markets) and Ontario (Rowe Farms).
• In the foodservice sector, continued commitment to long-term partnerships with Flanagan’s Foodservice and Morton’s Foodservice.
• In the retail sector, continued commitment to Loblaw and their loyalty to the Ontario Corn Fed Beef brand.
• Developed a new Ontario beef brand with Bielak Farms Ontario Heritage Beef.
• Maintained active engagement with Ontario packers to provide market insights and technical assistance to enhance their operations.
• Developed Enjoy Some Local Flavour point of sale materials for retail stores and butcher shops and distributed over 150 kits.
• Primary sponsor of Ontario’s Finest Butcher Competition.
• Distributed the Ontario Beef Culinary Resource guide to students enrolled in the Fanshawe College Professional Butchery Techniques program.
• Provided culinary education and the donation of a meat case to the Chef’s Table Market located at Fanshawe College in London.
• The Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance (OCFBQA) program was certified as a Halal Compliant Cattle Feed Program. This certification provides market access for Ontario beef in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. OCFBQA is the only certified Halal cattle feed program in Canada.
• Published 15 editions of the Ontario Beef magazine that were each mailed to over 16,000 homes providing industry-relevant information for beef farmers.
• Issued 150 weekly e-newsletters to members and industry stakeholders covering current news headlines and upcoming events.
• Issued over 50 important industry updates to BFO members on current issues, programs and deadlines.
• Shared important BFO news releases, resources and opportunities through BFO’s communications channels.
• Completed a brand refresh, which included the launch of an updated website, digital assets, tradeshow materials and internal/external communication documents.
• Organized annual summer and fall meetings for the BFO Advisory Council and local presidents to provide a platform for discussion on industry issues and county and district concerns.
COMMUNICATIONS
• Coordinated three BFO annual general meetings, which provide a forum for learning, discussion and setting the strategic direction for the Ontario beef sector.
• Updated our resource guide to support event attendance by BFO and our local associations, and community and fall fair resource requests.
• Offered five online pop-up merchandise shops to promote the BFO and Ontario Beef brands.
• Continued to be a resource for industry and media who were looking for commentary on issues facing the Ontario beef sector.
• Engaged with farmers and the general public through a variety of social media platforms and have achieved a combined total of 27,000 followers on X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
• Achieved 940,000 visits to the BFO website (www.ontariobeef.com).
• Ongoing support for BFO county and district associations.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & PUBLIC TRUST
• Supported Feed Ontario in the amount of $140,000 to provide local food banks, families and children in need with a nutrient-dense source of protein (Ontario ground beef).
• Received the Paul Mistele Award, in 2022, in recognition of our Feed Ontario beef program.
• Supported Canada Beef’s Burger it Forward initiative by directing funding to our Ontario beef program with Feed Ontario.
• Delivered $120,000 to Farm & Food Care Ontario in support of building trust in food and farming, and agriculture advocacy.
• Provided $40,000 in support to 4-H Ontario for their Discovery Days and Career Impact programs, as well as cross bred awards provided to 4-H members.
• Provided $85,000 to AgScape in support of agriculture in the classroom efforts, and the expansion of beef education materials for teachers and schools. Funding also contributed to the translation of resources and programming in French language and French Immersion schools.
• Created a permanent DEI Committee of the Board that meets quarterly and helps maintain accountability.
• Participated in several industry-led working groups on DEI-related initiatives.
• Accepted over 10 speaking engagements and panelist requests about our DEI initiatives for a variety of groups, conferences and events.
• Completed an Indigenous Awareness course which provided valuable insights into how we might better establish and strengthen our relationships with Indigenous and First Nations communities.
• Board and staff participated in a virtual tour and debrief of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School located in Brantford.
• Made a $2,500 donation to the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund, who work to improve the lives of Indigenous people by building awareness, education and connections between all peoples in Canada.
• Coordinated an Orange Shirt Day fundraiser where proceeds from every shirt sold were donated to Water First Education & Training Inc. We are pleased to have sent donations of over $1,000 so far.
• Secured $11,000 in funding through the Sowing the Seeds of Wellness Initiative for mental health tools, resources and speakers for producer events.
• Ongoing promotion of the Farmer Wellness information and upcoming In the Know and Guardian Network training dates in the weekly Bull-etin e-newsletter and Ontario Beef magazine.
• Provided funding to support the production and film festival release of the Deeply Rooted documentary film that focuses on highlighting the mental health crisis in the agriculture sector.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
POLICY & ISSUES
57 RESOLUTIONS
35 CONSULTATIONS
BFO BY-LAW REVIEW
RENEWED STRATEGIC PLAN
MOU WITH PAWS
150 MEETINGS
50 APPEARANCES
$300M SECURED IN FUNDING
2 QUEEN’S PARK BARBECUES
&
1,100 PRODUCERS REACHED THROUGH EVENTS
482 VBP+ TRAINED
$575K TO LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS
250 OBYA MEMBERS
750+ DAILY REPORTS
156 WEEKLY REPORTS
156 FED CATTLE PRICE REPORTS
TRACKING OF STATISTICAL DATA
CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT
6 MAJOR CAMPAIGNS WITH 83M IMPRESSIONS & 3.7M ENGAGEMENTS
2 VIDEO AD CAMPAIGNS WITH 14M IMPRESSIONS
PR CAMPAIGN THAT GARNERED 152 PIECES OF MEDIA
226K WEBSITE VISITS EVENT PARTICIPATION
3 ONTARIO TESA VIDEOS
ONTARIO BEEF MARKET DEVELOPMENT
GLOBAL TRADE EVENTS DOMESTIC TRADE EVENTS HOSTED TRADE MISSIONS
SECURED NEW DISTRIBUTORS
DISTRIBUTED 150 POINT OF SALE KITS
HALAL CERTIFICATION FOR OCFBQA
COMMUNICATIONS
BFO BRAND REFRESH
15 EDITIONS OF ONTARIO BEEF MAGAZINE
150 NEWSLETTERS
50 INDUSTRY UPDATES
27K SOCIAL FOLLOWERS
940K WEBSITE VISITS
5 POP-UP MERCHANDISE SHOPS
7 RESEARCH PROJECTS
$120K TO LRIC
INVESTED $645K IN ONTARIO BEEF RESEARCH PROJECTS
INVESTED $75K (OVER FIVE YEARS) IN LIVING LABS PROJECT
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & PUBLIC TRUST
$140K TO FEED ONTARIO
$120K TO FARM & FOOD CARE
$85K TO AGSCAPE
$40K TO 4-H ONTARIO
INDIGENOUS AWARENESS TRAINING
ORANGE SHIRT FUNDRAISER
10 SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS RELATED TO DEI INITIATIVES MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
CANADA BEEF UPDATE The Season of Giving
By Gina Teel, Director, Stakeholder Communications, Canada Beef
December is the month of giving, which is why Canada Beef is working double time to ensure the third annual Burger It Forward will be the biggest and best giveback campaign yet.
Canada Beef is looking to provincial beef cattle associations to put a shoulder behind a final push to recruit enough participating restaurants to surpass the 199 restaurant-mark achieved in 2024. The call to action follows a busy recruiting effort this fall which, as of late November, had signed up 138 restaurants so there’s still some effort to be made to reach the goal for 2025.
Burger It Forward is a giveback initiative created by Canada’s beef farmers and ranchers. The campaign strives to support community restaurants and Canadian ground beef supply, while raising funds for food banks at local, regional and national levels. The 2024 campaign raised more than $67,000 for food banks and sold more than 59,000 burgers at 199 participating restaurants across Canada.
The 2025 campaign could use some help with restaurant recruitment in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island. BC Cattlemen’s Association answered the call by issuing a challenge to their committee members to see who could send in the most names of their favourite local burger-serving restaurants to sign up.
With the 2025 campaign set to launch on February 1, Burger It Forward organizers hope to complete restaurant recruitment by midDecember. Interested restaurants can sign up at burgeritforward.ca.
Overseas, the Canada Beef demand building road show to Japan and Korea got underway in November. The Canada Beef team visited five
Japan cities - Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka - during the first five days of the road show. Canada is recognized as a supplier of premium high-quality grain-fed beef and is Japan’s third largest source of imported beef.
