Feds announce $12 million in funding for Canada's beef industry

Ottawa announced an investment of $12 million to the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) to drive the growth of Canada's beef sector through research, innovation, and technology transfer while improving its environmental footprint.

Francis Drouin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food made the announcement yesterday at the Calgary Stampede.

The funding is being matched by over $9.7 million in industry funding through the producer beef check-off.

The money will move through the CCA to the Beef Cattle Research Council. with the research being conducted by BCRC and other research facilities across the country.

Dr. Reynald Bergen, BCRC's senior director says the projects selected focus on the federal government's priorities as well as industry priorities.

The federal government's priorities focus on Climate Change and Environment, Economic Growth and Development, and Sector Resilience and Societal Changes.

He says the industry priorities are more around how do you develop healthier, more productive and more efficient cattle and grasslands and feed.

"The way you improve your environmental performance, plan for the future, or improve economic growth is by making those slow steady incremental improvements in animal health, animal performance, and animal efficiency, and the same on the feed and forage side."

Research activities include reducing methane emissions through feeding strategies, breeding forages that are more productive and profitable, and developing technologies for faster response to emerging diseases

As a result of the combined funding, a total of 23 projects will be funded through the Beef and Forage AgriScience Cluster over the next five years.

To hear Glenda-Lee's conversation with Dr.Reynald Bergen on the announcement and what it means click on the link below,  in the weeks ahead they'll talk a little more in-depth on some of those projects funded through the Beef and Forage AgriScience Cluster.