Action NewsCanadian Cattlemen’s Association

• CCAVPfeaturedonMcDonald’s®Canadatrayliner

• CCAamongkeystakeholdersatglobalconferenceonsustainablelivestocksectordevelopment

• CCAappearsbeforeHouseofCommonsStandingCommitteeonEnvironment

• CCA2012Semi-Annual--agriculturaltourupdate

• Historicevaluationofresearchinvestments

CanadianbeefproducersmaynoticeafamiliarfaceortwojoiningthematthetableastheydigintotheirfavouritehamburgeratMcDonald’s.

CanadianCattlemen’sAssociation(CCA)VicePresidentDaveSolversonandhisdaughter,JoanneSolverson,arefeaturedonanewpapertraylineratMcDonald’srestaurantsacrossCanada.ThefatheranddaughterduoarefeaturedalongsidetheiconicimageofaBigMac,madefrom100percentpureCanadianbeef.

Thebeef-focusedtraylinerispartofacampaigntohighlightthequalityingredientsthatareusedtomakeMcDonald’sfood.

“Weareproudofthequalityofourfood,andwanttobetransparentabouttheingredientsweuseandwherewesourcethoseingredients,”saidJeffKroll,SeniorVicePresident,NationalSupplyChain,McDonald’sRestaurantsofCanadaLimited.

SolversonsaidheispleasedtobeapartofthetraylinercampaignforbeefasitraisesawarenessamongMcDonald’scustomersaboutthelevelofcareandattentionthatCanadianproducersputintocattleproductioneveryday.

Afourth-generationfarmfamily,theSolversonsproducebeefattheirranchnearCamrose,Alberta.Thefamilytakes

CCA VP featured on McDonald’s® Canada tray liner

In This Issue...

Volume 7 Issue 4 | June 4, 2012

Action NewsCanadian Cattlemen’s Association

Action NewsCanadian Cattlemen’s Association

greatcaretoensuretheproductionpracticesusedattheirranchproducehealthyandnutritiousbeef.

Asthelong-standingChairmanoftheCCA’sAnimalCareCommittee,Daveisactivelyinvolvedinanimalwelfareissues,includingtheongoingevolutionofnationalfarmanimalcareguidelinestoensuretheyreflectbestpractices.HewaspleasedtobeabletosharethatmessagingwithconsumerswhoenjoyCanadianbeefatMcDonald’s.

“CanadianproducersreallyappreciateMcDonald’scommitmentto100percentCanadianproduct,”Solversonsaid.

Thetraylinersareprintedon100percentrecycledpaper.TheSolversontraylinerwillbeusedthroughoutthesummeratMcDonald’slocationsacrossCanada.

CCAManagerofEnvironmentalAffairs,FawnJackson,participatedinamulti-stakeholderplatformmeetingintheBraziliancapitalofBrasília,todiscuss‘Restoringvaluetograsslands.’Theworkshopispartofalargerinitiative,TheGlobalAgendaofAction(GAA)inSupportofSustainableLivestockSectorDevelopment.

TheGAAisaninitiativeundertakenbyamultitudeofstakeholderstoaddressthegrowingchallengeoffulfillingtheincreaseddemandformeatwithlimitedresources.TheGAApremiseisthatasthedemandforlivestockproductscontinuestogrowgloballyitneedstodosointhemostenvironmentally,sociallyandeconomicallysoundmanner.

TheinitiativewasspurredbyarecommendationfromtheFoodandAgricultureOrganization(FAO)oftheUnitedNation’s(UN)CommitteeonAgriculturetohavetheFAOactivelyengageinaglobaldialoguewiththelivestocksector.FollowinginitialconsultationstheGAAoutlinedthreeinitialfocusareas:‘Closingtheefficiencygapinnaturalresourceuse,’‘Reduceddischarge:Towardszerodischarge’and‘Restoringvaluetograsslands.’

