Ontario Beef - May 2020

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE BEEF FARMERS OF ONTARIO

BEEF ON T A R I O

ONTARIO BEEF MARKET DEVELOPMENT UPDATE • TAKING TIME TO BE GRATEFUL • RETHINKING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT • MAY 2020

Challenging

Times

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OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE BEEF FARMERS OF ONTARIO

BEEF ONTARIO

May 2020

Volume 61, Number 2

COMPLIMENTARY MEMBER SUPPORTED PUBLICATION

CONTENTS 4

Ahead of the Heard

5

Connecting with Consumers

6

The Beef Beat

8

Between You, Me and the Fence Post

12

10 Rural Ramble 12 A Look Back at BFO’s 2020 AGM 14 A Spoonful of Yeast Has Big Impact on Cattle 16 Focus on Herd Health: Rethinking the Fundamentals of Health Management 18 Farm & Food Care Ontario Update

ON THE COVER

20 AgSights Update 22 Grassland Birds: The Hidden Bird Life in the Grass 24 CCA Update 26 Biosecurity Tips for Beef Farmers 27 Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency Update 28 Ontario Beef Market Development Update 30 Canada Beef Update 32 OMAFRA Update

16 We’re all in this together. Throughout the pages of this Ontario Beef edition you’ll find industry updates on the COVID-19 situation, services to reach out to for help through these challenging times, suggestions on how to economize and increase efficiencies in your beef operation and an overall message that we will persevere through these unprecedented times together. Every farm will feel the effect of this pandemic, and as we manage our herds and businesses through the uncertainties, remember to take the time to enjoy the things that make beef farming unique – spring calves, that first day when the cows go out to pasture and the feeling of accomplishment when the sun sets after a day’s work. Together, we’ll make it through this.

36 Market Information

Don’t miss out on submitting your photos for our August 2020 issue. Please send your summer inspired photos by July 15 to be considered for the cover.

42 Wellness on the Farm

Digital photos that are at least 300dpi are preferred and can be emailed to info@ontariobeef.com.

ONTARIO BEEF • Beef Farmers of Ontario 130 Malcolm Road, Guelph, ON N1K 1B1 • Phone: 519-824-0334 • Toll Free (for Ontario callers only) 1-866-370-BEEF (2333) Fax: 519-824-9101 • info@ontariobeef.com EDITOR Jennifer Kyle CIRCULATION COORDINATOR Bethany Storey ADVERTISING MANAGER Cathy Lasby, Preferred Agri-Marketing Services Guelph, ON Phone: 519-763-8833 • Fax: 519-763-8833 pams@sentex.net DESIGN and LAYOUT Prism Studios Advertising and Design Inc. Guelph, ON PRODUCTION and PRINTING Beck’s Printing Services, Brantford, ON

PROVIDING A FORUM FOR THE ONTARIO BEEF INDUSTRY Ontario Beef is the official publication of the Beef Farmers of Ontario. Contents of this publication may be reproduced only by permission of the Editor and with credit acknowledged.

Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and/or editor and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Beef Farmers of Ontario. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement or approval by Ontario Beef or the Beef Farmers of Ontario of products or services advertised.

Advertising deadlines are January 10, April 15, July 15, September 15 and November 15. The publisher reserves the right to refuse or cancel any advertising, including advertising that is inconsistent with BFO’s Sponsorship Policy, available at www.ontariobeef.com. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published, however no responsibility can be assumed for advertising not received in clear, type-written form.

C an adi an P u b l i c a t i o n s M a i l P r o d u c t S a l es A g r eem en t Nu m b er 0 0 4 0 0 0 7 0 2 9 POSTMASTER: Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Beef Farmers of Ontario, 130 Malcolm Road, Guelph, ON N1K 1B1

AHEAD OF THE HEARD

By Rob Lipsett, BFO President info@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com

Finding a Positive in a Pandemic I

n February, I was named BFO president for 2020. It is with great honour and the utmost pleasure that I assume this role. The sense of responsibility and appreciation that comes with this role is not lost on me, and I look forward to representing you, the producer, and everything you do.

To kick off 2020 and my new role, I sat with BFO Executive Director Richard Horne and Vice President Jack Chaffe to outline my priorities and goals for the coming year. Although they seemed ambitious, they appeared achievable. But then overnight those priorities and goals changed in mid-March. Some of those goals and priorities became urgent and even went hand-in-hand as we began dealing with the COVID-19 situation and industry issues that arose.

Every beef farmer in Ontario will be impacted by the pandemic situation in one way or another. And while it’s easy to dwell on the challenges and negative implications of this health crisis, I’m choosing to look for the silver linings and positive outcomes that are arising from this unprecedented situation.

The first of our positive outcomes is the government attention our industry is getting. We’re having conversations about government programs that we’ve never had before – we knew many of the programs weren’t working, and now government is seeing that for themselves.

The Risk Management Program (RMP) has plenty of room for improvement, and government is realizing that this insurance program is currently underfunded and needs changes. BFO has been actively engaging with government staff and elected representatives, making program recommendations to assist our members through the COVID-19 situation. We’ve asked the federal government to work with our provincial government and remove the cap on the RMP program.

We’ve also asked for a Canadian cattle set-aside program for fed cattle and cull cows to help manage processing volumes in the event of a processing interruption or border closure.

BFO BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2019 Rob Lipsett (Background Director) - President Phone: 519-371-9850 • Email: lipsettrob@yahoo.ca Jack Chaffe (Feedlot Director) - Vice-President Phone: 519-348-4607 • Email: jdchaffe@quadro.net Don Badour (Cow-Calf Director) Phone: 613-762-2161 • Email: don.badour@ripnet.com Jason Reid (Cow-Calf Director) Phone: 807-935-3224 • Email: reidridgefarm@tbaytel.net Don Hargrave (Cow-Calf Director) Phone: 519-375-1500 • Email: dchargrave@gmail.com Joe Dickenson (Feedlot Director) Phone: 519-312-0454 • Email: joe@dickensonfarms.com David Millsap (Feedlot Director) Phone: 705-828-2762 • Email: davidwmillsap@gmail.com Jason Leblond (Northern Director) Phone: 705-724-1887 • Email: jsacres5@gmail.com Craig McLaughlin (Eastern Director) Phone: 613-646-7820 • Email: cmblackhorse@gmail.com Ron Stevenson (Southern Director) Phone: 519-887-6677 • Email: ron@metzgervet.com Dan Darling (Director-At-Large) Phone: 905-375-4019 • Email: dmdarling13@gmail.com Jordan Miller (Director-At-Large) Phone: 289-686-1124 • Email: b.jordan.miller@gmail.com

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BFO has also requested enhancements to the AgriStability and AgriInvest programs to provide immediate and long-term financial relief assistance as this pandemic situation – and the unknown impact on the beef industry – progresses. Read more about BFO’s program suggestions at www.ontariobeef.com.

The COVID-19 situation has shown everyone in our industry the urgency of having these programs in place when they are needed most so they can work for our producers during times of crisis. BFO believes these support programs need to be timely, predictable, properly funded and equitable across all sectors – and that’s the message we are taking to our government. We are also working closely with fellow commodity organizations, including Grain Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Sheep Farmers and Veal Farmers of Ontario. Together we represent a unified voice in our ask for revisions to RMP and financial assistance programs.

And we continue to work with Dairy Farmers of Ontario to address processing concerns. Once again, Ontario’s agri-food industry is working together on a united front to maintain our sustainability.

While we rally to keep our farm businesses and respective sectors sustainable, consumers appear to be taking an interest in farming and the food value chain. An empty meat counter at the grocery store or a limit on the number eggs that can be purchased sure gets a shopper’s attention. The good news is that many consumers are realizing the importance of farmers and everyone along the food value chain. They are also cooking at home more, trying new cuts of meat or new dishes, and connecting with their food on a whole new level.

These are uncertain times. But our industry has dealt with uncertainty before and we’ve come out as a stronger sector. We’re all dealing with COVID-19 in our own way, and if you can, I encourage you to look for the positives or opportunities. OB

BFO STAFF Executive Director Richard Horne • richard@ontariobeef.com Manager of Policy and Issues Katherine Fox • k atherine@ontariobeef.com Policy Advisor Jessica Schill • jessica@ontariobeef.com Manager of Communications & Marketing LeaAnne Wuermli • leaanne@ontariobeef.com (on maternity leave) Senior Communications Specialist Jennifer Kyle • jennifer@ontariobeef.com Communications Coordinator Bethany Storey • bethany@ontariobeef.com Market Information Coordinator Jamie Gamble • markets@ontariobeef.com

Accountant Amber McIntyre • amber@ontariobeef.com Office Administrator Tammy Purdham • tammy@ontariobeef.com Manager of Producer Relations Dan Ferguson • dan@ontariobeef.com Producer Relations Specialist Jaclyn Horenberg • jaclyn@ontariobeef.com Check-Off Inspector Chris Millar • chrism@ontariobeef.com Provincial Supervisor, Ontario Feeder Cattle and Beef Breeder Co-op Programs Cheryl Russwurm • crfeederfin@wightman.ca Water Quality Specialist Chris Attema • chris@ontariobeef.com

CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS Keeping Our Strategy Nimble and Intentional

By Jennifer Kyle, BFO Senior Communications Specialist

T

hrough the first quarter of 2020, the consumer engagement team worked to implement our first full paid social media marketing strategy. Using intentional and strategic audience targeting, this was achieved using a balance of content that fell within the three pillars of 1) inspired deliciousness, 2) my local and 3) gather round.

Based on the Q1 report from our agency partner, Bob’s Your Uncle, our content has been well received and we are doing an excellent job of reaching our target audiences efficiently and cost effectively.

Our audience and, more importantly, our engagement continue to grow steadily. We are off to a great start.

As President Rob eluded to in his editorial, one of the silver linings resulting from the COVID-19 situation has been increased consumer attention on food and farmers.

The beauty of a social media-based strategy is it allows us to monitor the performance of our content in real time and adjust as needed. Every piece of content put out by Ontario Beef is watched carefully to see how it resonates with the audience. If something falls flat, we have the ability to quickly pull the ad and redirect more dollars towards better performing content, or tweak the copy and send it back out to see if performance improves. It also allows us to pivot our messaging on short order when needed. The COVID-19 situation has certainly shown the value of this approach. For example, sending out content encouraging people to “gather round” is particularly tone-deaf when citizens are being asked to stay home in isolation. We were able to pull this messaging and move toward

messaging geared to cooking at home for your immediate family.

We have also put more focus on the idea that Ontario’s beef farmers are still hard at work everyday to provide local, quality beef.

We continue to monitor search trend data on Google and Pinterest to help guide the type of recipe and cooking content we produce and use in our advertising. Interestingly, while there are a lot of searches for obvious things like “easy meals”, “ground beef recipes” and “beef stew”, the number one search item has consistently been “beef empanadas” – we will look to capitalize on these search trends in this year’s recipe development!

Before COVID-19 hit, we had a number of events and in-person activities planned as part of our overall strategy. With the current uncertainty, many of those activities have been cancelled, put on hold, or are in “wait and see” mode. In some cases, we have begun work on a plan B to allow an event or activity to happen online or remotely, if needed.

We encourage you to stay tuned to our Ontario Beef social media channels and website (www.ontbeef.ca) to keep up to date on all of our consumer engagement efforts. OB This page features ongoing updates about BFO’s consumer engagement strategy and how we are connecting with Ontario consumers and food influencers about the benefits of choosing Ontario beef – for health, for the environment and for Ontario’s agriculture industry.

