CANADIAN BEEF BREEDS COUNCIL NEWS
Making Advancements Through Collaboration Sandy Russell, CEO
It has already been a very busy year for the Canadian Beef Breeds Council (CBBC) with significant progress being made on our efforts to collaboratively advance the development of the Canadian Beef Improvement Network (CBIN), strengthen the foundation of our organization and increase overall value for our members. With these goals in mind, collaborative leadership, improved communication and increased industry engagement continue to be our drivers for success and the first few months of 2022 have already seen considerable achievements for CBBC in these areas. The Canadian beef industry has been notorious for its segmentation and independence – this has been both an advantage and a challenge for our industry. As CBBC continues to advance the development of the CBIN, a new level of collaboration has emerged. While our independent nature has built a strong foundation, there is no doubt that collaboration has the potential to increase innovation, build efficiencies and improve information sharing. Achieving tangible outcomes for all segments of the beef production chain will take many leaders engaged at many levels. CBBC recognizes this and continues to expand the engagement of our members and stakeholders to ensure success for all involved. As we have outlined on several occasions, CBIN has a four-step development plan to drive this transformational initiative forward to full operation that will unlock value across the beef production chain. The four-step plan is as follows: 1. Build the Data Foundation: Build an operational system that 30
will standardize data collection amongst participating Breed Associations (in progress and to be completed by March 2023). 2. Facilitate Data Linkages: Develop a cross-sector genetic data hub that will facilitate linkages of genetic data to traditional production metrics. 3. Translate Data: Create the analytical resources to assist in the translation of genetic data into informed decisions that allow increased value capture from conception to consumption. 4. Drive Adoption: Advance the understanding of the value of genetic data incorporation and resource utilization across the entire beef production system. Starting at the seedstock level, we have made unprecedented progress on working collectively to improve the capture of genetic data and build efficiencies within our processes. Along with a growing number of Canadian breed associations. we are collaborating to advance the first stage of development of CBIN and begin to better unlock the value of the genetic information these organizations collect. In early February, a data strategy and roadmap for development was completed and endorsed by the CBBC leadership. As a direct outcome of this strategy and in order to deliver on the first step of development for CBIN, the development of a Registry Portal is currently underway to standardize and unify the collection of genetic data across participating Canadian beef breeds. As part of the path to completion, a prototype of the CBIN Registry Portal was completed in March and we continue to move forward guided by the Roadmap for CBIN Development. With development of the Charolais Banner • May 2022
Registry Portal underway to fulfill our requirement for step one of development, we are shifting our focus down the development path to the broader industry and facilitating the data linkages which are required to unlock significant value from genetic data in all segments of beef production. While all components of development are critical for CBIN’s ultimate success, step two is the piece that has the potential to truly transform the Canadian beef industry and add value to our system. We recognize that this is no easy undertaking and will take unparalleled collaborative leadership with a diverse set of skills and experience, so we acknowledge that we must continue to expand engaged leaders and critical thinkers in the conversation. In December, CBBC held our Annual General Meeting and provided our membership and the industry with an extensive update on our activities and a plan for the year ahead. With a strong mandate and a lot of work ahead, the current Board leadership acknowledged the need for succession to build and evolve the support and engagement for CBBC and the transformational work that we are leading. As a result of this vision, several new Directors were elected to the CBBC Board. While our past Board members continue to play a strong leadership role for our organization and the entire Canadian beef industry, this transition has increased the number of engaged leaders in the conversation to advance both CBBC and CBIN. The current CBBC Board of Directors elected by the membership is: David Sibbald, Chair; Ken Friesen, Vice Chair; Kevin Blair, Marlin Leblanc, Amanda Matthews, Graham McLean, Hal Nixdorff, Kasey Phillips, ..continued on page 31
