Canadian Beef Industry Overcomes Challenges to Achieve Many Five-Year Goals

The Canadian beef industry has just released a Status Update of its 2020-24 National Beef Strategy outlining many goals attained while overcoming challenges in the industry over the past two years. The Strategy was developed by the Canadian beef industry to collectively capitalize on opportunities. The Strategy has provided guidance despite multiple supply and demand hurdles such as drought, feed shortages and post-pandemic recovery. The Status Update covers the final two years of the national strategy covering June 2022 through June 2024.

Today, the Canadian Beef Advisors, comprised of national beef organizations, are proud to confirm that several of the goals listed in the Strategy have been achieved including: 

BEEF DEMAND 

• Canada’s BSE negligible risk status was gained in May 2021, resulting in:
• Singapore removing all related restrictions.
• Japan fully expanded access to include processed beef products.
• Taiwan removed all remaining BSE restrictions.
• Canada's exports to Japan and Vietnam grew because of preferential access through the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP).
• The retail beef demand index in 2023 was the third strongest year since 1985.The wholesale beef demand index was the second highest year on record after 2015.
• The international beef demand index hit a new record high in 2023, with Canada exporting 496,917 tonnes of beef at $5.02 billion. This was the sixth year in a row of hitting record export values, reflecting the industry’s long-term investment in market access advocacy.
• Research by Public and Stakeholder Engagement (PSE) showed strong support for the industry and identified very few negative perceptions about production practices. This research guides the long-term strategy of PSE - to ultimately build public trust.

COMPETITIVENESS

• Regulatory progress included the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) approving feed additive Bovaer (3NOP) using a risk-based process that credited examinations of the product in other jurisdictions along with how it will be used.
• Livestock Price Insurance has expanded into Eastern Canada after several years of advocacy.
• Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) funding for the Vaccine Bank and Preparedness Plan has bolstered Canada’s biosecurity measures.
• A commitment to exempt producers from the Under Used Housing Tax reporting requirements was secured, and the Advance Payments Program limit for the interest-free portion was reinstated to $250,000 from $100,000.

PRODUCTIVITY

• The 2021 NBSA results showed that emissions intensity from beef is down 15%, halfway to the 2030 goal.
• Since the beginning of 2022, 87 new projects have started with Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) funding, addressing industry priorities including animal health & welfare, antimicrobial use, resistance & alternatives (24 projects), forage & grassland productivity (16 projects), feed efficiency (8 projects), beef quality (1 project), food safety (6 projects) and environmental sustainability (8 projects). Fourteen projects address priorities in Knowledge and Technology Transfer.
• Progress on the four pillars of the Canadian Beef Improvement Network Development Plan include improved data collection, beta pilot projects, increased resources for analytics, and expanded efforts to support genetic literacy and tool adoption. Utilization of genetic data for effective analytics and decision-making has become a priority, emphasizing data access, ownership, and security.

CONNECTIVITY

• Advocacy campaigns like "Don’t Label My Beef" and "Say No to a Bad Deal" garnered public support and influenced policy decisions.

Despite many industry challenges, such as rising energy and input prices, and food inflation reducing consumer purchasing power, the Advisors are pleased with the successes. The focus post-pandemic was to re-engage with industry and at international fora as in-person events resumed. “The beef industry faces rising protectionist international trade measures. Ongoing efforts in international fora, such as the WTO and United Nations bodies, are essential to ensure Canadian voices are heard,” noted Nathan Phinney, President of the Canadian Cattle Association.

The Canadian Beef Advisors is renewing the National Beef Strategy for 2025-30, which will be released in January 2025. This update will be aligned with the 2030 goals focused. “There have been positive developments recently with investments into packing plants. Producers are looking forward to seeing the pull for cattle that comes from this,” says Craig Lehr, BCRC and Chair of the Beef Advisors. “Continued research to support producer competitiveness in a higher cost structure is key to future expansion.”

The Canadian Beef Advisors consist of elected leaders and senior staff of the seven national beef organizations responsible for policy, marketing, research and sustainability. They are a diverse group of experienced industry representatives, responsible for advancing the strategy with industry stakeholders, providing recommendations on future direction and reporting results against strategy objectives.