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ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

5

THE BEEF BEAT

By Richard Horne, Executive Director richard@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com

Challenging Times B

FO Past President Ian McKillop once described how the resiliency of the Ontario beef industry was one of our sector’s greatest strengths.

That conversation took place in a 2012 interview as part of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association 50th anniversary activities, and that resiliency is being tested once again.

Many industries would not have survived the types of blows the Ontario beef industry has taken over the years. Yet, as Ian put it back in 2012, “it seems whatever is thrown at the beef industry in Ontario, we will get back up and be there for the next go around.” Even though that may leave producers battered and bruised.

The sentiment seems to ring as true today as it did back then.

Let me qualify that statement. It’s true that our industry is facing its most existential threat under the COVID-19 crisis since BSE, and the challenges the sector has faced since then have been frequent, and at times, severe. Several years of cutbacks to various safety net programs have reduced security and stability for producers, cost of production increases has challenged profitability, as has the more frequent and volatile shifts in commodity markets. A lack of competition in the marketplace and processing capacity challenges have further eroded the sector’s potential to thrive, and to take advantage of the significant growth in demand for our products at home and abroad. And now COVID-19.

In the face of the challenges and obstacles that COVID-19 presents, the level of engagement, support and dedication that I’ve seen by directors, staff, producers and allied industry partners in Ontario and across the country has been extraordinary. Everyone is pulling together to support communication efforts, problem solve, and discuss and promote solutions with government. When the beef industry is faced with a fight or flight decision, the decision always seems to be to fight.

At the same time, the impact of our sector has never been more significant. Ontario beef products are being exported to more markets – and more high-valued markets – than ever before, and our share of the Ontario domestic market has increased in recent years. The Ontario Corn Fed Beef program has grown from modest beginnings into the largest producer-owned brand in the country, exporting its products around the world. Our province’s cattle feeding sector is rivalled only by the Alberta sector, and from a production efficiency standpoint, we maintain one of the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints in the world. While producer numbers have declined our production has grown.

The Ontario beef sector is also a large contributor to the Ontario economy. On an annual basis, the Ontario beef sector contributes nearly $3 billion to Ontario’s GDP, and gross sales from cattle and beef exceed $13 billion, including more than $1.4 billion per year in direct farm gate sales. Our sector also sustains more than 61,000 jobs in primary production, processing and retail.

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Despite these bright spots in the sector, it seems all for not if profitability and security continue to elude us. I can’t help but wonder where the Ontario beef sector might be had we had access to a robust suite of safety net and insurance programs to help reduce some of the market risks to beef operations, particularly in the last couple of years, and certainly during the current COVID-19 crisis. But to Ian’s point, this sector is as resilient as they come, and I’m confident it will make it through the toll COVID-19 is having, and will have, on the beef industry. But we need help. Help has been the key word BFO and our national allies, particularly those in Eastern Canada, have used for the last two years. Help for processing, help for enhancements to business risk management programs, and help for financial support and stability.

BFO has been doing everything in its power to turn the tide. Results speak louder than action plans, messages or the number of meetings we’ve had. I accept that. But this issue is bigger than BFO. It’s bigger than CCA or any other farm group. Decision-makers do not appear to be listening to our requests for help, nor do they appear to be acting.

While we can’t guarantee results, we can guarantee we’ll do everything we can to continue to fight for the producers of this province.

BFO Board and staff have been working hard to keep the membership up to speed on all COVID-19 issues related to the beef sector. In mid-March we launched a dedicated COVID-19 webpage on our www.ontariobeef.com website. Updates from government agencies, resources, industry information, and statements and submissions from both BFO and CCA are regularly posted to this dedicated page. At the national level, COVID-19 updates can also be found on CCA’s www.cattle.ca website. I encourage everyone to check these pages regularly.

BFO has also been updating our leadership groups every Friday by conference call. This group has included all county and district presidents and advisory councillors, the cow-calf and feedlot committees, the feeder finance executive committee and leadership from the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association. We have been encouraging this group to forward the materials and weekly updates to their respective boards, industry partners and fellow producers to keep as many producers as up to speed as we can. Please talk to your local county cattlemen’s association if you are not receiving these important updates. We’ve also been utilizing our weekly e-news bulletin and market reporting service to share information.

I wish you and your families well as we navigate these challenging times. Please stay well, and don’t hesitate to reach out to BFO directors, staff or local county leadership with your questions or concerns. OB

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ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

7

BETWEEN YOU, ME AND THE FENCE POST

By Jennifer Kyle, BFO Senior Communications Specialist info@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com

Communication = Contact + Conversation + Connection R

ight now, we find ourselves in the middle of what I affectionately

created a dedicated COVID-19 page on the BFO website to collect all

refer to as “The Coronapocalypse” – this unprecedented COVID-19

of the announcements, statements, memos, information, fact sheets

situation. We are all isolating ourselves from the outside world to

and web links into one easy-to-find spot. We rely on the BFO Advisory

protect our families, neighbours and communities. As farmers, we can

Councillors and local association presidents and secretaries to help

tell ourselves we practice physical distancing on a daily basis out in

us disseminate the email information. If you are not receiving emails

the pasture or in the tractor as we mix feed, which to an extent is

from your local association representatives regularly, we encourage

true. But in reality, these new restrictions have further isolated even

you to reach out to them to be added to their email list. If you haven’t

the most socially distant of us. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that

already, we would also encourage you to follow us on social media,

I grossly underestimated just how much contact I had with people

sign-up for our weekly Bull-etin e-newsletter and check the BFO

outside of my immediate family on a regular basis. Suddenly, we find

COVID-19 webpage regularly for the latest information.

ourselves feeling like criminals at the feedstore as we’re yelled at for taking one step too far into the store.

It’s weird. The entire situation is weird and unsettling, and can

Conversation. In-person meetings, events and interactions have gone by the wayside, but that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped important discussions. Like many other organizations around the world, we have

leave the most well-connected person feeling alone and out of

had to adapt to the new reality, which for the BFO team means many

the loop.

hours now spent on the phone, video conferences or even on text. We

This is where communication comes in to play. The thesaurus lists

are meeting with our staff team, board members, industry partners,

almost 40 different synonyms for the word communication. From that

government, service providers, and of course, farmers. We also know it

list, contact, conversation and connection are the three we’ll focus on.

has been a challenge for local associations to “get together” to share

Contact. Conversation. Connection.

At BFO, we are doing our best to make sure that, no matter how physically distant we all need to be from one another, nobody is left feeling like they don’t know what is happening at BFO or within the beef industry. Our board and staff may all be working remotely, but we have all been working tirelessly to ensure all producers have the information, resources and services they need to continue their dayto-day business.

Contact. We are doing our best to make sure we stay in regular contact with all producers in one way or another. The COVID-19 situation is incredibly fluid and seems to change hour-to-hour some days. As a result, we have been sending regular emails with the most up-to-date information as it becomes available. To complement these emails, we have been active on our social media channels and have

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the information with their local members. To this end, BFO can help facilitate virtual meetings for your county association through Zoom.

I am always happy to help get you set up on your own Zoom account, or schedule longer meetings through the BFO account. Several counties have used this option and it seems to work well.

Connection. This one is perhaps the most important. This magazine, our website, and every email, phone call, social media post, virtual meeting, e-newsletter, webinar, letter and fax (yes, we do still send a few!) are all done with one goal in mind – keeping you connected.

Connected to us, connected to the industry and connected to each other. Now more than ever, in this world of physical distancing, staying connected is so important. If you are not feeling connected, please let us know. We are always looking for ways to better engage with our membership.

We’re all in this together, and with lots of virtual contact, conversation and connection, we’ll get through this together. OB

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RURAL RAMBLE

By Jaclyn Horenberg, Producer Relations Specialist jaclyn@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com

Taking Time to be Grateful T

o say that 2020 will be a year we will never forget would probably be an understatement. I don’t think a crystal ball could have even predicted the challenges we are facing now, or the unknown challenges that still lie ahead. Farmers are resilient, and beef farmers, in particular, are some of the most stubborn farmers of them all!

It is with that stubbornness, or maybe more politely worded as persistence, that we will continue to fight for our industry.

Although it is a challenging time to be optimistic, I hope you are all seeing daily reminders of things you are grateful for. Whether that is a new calf getting up to suck for the first time, or the sunshine offering life to new growth in spring, there are many things to be grateful for during this pandemic. For many of you, it has meant more time spent with your kids, which, I will be the first to admit can be challenging, but it also is such a gift. Being a pregnant mom now working from home with my four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, I try to remind myself how lucky I am (and sometimes it actually does take some reminding). I have never been more thankful for the acres of land that we have for our kids to run wild and explore. They have been enthusiastic helpers in preparing our barn for the weaner pigs we will be raising this year, and building the chicken coop for the laying hens and meat chickens coming this month. The mudroom in our house may slightly resemble a grow-op right now with its florescent light starting many of our garden plants, but it has been a great activity for the kids. That is a lot of talk about plants, pigs and chickens for a beef magazine, so I should also mention that we are looking forward to seeing some beef cattle grazing on our pasture this summer too!

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O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

This self-isolation time has allowed us the opportunity to see the world around us slow down. The general public is gaining a greater appreciation for not only how food gets to the grocery store shelf, but also the countless hands that it took to produce it. Many of you have seen an increased demand in freezer beef sales as consumers look for local food. Hopefully that is a trend that will continue as consumers rally to support local producers and businesses.

Now, more than ever, is the time to lean on each other (from a safe physical distance of course). The Beef Farmers of Ontario website now features a “Wellness on the Farm” resource page that I would encourage you to look at. Find strength in your families and communities, and rely on the team you have around you. There are many things that are out of our control, so focus on the things you can control. Work with your nutritionist to rebalance rations as needed and look at your cost of gain. Consult with your vet on your implant program and the most cost-effective vaccination protocol for your cattle. And take the time to focus on the management of your cattle.

As I head off on maternity leave, we are excited to welcome Robert McKinlay to the BFO team for the summer. Robert has just finished his third year studying animal science at the University of Guelph, and brings a diverse understanding of the beef industry through his involvement with his family’s beef seed stock and cash crop operation in Grey County. Please give Robert a warm welcome and wish him luck with keeping Dan Ferguson in line.

I look forward to when we can all enjoy a beef dinner together again at a producer meeting. Until then, I hope that you and your families stay healthy and safe. OB

Step Up Your Biosecurity with Signage Controlling people and vehicle movement onto your property is an important component of biosecurity. People can spread disease on footwear, hands and clothing. Vehicles and farm equipment can spread disease and pests (such as insects and weed seeds) from farm to farm through contaminated material on their tires, fenders and undercarriages (i.e. mud, manure, crop residue). Proper sanitation of equipment between farms can reduce the spread of disease.

Posting restricted entry signs is one measure you can take to keep visitors off your property and out of facilities without your permission. The Ontario Livestock and Poultry Council has biosecurity stop signs available to producers at no cost. An order form is available at ontlpc.ca/pdfs/OrderForm.pdf or call our office at 519-669-3350. OB

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

11

A Look Back at BFO’s Annual Beef Farmers of Ontario Announces New Leadership

T

he Board of Directors of the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) elected their new president and vice president at BFO’s 58th Annual General Meeting in Toronto in February 2020.

Rob Lipsett will lead the association in the year ahead as president, with Jack Chaffe serving as vice president. BFO Past President Joe Hill has stepped down after completing the maximum three terms, totaling nine years, on the BFO Board of Directors.

Embarking on his seventh year on the BFO Board, Lipsett has served on the board for six years as a background director. He and his family run a 140-cow cow-calf operation near Annan, Ont. and purchase 75-100 calves each year to background along with their farm-born calves.

