This article was written by Dr. Reynold Bergen, Science Director at the Beef Cattle Research Council. It originally appeared in the September 28, 2020 issue of Canadian Cattlemen magazine and is reprinted with permission.
This
column usually features research projects funded by the BCRC. This month is a bit of a higher-level view of some of the BCRC’s other activities. Canada’s cattle and beef producers pay the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-off that supports the Beef Cattle Research Council, Canada Beef ’s domestic and international marketing activities and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s public and stakeholder engagement initiative. Provincial beef producer groups decide how the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-off dollars from their province are allocated among these three main groups.
projects. This allowed scarce producer dollars to be spread over more research projects. The BCRC also oversaw the Quality Starts Here program, as it evolved into Verified Beef Production and now VBP+. As beef producers gained more appreciation for the value of industry-funded research, some provincial groups began allocating more of the Canadian Beef Cattle Checkoff dollar to the BCRC. This was timely, as shifting public concerns created an increasing need for applied beef research in areas like antimicrobial resistance, animal
The evolution of the
Beef Cattle Research Council
By Reynold Bergen , Science Director for the Beef Cattle Research Council When the BCRC was established in 2001, about one nickel from each Canadian Beef Cattle Check-off dollar was allocated to research. That left the BCRC with a large mandate—to support forage, cattle and beef research and technology development across Canada—but a smaller research budget than some provincial beef groups. These constraints meant the BCRC had to be selective, focused and strategic. The BCRC selected research projects that provided direct benefits to primary producers, either through reduced production costs or potentially increased revenues. “Public good” research (e.g. animal welfare or environmental research) was left to governments to fund. The BCRC focused on funding research, but left extension to the provincial governments. The BCRC was strategic; knowing that a small industry investment could attract much larger government investments, the BCRC was careful to avoid fully funding
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welfare, environmental footprint and extension that the BCRC couldn’t afford earlier. The Beef Science Cluster program (a five-year collaborative funding arrangement between the BCRC and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) allowed the BCRC to get more involved in a wider range of forage, cattle and beef research activities, and to establish a technology transfer program to convert research results into decision-making tools for producers. The BCRC is currently managing its third and largest Beef Science Cluster.
In 2017, the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-off was increased from $1 to $2.50 per head marketed, with approximately 75 cents allocated to the BCRC. This has allowed the BCRC to do a lot more things, including: