The Business of Beef in Canada
The Business of Beef in Canada - June 29, 2023
What’s included:
Bus transportation for the day to and from Olds College, lunch and dinner
This full-day tour involves a look at two key elements of the Canadian beef industry —getting calves on the ground and then producing finished cattle for the marketplace — all with sustainable, environmentally sound and humane animal welfare production practices.
ANCHOR JB RANCH - This tour stop visits a south-central Alberta cow-calf operation, where the ranchers have spent much of their careers developing a sustainable, year-round grazing operation, that benefits the environment as it produces cost-efficient feeder cattle. Their philosophy in grazing management — it is important to build root systems and have good ground cover and litter to hold moisture in the soil and lose less to evaporation. Well-managed pastures (not overgrazed) will be resilient, and when drier times come, producers must be careful to not overuse them. Pastures that go into drought in good shape, and don’t get overused during the drought, will be able to recover.
CATTLELAND FEED YARD — The afternoon tour includes a visit to a progressive, well-managed 25,000-head capacity beef feedlot, that produces finished cattle for the market. Along with their own feeder cattle, they offer full-service custom feeding as well. The operation produces a range of grains and forage crops on its 12,000 farms.
Along with producing cattle for the market, the feed yard is also involved in ongoing research projects, evaluating beef cattle genetics for improved weight gain and feeding efficiency. Their commercial research involves exclusive and confidential trials to validate new pharmaceutical and feed ingredient products and other protocols to enhance weight gain, have a health benefit or reduce handling stress. The in-house component is geared toward improving efficiencies of Cattleland's feedlot, background and cow-calf operation as well as adding value for producer clients in the bull test program. Most of the in-house research is focused on residual feed intake.
INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS — As the ranchers and cattle feeders do their thing, behind the scenes are the Canadian beef industry organizations that deal with the politics, policy and marketing efforts affecting the agriculture industry. This late afternoon tour stop includes a look at the role of organizations such as The Canadian Cattle Association, Alberta Beef Producers, and Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence.
The day wraps up with a fantastic dinner featuring Canadian beef.
Schedule:
Tour Bus departs Olds College at 10 a.m. for several tour stops during the day, including lunch and dinner, returning to college at approximately 9 p.m.