“Ontario has a vast population demanding high-quality, safe food, and the Ontario beef industry has a great story to tell to fill this demand,” says Lipsett. “As president, I look forward to working with my fellow directors to address pressing issues, such as processing capacity to help stabilize the industry, increase profitability for our producers, and put more Ontario beef on store shelves, menus and dinner tables across the province.”

Jack Chaffe from Perth County enters his fifth year on the board as feedlot director and moves to the position of vice president.

Chaffe and his family operate a large feedlot operation near Mitchell, Ont. and market over 2,500 head of cattle per year through the Ontario Corn Fed Beef program.

Joining the BFO Board in 2020 are Don Hargrave and David Millsap who will both serve three-year terms, and Joe Dickenson who will serve a two-year term. Hargrave lives near Maxwell where he and his family operate a 100-head cow-calf operation. He represents the cow-calf sector and replaces Craig McLaughlin as cow-calf director. Millsap serves as a feedlot director and replaces Joe Hill. Millsap and his family operate a large feedlot operation near Creemore, Ont. where they finish and market 1,500 head of cattle per year through the Ontario Corn Fed Beef program. Dickenson lives near Oil Springs in Lambton County where he operates a 70-cow birth to beef herd. He also serves as a feedlot director, replacing Mert Schneider who

2020 BFO Board of Directors Standing (L to R): David Millsap, Feedlot Director; Jason Leblond, Northern Director; Craig McLaughlin, Eastern Director; Joe Dickenson; Feedlot Director; Jordan Miller, Director At-Large; Ron Stevenson, Southern Director; and Don Hargrave; Cow-Calf Director.

Seated (L to R): Don Badour, Cow-Calf Director; Jack Chaffe, Vice-President (Feedlot Director); Rob Lipsett, President (Background Director); Jason Reid, Cow-Calf Director; and Dan Darling, At-Large Director.

The 2nd annual AGM Young Producer Program was incredibly wellsupported with 14 young producers attending the AGM as part of the initiative and another full house for the networking session, which was open to any AGM attendees under 40.

Delegates, industry guests and MPPs gathered in advance of the annual banquet for the Past Presidents’ Reception.

Over 200 delegates representing all sectors and regions in the province were in attendance to elect directors, committee members and debate important resolutions.

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O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

Joe Dickenson of Oil Springs was elected as a Feedlot Director on the BFO Board of Directors. He operates a birth to beef operation in Lambton County.

General Meeting stepped down from the board earlier this year after completing one year of his three-year term.

Returning to the BFO Board is Craig McLaughlin, who was re-elected by voting delegates to serve as eastern director – a change from his first term when he served as a cow-calf director. New BFO President Rob Lipsett was also acclaimed as background director.

BFO’s Board of Directors consists of 12 elected officials – three from the cow-calf sector, three from the feedlot sector, one from the backgrounder sector, one each representing the southern, northern and eastern regions of Ontario, and two elected at-large. Directors are elected for three-year terms on a rotating basis.

BFO Board of Directors and staff welcomed more than 400 attendees at this year’s AGM, including the Honourable Ernie Hardeman, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and a number of Members of Provincial Parliament who attended the evening banquet. In his address, Minister Hardeman announced that, together with the federal government, the Ontario Government has committed to an investment of $2 million in projects to enhance operations at provincially licensed abattoirs. The governments are also investing up to $292,600 under the Places to Grow initiative to help BFO with marketing efforts to access emerging markets in Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and the European Union.

The 2020 Annual Report can be viewed on the BFO website or you can access a hard copy by contacting the office. OB

2020 CARRIED RESOLUTIONS 20-01 – PROCESSING CAPACITY SHORTAGE 20-02 – CFIA ENFORCEMENT CONSISTENCY 20-03 – BSE RISK STATUS 20-04 – INVESTORS FOR FEDERAL PROCESSING PLANT 20-05 – SRM REMOVAL REQUIREMENTS 20-06 – RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FUNDING 20-07 – BEEF CO-OP/APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM 20-08 – PREMISES IDENTIFICATION NUMBER 20-09 – MEAT-CUTTING EDUCATION PROGRAMS 20-10 – BEEF AND ENVIRONMENT CLASSROOM PROGRAMS

More than 35 industry partners and companies supported the event through sponsorship and tradeshow exhibits.

20-11 – MEAT TERMINOLOGY 20-12 – GRASS-FED BEEF STANDARDS 20-13 – HAY AND FORAGE RESEARCH 20-14 – BEEF CURRICULUM IN CLASSROOMS 20-15 – MANURE STORAGE FUNDING 20-16 – FORAGE PROGRAM 20-17 – PROVINCIAL ABATTOIRS SUSTAINABILITY 20-18 – BREEDER CO-OPS 20-19 – PROVINCIAL ABATTOIRS RED TAPE AND LABOUR

Delegates participated in resolution discussions and debates. Resolutions were brought forward by county and district associations and covered a range of issues.

20-20 – ADVANCE PAYMENTS PROGRAM

Paul De Jong (centreleft) of the Timiskaming District receives the 2020 Environmental Stewardship Award. Amanda Hammel (left) of RBC Royal Bank was on hand to present the award, as well as BFO President Rob Lipsett (centre-right) and BFO Executive Director Richard Horne (right).

Kristina and Jeff Pollard (centre) of Rainy River District were awarded the 2020 Ontario Mapleseed Pasture Award presented

by Ray Robertson of the Ontario Forage Council (right) and Steven Hughes of Mapleseed (left).

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

13

A Spoonful of Yeast Has Big Impact on Cattle

By Samantha McReavy and Owen Roberts

F

eed costs represent up to 70 per cent of a beef producers’ expenses. With consumers’ ever-growing concerns about the cost of food, research to reduce production expenses on the farm is taking on new importance.

One project underway at the University of Guelph’s Animal Biosciences department involves supplementing yeast in beef feedlot diets, to make lower-quality feed a viable option without limiting productivity. Feeding yeast has been a popular practice in dairy production, but hasn’t caught on with beef producers.

Early research results at Guelph are encouraging. Doctoral student Melissa Williams and Prof. Katie Wood have found a common yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, can reduce feed intake in beef cattle by a whopping 30-plus per cent, with no side effects on animal growth or meat quality.

The researchers believe the yeast has properties that help the cattle more efficiently digest their feed, so they consume less feed than normal but remain healthy and productive.

“Simple solutions like this have huge potential to improve the profit margins of producers,” says Williams. “We hope that using yeast will consistently prevent production limiting diseases and reduce the need for antimicrobial use in livestock,” adds Wood. Their recipe is succinct: three grams of yeast per animal a day, mixed into the feed.

The yeast was added during the finishing phase, when beef animals are most likely to experience a condition called ruminal acidosis. This gastrointestinal disease impacts animal performance and health, and can result in the death of the cattle, even if there are no visible symptoms.

Melissa Williams studies the effect of adding yeast to diets in feedlots.

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Williams and Wood believe the yeast may prevent the development or mitigate ruminal acidosis for feedlot cattle.

The study results raise questions for the researchers – specifically, why did the yeast have such a dramatic consumption reduction effect? And what kind of variability would be found between different species of yeast, concentrations and the time of feeding?

“This research is promising, but more work needs to be done to see if our results are consistent over a Melissa Williams (left) and Prof. Katie Wood conduct research at the Ontario variety of scenarios,” says Wood.

Beef Research Centre in Elora.

This research was funded by AB Vista and the Ontario AgriFood Innovation Alliance, a collaboration between the Government of Ontario and the University of Guelph. The field study portion took place at the Ontario Beef Research Centre in Elora, Ont. Their next step includes identifying the mechanisms behind this yeasts’ ability to limit ruminal acidosis and using the new information to identify the most effective yeast feeding schedule. OB

Photo courtesy of Staden Farms

Photo courtesy of Canadian Sheep Federation

GET TO KNOW US BETTER Photo courtesy of Connie Seutter

CCIA is the responsible administrator for beef and dairy cattle, bison, sheep and pending regulation cervids and goats in Canada (with exception of Quebec where CCIA only administers bison and goats.)

canadaid.ca

CCIA

CANADIAN CATTLE IDENTIFICATION AGENCY

KNOW | CLTS DATABASE clts.canadaid.ca Login to your CLTS account via your home computer or MOBO app; input your premises ID number and update your account information.

Prepare for proposed regulatory amendments now, to save time later. Get to know the Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS), learn how by using the CLTS Resource Centre.

Take a look at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s TRACE newsletters for information on the proposed amendments at https://www.canadaid.ca/traceability/newsletters/

LEARN | CLTS RESOURCE CENTRE support.canadaid.ca An online information and learning source on how to use the Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS).

USE | TRACEABILITY TECHNOLOGY support.canadaid.ca/clts-mobo/ Download the CLTS MOBO phone app from your favorite app store and put the CLTS database in your hand.

To learn more about how we are working towards traceability together,

visit www.canadaid.ca

info@canadaid.ca | 1-877-909-2333

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

15

FOCUS ON HERD HEALTH

Rethinking the Fundamentals of Health Management

By Dr. Greg Dimmers

W

hen we look at the big health challenges facing the beef industry, there are a few familiar culprits. The industry has strived to come up with new solutions to problems like pneumonia.

More recently, we are looking at lameness in feedlots with a wider lens – looking back to the level of the backgrounder and the cow-calf herd for solutions.

Taking a wider look at an animal’s life – from the time of conception to harvest – of a fed steer or heifer is a worthwhile exercise. From the day the calf is conceived until it is harvested is typically 850 days. Setting the mother cows up for success should include pre-breeding vaccines around 60 days before breeding.

Taking this period into consideration gives us approximately 900 days to manage the health of the calf.

Timing Herd Health Management Taking a new approach to health management – 900 days to manage the health of a calf – is a stark contrast to the common practice of conducting most of the health management during the seven days around weaning. Increasingly, we are finding better and often more profitable windows of time to manage calf health other than at weaning. My experience as a vet has led me to identify some excellent opportunity areas for improving herd health management.

Cow-Calf Herd Opportunities 1. Test Your Feed and Offer a Cow Mineral Results of cow-calf management surveys from across Canada have showed that for those that test their feed, nearly all are using the results to optimize how they feed their cows. Even a basic ration analysis can offer insight on how to feed your cows through the winter. Cows can be efficient at converting low value feed into calves, but given the opportunity they can also be excellent at wasting feed.

Feeding a mineral pack to a cow herd can improve performance and immunity in the cow and calf. If you are seeing calves born with deformities, this is a good clue there may be a mineral deficiency.

Mineral deficiencies can also be present in herds without any deformed calves. A cow that is bred one 21-day cycle earlier will generate approximately $90 in extra weaning weight. Keeping a good mineral and vitamin balance and proper nutrition can reduce the time it takes for a cow to be bred after introducing the bull. The mineral pack does not need to be the most expensive one on the market, but it should be formulated for a cow herd.

2. Pulling the Bull and Managing the Breeding Season Managing your breeding season is one of the most overlooked management opportunities that can offer significant economic returns. Using a 63-day breeding interval gives cows three cycles to conceive a calf. Keeping a strict three-cycle interval means there will

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be less variation in weaning weights. In addition to decreased weight variation, there will be less age variation, making health issues like scours much easier to prevent and manage. The extra weaning weight could amount to $40 or more for each calf weaned. If the economic benefit is not enough, the tight bull exposure window has the added benefit of preventing heifer calves from being bred and resulting in a pregnant feedlot heifer. Pregnancies in the feedlot are a serious economic loss and animal welfare concern. The Beef Cattle Research Council has an excellent online calculator to determine the economic benefit to optimizing your breeding window. It can be found at www.beefresearch.ca/resources/decisiontools.cfm.

3. Vaccinate at the Right Time for the Right Purpose The Ontario cow-calf survey indicated that 67 per cent of participating producers vaccinate for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). This statistic is not high enough. There is no valid argument (that I have come across) in Ontario for not vaccinating cows for BVD. I believe there are very few truly closed herds, and the risk of BVD is far too great and costly for our industry not to vaccinate. Having one persistently infected (PI) BVD calf can cost as much as $60 per cow in reduced conception and will cost the feedlot $80 for every calf that is exposed to the PI calf. Vaccinating for BVD will make producers money and is the right thing to do.

Continued on page 18.

WHY

SHORTHORNS?

Jeff and Samantha Roney operate Bennington Hills Farm just east of Grand Valley.

They have 20 purebred Shorthorn mother cows and operate a cow-calf to grass finished operation, and direct market through the Orangeville farmers market.

With his no-till ‘Gabe Brown’ style cash crop, cover crop, pasture land rotation system, Jeff says “I haven’t found a breed that does it better”. This is in part based on Jeff ’s experience custom grazing some other British bred cattle as well as some Exotic bred cattle alongside his own Shorthorns. Jeff has purchased Shorthorn bulls from three different Ontario breeders, “... the shorthorn bull genetics are high quality, and moving in the right direction... the calves are consistent, cookie cutter calves that just keep getting better and better.” Jeff really appreciates the shorthorn cows’ maternal characteristics, calving ease, and quietness. He runs 50 ewes with lambs on pasture in one herd with the cattle, and the shorthorn mother cows pull double-duty as the only protection for the sheep. When the ground is frozen, cattle trek out to stockpile, cover crops, corn stalks, or bale grazing. “Fitting into a cash crop system, Shorthorn is the perfect cow for it”, says Jeff.

Follow us on Facebook and check our website for current news at

Doug Brown, Secretary - 905-431-8496 email: secretary@ontarioshorthorns.com

www.ontarioshorthorns.com

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

17

Continued from page 16. – Focus

on Herd Health

Backgrounder and Feedlot Herd Opportunities 1. Vaccine Handling and Product Administration A recent survey looked at the quality of refrigerators used to store vaccines on farms and found that only 27 per cent operated at the right temperature more than 95 per cent of the time. A fridge is an inexpensive investment compared to the cost of vaccines. But the cost of a fridge is inconsequential to the cost of vaccinating cattle with a dead vaccine. Live vaccines can be killed if given too close together in the neck to a killed vaccine. Antibiotics are less effective if they are given in the muscle instead of under the skin. Using dirty needles can contaminate vaccines and lead to abscesses and cellulitis, both of which are costly to performance and costly to treat. Speak with your vet to develop some good vaccination protocols.

2. Evaluate Cattle Handling Facilities and Processes All too often I am called to treat lame cattle and abscesses or bruises on shoulders and hips that are the result of poorly handled cattle or poorly designed handling facilities. Cattle affected by poor

handling and poor facilities can suffer costly ailments and have significantly reduced performance in the feedlot. Asking a second opinion on handling facilities and watching short videos and online courses on animal handling facilities and cattle handling processes are a sound investment for a herd’s management and staff team.

3. Manage Bulls, Horns and Pregnant Heifers There are several tools in feedlots to deal with these problems, but there’s no perfect solution. The real solution to these undesirable conditions is to provide more incentives to deal with them at the source. Horns and heifer pregnancies can be easily managed, and castrations are least disruptive to the calf if done at the earliest age possible.

There is an old adage, “if you always do what you did, you will always get what you got.” Your customer, whether a consumer at the grocery store, a multinational food company, or a feedlot is changing their buying preferences faster than ever. Producers need to be tireless innovators and critical of every step in the herd management process to stay ahead. Some of the opportunities I have outlined are low hanging fruit and offer some good first steps to improve the health and profitability of your beef operation.

FARM & FOOD CARE ONTARIO

Communicating About Ag and Food Digitally During a Time of Social Isolation

A

s Canadians spend more time at home during this world pandemic, teachers, parents and students are increasingly online in search of educational and informative resources. Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO) has seen an unprecedented surge in use of its online resources with users increasing by nearly 3,500 per cent since the middle of March.

Farm & Food Care Ontario first ventured into creating online resources in 2006 with the launch of its first virtual farm tour website. Since then, the site (now at www.FarmFood360.ca) has grown exponentially and uses Virtual Reality (VR) technology to help consumers tour Canadian farms and meet their farm families. The site has tours of 15 farms and food processing facilities with three more commodity-specific projects in the works in 2020. FFCO and Beef Farmers of Ontario are exploring options related to developing a beef farm VR tour later in 2020 to complement the existing roster and provide a valuable tool for those wanting to know more about how beef cattle are raised.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic drove people indoors, the online resource site has had more than one million page views. By comparison, the site had 611,000 page views in all of 2019.

And the FarmFood360 website is only one of a number of virtual spaces that FFCO has created for consumers to connect with those who produce our food.

Faces Behind Food is a new social media campaign launched in 2019. It uses Facebook and Instagram to share photo essays of the diverse population of essential workers throughout our agri-food system – from farmers to veterinarians to feed mill employees, transporters, processors and restaurateurs. A total of 77 different 18

O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

profiles were featured in 2019 including several photographed on Ontario beef farms.

In February of 2020, FFCO partnered with AgScape (Ontario’s Agriculture in the Classroom organization) to offer five live farm and food processing tours on Facebook for teachers, students and general viewers wishing to celebrate Canada’s Agriculture Day. This unique format provided viewers (including 65 Ontario classrooms that signed up for the program) to ask questions of the farmer in real time and get an unfiltered look inside an Ontario farm or agri-food business.

FFCO will again team up with AgScape to offer Facebook Live tours throughout the spring months. The next one, featuring Manitoulin beef farmer Jordan Miller, is scheduled to air on May 5.

FFCO’s annual Farm Creativity Contest, open annually to students from kindergarten to grade 8, is now accepting digital submissions.

And as progress continues on the fifth edition of The Real Dirt on Farming (due out later this year), FFCO is exploring ways to bring this popular publication to life with more digital components than the previous editions had.

While upcoming public events such Breakfast on the Farm have been temporarily postponed, the FFCO team will continue to focus on new and engaging ways to reach Ontario consumers digitally. Even in these uncertain times, FFCO’s work is as relevant as ever – and maybe more so as people take a renewed interest in food security and in preparing meals at home with their families.

All Farm & Food Care Ontario resources can be found online at www.FarmFoodCareON.org. Anyone with any program suggestions that should be considered should email info@farmfoodcare.org. OB

‘THANK YOU’

to all the ESSENTIAL SERVICE WORKERS who are keeping our Province and Our Country running during COVID-19 from ONTARIO PUREBRED AND COMMERCIAL CHAROLAIS BREEDERS

SPRING... SUMMER... FALL... WINTER...

You can depend on CHAROLAIS to add More Pounds, Add More Dollars

Check out www.ontariocharolais.com OR contact our secretary Doris Aitken at 519–323–2538

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

19

AGSIGHTS UPDATE Uncharted Waters

By Jasper Munro, AgSights Manager of Research and Innovation jmunro@agsisghts.com • www.agsights.com

W

elcome to the new roaring twenties, full of self-isolation, social distancing, Zoom, TikTok and unparalleled uncertainty. Over the past weeks and months, I’ve sat through countless calls and read endless articles trying to predict how COVID-19 will impact agriculture – a prediction that is hard to make. Past pandemics, such as the Spanish flu of 1918, occurred before the Green Revolution and much of the efficiency and automation we are accustomed to. Previous market disruptions such as BSE were more defined and understood and leave us with data as one of our best options to speculate from.

According to a recent Dalhousie University report, 9 per cent of Canadian consumers are purchasing food online for the first time, compared to 1.5 per cent prior to the pandemic. Growth in online food sales was occurring prior to COVID-19, so this crisis may have accelerated the inevitable. As consumers flock to e-commerce to satisfy their appetite, restaurants are forced to adapt too. The movement towards delivery options like Skip the Dishes and Uber Eats may help, but in general restaurants are seeing rapid declines in sales.

Changes in online and restaurant purchases have shifted demand and merchandising. A surplus exists for high end steaks and roasts typically filled by restaurants, while the demand for ground beef continues to increase. This creates a challenge to balance total cutout value without drastically impacting retail price. Demand for beef products at grocers has remained strong which has helped market futures. However, projections indicate that this strong demand was due to hoarding and that general food spending is now on the decline.

At the same time, despite added measures, the processing industry is being hit with COVID-19 cases lowering harvest capacity, and creating more market uncertainty and volatility.

In a time of shifting buying habits and increased market volatility, beef farmers must first manage the variables in their control. For

instance, now is as good a time as any to understand and minimize your input costs. As cows turn to pasture and seeds are sown, crunch some numbers to accurately determine your feed requirements to help minimize off-farm feed purchases and lower feed costs. At the same time, look to your pasture management. Now may be the time to consider adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) or cover-crop grazing to lower your time on stored feed. Tools such as Go360|bioTrack can help take stock of your operation’s cost to determine what changes you can make to improve your margins through these challenging times.

With harvest capacity diminishing and the closure of farmers’ markets, producers may be considering their marketing options. Have you considered offering your products online? The movement to online purchasing may actually help you take control of the marketing and retail side of your business. In fact, the study conducted by Dalhousie University found only 24 per cent of consumers are comfortable with conventional grocery shopping. Setting up an online store could give you the opportunity to capture this demand while maximizing your margin. At the same time, COVID-19 has emphasized consumers demand for food safety and transparency. Offering local products through an online platform is an ideal way to ensure food safety and transparency.

BFO’s Farm to City program is an easy way for you to start offering your products online. Farm to City links producers with the AgSights bioLinks program to create a custom online store where you can setup products, pricelists, delivery and pick-up options to ensure you create an easy and safe buying experience. It may be difficult for us to predict the long-term impact that COVID-19 will have on our operations, but there are decisions we can make now to ensure our businesses sustain this challenge and the uncharted waters ahead.

CALENDAR

Ontario Beef Industry Events – Postponed

D

ue to uncertainty and quickly changing details of in-person meetings and events at this time, BFO has not included the Calendar of Events in this edition of Ontario Beef. We hope to reinstate this feature in the August 2020 edition. Until then, we encourage those

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looking for the most up-to-date industry and event information to visit the BFO website and/or sign-up to receive our weekly The Bull-etin e-newsletter. OB

IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES, YOU CAN STILL DEPEND ON

LIMOUSIN

For the safety of everyone in these uncertain times caused by COVID-19, some of our Spring Limousin Open Houses and Bull Sales were cancelled.

