Feature CAPI cont. from pg. 26 “Angus” or “Sirloin” burgers indicate a market for certain product attributes, and an opportunity to sell higher value beef. Traceability allows suppliers to communicate important information to consumers in a transparent and verifiable way, promoting trust in the Canadian beef brand. In Japan, this is mandated by law – restaurants must provide cattle identification numbers so diners can track the origin of their beef through a national website. South Korean retailers provide codes that can be traced to a farm of origin through a Smartphone. The Canadian beef industry’s traceability initiatives could be a cornerstone of a greater strategy, CAPI reports. McInnes says it’s not CAPI’s role to draft a comprehensive strategy, but it has developed a “road map” for such a strategy to follow. The map is in the form of a four-point cycle: Market Requirements are defined by Product Attributes; these are met by Collaborative Supply Chains generating Supply Capacity. Supply Capacity, in turn, satisfies Market Requirements. The road map is more than a production cycle, says McInnes. It demands continuous research, communication, and collaboration. Consumer expectations are in constant flux. The supply chain has to balance demand, on one hand, with the land’s capacity for sustainable production on the other. Collaboration must extend beyond the supply chain itself and include sectors that provide goods, services and information to the chain. And efforts must align with the strategy, goals, and objectives of the industry. The road map serves as “a template for discussion,” McInnes says, but CAPI’s case studies have shown that it works as a practical tool as well. He predicts that the road map “will prove itself through experience.”
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CAPI does not call for the establishment of a new organization to develop and implement a strategy, McInnes says, nor should it be a government-led project. It will fall to industry leaders to champion a strategy and convince other stakeholders to participate. A truly comprehensive strategy will function vertically through the supply chain, and horizontally across the beef sector and out to its stakeholders.
McInnes says that the conversation can begin before the leaders emerge and the strategy takes shape. “Everyone feels that they’re waiting for someone else to make a move,” he said, adding that this is not unique to the beef sector. McInnes says that everyone in the supply chain should be looking at how they can move towards the road map model, and talking about it with the next level up or down the chain.
While CAPI says the strategy must be led from within the industry, there is a role for government. Government should support industry-led change, perhaps by linking financial support to the development of a viable strategy, the report says. Government’s own strategies should be aligned across its various policy areas to create consistent support, and government initiatives should help to develop linkages among the road map’s four prerequisites, according to CAPI.
“ A big processor needs to be part of the equation, and a retailer,” McInnes says, but the process can begin with producers. “It has to start somewhere.” B (CAPI was established by the federal government in 2004 as an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit corporation. The beef sector study was financially supported by the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, RBC Royal Bank of Canada, and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.)
Foraging Into the Future Conference Times are Good……Let’s Make it Count! December 12 & 13, 2012 Sky Centre, Living Sky Casino, Swift Current, SK Tradeshow · Industry Experts · Producer Panels ·Networking Opportunities Producer Registration $100 · Industry Registration $150 Join us for a variety of presentations from producers and industry experts on livestock and forage topics ranging from herd health to wintering strategies and connecting with consumers.
Featured speakers include: Christoph Weder and Leona Dargis For More Information: Contact the SK Ministry of Agriculture at 306-778-8294 Or visit the Saskatchewan Forage Council’s website www.saskforage.ca/ and click on ‘upcoming events’.
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