The team hosted seminars and receptions for meat industry buyers and leaders, promoted the Canadian Beef Advantage (CBA) and supply options to Japanese buyers and influencers, met with Canadian beef importers, distributors and further processors and a retailer selling Canadian beef.
Canada Beef Vice President, Export Market Development, Albert Eringfeld was joined on the road show by cattle ranchers Crystal and Chad Ross from L-7 Land & Cattle Co. in Saskatchewan. As producers, the Ross’ provided a unique and important perspective about the Canadian beef industry during Canada Beef’s seminars and meetings with partners in the market. Eringfeld also thanked Canada Beef Japan’s local team and lead Ichiro Kiyotomi for their great work on organizing events.
Watch for more information about the Korean leg of the road show in upcoming column.
Canada Beef is always pleased to participate in the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, and this year felt extra special given the bonus of seeing a familiar ad from a Canadian Beef consumer campaign featured on one of the large digital billboards by Toronto’s Exhibition Place, where the Royal took place in November.
Continued on page 38.
Contact any of these breeders to arrange for a private viewing of cattle for sale:
3
RIDGE FARMS
Jon Bell 217294 Conc. 3 Owen Sound, ON N4K 5N5 519-378-4006 roundbale14@hotmail.com
ARCON CATTLE CO
Art Thompson, Jim & Connor Wiley 5174 Concession Road 4 Everett, ON L0M 1J0 Art 705-434-8582 Jim 705-734-7379 arconcattleco@gmail.com
BEE ZEE ACRES
The Zwambag’s 4140 Glendon Drive, Glencoe, ON N0L 1M0 Bill: 519-494-9613 Matt: 519-870-3219 beezeeacres@gmail.com
CROWN HILL ACRES
Craig and Michelle Kennedy 258 Sturgeon Rd. Omemee, ON K0L 2W0 705-741-6700 crownhillacres@gmail.com
DARLING FARMS
4172 County Rd 25 Castleton, ON K0K 1M0 905-375-4019 dmdarling13@gmail.com
GIBSON FARMS
Dave and Emily Gibson 2148 Concession 4, RR1, Ripley Ontario N0G2R0 Dave-519-357-6174 Emily 519-440-9907 gibsonfarmstrucking@gmail.com
CLARK CATTLE CO.
David Clark 2280 McCullough Rd. Port Hope, ON L1A 3V7 905-449-0149 clarkcattle1@hotmail.ca
LOYAL LINE LIMOUSIN
Brent and Vicky Black 82509 Loyal Line Goderich, Ontario N7A 3Y3 Cell: 519-955-1234 brentblack204@hotmail.com
SPARE TIME LIVESTOCK
Don & Donna Scott & family Oxford Mills, ON Don: 613-913-1579 Laura: 613-316-8728 sparetimelivestock@gmail.com
HILLSIDE FARMS
Ray and Stacie Stanton 4250 King Road, King City, ON, L7B 1K4 416-505-0707 rays@londonproperty.ca
AFTER HOURS LIMOUSINS
Rob & Erin Weppler 117078 Grey Rd. 3 , Tara, ON 519-375-6108 rob@gbtel.ca
LAKESIDE FARM
Wayne and Nancy Lawrence 263657 Southgate Rd. 26 RR#4 Durham, ON N0G 1R0 519-369-2806 lakesidelimo@hotmail.com
RAIL LINE FARMS
Paul and Brad MacIntyre 221 Bruce County Rd. 1 RR #3, Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0 519-528-2423 pcmacintyre@hurontel.on.ca
POSTHAVEN LIMOUSIN #7396 Sideroad #20, RR #2, Alma, Ontario N0B 1A0 John Sr - 519-766-7178 ejpost@posthavenlimousin.com John Jr - 519-831-1869 john@posthavenlimousin.ca
PINCH HILL LIMOUSIN
Paul, Brandon & Chad Homer Stittsville, Ontario Chad: 519-339-9659 Brandon: 613-978-0822 pinchhill@gmail.com
NEW LIFE LIMOUSIN
Justin and Melissa Burgess 261269 Conc. 18 Hanover, ON N4N 3B8 519-270-5415 new.life.limousin@gmail.com
SMART LIMOUSIN
Garry and Sheila Smart 137606 Grey Road 12 RR#2, Meaford, ON N4L 1W6 519-538-4877 www.smartlimousin.com
WINDY GABLES LIMOUSIN
Bryce & Nathan Allen RR #4, Warkworth, ON K0K 3K0 705-924-2583 nathana@alleninsurance.ca
YOUNG LIMO FARMS
Jim and Joe Young 601 Tara Road Ennismore, ON 705 755 6820 young_electric@hotmail.com
ANNA & ELISABETH STUDER 44390 Glenannon Rd Clifford, ON N0G 1M0 519 327-4489 anel.studer@gmail.com
BOULDER LAND & CATTLE COMPANY Ben Belanger 4510 Hwy 7 RR#1, Omemee, ON 705-875-0020 Blcccattle@outlook.com
BENNVILLE LIMOUSIN
Anita or Greta Haupt 613 Con. 14 RR #1, Hagersville N0A 1H0 Greta: 905-865-2529 haupt@xplornet.ca www.bennvillelimousin.com
SAMMERICH FARMS
Joost & Carolyn van der Heiden 8493 Rd 176, Listowel, ON 519-291-2507 cell 519 292-1171 jcvheiden@hotmail.com
Cows in the City: JC Cattle Co. Pastures Herd in Downtown Cambridge
Innovative farming meets community outreach as
Speckle Park cattle graze alongside the Grand River, sparking conversation and connection in the heart of the city
By Jeanine Moyer
The owners of JC Cattle Co. aren’t afraid to blaze their own trail, especially if it means pasturing their cattle right in the heart of the city and forming unique partnerships.
Earlier this year, Jonathan De Vries was searching for pastureland for his herd of Speckle Park cattle. Land was hard to find, so when he found a Facebook marketplace ad that led to an opportunity to partner with the rare Charitable Research Reserve, a part of the Grand River Conservation Authority, he said “why not?”
As a result, 25 cow and calf pairs were pastured right in the heart of downtown Preston, Ont. (close to the larger city of Cambridge), in the Preston Flats pasture that runs alongside the Grand River, a popular walking trail and a busy city bus stop. The pastured herd is affectionately known as the Cows of Cambridge.
“We’re always trying to do the right thing for our cows and the environment, so this collaboration just made sense,” says Christine Chalmers, co-owner of JC Cattle Co. “And the best part about the location is the unexpected community outreach and education opportunities that have come with it.”
Partnering for Success
JC Cattle Co. is made up of three friends who all share a passion for farming – Jonathan De Vries, Christine Chalmers and Morgan Kuepfer. Together, they manage their herd in Milverton, Ont. sharing roles and responsibilities that range from animal care and field work to marketing and managing the company’s online presence.
“We couldn’t do this without each other,” says Kuepfer. “As young farmers, it can be hard to get into farming, but we’ve learned that its okay to try a new approach to make things work.”
Admittedly, there have been times when the trio have felt discouraged when other farmers tell them their ideas won’t work.
“We like to do things differently, and the Cows of Cambridge is a great example of thinking outside the box,” notes Chalmers.
The lease agreement with the conservation authority came with specific guidelines about how the land can be used and where the cattle can and cannot be pastured. The pasture is also home to endangered species including the bobolink that lives in grasslands and adds extra precautions to land management.
Kuepfer says they did a lot of research to determine the best approach to protecting the wildlife while keeping the pasture and their cattle healthy. They were able to leverage grants to install solar powered water systems and electric fencing, and are grateful for the financial support, especially as young farmers in the early stages of building their farm business.
“Our goal is to keep the land and cows happy, so partnering with the conservation authority made sense,” says Chalmers, explaining they signed a long-term lease agreement with the conservation authority. “Promoting and following sustainable agricultural practices is also part of our focus for pasture and herd management.”
Since 2024 was the first year leasing the land, and they didn’t get access to the land until July 1, De Vries, Chalmers and Kuepfer spent the month of July fencing the 50 acres, developing a rotational grazing plan and installing water systems. They quickly realized one advantage of farming in the city, streetlights. In fact, they were able to work late and spent many nights fencing under the streetlights. The cattle were turned out on pasture in early August and remained on site until November.
Chalmers says one of her favourite memories was walking the pasture during the August long weekend while fireworks were going off in town. “It’s not too often cattle get a front row seat to a fireworks show,” she quips.
Community Raised Cattle
While some farmers might be hesitant to pasture their cattle near such high traffic, public areas, the JC Cattle Co. team embraced the opportunity. Chalmers says the first thing they noticed about the location was just how busy the streets surrounding the land were. So, she came up with the idea to create a community Facebook page titled Cows of Cambridge, where visitors could go for information about the cattle, ask questions and interact with the JC Cattle Co. farmers. Signs were also created and posted around the pasture and neighbouring bus stop promoting the Facebook page. The signs included the names and contact information for the farmers in case of an emergency or concern with the cattle. “People were going to see the cattle up close, so why not explain why they are there and what we’re doing?” says Chalmers. “There’s nothing to hide, so we opened the conversation to talk about beef farming and the Speckle Park breed for anyone who wanted to interact with us.”
but overall, the JC Cattle Co. team has been pleased with the experience of farming in the city and interacting with curious consumers.
Public response to the Cows of Cambridge has been overwhelmingly positive. The team has received comments on their Facebook page like ‘seeing your cows on my drive to work brings a smile to my face!’ and ‘I’ve never seen cows with those markings before’. The engagement is also an opportunity to steer traffic to their online store where they market their own beef and promote their displays at local farmers’ markets.
There have been a few minor incidents where stray dogs have entered the pasture, or visitors have been escorted out of the pasture,
When it comes to the day-to-day supervision of the cattle, an unexpected opportunity came to the team in the form of a family friend who is also a former beef farmer and lives close to the Preston Flats pasture lands. The gentleman volunteered to check on the cattle every day and provided updates via text messages. Chalmers says she’s grateful for the community approach to helping them manage their herd.
“We’ve learned a lot this year, and we are proud of everything we’ve accomplished,” says Kuepfer. “Our greatest take away is the importance of looking out for the next opportunity and being ready to take it. Cows of Cambridge is a great example of what can happen if you keep an open mind.” OB
RESEARCH UPDATE Engineering a Better Farm
Building bridges outside of traditional livestock research fields
By Lilian Schaer for the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation
Climate change, emerging diseases, changing societal expectations and an evolving regulatory environment are all big picture challenges facing the livestock sector.
They’re also topics Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC) is working to tackle on behalf of Ontario’s livestock industry –and finding solutions lies with innovation and being open to do things differently, according to the organization’s new CEO, Kelly Somerville.
“We are no longer just trying to be better or more efficient producers – that’s still important, but now, it’s also about reducing antimicrobial use or finding ways to reduce emissions and those are topics that go beyond the research and innovation capacity of a single livestock commodity,” Somerville says.
To chart these new paths, the industry needs to involve expertise from other sectors like automation, engineering, or computer science, for example, that can be applied to support the betterment of the livestock sector.
It’s attracted the interest of Dr. Mary Wells, Dean of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Canada’s largest engineering school with over 10,500 students and ranked in the top 50 globally for engineering and technology.
“The Engineering a Better Farm initiative aligns well with Waterloo Engineering priorities and expertise in teaching, experiential education, research and innovation,” she notes. “We’re interested in growing our connections with the livestock sector; there is good interest among our researchers to work more closely with agriculture, and key to this is building connections and networks.”
She was the keynote speaker at a panel discussion LRIC hosted in Elora earlier this year that explored how research from outside the agriculture sector could be used for the benefit of the livestock industry.
She was joined on the panel by Drumbo-area dairy producer Chris McLaren, Ontario Agricultural College Associate Dean Rebecca Hallett, and Darrell Petras, CEO of the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network.
Several years ago, this started LRIC down the path of fostering cross-sectoral research approaches and building relationships with scientists and experts not traditionally linked to agriculture who can bring new perspectives to the table.
Since then, this has evolved into the Engineering a Better Farm initiative, with LRIC working to learn what on-farm challenges could be solved with engineering while also starting to make connections with some of Ontario’s engineering schools to introduce them to possibilities offered by the agriculture sector.
“In some cases, technologies have already been developed at Waterloo that could apply to livestock and agriculture and could be targeted and modified to fit the needs of the farming sector,” Wells says. “It would be fantastic to see some of this work we do translate into livestock applications.”
This includes work in areas like robotics and automation, vision and imaging, data capture, wireless communications, sensors, artificial intelligence and explainable decision making, cyber security, logistics and supply chain management, remote monitoring, climate change and environmental sustainability, energy, air quality, biomedical devices, biomanufacturing, epidemiology and more.
Wearable devices can provide real-time monitoring of health indicators and could be expanded to include wearable medication delivery systems. Innovations in robotics will replace repetitive tasks to reduce labour costs and ensure consistent quality or delivery –such as of feed, for example.
Mary Wells from University of Waterloo with some students
Computer vision, video analytics and image analysis can support remote sensing by drones and satellites to assess field conditions and land use. Remote and wireless monitoring enables RFID tags and innovation in movement detection. Sensors can detect water leaks or monitor gas emissions.
And work in circular economy applications can convert plastic, crop and livestock waste into green bioplastics and biofuels like ethanol, hydrogen or biodiesel.
All panelists emphasized the need for researchers to work closely with end users – in this case farmers – to understand and evaluate approaches and solutions in the context of modern livestock farming environments.
“We’re
for businesses in the sector with technology-based solutions to offer co-op placements for students and using farm tours to introduce students and farmers to each other.
“We look forward to continuing to engage with LRIC and its members to build new networks, determine needs and create new partnership opportunities so we ensure that research results are practical and useful,” says Wells.
interested in growing our connections with the livestock sector; there is good interest among our researchers to work more closely with agriculture, and
For McLaren, having producers in the room that day was important to keeping the discussion grounded to practical solutions that can be applied immediately as well as longer-term, more blue-sky thinking – and he came away impressed with what could be possible.
“It’s important to make sure that we keep farm technology affordable, accurate and durable,” he says. “But what stands out in my mind from the day was Mary Wells asking how engineering students can be engaged and encouraged to look at agriculture as a career. I think there are so many opportunities with technology in agriculture that could encourage young people to consider careers in our sector.”
In terms of next steps, both McLaren and Wells believe it’s important that the industry continue to show students the opportunities and technology in agriculture. One way to do that is
Ryan William Leduc, o/a SD & G Custom Farming Napanee, Ontario
No Longer Licenced
Abattoir & Meat Packer
Quinn’s Meats Yarker, Ontario
Hilts Butcher Shop Ltd. Norwood, Ontario
The Ontario Beef Cattle Financial Protection Program is administered by Agricorp. The listing of licensed dealers is updated regularly and the complete listing can be found on the Agricorp website.
It’s a relationship LRIC will continue to nurture, along with outreach to other engineering schools, as part of its ongoing mandate to drive innovation in Ontario’s livestock sector.
“New approaches and initiatives like Engineering a Better Farm that expand our horizons beyond those of just our sector are what’s needed to help the livestock industry rise to the challenges of the future,” Somerville says. OB
Livestock Research Innovation Corporation is funded in part by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial initiative. This article is provided by LRIC as part of its ongoing efforts to report on research, innovation, and issues affecting the Canadian livestock industry.
Beefing Up Ontario’s Food Banks Ontario Beef Program Marks 10 Years
By LeaAnne Wurmli, BFO Director of Communications
ThisNovember marked an important milestone for Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) and its partnership with Feed Ontario, the province’s largest collective of hunger-relief organizations.
Feed Ontario represents a network of more than 1,200 food banks and hunger-relief organizations across Ontario. Through their network, they deliver millions of pounds of food across Ontario, serving more than one million people each year. While they work to strengthen and grow the capacity of the provincial food bank network, they also work to advocate for evidence-based programs and solutions to make ending hunger and poverty a priority in our province.
In 2014, BFO signed an agreement with Feed Ontario to develop an Ontario Beef Program that would deliver fresh Ontario ground beef to people facing hunger. Through a tender process, BFO’s cash donation is used for the direct purchase of Ontario ground beef from an Ontario processor, with the transportation generously provided by the Erb Group, another partner of Feed Ontario. To provide fair and equitable distribution of the beef, each year Feed Ontario rotates the receiving zone through their network of food banks.