As a result, QUALITY LIMOUSIN BULLS AND FEMALES ARE FOR SALE BY PRIVATE TREATY. Contact any of these Breeders to arrange for a private viewing of Cattle For Sale 3 RIDGE FARMS Jon Bell 217294 Conc. 3 Owen Sound, ON N4K 5N5 519-378-4006 roundbale14@hotmail.com ALBERTVIEW LIMOUSIN FARMS Jim and Karen Roffey and Family Walter Stothers 5735 Doane Rd., Mount Albert, Ont. L0G 1M0 Contact Jim Roffey: 905-473-2713 BEE ZEE ACRES Mary Anne & Bill Zwambag RR #4, Glencoe, ON N0L 1M0 519-287-3219 CLARK CATTLE CO. David Clark 2280 McCullough Rd. Port Hope, ON L1A 3V7 905-786-2304 clarkcattle1@hotmail.ca

KOYLE FARMS LIMOUSIN Dwight & Catherine Koyle 33429 6th Line, RR#3 Iona Station, ON N0L 1P0 519-764-2697 • cdkoyle@gtn.net AFTER HOURS LIMOUSINS Rob & Erin Weppler 117078 Grey Rd. 3 , Tara, ON 519-375-6108 Rob@gbtel.ca LAKESIDE FARM Wayne and Nancy Lawrence 263657 Southgate Rd. 26 RR#4 Durham, ON N0G 1R0 519-369-2806 POSTHAVEN LIMOUSIN John and Ena Post #7396 Sideroad #20, RR #2, Alma, Ontario N0B 1A0 519-846-9320 ejpost@posthavenlimousin.com

DARLING FARMS 4172 County Rd 25 Castleton, ON K0K 1M0 905-375-4019 dmdarling13@gmail.com GIBSON FARMS Dave and Emily Gibson 2148 Concession 4, RR1, Ripley Ontario N0G2R0 Dave-519-357-6174 Emily 519-440-9907 HAYSTACK ACRES John & Michelle McLean 3114 Walker Road, RR#2 Harrow, ON N0R 1G0 519-738-0453 haystacklimousin@yahoo.ca HILLSIDE FARMS Ray and Stacie Stanton 4250 King Road, King City, ON, L7B 1K4 416-505-0707 rays@londonproperty.ca

Ontario Limousin Association

Mike Geddes, President • Phone: 519-502-8864

RAIL LINE FARMS Paul and Brad MacIntyre 221 Bruce County Rd. 1 RR #3, Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0 519-528-2423 pcmacintyre@hurontel.on.ca NEW LIFE LIMOUSIN 261269 Conc. 18 Hanover, ON N4N 3B8 519-270-5415 New.life.limousin@gmail.com SMART LIMOUSIN Garry and Sheila Smart 137606 Grey Road 12 RR#2, Meaford, ON N4L 1W6 519-538-4877 www.smartlimousin.com WINDY GABLES LIMOUSIN Bryce & Nathan Allen RR #4, Warkworth, ON K0K 3K0 705-924-2583

Check out our Website for LimoNews: www.ontariolimousin.com ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

21

The Hidden Bird Life in the Grass

By Zoé Lebrun-Southcott, Bird Ecology and Conservation Ontario

A

gricultural grasslands have a subtle beauty that is often overlooked. But when you immerse yourself in a grassland, you see how full of life they are and how much is going on in these unassuming landscapes in Ontario through spring and summer.

Bird Ecology and Conservation Ontario, a small non-profit organization, has been researching birds at risk in agricultural landscapes since 2016. Our work has been largely focused on the bobolink, and most of our field work occurs on farms – in hayfields and pastures managed for cattle and sheep.

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Grassland bird populations are declining at an alarming rate.

A recent research paper in Science reported a loss of 720 million grassland birds across North America since 1970. In the latest State of Canada’s Birds report, 17 of 33 grassland bird species were assessed as in decline. Bobolinks, a poster species for grassland bird population declines, are still commonly seen in hayfields and pastures in southern Ontario. But between 1968 and 2008, Canada lost 88 per cent of its bobolink population (based on North American Breeding Bird Survey data).

nest in working landscapes on private farms where their nests, built on the ground, are vulnerable to inadvertent destruction and exposure to predators when mowing or grazing occurs. But these hayfields and pastures only exist because they’re being created and maintained by farmers. Mowing and grazing are necessary for farmers to be able to make a living and continue to maintain these grassland landscapes which provide habitat for so many species. With many farmers moving away from grass farming for financial reasons, bird conservation strategies can’t place restrictions on these farmers that cause financial hardship. This wouldn’t help the birds or the farmers.

The situation is disheartening at times. Birds are disappearing from our landscape and there isn’t an easy solution to change their population trajectories. But each farmer we work with inspires us in their own way. Some farmers are even fiercely protective of the birds, going to such lengths as installing electric fencing around nests to keep out mammalian predators after a bout of predation in a pasture.

As we continue our research to learn more about the relationship between grassland birds and management activities, the birds will continue to face the challenge of raising young each summer with fervor and determination. With the help of grass-based farmers, we will look for conservation opportunities and ways to provide these charismatic species with the space they need to raise the next generation.

Bird Ecology and Conservation Ontario’s birds at risk in agricultural landscapes program has received funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Government of Ontario through Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association’s Species at Risk Farm Incentive Program.

For more information, visit beco-birds.org and grasslandbirds.ca. OB

There are many factors contributing to the decline of the bobolink population and other grassland bird species, including factors in their breeding and non-breeding habitats. Bobolinks overwinter in the southern interior of South America, making a 10,000 km journey each spring to their nesting grounds which span the northern U.S. and southern Canada. For bobolinks in Ontario, loss of nesting habitat (primarily due to a decrease in the amount of hay and pasture in the province) and changes in agricultural practices (such as earlier and more frequent mowing of hayfields and more intensive grazing of pastures) are considered two important factors contributing to their worrying population trajectory.

What’s tricky is that bobolinks and several other grassland birds, such as eastern meadowlarks and grasshopper sparrows, primarily

Thinking About Grassland Birds on Your Farm

By Katherine Fox, BFO Manager of Policy & Issues

Interested in in learning more about grassland birds as you walk your fields this spring? Check out resources available at grasslandbirds.ca.

These resources are targeted to farmers and provide information on practices that balance productivity with conservation. For example, Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association’s handbook, Farming with grassland birds: A guide to making your hay and pasture bird friendly, provides a list of 16 best management practices that aim to balance conservation with forage and pasture management. Some of these recommendations include: 1. With intensive rotational grazing systems on eight or more paddocks, leave one or two central paddocks ungrazed until after July 1 2. D efer clipping of pastures until after July 15 3. Apply fertilizer to forage/pasture fields early in the spring or delay until late summer to avoid damaging any nesting sites 4. S elect fields least likely to have grassland birds to cut first, cut oldest fields last 5. U se a partial cut around the perimeter of hayfields and leave central areas for later harvest Agriculture has an exemption from provincial restrictions on disrupting or harming bobolink and eastern meadowlark and their habitats, but there are best management practices that can work within all sorts of different grazing systems and haying schedules. Beef farms are an important part of the habitat that these grassland birds rely on, and that’s a positive story to be a part of.

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

23

CCA UPDATE National News Submitted by CCA www.cattle.ca

Federal Advocacy for Beef Producers CCA continues to advocate on behalf of beef producers to get the support our industry critically needs to navigate the hardships brought on by COVID-19. CCA directors and staff are in frequent communications with the federal government and are working in close collaboration with industry partners and stakeholders.

To increase our advocacy efforts, CCA is asking producers to reach out to their local Members of Parliament (MPs), regarding the serious impacts on the beef sector due to COVID-19.

Visit www.cattle.ca/cca-resources/covid-19/email-your-mp for the template letter producers can use to write to MPs. If you have any questions, please email feedback@cattle.ca.

Innovative Solutions for VBP+ Audit Delivery As our nation adjusts to a different way of living in response to the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) is exploring new ways to deliver certification services to the Canadian beef industry. The health and safety of our staff, auditors and clients is the number one priority for VBP+. We are committed to fulfill our obligation to current VBP+ producers who need auditing services and ensure producers can pursue VBP+ certification for the benefit of their operation if they wish. We have undertaken a few key activities to safeguard our auditors and clients to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The new electronic audit management system has entered a pilot testing phase, where technical staff and consultants are looking at methodologies to deliver VBP+ certification services by remote audit.

Using the new electronic audit management system allows us to assess the methods of collecting and validating information from producers and ensure the same conclusions are determined from the remote audit that would be found through an on-farm audit.

The development of the remote audit option will enable VBP+ to deliver audit services to all Canadian beef producers, especially those in areas that are considered high risk for COVID-19 spread, without jeopardizing anyone’s health and safety. The timeline for completing the pilot will be determined in coming weeks, but the hope is for an expedited launch.

In areas considered low risk for COVID-19 spread, an on-farm audit may still be conducted following provincial and federal physical distancing and other health guidelines. VBP+ has added additional protocols to the on-farm audit process. These additional protocols will ensure producers can continue to pursue certification, while keeping our auditors and producers safe. To learn more about VBP+, please visit www.verifiedbeefproductionplus.ca.

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Emotional Well-Being Through COVID-19 Given the nature of the agriculture industry, farmers and ranchers are no strangers to high stress and uncertain situations. However, maneuvering the changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic has come with its own unique obstacles and challenges. A group of students from the Ontario Veterinary College recently compiled a resource guide, 8 Domains of Well-Being…COVID-19 Style!, designed to highlight wellness activities to cope with these unquestionably tough times.

The guide initially focuses on emotional well-being, described as “the ability to express feelings, enjoy life, adjust to emotional challenges, and cope with stress and traumatic life experiences.”

Listed activities include listening to your favourite music, mindfulness exercises, journaling, breathing techniques to reduce stress, and taking turns with a partner for five minutes saying what you’re grateful for.

To view the full document and find links to additional resources, visit the Coping with COVID-19 page on the CCA’s website at www.cattle.ca/cca-resources/covid-19/coping-with-covid-19.

Mental health resources are also available on the Do More Ag Foundation website (domore.ag) and on the Government of Canada’s online Wellness Together Canada portal, (ca.portal.gs).

Reminder: Supply Chain Monitoring – Your Input is Still Needed CCA, along with other industry stakeholders, is conducting a weekly survey to determine any potential shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic that could disrupt the Canadian beef supply chain. We will work with government and industry partners to provide support to avoid shortages and address any should they occur.

Please complete the survey before 10 a.m. (EST) on Tuesdays, as we will send an updated report to the Government of Canada every week.

If you submit your survey after this time, the information you share will be included in the following week’s update. Thank you to those who have answered the survey – if your shortages continue, please do continue to let us know through the survey.

If you have any questions or need the link to complete the survey, please contact feedback@cattle.ca.

Virtual “fly-ins” Continue During COVID-19 CCA directors and staff continue to meet with parliamentarians virtually, emphasizing the need for immediate support to help beef producers across Canada. CCA recently met with the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau and Associate Minister of Finance Mona Fortier, as well as Members of House of Commons Standing Committees for Agriculture and Agri-Food and Industry.

We continue to update the Government of Canada on the increasing pressures on the beef industry. We are asking the federal government to implement the infrastructure and governance of a national set-aside

AAFC Launches Website for Jobs in Agriculture and Agri-Food

program immediately and make meaningful enhancements to Business Risk Management (BRM) programs, utilized by cattle producers. The objective of a set-aside program is to delay the marketing of cattle when processing capacity isn’t available. Program design would be similar to the model used in 2004 during BSE.

Annual Survey Now Open – CRSB Projects for Continuous Improvement The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) has a vision to be the go-to forum for sustainability conversations. Part of this work includes communicating and coordinating the continuous improvement of the Canadian beef industry’s sustainability, recognizing that there are multiple players in this field.

CRSB is looking to profile projects that build on the following goals identified in the National Beef Sustainability Strategy, identified via an annual survey. To complete the survey, visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/CRSBProjectsInventory. The survey is open April 1 – May 31, 2020.

CRSB has developed a webpage with an inventory of projects that contribute to continuous improvement of beef production across Canada – recognizing there are multiple players in the supply chain.

This webpage provides information for interested stakeholders, such as listing projects by location, goal and target audience. The value of this inventory is transparent communication about efforts in this area to avoid duplication and align efforts across groups. To keep this information current, CRSB conducts an annual survey of projects for continuous improvement.

Temporary Changes to CFIA Food Labelling

As many Canadians face employment challenges as a result of COVID-19, the Government of Canada has launched a new webpage to promote job opportunities in the agriculture and agri-food sector. The webpage, “Step up to the Plate – Help feed Canadians”, provides links to job listings and student employment resources, while highlighting the industry’s designation as an essential service and the various skill sets needed to operate a reliable food system.

Access to labour remains one of the most important issues impacting beef production in Canada. Moving forward, attracting Canadians who are seeking employment to the agriculture sector will play a key role in further positioning the industry as a driver of economic growth. To learn more, visit www.agr.gc.ca/eng/canadianagri-food-sector/step-up-to-the-plate-help-feed-canadians.

Government of Canada Announces Changes to Canada Summer Jobs Program On April 8, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced temporary changes to the Canada Summer Jobs program to help businesses and young Canadians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This program is designed for youth aged 15 to 30. The temporary changes to the program for this year include: • An increase to the wage subsidy, so that private and public sector employers can also receive up to 100 per cent of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage for each employee • An extension to the end date for employment to February 28, 2021 • Allowing employers to adapt their projects and job activities to support essential services

Effective April 7, 2020, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) temporarily suspended labelling requirements with no impacts on food safety. Currently, this flexibility has been granted solely for products destined for food service. CFIA will follow up with stakeholders regarding any similar measures being taken on products destined for retail. Stakeholders have been asked to share examples of where further flexibility on labelling is needed with CFIA/AAFC. Please send any comments to CCA at feedback@cattle.ca and we will submit them on your behalf.

Please note, products must continue to meet the following requirements:

• Allowing employers to hire staff on a part-time basis While applications for this year’s program closed on February 28, 2020, Members of Parliament will be consulted to identify organizations that provide essential services in the community and could provide youth jobs but did not apply for the Canada Summer Jobs program in 2020. The CCA will work with MPs to identify beef producers and the broader beef supply chain as an essential service that could employ youth this upcoming summer and fall.

For more information on this announcement, visit pm.gc.ca/en/ news/news-releases/2020/04/08/changes-canada-summer-jobsprogram-help-businesses-and-young. OB

• Canadian food safety requirements • Not labelled in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive • Include the following specific labelling information: - a common name - a list of ingredients and an allergen declaration, if applicable - a name and contact information for the person responsible for the food - a net quantity (in metric or imperial units) - a lot code identifier (such as, date of production, best before date, lot number) - storage instructions and best before date, if applicable - directions for use, if applicable (such as, safe cooking instructions) - food safety statements for meat or fish, if applicable (for example, previously frozen, mechanically tenderized meat) For more information, www.inspection.gc.ca/covid-19/cfiainformation-for-industry.

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ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

25

RESEARCH UPDATE

Advice from the Experts – Top Biosecurity Tips for Beef Farmers

By Lilian Schaer, Livestock Research Innovation Corporation

I

n our strange new world of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone is now doing what farmers have been doing for years: practicing biosecurity.

Agriculture, more than most sectors, has been living biosecurity for decades in an effort to keep livestock healthy and disease-free. For beef, that includes trade-limiting, reportable infections like Foot and Mouth Disease, but also economically important diseases like Bovine Respiratory Disease and others.

With the current human health threat of COVID-19, healthy cattle are more important than ever to reduce losses for farmers and ensure food security. According to two beef industry experts, here are some of the top things beef farmers should do or know when it comes to biosecurity.

A good starting place is the biosecurity self-assessment checklist that is included in the Canadian Beef Cattle On-Farm Biosecurity Standard implementation manual (page 13 in the hard copy or available online at verifiedbeefproductionplus.ca/files/producerresources/BeefImplementationManual-eng-Final.pdf).

That’s according to Dan Ferguson, manager of producer relations with Beef Farmers of Ontario. He’s also a beef farmer, the Ontario coordinator of the national Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) program, and has long been involved with developing biosecurity protocols for the beef industry.

“It’s a succinct checklist that will give you a score and show you whether you’re at high risk or not from a biosecurity perspective,” he says. “It will give you an idea of where to focus your efforts.”

The list of biosecurity recommendations in the manual is long, but Ferguson recommends four key things to help beef farmers up their biosecurity game.

1. Signage A visible premise sign alerting any visitors to call before coming onto the farm or entering farm buildings goes a long way to make everybody more aware of biosecurity. This would apply to anyone coming to the farm, whether to make a delivery, fix a piece of equipment, or for a sales call, Ferguson says, and helps farmers know who is on the premise and where they go.

A secondary “do not enter” sign is a good idea for more high-risk spots, like a calving area to avoid having a visitor inadvertently bring in disease.

2. Visitor Log A logbook is an excellent way to track farm visitors. It should include who came, what day, where they were before coming to the farm and the reason for their visit. Visitor tracking is part of any on-farm food safety programs and logbooks are reviewed during food safety program audits. Free logbooks are available from Beef Farmers of Ontario or from Ontario Livestock and Poultry Council.

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O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

“Once you get one, go back in your day book and start filling it out so that you have a bit of history. It’s a catalyst to get you started and will help remind you to keep it going,” Ferguson says. “Now your visitors know that you have a plan and that you are serious about biosecurity.”

Dr. Jessica Gordon is an assistant professor in Ruminant Health Management at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph.

She adds it’s particularly important not to allow visitors on the farm who have recently returned from a foreign country where they have had contact with livestock. This is especially true of countries with known foreign animal diseases, like Foot and Mouth Disease, for example.

3. Boot Covers or Farm Boots for Visitors Provide boot covers for anyone who does come into the barn, or make sure to have a few extra pairs of farm boots on hand. This helps minimize risk of disease transmission on footwear, especially from visitors who are regularly on different farms.

4. Isolation for New Cattle Ferguson recommends knowing the source of any new animals coming into the herd, including their health records. Upon arrival, keep new animals away from cattle already on the farm for two weeks – no nose-to-nose contact – to minimize the risk of disease transmission.

Even though the animals could be completely healthy, the initial isolation period gives any infections or problems they do have a chance to clear up before they join the rest of the herd.

“If a person could manage those four things, they would be well on their way to having a biosecurity plan in place,” Ferguson says, adding the four steps are all part of the Standard Operating Procedures included in VBP+.

The biggest risk for disease transmission to a herd comes from visitors to the farm and new animals entering the herd.

Gordon says the best way to keep livestock free of disease is to maintain a closed herd, which means no replacement animals from any outside sources, but adds that’s not a realistic solution for most farmers.

Quarantining any new animals coming onto the farm for a minimum of two weeks is a good way to prevent introduction of new pathogens, as is knowing the history of those new animals.

“Purchasing animals from a known source with similar biosecurity practices to your own farm is key,” she says. “Also, making sure that all your animals are well vaccinated prior to the arrival of any new animals will decrease the disease risk.”

Farmers should speak to their veterinarians to get an understanding of what “well vaccinated” means for their particular herd, Gordon adds.

More biosecurity information is available at: • verifiedbeefproductionplus.ca/producer-resources/importantresources-links.cfm • www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/beef/health.html OB

CANADIAN BEEF CHECK-OFF AGENCY UPDATE

By Tayla Fraser, Manager, Partner Engagement, Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency

T

he Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency officially began a new fiscal year on April 1, 2020, and launched the new 2020-2023 strategic plan and 2020/21 business plan. The reports and plans are available at www.cdnbeefcheckoff.ca online The strategic plan outlines the key objectives for the Agency in the next three years, following up on the last plan which was primarily focused on transparency and organizational governance.

“Our 2020-23 strategic plan really focuses on supporting our provincial partners and our national service providers, and strengthening of check-off knowledge in Canadian producers,” says Chad Ross, agency chair.

The four objectives of the strategic plan include structured reporting and compliance, engaged and educated stakeholders, strategic communications and collaboration, and sound governance and administration. Within those objectives, lives the tactics and programs found in the Agency’s 2020-21 business plan.

In 2020/21, the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off and import levy is estimated to bring in approximately $17,040,00 in gross revenue, which includes the addition of levies from Veal Farmers of Ontario.

The Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off is $2.50 per head in all provinces with the exception of Ontario, and the import levy, currently at $1.00 per head or equivalent.

The Agency’s business plan works to deliver on the goals and objectives of the National Beef Strategy to foster growth and profitability for the beef and veal industries in Canada. That includes working closely with our service providers who deliver on some of the key goals in the strategy.

promotion, the Beef Cattle Research Council delivering on research, and both the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Canada Beef delivering on public and stakeholder engagement as a joint program initiative.

The Agency projects the total revenue, net administration, to be allocated as 56 per cent to market development and promotion, 25 per cent to research, 13 per cent to provincial initiatives and 6 per cent to public and stakeholder engagement.

These percentages are based on the allocations made for the 2020/21 year by the provincial cattle associations, plus the import levy allocation, both are available on the Agency’s website at www.cdnbeefcheckoff.ca/programs/allocations.

The Agency Members approved the 2020/21 business plan in February 2020, with an administration budget equal to 5.0 per cent of total check-off and import levy collected. The Agency continues to strive for lean and prudent management of check-off dollars on behalf of Canada’s beef industry.

Visit www.cdnbeefcheckoff.ca to read the plans in detail. OB

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“The Agency has come a long way since our first strategic plan in 2017/18,” says Melinda German, general manager. “We remain committed to providing support to our provincial stakeholders in the collection and compliance of the check-off system and working with our national service providers to achieve the goals of the National Beef Strategy over the next three years.”

Also included in the Agency’s business plan are key goals and deliverables for the Agency’s service providers who invest check-off dollars into programs and activities on behalf of the industry. Service providers include Canada Beef delivering on market development and

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

27

ONTARIO BEEF MARKET DEVELOPMENT

By John Baker, Director, Ontario Beef Market Development Program www.ontariobeef.com

Focus on International and Domestic Growth T

he new Ontario Beef brand continues to grow through the dedicated work of BFO’s Joint Marketing Committee and the Market Development Program. The program is driven by a sound strategy, focused on developing strong brand recognition and growing market share for unique brands of Ontario Beef in domestic and export markets.

A key aspect of this strategy is to establish and grow strong partnerships and relationships in Ontario’s retail, foodservice and processing sectors, and in key export markets.

and restaurant operators. Point of Sale materials were developed for two new Japanese retailers representing 50 store locations, that featured Ontario Corn Fed Beef as a premium brand of Canadian beef.

The program hosted a trade mission to Ontario with senior executives of Japanese food companies in February 2020, and participated in a supermarket trade show in Japan in March 2020 that saw brand exposure to more than 60,000 retail supermarket customers and buyers. The new Ontario Heritage Angus Beef Brand was also launched into the Asian market at the Japanese trade show.

Market Development Activities

Growing Domestic Demand Work continued in fall 2019 to build the CARVE Premium Ontario Beef brand in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) marketplace. Ad campaigns, product guides for distributor sales reps and custom box designs were developed to support sales and enhance brand awareness. Participation in the Taste of Toronto food event saw brand exposure to the growing consumer market.

The Ontario Beef brand was showcased at the Restaurants Canada tradeshow is February 2020. Three Ontario Beef brands were featured at the largest foodservice show in Canada, providing exposure to a national customer base.

Despite the current challenges the COVID-19 pandemic is dealing the beef industry, work continues on the program’s vision to have Ontario Beef recognized and valued by our industry partners and consumers around the world.

