Grass Routes

ABP Out and About

The AGM resolution debate results have been posted on the ABP Homepage www.albertabeef.org. Video clips of each debate will be posted by the end of the month, along with a video on the Environmental Stewardship Award and the Annual Report DVD that was shown at Fall Producers meetings across the province.

ABP will not be sending out a weekly update next week due to the holiday.

Reportable & Notifiable Disease Regulations

Dr. Brian Edge, Chuck MacLean, Stuart Thiessen, Dr. Craig Dorin (Cattle Industry Council), Dr. Eugene Janzen (University of Calgary Veterinary Medicine) and Reynold Bergen, ABP Animal Health & Welfare Manager, met with Drs. Ollis and Hauer from the provincial veterinarian’s office to discuss response plans for Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella dublin. They worked through a draft response plan and suggested some revisions that would help to deal with Salmonella outbreaks without posing an excessive burden on cattle producers. The response plan is being revised, and they hope to have an opportunity to review it again before it is finalized. Additional meetings are expected to work through similar response plans for “toxic substances”.

The list of provincially reportable and notifiable diseases under the Animal Health Act is now available http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/afs12455.

Reportable Diseases are those which require action to control or eradicate because they are a threat to animal or human health, food safety or the economy. For cattle, these diseases include BSE, Foot and Mouth Disease, disease caused by Salmonella Dublin or Salmonella typhimurium, and disease caused by any toxic substance that is a threat to animal or human health.

Notifiable Diseases are those which simply require monitoring for trade purposes, or to understand their presence in Alberta, but the provincial veterinarian will not take any action. For cattle, notifiable diseases include disease caused by all other strains of Salmonella, Lyme disease (or the presence of the vector Ixodes ticks), anthrax, anaplasmosis, bluetongue, Johne’s disease, vibriosis (genital campylobacteriosis) and bovine trichomoniasis.

Anyone who knows or ought to know that any of these diseases are or may be present in an animal MUST report that fact to the Office of the Chief Provincial Veterinarian within 24 hours by calling 1-800-524-0051.

Feed Grains and Forage Breeding Project

Stuart Thiessen, Charlie Christie, Reynold and Dr. Tim McAllister (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge Research Station) met with Drs. Jim Helm and Mary-Lou Swift (Alberta Agriculture Field Crop Development Center) and Alan Hall and Doug Walkey (Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund) to discuss a feed breeding proposal. The researchers presented an outline of how the plant breeders, feed evaluation experts and beef nutritionists will work together to develop potential new varieties with improved yield, disease resistance, and digestibility characteristics of particular benefit to beef cattle.

Agri-Environmental Partnership of Alberta

The Agri-Environmental Partnership of Alberta (AEPA) held a Board meeting this week. The AEPA is an inclusive partnership of government, industry, and public stakeholders working to address environmental priorities for the benefit of a profitable agriculture industry and a health environment. The AEPA currently has project teams working on Environmental Goods and Services, Environmental Market Opportunities, Manure Nutrient Markets and Biogas Clusters. ABP Finance Chair Doug Sawyer is on the Environmental Goods and Services Team, while General Manager Rich Smith is on the Manure Nutrient Market Team and sits on the AEPA Board as a representative of the beef cattle sector. As these project teams conclude their work early in 2009, the AEPA will be directing much of its efforts toward work on the new Land Use Framework.

Iowa Governor chosen for U.S. Agriculture Secretary

President-elect Barack Obama has named former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack as Agriculture Secretary. Vilsack has previously supported both positive and strongly opposed initiatives in the meat industry, and has been a supporter of alternative energy.

The former Governor has also shown an interest in cutting agricultural commodity crops subsidies to increase funding initiatives aimed at improving environmental practices.

Federal grants available for rural high speed internet

The federal government has offered up $9 million dollars in grant funding for the Rural Connections: Community Broadband Infrastructure Pilot Program. This pilot program aims to provide high speed internet to rural areas throughout the Foothills.

Municipalities, not-for-profit organizations and other groups could apply for grants up to $500 thousand dollars to fund projects that will work towards bringing high speed internet to rural Alberta.

4-H Scholarship recipients

One 4-H member from each of the nine Alberta Beef Producers zones who exhibits outstanding 4-H achievement, community involvement, and academic achievement received an Alberta Beef Producers Scholarship. For more information on the Alberta Beef Producers, visit www.albertabeef.org.

This scholarship is administered through the Alberta 4-H Program. For more information on 4-H, visit www.4h.ab.ca.

This year’s recipients are:

Breanne Barnes of Brownfield
Gina Grabler of Barrhead
Allana Minchau of Spring Coulee
Katherine Murphy of Wetaskiwin
Ashley Reinhardt of Strathmore
Jaylene Schussler of Burdett
Krystal Stulberg of Endiang
Trista Tesolin of St. Lina
Shannon Wesley of High River

Alberta Beef Producers congratulates this year’s winners.

New Canadian beef brand launched

Canadians love Canadian beef. Indeed, in a recent survey, 96 per cent of consumers expressed a preference for purchasing beef produced in Canada versus imported product.

Even when imported beef costs less, more than eight out of 10 respondents say they would buy Canadian beef. This consumer insight demonstrates an opportunity for a differentiated positioning for Canadian beef.

Based on extensive consumer research, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) and the Beef Information Centre (BIC), along with Canada Beef Export Federation (CBEF) and Canadian Beef Breeds Council (CBBC), have developed a global Canadian beef brand logo.

According to Lisa Mina, BIC executive director of consumer marketing, BIC intends to build brand identity through the use of the new brand logo across all markets – consumer, retail and foodservice trade.

“Combined with its brand attributes, the Canadian beef brand will provide a consistent, unified voice within Canada and in the United States, as well as other international markets,” she says.

An important element of BIC’s consumer brand launch campaign is to encourage Canadian retailers and foodservice operators to take advantage of the brand logo, and the tagline: ‘Canadian beef. Goodness in every bite’. The tagline was based on research that showed the greatest growth opportunity is among consumers who eat beef one to two times per week. This group represents almost 70 per cent of beef eaters in Canada, and persuading these consumers to eat beef more often has the most potential for maximizing market growth.

BIC plans to launch its new brand identity to consumers in the spring of 2009 with an integrated multimedia campaign that will include a trade marketing roll-out, recipe booklets, public relations and health professional communications. The multimedia campaign will focus on Canada’s light beef-eater, those people who enjoy beef one to two times a week, in the Greater Toronto Area. The campaign will incorporate radio, print and web outlets, and posters displayed in shopping malls and health clubs.

“The multimedia campaign will reinforce the positive attributes of beef in the diet,” says Glenn Brand, BIC’s CEO. “And the trade marketing roll-out will leverage consumer support and loyalty to Canadian beef with our key retail and foodservice partners.”

The positioning of the brand identity will include quality attributes and points of differentiation to position Canadian beef as strongly as possible within identified market segments.

“The good taste of Canadian beef is entrenched in consumers’ minds,” says Mina. “However, enjoyment of beef is inseparable from its perceived nutrition benefits. What they want are healthful reasons to eat beef more often.”

The new Canadian beef brand logo will replace the widely used Make it Beef logo.