Appropriatelymanagedgrasslandscanprovidelargenaturalresourcebenefitsintheformofcarbonsequestration,provisionofwaterservices,andbiodiversity.Duringtheworkshopon‘Restoringvaluetograsslands’thetopicsofdiscussionfocusedonthetechnicalinterventions,policyandtheinstitutionaltoolsthatcanbeusedtooptimizethesebenefits.

JacksonsharedCanada’scurrentgrasslandstrategieswiththeworkshopparticipants.“Itisextremelyimportantthatallstakeholdersinthegloballivestockindustryworktogethertoachievesustainableoutcomes.Livestockproducersfromaroundtheworldfacesimilarchallengesandsharecommongoals.Weallwanttobeabletoprovideforourfamiliesthroughcaringforthelandandthelivestock.Itisourjobtoensurethatproducerseverywhereareabletocontinuedoingthat,”shesaid.

Someoftheproposedsolutionstoreturningvaluetograsslandsincludesharingofexistingdata,informationandexperiences,developingmethodstoappropriatelyvaluegrasslandseconomically,sociallyandenvironmentallyandcreatingawarenessthroughadvocacyontheimportanceandvalueofgrasslandstosocietalwell-being.

Jacksonsaidtheknowledgeandexperiencessharedattheworkshopwasofgreatvalueandwillgoalongwaytoformingasoundglobalstrategy.“Allstakeholdershadmanylessonstosharethatwe,asaglobalindustry,canlearnfromaswecontinueonwiththisprocess,”shesaid.

Nowthatthethreemulti-stakeholderplatformmeetingshavetakenplaceanofficiallaunchoftheGAAisexpectedforSeptemberof2012.

CCA among key stakeholders at global conference on sustainable livestock sector development

Volume 7 Issue 4 | June 4, 2012

Action NewsCanadian Cattlemen’s Association

TheCCAappearedbeforetheHouseofCommonsStandingCommitteeonEnvironmentandSustainableDevelopmentrecentlytoprovideinputonthedevelopmentofanationalconservationplan.

TheCCAwasamongadozenstakeholdergroups,representingthecattle,energy,agricultureandconservationsectors,invitedtoappearaswitnessesbeforethecommitteeandprovidetheirperspectiveonthedevelopmentofanaturalconservationplan.

CCAEnvironmentCommitteeChairLynnGranttoldthecommitteethatfarmersandranchersareconservationistsbynature,andthatgrazingisessentialforaproperlyfunctioninggrasslandecosystemtoremainhealthy.

“GrasslandsNationalPark,nearmyhome,reintroducedcattletotheparkafter20yearsofexcludingthismajorgrazer.Theirstudieshadshownareductioninbiodiversityandecosystemfunctionwithoutthemajorgrazeronthelandscape.Soeliminatingcattleisnotananswer;theyarepartofthesolution,”hesaid.

Approximatelyone-thirdofCanada’s160millionacresofagriculturalland,ormorethan50millionacres,isgrass.Granthighlightedthemanyopportunitiesforcollaborationwithproducerstoreachenvironmentalgoalswithinaworkinglandscapeunderanationalconservationplan.

FawnJackson,CCAManagerofEnvironmentalAffairs,addedthatanationalconservationplancouldalsoaddressthegrowingdisconnectbetweenconsumersandproducersthroughensuringthatyoungpeoplecomebackintotheagriculturecommunity.Havingyoungpeopleactasindustryambassadors--liketheydointheCattlemen’sYoungLeadersProgram--andhavingthemspreadthatpositivemessagingviasocialmedia,wouldhelpfillthatinformationgap.

TheCCAispleasedtoofferanagriculturaltouraspartofitsSemi-AnnualMeetingandConvention,whichisonceagainbeingheldinconjunctionwiththeInternationalLivestockCongress(ILC)inCalgary.