Here’s a summary of activities from late fall 2019 and winter 2020 that have helped develop and strengthen brand partnerships, and increase market share for Ontario branded beef.

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Cultivating International Markets The Ontario Beef Market Development Program participated in five international development activities. A program highlight included attending a trade mission to Japan and Korea with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in November 2019. The Ontario Beef brand also participated in a food show in Vietnam in November 2019 that provided exposure to more than 40,000 buyers

Produced in partnership with the Ontario Cattle Feeders Association.

Market Disruptions The recent COVID-19 pandemic presents long-term challenges to every part of the beef value chain. The strong partnerships, brand recognition and consumer demand for high quality, locally produced Ontario beef will become more important than ever as we navigate through these unprecedented times and look towards a post COVID-19 recovery period.

Working closely with our Ontario Beef brand and supply chain partners during this time of crisis will be critical to a successful recovery and long-term growth. OB 28

O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

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ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

29

CANADA BEEF UPDATE

Reassuring Consumers and Meat Professionals – a Collaborative Meat Industry Response to COVID-19

By Michele McAdoo, Executive Director, Brand & Communications, Canada Beef

S

ince the first known case in China on December 31, 2019, the COVID-19 illness has now been reported in 184 countries and regions worldwide. The rapid emergence of the pandemic has impacted global supply chains and the normal daily routines of much of the world’s population. Canadian consumers are experiencing a sense of uncertainty that has resulted in stocking up on meat and other essential supplies.

To help address this reality, Canada Beef has worked collaboratively with the national associations representing beef, veal and pork*. The resources outlined here have been developed for Canadian consumers and meat professionals in domestic and international markets. The focus has been to provide reassurance about the safety of meat and our ability to maintain a stable food supply by safeguarding the health of Canadians working in the sector. To support retailers and consumers, Canada Beef’s marketing team has developed programs to help consumers cook and enjoy the Canadian beef they have on hand.

Visit our COVID-19 webpage at canadabeef.ca/covid19updates for updates, industry information and helpful government links. Our consumer focus on food safety essentials website is available at canadabeef.ca/foodsafetyessentials.

Safeguarding the Canadian Meat Supply Fact Sheet A fact sheet outlining the measures being taken by the Canadian meat industry to protect against COVID-19 has been produced in eight languages. The fact sheet and a cover letter signed by seven association leaders has been distributed to meat professionals in Canada, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. The fact sheet is available at canadabeef.ca/covid19.

Food Safety and COVID-19 Fact Sheet A fact sheet for consumers has been created to offer clear, easyto-understand information on COVID-19 – what it is, how to prevent it, the assurance that domestic livestock and meat are not affected, and food safety tips. Available in English and French, the factsheet is available at canadabeef.ca/covid19updates.

Securing the Canadian Beef Supply Videos A two-part video was produced for Canadian consumers at canadabeef.ca/covid19updates. These videos are designed to show consumers the human face of the industry because of COVID-19 and instill confidence in the supply and safety of Canadian beef.

Part one features cattle producers discussing what they are doing on the ranch and in feedlots during COVID-19 to reassure consumers the beef supply is secure. Part two features employees from a processing plant discussing additional safety precautions put in place to safeguard employee health, and the safety and stability of the beef supply.

Consumer Outreach Canadians are cooking at home like never before and one of the most popular items is Canadian beef. Interest in buying, preparing and serving Canadian beef is at a record high, and so are online interactions with consumers.

The canadabeef.ca website has seen a 66 per cent increase in total users and a 73 per cent increase in new website users in March compared to the same time last year. The ThinkBeef.ca website has seen a 450 per cent increase in monthly visits – up by 13,000 visits comparing February traffic to March.

Cooking instructions, recipes and information on the canadabeef.ca website is being widely shared across all of Canada Beef’s social media platforms.

Two scheduled consumer marketing campaigns, The One & Only Beef and My Canadian Beef have shifted focus to meet consumer interest. “Restaurant options are limited. We know consumers have stocked up on beef from the grocery store and while they’re in their kitchens ready to cook, many aren’t sure where to start – they need help with recipes, serving suggestions and cooking instructions,” says Joyce Parslow, executive director, consumer marketing for Canada Beef.

Parslow notes that content will shift to focus on culinary topics – with recipe inspiration to shake up meal routines, and how-to information to enable consumers to brush up on their beef-centric food skills. Follow the campaigns at Thinkbeef.ca/real and canadabeef.ca/mycanadianbeef

Retailer Support A detailed list of retailer resources is available at canadabeef.ca/covid19updates. New resources focused on consumers and “how to cook” are being developed and will be available for retailers to help promote Canadian beef and provide cooking information.

1. “How to Cook” transparent cooking labels – these new on-pack labels use Canada Beef’s tried, tested and true 3-Step Standard Cooking Instructions. Transparent labels allow for the best view of the meat in the package for steaks (grilling, simmering, marinating, NEW: yakiniku-style steak), roasts (pot roast, oven roast), stew beef cubes, stir-fry strips and kabob cubes.

2. The One & Only Beef Retail point-of-sale toolkit – created to complement the One & Only Beef consumer campaign. The tool kit features a consumer booklet with recipes for ground beef beyond traditional meatballs or spaghetti sauce, countertop displays, a tent card, decals and more.

3. Independent Retail Operators Program – designed for independent and small-chain grocery stores, this kit contains everything an operator needs to promote their use of 100 per cent Canadian beef and veal. With heightened consumer interest in food safety, it’s important for operators to highlight that the beef in their meat case is 100 per cent Canadian. OB * Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, National Cattle Feeders Association, Canadian Meat Council, Canadian Veal Association, Canadian Pork Council and Canada Pork.

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O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

Consumer Marketing and Communications Update The COVID-19 Evolve and Shift Given the new COVID-19 reality, Canada Beef consumer marketing efforts have shifted with the ever-evolving landscape.

Here’s a recap of the modifications underway to remain relevant to consumer needs and concerns.

TWO CONSUMER MARKETING CAMPAIGNS • 2 x 1 year-long parallel consumer marketing campaigns of TRUST and CRAVE • launched March 1, 2020 (see Western Grocer ad + Press Release) • COVID-19 shifted campaign content and media placement Consumer Shift: With the current self-isolation practices, people stocked up on beef and are now at home and cooking in their kitchens more than ever.

They need recipes, inspiration, distraction and cooking know-how information.

Media Shift: Online and broadcast media have now captured a dedicated audience of consumers seeking information and entertainment.

CAMPAIGNS SHIFT FOCUS TO CULINARY CONTENT IN FULL FORCE ON-LINE. MAY RELEASE: TV VIDEO ADS

CAMPAIGN A - TRUST: #MyCanadianBeef features stories of those who stand up for Canadian Beef with home cooks, dietitians, farmers, conservation experts and more, telling their stories of what Canadian Beef means to them.

Outreach includes guest - media generated articles in consumer on-line content providers Curiosity, Daily Hive and Eat North for example.

• To follow-along visit https://canadabeef.ca/mycanadianbeef • Includes digital ads being seen across Facebook, Instagram and Google.

All ads and social posts drive back to #mycanadianbeef page at canadabeef.ca • Video features gain traction: 41,000 views of #MyCanadianBeef is… trust “The beef we Raise is the same beef we eat”

CAMPAIGN B - CRAVE: The One & Only Beef campaign was originally

designed to counter the competitive pressure from the simulated meat-like products, with beef’s undeniable and unique crave-appeal. With COVID-19, creative now shifts focus to Beef’s crave-appeal, with inspiring recipe imagery, video, Influencer outreach channels, contesting and more – content designed to get folks cooking and posting about delicious beef meals.

• To follow-along visit https://thinkbeef.ca/real • Out-of-home video portion of campaign at Goodlife Fitness TV screens now postponed until they re-open • Broadcast advertising set for a 50/50 audience men & women for video portion of campaign.

Andrew & Laurie Johnson Ranchers, SK

READ STORY

Canadabeef.ca has seen a 66% increase in total users (93 K) and 73% increase in new users in March compared to the same time last year. Results to March 23,2020

ThinkBeef.ca has seen a 450% lift in monthly visits – up by 13,000 visits comparing traffic in February to the month of March. Results to March 23,2020

Crave campaign videos are found on ThinkBeef.ca/real and also in this

PR efforts for #mycanadianbeef gains new editorial articles and images

playlist on the YouTube channel

written by third parties endorsing Canadian beef to new audiences

• Focus right now is Culinary Crave videos + recipe videos.

• Fun ‘Spoof videos’ (with Kids & Cats ) release delayed for now.

• Curiocity – 4 market audiences Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto. A total of 79,000 reached.

• Daily Hive market audiences (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto) with Instagram quiz.

• Weather Network app and other apps – audience surveys push engagement • BTV Toronto audience is huge. We gained exposure through a key influencer segment on ‘contagion cooking’.

PLUS 3 cooking videos on Prime Rib Know-how

7 Influencers developed a set of recipes and are posting on their platforms to link to us – check out the influencer recipes here. CTV Saskatoon featured one of our Influencer beef recipes, with outreach to the whole province.

PAILIN “PAI” CHONGCHITNANT

THE

gives the traditional burger a delicious Thai twist in this Bun-less Massaman Curry Beef Burger

One & Only BEEF

Instagram Contest for monthly draw with the goal to drive visibility of beef on-line and engage a young demographic.

COVID 19 INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS AND TRADE • Consumer education resources on web and in PDF focus on the Food Safety Essentials that consumers can take to minimize risk. As well, consumer information about the steps the food supply chain is taking to maintain consumer access to the beef they enjoy.

• 2 x PDF documents (Consumer + Industry) were developed in collaboration with Canada Pork and CMC. • Trade resource translated and distributed in Japan, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Mexico, South Korea and Canada (English and French) • canadabeef.ca website is the consumer education spot with information specific to COVID-19, with helpful government links • distribution and linking via Canada Beef social platforms and consumer monthly newsletter • Outreach also for help to Retailers and Food Service partners.

THE ‘GRATITUDE’ SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN • Public & Stakeholder Engagement teams of Canada Beef and CCA release a social media campaign to thank 'supply chain heros'.

COMING NEXT – RETAILER HOW-TO-COOK CONSUMER TOOLS • We have consumer how-to education tools with 3 point of purchase tool kits and more information that will help Retailers to help their customers.

FOOD SAFETY AND COVID-19 Information for You and Your Family What is COVID-19?

How does it cause illness?

• COVID-19 is a coronavirus that can cause serious damage to your lungs.

• The envelope (outer layer) of the virus contains components that can be damaged by soap.

Without this envelope the virus is unable to infect your cells.

ESSENTIALS

HANDWASH HOW-TO

KITCHEN CLEAN

• The virus infects people through the human respiratory tract and is not known to cause illness through the stomach or our intestines when we eat food.

• touching something with the virus on it, then touching your eyes, nose or mouth • symptoms include cough, fever, shortness of breath, runny nose, or sore throat

There is currently no evidence that food is a likely source or route of transmission of COVID-19.

-

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Actions to protect you and your family Frequently Touched Surfaces

2m

C

FOOD

SAFETY

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has said that to date, there have been no reports of domesticated livestock being infected or sick with COVID-19 related illness anywhere.

38

COVID-19

You can become ill from: • respiratory droplets from coughs or sneezes • close personal contact with an infected person

Food does not transmit COVID-19 illness

• While the risk from surfaces is thought to be low, active virus is more likely to be found on hard surfaces such as those made from plastic or steel.

• If a surface is visibly dirty, clean it with soap and water first and then disinfect.

• To disinfect you can use a diluted bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) or a commercial product.

