July 2014 CATTLE COUNTRY 13
STRAIGHT FROM THE HIP THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING A FARMER
KEY POINTS • In 2013, FCC reported that the national increase in farmland value in Canada was 22.1 per cent; with Saskatchewan at 28.5 per cent and Manitoba at 25.6 per cent. • Manitoba agriculture second only to manufacturing in terms of GDP. • The average farms size in Manitoba has increased to 1,135 acres. • However, Canadians continue to source 30 per cent of their diet from imported foods. These small farms also use modern technology and innovation for further value adding, and are often social media savvy. Big farms are family farms too. Ninety eight per cent of Canadian farms are family farms so there is great intergenerational interest in science and technology, innovation and marketing power for the larger farm. The size of an average farm in Manitoba has increased to 1,135 acres. Manitoba and all Canadian farmers are savvy and open minded about using the benefits of research to enhance their production. These farms often contribute to commodity export, but that is changing now too with farmers investing in further processing and owning part of the food production pie. This is good news for Canada as we need to fill in the food trade deficit as the last outstanding line in an otherwise page turner of a story. We know that our marketing infrastructure is broken but that can be fixed. We know that we have a processed food deficit but many farms and firms are engaged in closing that gap now. More importantly, we know we have great land and lots of it, tremendous talent in our people, great consumers, access to science and technology, a license to export and an unlimited global client base. Life is good. The enthusiasm for agriculture that I have seen
Farmers wisely look at the low interest rates and determine that with a growing global population, the need for agricultural products will increase. worldwide, even in the poorest of countries, is just starting to germinate in Canada. What I have heard is farmers repeatedly expressing their importance to society. They have a direct thought line from the crop in the field to the food on the table. Farmers create wealth for a nation. You and I are
farmers, we are important and we are working towards the greater good of Canadian society. This is our story and it is worth telling! Brenda Schoepp is a Nuffield Scholar who travels extensively, exploring agriculture and meeting the people who feed, clothe
and educate our world. A motivating speaker and mentor, she works with young entrepreneurs across Canada and is the founder of Women in Search of Excellence. She can be contacted through her website, www. brendaschoepp.com. All rights reserved. Brenda Schoepp 2014.
PLACE YOUR AD HERE! PUBLISHED BY MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS
JULY 2014
Foreign Worker Program Changes Page 3
THE VALUE OF VERIFIED BEEF PRODUCTION
Connecting Youth to Your Farms Page 7
or water, Quebec and At- medicated feed She called it significant Ontario, vaccines, antibiotics or other KEY POINTS that a major restaurant chain lantic Canada. Producers must Producers may sign up medication. is starting to demand promedications • Stating in 2016, voluntary program keep records of duction standards for beef, for the McDonald’s will only a workshop and the way they were given A promise by one of the much as other food busi- after attending subcupurchase verified protocols. Betty (e.g. intramuscular, world’s largest fast food nesses have already done for on VBP water). or feed taneous, sustainable beef. proVBP sustainonly buy Green, Manitoba’s chains to pork and poultry. Green says this is genersaid able beef could accelerate • The company plans on “I think programs like vincial co-ordinator additional of mid-May, 2,513 ally not a lot of Canada’s Verified Beef Proconsulting with the verified beef are going to be that, as medicahad been trained work because duction program. industry on how to critical because, as consum- producers tions are often given to all Promising Vaccination The McDonald’s Corpodefine sustainable beef. ers and the public become and were working toward at one time (e.g. Technology Could animals 400 Another certification. ration recently announced further detached from farm one Eliminate Needles • Canada’s Verified Beef on-farm audits vaccination), so only that, starting in 2016, it will life, they need to have some have passed Treating Page 8 Production program now fully registered record is needed. begin purchasing “verified sort of verification for what and are already educates animals individually (foot sustainable beef ” for its our practices are and how VBP producers. requires producers about Green, who raises cattle rot, for example) iconic hamburgers. practices that influence we produce our product.” near Fisher separate records. However, McDonald’s says it will This is where the Verified with her family food safety. not difficult says much of VBP recording it is consult with the industry Beef Production (VBP) pro- Branch, now wear cattle all because producers sustainable Becoming certified most • what on defining gram, Canada’s national on- covers now will ensure doing on their some form of identification beef and establishing critefarm food safety program for are already a unique number. producers are ahead farms. Only now they are of- tag with ria for producing it. Then it beef cattle, comes in. VBP also requires profor it. of the game when will develop targets for purLike similar food safety ficially recognized record chemicals McDonald’s and other “This has not added an ducers to chasing verified sustainable programs for dairy, pork, and hermajor food chains, amount of work (such as fertilizer beef for its restaurants. chicken and other com- enormous require sustainable ” says Green. bicides) applied on pastures On its website, McDonmodities, VBP provides for producers, land. Green says grazing or satthe beef. they have ald’s promises to “listen, standard operating pro- “And now already