Over the last ten years, BFO’s cash contribution to the program has totalled $360,000, supported the purchase of 127,045 pounds of beef, and provided 769,969 servings of Ontario ground beef for those in need.
“We understand protein is by far one of the most sought-after items by food banks,” shares Craig McLaughlin, BFO President. “With more and more people needing the support of a food bank, coupled with declining donations, it’s become much more important for us to
FOOD BANK USE
1,001,150 adults and children accessed a food bank in Ontario between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024 – an increase of 25 per cent over last year and 86 per cent since 2019-2020. Ontario’s food banks were visited a total of 7,689,580 times throughout the year, an increase of 31 per cent over last year and 134 per cent since 2019-2020.
DRIVERS OF FOOD BANK USE
Food bank visitors who cited employment as their primary source of income increased by 82 per cent increase over prepandemic levels and 37 per cent increase over the previous year.
Social assistance remains the primary source of income for the majority of food bank visitors with 30 per cent relying on OW and 29 per cent relying on ODSP.
A minimum wage worker needs to work 66 hours per week to afford the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Ontario.
FOOD BANK SUSTAINABILITY
38 per cent of food banks have reported having to reduce the amount of food they can give, and more than half worry they will not have enough food or funds to meet the needs of their community.
be at the table to help address food security and ensure all Ontarians have access to nutritious beef to help maintain a healthy diet.”
To help keep pace with demand and to account for the cost of beef, BFO’s donation has grown to an annual contribution of $50,000. During the pandemic, BFO bumped its contribution when we saw a spike in those needing emergency access to food through a food bank.
In addition to BFO’s relationship with Feed Ontario, the association’s local branches are also very committed to supporting their regional food banks and communities. Over the last couple of years, BFO has started tracking food bank donations through its annual Sharecost Program, and in 2024, the local associations, with support from BFO, provided over $47,000 in beef donations to local food banks.
“Feed Ontario is incredibly grateful for the generous support from Ontario beef farmers,” says Carolyn Stewart, CEO of Feed Ontario. “They have been an important partner over the past 10 years, providing 770,000 servings of locally grown and produced beef that Feed Ontario distributes to food banks across Ontario. Ontario beef farmers are making a significant impact in people’s lives by ensuring everyone has access to healthy and nutritious food. “
BFO has been fortunate to be recognized for our Ontario Beef Program with Feed Ontario on a couple of occasions. In 2015 and in 2022, BFO was presented with the Paul Mistele Memorial Award, which is named for the late farm leader who founded Ontario Pork’s Donate-A-Hog program in 1998. The award recognizes agricultural partners who have shown a significant and enduring commitment to ending hunger in Ontario.
MESSAGE FROM ONTARIO FOOD BANKS
“We are incredibly grateful for the generous donation of beef that we received. The ground beef we received made a significant impact on the families and individuals we serve. Protein-rich foods like beef are essential for maintaining health, especially for children, seniors, and those with medical conditions that require a balanced diet. The addition of beef to our pantry also assists with the meals we are able to offer and allows us to distribute more balanced meals, and the clients definitely enjoyed the meatloaf and spaghetti meals! Thank you for making a difference in the lives of those we serve. Your support helps to alleviate hunger and improve the well-being of our community members.”
- Roni Delleman on behalf of the Bruce Peninsula Community Food Bank
“Thanks Beef Farmers of Ontario – your donation of ground beef helps provide much needed protein to food banks to distribute and the versatility of ground beef in so many recipes helps to raise the nutrition level in our food hampers!”
- Myles Vanni on behalf of Inn of the Good Shepherd Sarnia
“The families who access the services of Chatham Outreach for Hunger were very grateful to receive this versatile food. Many commented on the importance of such a nutritional addition to their otherwise empty dinner table. Thank you for this tremendous gift.”
- Brenda LeClair on behalf of Chatham Outreach for Hunger
“As we head into the holiday season, we are truly grateful for our ten-year relationship with Feed Ontario, and we thank the Ontario food banks and their volunteers, VG Meats, Townsend Butchers and the Erb Group who have all played a role over the years in helping us to keep Ontario beef on the plates of those in need,” says McLaughlin. Unfortunately, hunger and food insecurity in Ontario is increasing. Earlier this month, Feed Ontario released their annual Hunger Report which cites that food bank use has been on the rise in our province for eight consecutive years, and this is the second year in a row food banks have experienced an unprecedented surge in demand. Ontarians are having trouble making ends meet, with more than one million people accessing food banks nearly 7.7 million times last year alone. To put this into perspective, one million people is greater than the entire population of Nova Scotia and means 1 in 16 people in Ontario have no choice but to turn to food banks to put food on the table for their families or themselves.
“People only turn to food banks after they’ve exhausted all other options – and yet over one million Ontarians still needed our help. This is the highest number of people on record, occurring at a time when donations are declining as more individuals can no longer afford to give. As a result, food banks are being stretched beyond their capacity and running out of resources at a time when people and families need them the most,” shares Stewart.
If you want to learn more about Feed Ontario and the Ontario Beef Program, read the 2024 Hunger Report, or perhaps make a donation to provide warm meals, fresh groceries, and hope to those struggling to make ends meet, visit www.feedontario.ca to learn more. OB
“The Palmerston Food Bank received a case of ground beef, which lasted about a month at our small Food Bank. Our clients mentioned that they were pleased with the quality of the ground beef they received, and the food bank was able to redirect those funds to purchase other protein products we are not usually able to afford. A win/win!”
- Deanna Martin on behalf of Palmerston Food Bank
“Our clients look forward to the visits when ground beef is available. We try to do it at least once a month and the shipment of beef from the Beef Farmers of Ontario allowed us one extra day of supply. The packaging made storage much easier.”
- Dave Lane on behalf of Hagersville Food Bank
“With the donation from the Beef Farmers of Ontario through the Feed Ontario Beef Program 2024, the Meaford Food Bank and Outreach were able to provide one package of beef to all the households that attend the foodbank on a regular basis. This donation allowed us to ensure that our funds stretched the entire year, with the increase in prices of grocery items. We thank them greatly for their support.”
- Amber Knott on behalf of Meaford Food Bank and Outreach
“Protein, especially meat is often seen as a luxury for our clients. The Beef Farmers of Ontario have our sincerest thanks in helping PortCares provide healthy, high-quality choices to the community.”
- Meagan Gallant on behalf of Port Cares
BFO accepting the 2022 Paul Mistele Memorial Award from Feed Ontario.
BFO presenting Feed Ontario with our annual contribution at our 2022 Queen’s Park Barbecue.
FOCUS ON HERD HEALTH
By Daniel Pecoskie, DVM, Metzger Veterinary Services
Making a List and Checking it Twice
How Record Keeping Can Bring Year-Round Cheer to Cow-Calf Producers
Over the calendar year, cow-calf producers carry out a range of seasonal tasks: calving and planting in the spring, pasture management in the summer, weaning and pregnancy checks in the fall, and feeding and bedding over the winter. Amidst all these changing priorities, record keeping is a responsibility that remains constant year-round. This essential task can drive meaningful changes and improvements to your operation.
In my experiences on farm, I have seen producers use a variety of methods to keep records. Some rely on detailed computer spreadsheets or paper ledgers, while others jot calving dates or treatments on wall calendars—or even the inside of a torn medication box. All systems have their merits, but if your goal is to make lasting improvements to your herd, a well-organized record-keeping system tailored to your operation is essential.
Why Record Keeping Matters
Good record keeping enables producers to track herd performance year to year and make data-driven decisions. It provides insights into financial costs and income and helps identify areas to improve profitability. Without a reliable record of past performance, it can be difficult to know where or how to make changes. Your record-keeping system should align with your goals for your herd, whether it’s reducing the number of open cows at pregnancy check or increasing the weaning weights of calves before sale.
To help evaluate your herd, below are some industry benchmarks, cited from the 2022-2023 Canadian Cow-Calf Producer Survey conducted by the Beef Cattle Research Council:
Industry Benchmarks for the Cow-Calf Producer
Ratio of cows to bulls 25 cows: 1 bull
Rate of open cows (not in calf) Less than 7% open
Body condition of cows at calving Body condition score of 3.0 out of 5.0
Length of calving season 63 days in length
condition can improve fertility, while optimizing bull-to-cow ratios can shorten the calving season. Once you establish goals for your herd, you can implement strategies with your veterinarian to work towards them.