TheCCASemi-AnnualMeetingandConventiontakesplaceAugust13-17,2012attheDeerfootInn&Casino.Inadditiontotheagriculturaltour,theCCAalsooffersagolftournament.

AspreviouslymentionedinActionNews,theCCAhaspartneredwiththeCanadianBeefBreedsCouncilandCanadaBeefInc.tohostTheCanadianCattleIndustry’sAAAGolfTournamentonThursday,August16.Thetournamentoffersagreatdayofgolfandrelationshipbuildingwiththoseinthecattleindustry.Thetournamentwillbecappedat125players,soregisterearlyhttp://en.canadianbeefbreeds.com/index.php?page_id=76.

ThoselessinclinedtoworkontheirbackswingcanconsidertheCCAagriculturaltour.TheCCA`sagriculturaltourwillstartinHighRiverwithatouroftheCargillprocessingplantorWesternFeedlots.TheCargilltourislimitedto24participantsandregistrationswillbeacceptedonafirst-come,first-servedbasis.ThetourwillthenheadtoStavelyto

CCA appears before House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment

CCA 2012 Semi-Annual -- agricultural tour update

Volume 7 Issue 4 | June 4, 2012

Action NewsCanadian Cattlemen’s Association

InordertoevaluatethecontributionofresearchtotheCanadianbeefcattleindustry,theBeefCattleResearchCouncil(BCRC)isfocusedondefiningresearchindicatorsthatcanbemonitoredonanongoingbasis.Aspartofthat,ahistoricalevaluationofpastcontributionswascommissioned.

Itisimportanttounderstandhistoricalcontributionsinresearchtoappreciatethevalueofcontinuedinvestments,becauseresearchisaslowprocessthattakesyearstodeveloppracticalapplicationsoutofbasicscientificconcepts.Inmanycases,currentadvancementsinproductionarederivedfromresearchdoneseveralyearsago.

Therecentlycompletedhistoricalanalysisdemonstratesthattherehavebeensignificantgainsfromresearchinvestmentsoverrecentdecades.Researchhascontributedtotheindustry’sabilitytocompeteinternationallyandstabilizebeefdemanddomesticallythroughmanagementofinputcostsandaddingvaluetofinishingandprocessingsectors.ToviewasummaryoffindingsfromthehistoricalevaluationofCanadianbeefcattleresearchcontributions,visithttp://www.cattle.ca/action-news/2012/pdf/Historical_Evaluation_Summary.pdf.

Historic evaluation of research investments

CCA Action NewsStaff Contributors:FawnJackson,BrennaGrantWritten, edited and compiled by:GinaTeelandMatthewFrench

Formoreinformation,contact:CCACommunicationsatfeedback@cattle.caorvisitourwebsiteatwww.cattle.ca

Head office:Ste.310,67158thStreetNE,Calgary,ABT2E7H7Phone:403.275.8558Fax:403.274.5686

Ottawa office:1207,350SparksStreet,Ottawa,ONK1R7S8Phone:613.233.9375Fax:613.233.2860

visittheVJVLivestockAuctionandwatchademonstrationfromIntegratedTraceabilitySolutions(ITS)beforeheadingbacktotheDeerfootInn&Casino.InterestedindividualscanregisterfortheCCA`sagriculturaltourherehttp://www.cattle.ca/action-news/2012/pdf/CCA_Agricultural_Tour_Schedule_2012.pdf.

ThoseplanningonattendingtheCCASemi-AnnualcanfindapreliminaryscheduleontheCCAwebsitehttp://www.cattle.ca/action-news/2012/pdf/Semi_Annual_Meeting_Convention_schedule.pdf.ThoseattendingILCcanregisterontheirwebsitehttp://www.ilccalgary.com/html/registration.html.

FormoreinformationontheCCAagriculturaltour,visithttp://www.cattle.ca/action-news/2012/pdf/Additional_information_on_the_CCA_agricultural_tour.pdf.

Volume 7 Issue 4 | June 4, 2012