of knowing they many producers learn and collaborate with cedures (SOPs) for man- isfaction keep records of chemicals stakeholders from farm to that are are registered verified beef said McDonald’s is agement practices sprayed on cropland, which ” producers. the front counter to develop manager, elimior if an animal gets the right approach by aimed at reducing VBP requires producers means that sustainable beef solutions.” taking risks on a grazes in a wheat with the industry nating food safety The company admits consulting to keep records of practices out and notwhat verifiable sus- beef cattle operation. food safety field, this can easily be there is not a universal about are verified through that influence SOPs going before is beef well. as farms. There are ed definition of sustainable tainable a third-party audit, thus cer- on their it. chemical, beef. Even so, it has al- ahead with operation under three areas of risk: “Will buyers demand it tifying the Physical physical and biological. ready started to draft prinI do not think the VBP program. Producers must record ciples and practices for right away? VBP is a trademarked before we put some physical objects that enproducing sustainable beef they can program that is owned by Chemical susanimal an what of around body the ter framework Any chemical substance through its Global Roundtruly means. That the Canadian Cattlemen’s remain there. Broken table for Sustainable Beef, tainability with given to an animal that and a lot of anxiety Association (CCA), affect food needles and wire fraga multi-stakeholder group word causes co-ordinators in could potentially are prime examples. in the industry because it is regional quality is considered a food ments launched in 2011. we need to de- Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Continued on page 2 risk. This includes Melinda German, Mani- so broad and Alberta, British Columbia, safety German said. toba Beef Producers general fine it,”
The next issue of Cattle Country will be out in September. Don’t miss your chance to showcase your products and services in this issue! Contact the MBP office for more information.
RON FRIESEN
www.mbbeef.ca
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There is a lot of excitement in Canadian agriculture today. From the tremendous increase in farmland values to food processing, Canada is a country that has it all! It is true that in all my travels, I have never met a person who did not want to live, farm, visit or be educated in Canada. The ultimate destination, we are considered one of the five bread baskets of the world. What makes up the fantastic business we call agriculture and what drives it? Our vast landscape may be seen as a bit of a handicap to us but it looks like a world of opportunity to foreign investors. As crop and livestock receipts strengthen, domestic interest in land is also fueled and that creates a competitive situation. Farmers wisely look at the low interest rates and determine that with a growing global population, the need for agricultural products will increase. This is also true for grasslands as the value of the carbon sequestration is part of the price. In 2013, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) reported that the national increase in farmland value in Canada was 22.1 per cent and the drivers in that increase was the Prairie provinces of Saskatchewan at 28.5 per cent and Manitoba at 25.6 per cent. I am not surprised as both domestic and foreign backed investors love the opportunity presented with a perceived virtually untapped resource. As a resident of Manitoba or Saskatchewan you may feel a little crowded but the truth is that you have more opportunity than any space left on earth. In Manitoba, agriculture is at the top of its game. Agriculture is second only to manufacturing in terms of GDP. Agriculture presents its share to the nine per cent of GDP and processed foods contribute to 35 per cent of all export shipments. Food and commodity products are primarily shipped to Japan, the United States, China, Mexico, Hong Kong, Russia, South Korea,
Germany, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, but a staggering 115 countries buy agri-food products from Manitoba. Although primary farming nationally is 1.7 per cent of GDP, Canadian farmers are backed by a food processing industry that uses 40 per cent of primary product and is the leading sector in terms of employment and GDP—greater than auto manufacturing! Food companies come to Canada, often settling in Quebec, to take advantage of our corporate system of taxation and they contribute to our trade. Canada is the sixth largest importer and exporter of food in the world, sending more than $40 billion of food product out the door each year. Yet, Canadians continue to source 30 per cent of their diet from imported foods. Our domestic wealth allows for Canadians to consume what they want and that is usually more than 3,300 calories per day each, or $181 billion per year collectively on food, drink and cigarettes. This is still less than 10 per cent of disposable income so the domestic market, although rich with calories, has room to grow. This growth is hampered by age and single resident households. On the flip side, the diversity within the country presents a great opportunity for stretching outside of traditional crops. This is particularly evident in Ontario, where ethnic diversity drives crop decisions. Ethnic demand and investment also contributed to Ontario farmland values, which increased by 15.9 per cent in 2013. Consumer demand comes from several camps. Farmers in Canada have responded and should be respectfully treated equally. A good part of farming is going back to the small farm model and basic production practises to capture the niche markets that exist. These farms are strong on relationships and are in the face of the consumer. They are often owned by young farmers or those in their fifties who are coming to the farm as a second career.
JEANNETTE GREAVES
BRENDA SCHOEPP
204-772-4542 ereimer@mbbeef.ca