Key Metrics to Track
One of the most comprehensive ways to evaluate herd productivity is by calculating the total weaning weight of calves raised divided by the number of cows exposed to the bull that year. This simple equation reflects on:
• Pregnancy rates
• Calf death loss
• Maternal traits such as milk production, cow body condition and genetics
• Feeding and pasture management
• External factors that can influence calf growth like weather or drought
Profit is driven by the pounds of calved weaned per year. By improving fertility, pregnancy rates, calf survival rates, and herd genetics, you can steadily increase weaning weights over time.
Additional Data to Consider
Keeping records on individual cow performance, such as difficult calvings, twins, udder and teat health, lameness, previous diseases, mentation/behaviour, drug treatments, and/or uterine or vaginal prolapses, can help identify which cows to consider culling from the herd. Similarly, bull health can be monitored by having your veterinarian conduct breeding soundness exams a few months before breeding to evaluate annual fertility and sexual health.
Calving distribution 60% of calf crop born in first 21-days of calving window
Death loss in calves Less than 4% death loss
Weaning weight 660-lb (in Ontario)
These benchmarks provide a foundation for evaluating your herd and setting goals. They can also help start conversations with your veterinarian about current practices on-farm that could be improved to help move towards your goals and optimize productivity. For example, reducing death loss in calves may involve introducing a scour vaccine pre-calving or using intranasal vaccination and immune supplementation for newborn calves. Similarly, monitoring body
For medication, maintaining accurate drug treatment records is critical for managing accurate meat withdrawal times. These records should include the following:
• Cow ID
• Drug administered
• Disease diagnosis (suspected condition)
• Drug dosage and route (IM, SC, etc.)
• Injection site (i.e. in the neck)
• Meat withdrawal period
CCA UPDATE
Federal Funding Announced for Several Industry Improvement Initiatives
Submitted by the Canadian Cattle Association www.cattle.ca
Tyler Fulton, Vice President of the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA), attended the Canadian Western Agribition (CWA), Canada’s largest livestock and beef cattle show, where the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and AgriFood highlighted an investment of up to $4,569,682 for four projects to the CCA. The funding is provided through the AgriAssurance Program – National Industry Association Component and the AgriCompetitiveness Program, two federal initiatives under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
During the event, Minister MacAulay also participated in a roundtable discussion with cattle industry leaders. The event provided the opportunity to gather cattle industry stakeholders and to celebrate the welcome funding announcements.
The largest of the four projects relates to beef sustainability and the work of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.
“The Canadian industry does more than talk sustainability. We measure what we do and how we can improve our environmental, social and economic impacts and benefits. This funding will help us to do that measuring, and bring more certified sustainable beef to market,” said Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Chair and Saskatchewan cattle producer, Ryan Beierbach.
Meeting Industry Demands
Good record keeping is not only about optimizing your operation. It’s increasingly important for meeting market and consumer demands. Quality assurance programs and premium calf marketing
The environmental benefits cattle provide are sometimes difficult to demonstrate. CCA’s Public and Stakeholder Engagement division developed a Guardians of the Grasslands video game to complement the short documentary for use in classrooms, and at fairs and exhibitions. The interactive game engages youth on the positive impact of grazing and pasturelands and the habitat it provides for many species.
Another project involves improving Canada’s on-farm beef quality assurance program, Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+). The program allows beef producers to prove to consumers, retailers, and industry stakeholders that their operations adhere to the highest standards for food safety, animal care, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship. The funding will help VBP+ continue evolving and reaching more producers
The final CCA project being funded is exploring technological improvements to forage insurance. The Grassland Production Index project is developing an interface for satellite-based information that aims to improve understanding of and delivery of forage insurance offerings. OB
programs often require treatment protocols and records along with standard operating procedures to qualify. Some programs are audited with veterinarian and industry oversight and review of records kept on farm. Similarly, producers buying calves for feedlots want to know vaccination protocols and prefer large uniform calf crops. Additionally, consumers are more interested than ever in knowing where their food came from, how it was raised, fed, and what drugs or treatments were administered. Record keeping can help you to market your calves.
Make it Work for You
The most important aspect of record keeping is usability. A system that feels difficult to maintain or time-consuming will quickly become a chore, so choose a method that fits your preferences and routine. Electronic systems like apps, spreadsheets, or software offer convenience and backup options, but don’t underestimate the value of simple paper records if they work better for you. Many producers start with calving notebooks to track essential information like cow ID, calving ease, and calf weights.
The key is consistency. Whatever system you choose, aim to collect data year after year so you can identify trends and make comparisons over time. Talk to your veterinarian for advice on recordkeeping strategies and resources to get started.
By committing to a record-keeping system that works for you, you’ll be equipped with the tools to evaluate your herd, make informed decisions, and set your operation on a path to long-term success.
Visit the Ontario Angus Association website for more information and to find listings of future Ontario Angus events: www.cdnangus.ca/ontario-angus-association from the
Contact any of the breeders below to arrange for your private viewing of cattle for sale.
Cairnlee Acres
Victor, Yvonne & Andrew Richardson
6193 Walkers Dr, Strathroy, ON Vic Cell: (519) 871-4240
Cambray Livestock Company
Luke, Matt, Joe and Carl Jewell 1153 The Glen Road, Woodville ON 705-934-2853
Fallis Land and Cattle
Mike, Lisa and Cole Fallis 1273 6th Line, Selwyn, ON K9J 6X5 705-740-4878 | sunsetacres@nexicom.net
2234 Conc 11, Nottawa, ON L0M1P0 705-715-2234 | doncurrie@glenislay.com
Loval Farms
Scott & Sandra Honey 127 Honey Road, Warkworth, ON K0K 3K0 705-924-3809 | lovalfarms@gmail.com
Harprey Farms
Allan Hargrave/Don Hargrave 307483 Centre Line A Proton Station, ON N0C 1L0 Allan 519-375-5541 | Don 519-375-1500 harprey@gmail.com
Maple Line Farm
Ian & Tim Rudkin 3320 Bradburn Road, Blackstock, On L0B 1B0 Ian 905-718-5331 | Tim 905-213-6518 maplelinefarm@hotmail.com
Meadow Bridge Angus JJ Deslippe
922580 Rd 92 RR # 4, St Mary’s, ON N4X 1C7 519-275-1739 | meadowbridge14@gmail.com
Rob Roy Angus
Don & Betty McNalty 634514 Road 63 RR#2
Singhampton, ON N0C 1M0 705-446-4740 | robroyangus@gmail.com
SCOMAC Livestock
Scott & Elizabeth MacDonald 4169 Highway # 6
Hagersville, ON N0A 1H0 Scott 519-820-1272 | Elizabeth 226-971-0015 scomaclivestock@gmail.com
Silver Springs Farm
James, Joan, Robert and Emily McKinlay 609027 12th Sideroad RR#1 Ravenna, ON N0H 2E0 519-599-6236 | jmckinlay@bmts.com
Tullamore Farms
Bill & Sylvia Jackson 260 Regional RD 39 Zephyr, ON L0E 1T0 Cell 647-990-2697 tullamore.angus@gmail.com
Whiskey Lane Livestock
Scott, Paula, Jason & Shelby Cornish 2295 Hwy 7, Indian River, ON K0L 2B0 705-341-3220 | wll@nexicom.net
Windcroft Farms
Darcy & Courtney McMorris 573333 Boot Jack Ranch Road
Priceville, ON N0C 1K0 226-203-4506 | windcroftfarms@gmail.com
Worth-Mor Cattle
Kyle, Rachel, Jordyn and Mason Petherick 950 County Rd 8
Campbellford, ON K0L 1L0 705-768-3560 | worth-mor@hotmail.com
Passers-by could be forgiven if they experienced a mild sense of deja vu when they saw the ad. As part of Canada Beef’s year-long ‘Pick the beef with the leaf’ consumer campaign, the ad was featured in the same location during the Canadian National Exhibition in August. That particular segment targeted the Toronto market and featured local beef producers and popular influencers to spread the message of sustainable beef production.
