The Gatepost is written and distributed by the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency. Below is a copy of the fourth issue. To receive future issues of The Gatepost, subscribe here. See past issues here.
Agency Update
The Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency (the Agency) was established to provide funding for market development, promotion and research of beef and beef products in Canada.
In 2014/15 the total national check-off dollars collected was approximately $7,664,602. Of this total, each province allocates a portion to Canada Beef, BCRC and in some cases to provincial activities related to research and marketing that have national benefit.
The collection of national check-off started in 1999 and in the last 17 years, a lot has changed in the beef industry. When factoring in annual inflation only, the purchasing power of the national levy has been reduced from $1.00 to $0.73.
Recently, the National Beef Strategy has been developed as a path to a dynamic and profitable Canadian cattle and beef industry. To accomplish this there are four defined pillars and strategic goals within the strategy over the next five years:
- Beef Demand: to enhance beef demand and increase carcass cutout values by 15%.
- Competitiveness: to reduce production cost disadvantages compared to the industry’s main competitors by 7%.
- Productivity: to increase production efficiency by 15% by focusing on genetic selection, research and development, technology development and adoption and enhanced information flow.
- Connectivity: address industry synergies, connections with the consumer, and the public, government and industry partners by addressing industry issues.
To achieve these goals Continue reading