Canada Beef is involved in many activities at and adjacent to the Royal with a goal to engage consumers and future culinary leaders with the Canadian Beef Information Gateway (Gateway).
At the Canada Beef booth, the team engaged with consumers, home economic/family studies teachers, students, producers, and trade professionals. Attendees also had the opportunity to explore the Gateway via a new interactive screen. Consumers’ reaction to their Gateway interaction was overwhelmingly positive, and there was a lot of appreciation for the convenience and helpful information about all cuts of beef. The booth featured other interactive elements such as a prize wheel and colouring station to keep the kids occupied while parents chatted with staff about beef and the cattle sector.
Canada Beef participated in several culinary events during the Royal, including three Canadian Beef taste challenges, and sponsored the Chef Table Dinner Series that showcased local chefs and delicious Canadian beef dishes. The team helped host seven cooking lessons at the Chef’s Table where participants are guided by top Toronto chefs to cook beef in real time.
The Cooks the Books student cooking competition is another event with many opportunities for Canada Beef. The 2024 competition took place at Cirillo’s Academy in Toronto in October. The competition theme “Global Flavours Grow in Canada,” challenged student chefs from culinary schools across Canada to craft unique recipes that blend international inspirations with premium Canadian ingredients, including a special cut of Canadian beef selected from the Gateway’s Foodservice edition.
Taste Canada and Canada Beef to foster growth and educational enrichment within the Canadian culinary community. The competition provides the opportunity to reach culinary educators and students, and Canadian culinary writers with information about the CBA and promotion of the Gateway.
A Graded for Greatness virtual educational workshop hosted by Chef Mathieu Paré, Executive Director, Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence, provided Cooks the Books participants, college faculty and select industry professionals with an in-depth understanding of Canadian beef grading, its importance to chefs and optimal utilization in the kitchen.
Finally, on behalf of Canada Beef, please accept our best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season. Thank you for your continued support, and may the New Year be filled with peace, joy, and prosperity.
For detailed information on domestic and international market initiatives to increase demand for Canadian beef while ensuring the maximum value for producer dollars, please subscribe to Canada Beef
Merry Christmas from Canada Beef
OMAFA UPDATE
Feeding Wheat to Beef Cattle
By James Byrne, Beef Cattle Specialist, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Agribusiness
Wheat is not normally used in cattle feed rations because its milling properties make it desirable for use in breads, pastas and noodles, and the usual price of wheat makes it uneconomical as a cattle feed. From time to time, wheat can be competitively priced relative to other feed grains when there are quality issues from disease, drought or sprouting. Cattle producers can take advantage of this to substitute wheat into their cattle rations whether produced on the farm or purchased.
Wheat grain is an excellent source of energy and protein. Coarse ground wheat is high in starch and has energy values like corn, (TDN%, NEm, NEg), and is higher in protein compared to corn and other small grain cereals. Due to its higher protein content, red wheat varieties are useful in backgrounding rations. Research by Meadows et al, (2023), at Lethbridge, Alberta, demonstrated that steers fed high protein wheat gained four per cent more efficiently compared to the control as the higher protein helped grow more muscle. White wheat varieties, which are lower in protein, are more suitable for finishing diets. Wheat is low in fibre and its starch is rapidly fermentable. Consequently, wheat as a feed must be careful managed to prevent nutritional issues such as acidosis, bloat, and founder. Given its nutritional similarity to corn, wheat can successfully substitute for corn in beef cattle rations without any loss in animal performance.
access to forage, and wheat is limited to eight pounds per day for beef cows and five pounds per day for heifers. Wheat should not be included in creep rations as the risk of acidosis is too high.
Cattle must be transitioned onto wheat slowly with the amount of wheat in the diet being increased in small increments every three to four days. The transition period should be between three to four weeks. This will allow time for the rumen to adjust to the inclusion of wheat in the diet. Research by Fulton et al, (1979), showed erratic intakes are sometimes experienced by cattle as they adapt to wheat-based finishing diets. To minimize this, intake should be stable at each increment before moving to the next increment. In addition, practicing good bunk management has been shown to improve wheat intake. Adding buffers such as sodium bicarbonate to the diet has been shown to improve intake and performance.
Wheat must be processed before feeding. The energy content of unprocessed wheat is between 15 to 20 per cent lower versus processed wheat. This is mainly due to the very large reduction in starch digestibility of unprocessed wheat compared to processed wheat. Whole wheat has the advantage of being very safe to feed but there would need to be a significant price difference between whole wheat and corn to justify the lower animal performance. Dry rolling is a good processing method for most producers. Where the option is available, steam rolling is better as the addition of moisture reduces the amount of fines produced. Regardless of the method chosen, it’s important to grind the grain coarsely and avoid fines as much as possible to minimize the risk of rumen acidosis. Aim for a coarse roll where the kernel is only broken into two to three pieces.
Due to its rapid fermentability, the amount of wheat grain in the diet must be limited. As a rule of thumb, wheat grain must not make up more than 50 per cent of the grain mix for animals on a high grain diet where grain exceeds 50 per cent of the total diet, (e.g., feedlot cattle). Wheat as cattle feed is often considered in the context of cattle finishing diets, but wheat’s higher protein per cent compared to corn makes it a useful feed supplement for beef cows. Wheat grain can be fed as the sole grain to beef cows provided cows have free choice
Wheat that is economical as cattle feed has been discounted for some reason. As a rule, the reason for the discount does not usually affect the potential feeding value of wheat. However, low test-weight weight wheat, (less than 56 pounds per bushel), will have lower energy values, poorer animal performance, and lower feed conversion efficiency. Low test-weight weight wheat can be more difficult to process than higher test-weight grain as many of the smaller grains will simply pass through the roller unprocessed. The feeding value of sprouted wheat, mycotoxin infected wheat, (less than 12 ppm DON), frosted wheat or drought damaged wheat is like undamaged wheat grain. Note – mycotoxin infected wheat, (or any other grain), must not be fed to pregnant beef cows, calves, or cattle under nutritional stress. Ergot levels should be less than 0.1%.
In summary, wheat is not a traditional cattle feed grain, but there are circumstances where damage to the wheat grain allow for it. Wheat is an excellent substitute for corn being similar in energy and a little higher in protein. Due to its rapidly fermentable starch, wheat grain must be carefully managed to prevent nutritional issues such as bloat, acidosis or founder. Wheat from red varieties have been shown to be useful in backgrounder diets with wheat from white varieties more beneficial in finishing diets. Wheat must be coarsely processed, and fines kept to an absolute minimum. Some degree of tempering with moisture will help to keep fines to a minimum. Cattle must be transitioned to a wheat-based diet slowly over several weeks. Intakes on wheat-based diets can be erratic but this can be managed by ensuring intake is stable before moving to the next incremental increase and practicing good bunk management. OB
Sources available upon request.
Table 1: Nutritional Content of Wheat and Other Cereal Grains
Example of a variety of winter wheat. Picture provided by the OMAFA Field Crop Team.
TIBS SHORTHORNS
Pat Thibodeau
Georgetown, ON 416-319-1901 tibsshorthorns@gmail.com
Dec. 23 - Jan. 2, 2025 - Closed, but open for receiving cattle on Jan. 2nd
Jan. 3, 2025 - Stocker Sale and Regular Schedule Resumes
Maple Hill Auction Market
Ontario Livestock Exchange Inc.
David Carsons Farm & Auctions Ltd.
Dec. 17 - Regular Sale
Dec. 24 - No Sale, Closed
Dec. 31 - No Sale, Closed
Jan. 7, 2025 - Regular Schedule Resumes
Dec. 21-26 - Closed
Dec. 28 - Beef Cow & Calf Sale at 11 a.m.
Ontario Stockyards Inc..
Closed for the holiday season. Sales will resume in the new year. For more information call 519-379-1370.
Dec 17- Regular Tuesday Sale - Fed Cows, Veal, Sheep, Lambs, Goats
Dec 18 - Regular Wednesday Special Vaccinated Stocker Sale
Dec 19 - Regular Thursday Sale - Beef, Fed Cows, Stockers, Dairy & Bob Calves
Dec 20 - Office open 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Dec 23-26 - Closed
Dec 27 - For this date, call the office for details
Dec 30 - Tuesday Sale on Monday - Fed Cows, Veal, Sheep, Lambs, Goats
Dec 31 - No Sale - Office open 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Jan 1, 2025 - Closed - Barn ONLY receiving livestock
3 p.m. till 10 p.m. for Thursday’s Sale
Jan 2, 2025 - Regular Schedule Resumes
Dec. 16 - Regular Sale - Veal, Lambs, Goats, Sheep
Dec. 18 - Regular Sale - Fat Cattle, Cows, Bulls
Dec. 19 - Regular Sale - Stocker Sale
Dec. 20 to 22 - Closed
Dec. 23 - Regular Veal, Lambs, Goats, Sheep
Dec. 24, 2024 to Jan. 3, 2025 – Closed
Jan. 6, 2025 - Regular Schedule Resumes
Denfield Livestock Exchange
Dec. 17 - Regular Sale
Dec. 24 - Closed
Dec. 31 - Closed
Jan. 7, 2025 - Regular Schedule Resumes
Ottawa Livestock Exchange/ Embrun Livestock
Renfrew Pontiac Livestock
Dec. 23 - Regular Embrun Sale
Dec. 24 - Open
Dec. 25-27 - Closed
Dec. 30 - Regular Embrun Sale
Dec. 31 - Open
Jan. 1-3, 2025 - Closed
Jan. 6, 2025 - Regular Schedule Resumes
Dec. 17 - Regular Sale
Dec. 24 - No Sale, Closed
Dec. 31 - No Sale, Closed
Jan. 7, 2025 - Regular Schedule Resumes
Kawartha Lakes Community Sale Barn Inc.
Keady Livestock Market Ltd.
Dec. 14 - Regular Saturday Sale
Dec. 21 - Closed
Dec. 28 - Regular Saturday Sale
Jan. 4, 2025 - Regular Schedule Resumes
Dec. 17 - Regular Sale and Last Sale of 2024
Beef ring at 9 a.m. - Hog barn at 12 p.m. (noon)
Dec. 18, 2024 to Jan. 13, 2025 - Closed
Jan. 14, 2025 - First sale of the new year at 9 a.m., hog barn at 12 p.m. (noon)
Temiskaming Livestock Exchange
Dec. 16 - Regular Sale
Dec. 23 - No Sale, Closed
Dec. 30 - No Sale, Closed
Jan. 6, 2025 - Regular Schedule Resumes
Vankleek Hill Livestock Exchange Ltd.
Dec. 23 - Regular Sale
Dec. 25 - Closed
Dec. 30 - Regular Sale
Jan. 1, 2025 - Closed
TheMARKET INFORMATION UPDATE
By Jamie Kerr, Market Analyst for Canfax and BFO markets@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com
fed market continues to run on all cylinders. Steer prices have been above the previous year every week this year. The market had been fully steady through September and the first half of October, with a modest strengthening tone over the last six weeks (to the week ending November 25th). Fed steers are approaching $247/cwt live. In three of the last four years, fed steers either held steady or strengthened between October and December. Last year was the exception, with fed steers holding steady through the fall but softening in December. Estimated fed steer breakevens are on either side of $250/cwt live ($416/ cwt dressed) in November and December, climbing to $255260/cwt by the first quarter of 2025. Margins on the cash market (assuming no risk management) were positive in third quarter but turned negative to start the fourth quarter.
The Ontario-to-Nebraska cash basis weakened $10/cwt between September and October, to -$16/cwt, aligning with last year and was $7/cwt weaker than the four-year average. The Canadian dollar also weakened around 1.25 cents between September and October to US$0.73 making fed cattle exports more appealing. Fed cattle/cow exports have been responding to these market signals over the past six weeks (to the week ending November 8th) and while down 6% from last year, are up 30% compared to the five-year average. The Canadian dollar has continued to weaken in November, nearing US$0.71 and may encourage larger slaughter exports through November.
From the first week of October to mid-November (seven weeks), eastern Canadian fed processing volumes were 1% larger than last year, but 2% smaller than the five-year average. Over the same period, non-fed processing volumes were 18% smaller than last year and 13% smaller than the five-year average. Steer carcass weights continue to be notably heavier than last year. Over the last seven weeks, steer carcass weights averaged 983 lbs, 19 lb heavier than last year and 26 lb heavier than the
five-year average. Eastern Canadian cattle grading AAA or Prime had been inconsistently climbing since the second half of August, to be above 75% by mid-October. However, over the last four weeks, there has been a small dip, with AAA and Prime grading dropping below both last year and the five-year average. As of mid-November, 73.4% of A grade carcasses made either AAA or Prime in eastern Canada.
Canadian beef exports from January to September were up 2% in volume and down 1% in value from last year, at 367,600 tonnes valued at $3.6 billion. By market share, the largest destinations for Canadian beef are the U.S. (75%), Japan (9.4%), Mexico (6.2%), South Korea (3.1%), and Southeast Asia (2.8%).
Beef imports from January to September were up 9% in volume and up 18% in value from last year, at 149,000 tonnes valued at $1.6 billion. By market share, the largest sources of imported beef are the U.S. (47.2%), Australia (13.6%), New Zealand (12.1%), the EU and U.K. (10%), and Mexico (6.3%). Other than the U.S., most of the beef imported into Canada is lean manufacturing beef. With smaller domestic production (2% YTD), larger imports have helped maintain beef’s retail market share, keeping beef on the centre of consumers’ plates.
Cull cow prices have been seasonally easing since their summer peak but remain noticeably higher than both last year and the five-year average. In October, Ontario D2 cows averaged just above $160/cwt, 28% stronger than last year and 86% stronger than the five-year average. Ontario D3 cows averaged $133/cwt in October, 27% stronger than last year and 88% stronger than the five-year average.
Canadian auction volumes from the first week of September to mid-November were 13% smaller than last year and 8% smaller than the five-year average. Ontario auction volumes were just over 73,000 head, 14% smaller than last year and 13% smaller than
Continued on page 44.
the five-year average. Electronic sales during that time were 36% smaller than last year and 38% below the five-year average and were the smallest on record going back to 2013. Tighter supplies have contributed to an overall bullish tone for feeders this fall. Feeder steers under 600 lb have found significant tailwinds over the last five to eight weeks pointing toward optimism on the fed market in the first half of 2025. Steers 6-800 lb also strengthened over the last several weeks, but were more muted compared to their lighter-weight counterparts. Steers 800 lb and over moved inconsistently sideways.
In October, Ontario fed steers were at a $2/cwt premium to Alberta, but a $16/cwt discount to the U.S. Ontario 850-lb feeder steers were at a modest $2/cwt discount to Alberta, but were at a $4/cwt premium to the U.S. Ontario 550-lb steer calves were at a $5/cwt discount to Alberta, but were at a $13/cwt premium to the U.S.
Ontario corn prices have trekked higher over the past number of months, to $217/tonne in October. Corn prices have been below the 10-year average every month this year. The 2024
Canadian corn crop is forecast to be the second largest on record, behind only the 2023 crop year. The stocks-to-use ratio is 13%, fully steady with last year. The 2024 U.S. corn crop is forecast to be the third largest on record, behind only 2023 and 2016. The stocks-to-use ratio is 15.3%, the largest in five years. Historically large corn crops in both Canada and the U.S. may help to keep prices near the 10-year average, and support feeding margins. OB
BCRC’s 2025 Winter Webinar Series
This year’s Beef Cattle Research Council webinar series will cover topics focused on improving the health and biosecurity of Canadian beef herds based on practical, science-based information for Canadian beef producers and veterinary teams. Topics include needto-know information for Foot and Mouth Disease prevention as well as parasite control management.
January 15, 2025
9:00 PM ET
Foot and Mouth Disease – Don’t be a Richard
Speakers: Karin Schmid and Dr. Leigh Rosengren
February 12, 2025
9:00 PM ET
Foot and Mouth Disease – The Inside Scoop for Veterinary Professionals
Speakers: Dr. Geneviève Toupin, CFIA, and Dr. Murray Gillies, CAHSS
March 19, 2025
9:00 PM ET
The Ins and Outs of Parasite Management
Speakers: Dr. John Gilleard, University of Calgary, and TBD
It is recommended to register for the webinar series regardless of whether or not you can attend the live events. By registering, you’ll receive links to attend or watch the webinar recordings after the live events have ended. You also will receive event reminders and additional resources on each topic. Visit beefresearch.ca to register. BCRC webinars are available free of charge thanks to guest speakers who volunteer their time and expertise to support advancements in the Canadian beef industry and through the Knowledge Dissemination and Technology Transfer project funded by the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off and Canada’s Beef Science Cluster. OB
WEEKLY LIVE CATTLE EXPORTS-ONTARIO
BEEF EXPORTS – CANADA (AAFC)
LIVE CATTLE – CANADA (AAFC)
BEEF PRODUCTION – CANADA (AAFC)
BEEF IMPORTS – CANADA (AAFC)
CALENDAR Ontario Beef Industry Events
December 30 – Premier & Guests Falls View Production Sale, Listowel
January 8 – Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week, Beef Day, Elmwood, Ontario
January 9-11 – Beef Industry Convention, Best Western Plus Lamplighter Inn, London, beefindustryconvention.com
February 6 & February 13 – Virtual Beef Symposium
February 17 – Elm Tree Farms Online Bull Sale (DLMS)
February 19 – Beck McCoy Annual Hereford Bull Sale, Milestone, SK
February 18 – Cattle Academy, Hosted in conjunction with BFO’s AGM, Delta Hotels Toronto Airport and Conference Centre. To join virtually, visit www.ontariobeef.com
February 19-20 – BFO Annual General Meeting, Delta Hotel Toronto Airport and Conference Centre
March 15-16 – Harprey Angus Farms Spring Thaw Bull Sale
BEEF FARMERS OF ONTARIO PRIVACY STATEMENT
The Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) is committed to protecting the privacy and security of producers’ personal information in compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Subscribers to Ontario Beef magazine, the official publication of the Beef Farmers of Ontario, do so on a voluntary basis. By subscribing, subscribers are consenting to have their contact information used for the purposes of receiving the magazine and developing an BFO mailing list. This mailing list will be used for the distribution of the BFO magazine.
The BFO will not sell, trade or otherwise share its Ontario Beef mailing list under any circumstances. A service may be provided whereby items are submitted to the BFO and mailed internally with the magazine but all materials must be approved by and acceptable to the BFO. In rare instances where external, non-commercial organizations, like the provincial or federal government, wish to use the Ontario Beef mailing list to distribute information, the government must provide their mailing materials in a finished format to BFO and/or its mailing house. BFO will then coordinate the mailing, at the requesting organization’s cost, thus maintaining confidentiality of the list. In cases where the BFO may commission a mailing, the company providing the service is required to sign a mandatory confidentiality agreement.
Subscribers to the Ontario Beef mailing list who wish to have their names removed, should call 519-824-0334 or email info@ontariobeef.com. Please allow 15 business days to allow us to update our records accordingly.
BFO’s complete privacy statement, covering areas of information including the electronic update system, Website, membership list and market information can be viewed on its Website at http://www.ontariobeef.com/privacy.asp
SILVERTIP
WELLNESS ON THE FARM
Information provided by Lesley Kelly, Farmer and Co-Founder of the Do More Agriculture Foundation
How to Maintain Your Mental Health in Winter on the Farm
Winter months can take a toll on your physical and mental wellbeing. You may find yourself feeling more irritable, having low energy, or even struggling to do day-to-day routines or jobs on the farm. We may feel more isolated in the winter months in rural areas with more time spent indoors with less face-to-face interactions in the colder weather.
Maintaining your mental health through these winter months is important in supporting your overall health, safety and wellness. These tips can help you beat the winter blues and manage those negative feelings.
Get outside and exercise
Regular exercise is good for your body and mind. Even getting just 15 minutes of moderate exercise a day can boost your energy, help you sleep better and improve your mood. The cold weather doesn’t mean you are stuck inside. Get creative with ways to stay fit during the winter. Bundle up and go outside to take a walk and get some fresh air and necessary vitamin D. Exercise will reduce stress and help you relax, and spending time in daylight, even in winter, will benefit your mood. If you aren’t able to get outside, there are still many options for at-home workouts.
Attend farm/agriculture conferences and social events
During the winter, there are many farm-related events throughout the province. Attending events, whether they are conferences, workshops, concerts, or social gatherings, can have a positive impact on your mental health. They provide an opportunity to meet new people, expand your network, and foster meaningful relationships. Engaging with like-minded individuals in agriculture who share similar interests can boost your sense of belonging and reduce feelings of isolation or loneliness. By surrounding yourself with a supportive community, you can find comfort, share experiences, and gain valuable support, while also taking away some further new skills and insights from the presenters.
Keep up healthy eating and sleep habits
Eating a healthy, nutritious diet is a core component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Diets high in processed foods and refined sugar have been connected to worsening mood disorders, including depression. It may be challenging during the holidays, vacations and breaks, but focus on maintaining balance - fill up on healthy fruits, vegetables, and proteins.
Getting a good night’s sleep is just as vital. Lack of sleep has been associated with an increased risk of depression and other mental health effects. And a healthy amount of sleep can improve your mental and emotional resilience. A consistent sleep routine can help. Try going to bed and waking up on a consistent schedule and avoid electronics in the bedroom or watching television right before bed.
Keep up with your other appointments
Taking care of your mental health includes taking care of your overall health. Keep up with your regular dental visits, primary care visits, and any other ongoing wellness appointments.
Adopt wellness routines and practices
• Journaling: Writing is an effective way to gather information about your thoughts and feelings. Document the time of the mood or thought, the source of it, how intense it was, and how you reacted. You can also list the negative thoughts that occur and the positive thoughts you can choose instead, and keep track of the new thoughts and behaviors you put into practice. This helps you better identify, describe, and evaluate your moods and thought patterns, and in turn, better change, adapt, or cope with them.
• Relaxation and stress reduction techniques: Techniques such as deep breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, meditation, and imagery can help lower your stress and increase your feeling of control. Practicing these techniques during a distressing or stressful situation can break the cycle of those negative thought patterns and clear your mind so you can think more rationally and logically.
• Activity and hobby scheduling: When we’re stressed, pleasurable activities are often the first to go. This can be especially true during the winter months when it feels harder to get out of the house and be motivated. Intentionally taking part in activities that you enjoy reduces negative thinking and promotes positive emotions and wellbeing. Try scheduling the activities you’re likely to put off - going for a walk, working on a hobby, running an errand, or learning a new skill. By scheduling these activities, you’ll be more likely to follow through with them and, in turn, benefit from the positive feelings that come from doing the enjoyable activity.
Have a support system and stay connected
Studies have shown that having a strong support system and maintaining social interaction can be greatly beneficial in reducing negative mental health symptoms. Schedule regular chats with friends and family, reach out by phone or email, or even send a letter in the mail. Look for online book clubs, interest groups, support groups, or other communities to join.
It’s important to reach out to your support system and talk with those you trust when you feel like you’re struggling. Be open and discuss your concerns and how you’re managing them. These interactions, even virtual, can help build up your emotional and mental resilience. OB
In the Know was developed by a research team at the University of Guelph in 2019 In 2021, CMHA Ontario became the delivery partner for In the Know in Ontario.
What you’ll learn:
Awareness of mental health stigma in the agricultural community
Common stressors and mental health concerns in agriculture
How to identify warning signs of stress, depression, anxiety, substance use, and suicide
How to start a conversation around mental health
The importance of self-care of farmers were classified as experiencing moderate or high perceived stress1 of producers across Canada reported they would feel uneasy about seeking professional help due to what people may think2
Having conversations about mental health is important
Workshop basics:
Free to participate Uses agricultural examples
In the Know is appropriate for everyone who is connected to Ontario’s agriculture community!
Free to agricultural businesses and organizations, for groups of 5 to 30 people
3 hours of content
Virtual and in-person delivery options
Great offering for:
Boards of directors
Staff teams
Membership
Community members
of In the Know participants reported that their confidence in their ability to speak to someone about their mental health increased following the session
Individuals
Sign up for one of our monthly virtual workshops today! Open to producers, agriculture professionals and community members!
Groups
Request a private training for your group. Great for professional and community development!
1Briana N M Hagen, Alex Sawatzky, Sherilee L Harper, Terri L O’Sullivan & Andria Jones-Bitton (2022) “Farmers
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