• Use gloves to protect hands, follow manufacturer’s instructions and wash hands immediately after cleaning.

Prevent the Spread of Germs • When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with your arm or tissues to reduce the spread of germs.

HANDLING FRESH FOODS

COOKING FOR OTHERS

Grocery Shopping Tips • Shop at times when there are fewer shoppers or have your groceries delivered.

• Keep a 2 metre distance from other shoppers.

• Disinfect the handle of grocery carts and baskets.

• Wash or sanitize hands before entering and after leaving the store.

• Do not shop if you have COVID-19 symptoms.

2020/03/29

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

31

OMAFRA UPDATE

Identifying Production Efficiencies to Increase Profitability

By James Byrne, Beef Cattle Specialist, OMAFRA www.omafra.on.ca

I

ncreasing output is an important component of increasing farm profitability. But there are inherent issues in relying solely on increasing output as a driver of increased profitability. Most cowcalf producers are price takes. This means when it comes to selling livestock, they have little control on the price they receive for their animals year after year. This price volatility means there is no guarantee that increasing the numbers of animals sold will lead to an increase in farm profitability. For many cow-calf producers, increasing the number of animals sold means increasing the number of breeding animals that must be retained. This increases variable costs, and may also require an increase in capital expenditure – more animals mean more housing requirements, increased feed storage space, increased land to graze animals, more fencing, more water lines, etc. But unlike variable costs, capital costs cannot be increased on a unit basis. So increasing output may lead to a temporary reduction in farm profitability and cash flow through higher interest and capital repayment requirements, until the increase in output is sufficiently large enough to compensate for the increased costs.

Evaluate Farm Output Before considering an increase in production to generate higher farm income, producers should evaluate their existing enterprise to determine if there is an opportunity to improve farm income through improved production efficiencies. Evidence from the 2017 Ontario Cow-Calf Production Survey suggests there is significant opportunity for Ontario cow-calf producers to improve production efficiencies, reduce costs, increase output and improve farm profitability – without any change to herd size. Examining and improving production efficiencies helps producers extract more output per unit productive animal and more output per productive unit acre. Using these metrics to look at farming output will help producers identify areas of their production system where they can improve efficiencies (see Table 1).

Efficiencies Along the Production Cycle For cow-calf producers interested in evaluating and improving efficiencies, there are areas in the production cycle where efficiency improvements can have a significant impact on farm profitability.

Aim for Compact Breeding and Calving Compact breeding and compact calving are interrelated and defined as having a breeding and calving season that take place over a period of 63 days or less (9 weeks). The main benefit of compact calving is to produce a larger group of uniform weight calves at the point of sale. A new Ontario research study released in 2019 demonstrated that feedlot buyers are prepared to pay a premium to purchase larger lots of uniform cattle. Previous research showed that calves born from cows bred within the first 21 days of the breeding season had weaning weights 39 lb. heavier than later born calves. Having more calves born in the first 21 days of the calving season means producers have heavier, more uniform groups of cattle to sell earlier, increasing their profit potential. Producers should aim for a calving season with a 70:20:10 distribution where 70 per cent calf within the first 21 days of the calving season, 20 per cent by day 42 of the calving season and the remaining 10 per cent by day 63 of the calving season. Producers should plan that first-calf heifers’ calf in the first 21 days of the calving season. First calf heifers take longer to go back in calf than mature cows. This way producers can keep the breeding season to a target 63 days.

$1,184.40 $1,209.60

Target Culling Rate Between 10-20 Per Cent The 2017 Ontario-Cow Calf Production Survey showed that Ontario cow-calf producers have an average culling rate of 9 per cent, (recommended 10-20 per cent), indicating many operations have a lot of older cows. As cows age, their reproductive performance declines and with it, overall herd productivity (i.e. more open cows, longer time taken to go back in calf, longer calving season, etc.). Adopting higher culling rates allows more heifers with greater reproductive performance and higher genetic merit to join the herd. Younger herds tend to have fewer open cows, easier to compact the breeding season and therefore the calving season, and lead to quicker improvements in calf quality through the faster introduction of new genetics to the herd. Younger-aged herds also tend to have fewer health issues, reducing veterinary costs. Higher culling rates allows producers to take advantage of the higher cull value available for better quality cull cows.

In this example, improving the percentage of calves weaned from 90 per cent to 96 per cent increased the value of calves sold by 6.5 per cent and increased the productive economic value of each beef cow (productive economic unit) by over $100 per cow from $1,134 to $1,209.60. This is without any change to the number of breeding units in the herd.

Increase Pregnancy Checking and Weaning Percentages Producers should aim to rear a calf per cow per year. The average weaning percentage in Ontario is 91 per cent for cows and 75.5 per cent for heifers. Couple this with an average breeding season length of 118 days (giving a 388-day breeding cycle), compared to a 365-day target, and there is clearly significant room for improvement.

Table 1 – An illustration of the effect of improving production efficiency on farm output Number of cows in the herd

50

50

50

90%

93%

96%

45

47

48

Value of calves weaned (600 lb. steers at $210/cwt)

$56,700

$59,220

$60,480

Output per unit animal (beef cow)

$1,134

Weaning percentage Number of calves weaned

Continued on page 34.

32

O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

Ontario Simmental Association.

GET THE

SIMMENTAL

ADVANTAGE Performance.Pounds.Profit.

Join us!

Ontario Simmental Association

Member Services Manager: Ashton Colvin 519-357-6775 email: memberservices.osa@gmail.com

www.ontariosimmentalassociation.com

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

33

Continued from page 32. – OMAFRA

A about 66 per cent of Ontario cow-calf producers indicate they pregnancy check at the end of the breeding season.

Identifying open cows – which should be selected for culling – will help reduce winter maintenance costs. Keeping open cows is a substantial cost to any farming enterprise. A breeding female only generates income through the sale of her calf. An empty cow will take at least two years before she can generate any income.

It’s unlikely a commercial beef cow will produce a calf of such quality to compensate for the cost of keeping her empty for 12 months.

Pregnancy checking heifers is equally critical. Open heifers should be identified early and can then be either sold or transferred from the breeding herd to the feedlot.

Get More From Your Pasture The ability to grow and utilize pasture in an efficient and profitable manner is widely considered to be a critical driver of low-cost animal production systems and grazed pasture is the most cost-effective feed available to all ruminant livestock. Research has highlighted pasture management as the single biggest influence on pasture yield and utilization. Regular pasture measuring and budgeting provides significant benefits including optimum utilization of spring grass, early identification of pasture surpluses and deficits, and the achievement of higher livestock performances from pasture-based systems.

Increasing pasture utilization rates is critical to increase both animal performance and output per unit area. While there is little

34

O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

Update

research from Ontario cow-calf farms to show the average pasture utilization rates, anecdotally, it’s probably less than 50 per cent.

Increasing utilization rates allows for more animals to be grazed per unit area, or a smaller area to be dedicated to grazing, opening up alternative economic use for the additional land.

Effective management strategies to improve output from pasture include adoption of rotational or other controlled grazing systems, adoption of strategies that permit early spring/late fall grazing (where conditions allow), identifying paddocks with surpluses that can be saved for winter forage, and identifying potential deficits early and taking corrective action.

Adopt Extended Grazing Practices The longer livestock can be maintained in the grazing state, the lower the cost of production, through reduced requirement for supplementary forage, bedding, etc. Extended grazing also presents labour cost/time saving opportunities. Extended grazing practices include grazing alternative crops such as cover crops in the fall and grazing stockpiled pasture or warm season grasses such as SorghumSudan during the summer slump.

If we assume a hay price of $0.10 per lb., every extra day spent grazing by a beef cow saves on average $3.75 per cow per day in hay costs. Extending the grazing by one month can save up 1,050 lb. of hay per cow, or $105 per cow per month in purchased hay costs. Hay that isn’t consumed in the fall can become hay inventory to protect feed levels in the event of a late spring the following year, saving the requirement to purchase hay in such a circumstance. Or, where adequate forage is available, the area required to grow the additional 1,050 lb. of hay per cow can be put to an alternative productive economic use.

Critical analysis of farm output performance can help producers identify areas in the production system where performance can be improved and should be the first approach to improving farm output, gross farm revenue, reducing costs and increasing profitability. Once production efficiency has been satisfactorily achieved producers can look to increase output through increasing herd size.

For more information on research and studies mentioned in this article, contact James Byrne, Beef Cattle Specialist, OMAFRA. OB

MARKET INFORMATION UPDATE

By Jamie Gamble, BFO Market Information Coordinator markets@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com

S

tatistics Canada released the January 1, 2020 cattle statistics the first week in March. By category, fed steers and heifers totaled 385,700 head on January 1, down 10,000 (2.5%) from 2019 and 20,800 (5.1%) less than on January 1, 2018. The steers were the lowest volume since January 1, 2016 while heifer volumes were up from January 1, 2019 and the largest January 1 volume since 2014.

Replacement beef heifers on Ontario farms as of January 1, 2020 totaled 43,100 head, which is the largest January volume since January 1, 2016. Beef cow volumes on Ontario farms were also higher with the January 1, 2020 volume sitting at 253,900 head, up 6,900 (2.8%) from 2019, and the largest January beef cow head count since 2015.

Replacement cattle volumes on Ontario farms as of January 1, 2020 were calculated at 407,400 head, down 23,800 (5.5%) from 2019 and 15,500 (3.6%) below January 1, 2018. This is the lowest January 1 replacement cattle volume since data collection began in 1932.

The Ontario cattle market, like all other Canadian and North American markets, are very volatile at time of writing, April 21, 2020. A comment about the market conditions today will be redundant by the time this is published as markets are evolving daily. What we do know, is that the fed cattle market is suffering with prices under pressure and packer buying interest has been sporadic at times. Prices are currently $8 cwt below last year on a monthly average basis and the market has not been this low in the month of March since 2013 (average prices for April are calculated from April 1-20, 2020). Reduced packer capacity since the fall of 2019 has put pressure on the fed cattle prices, as the supply was larger than the demand at times. Packers in Ontario have been doing their best to keep the cattle moving but with COVID-19, it is increasingly more difficult for processors to maintain the chain speed and protect the health of their employees. Breakeven values are far higher than current fed cattle prices and estimates of losses are over $300-$350 per head. Up until August 2020, breakeven prices are estimated from $251-$273 cwt, but start to ease in September.

September is a long way away.

Volumes of cull cows sold through auction markets are up on a year to date basis, with volumes as of April 20, 2020 at 36,173 head, up 14.3% from the same time in 2019 and 32% more than in 2018 during the same time period. Prices for the cows have been bouncing around, with prices rising sharply in early March, but when the volumes increased, the prices dropped. At time of reporting the market is gaining strength again and volumes are easing.

36

O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

Weekly exports of live cattle to the U.S. through Ontario ports are reported on a weekly basis, however the cows, fed steers and heifers are now lumped into one category. In 2019 the volumes in the third quarter increased as the U.S. packers resumed purchasing Ontario fed cattle, noting dairy cattle and cull cows continued to be exported.

Recently, the numbers have decreased significantly due to plant shutdowns and production slow-downs in the U.S. due to COVID-19.

What numbers will look like moving forward is uncertain, but are expected to be below year ago volumes until lockdowns are lifted and full production resumes.

Although Statistics Canada reports lighter volumes of stocker and feeder cattle on Ontario farms, the volume sold through Ontario auction markets is up very slightly from last year, on a year-todate comparison. The 2020 prices on all weights and classes are considerably lower than the five-year average (average prices for April are calculated from April 1-20, 2020). The heavier cattle have recently seen pressure with prices dropping below the last two years trade and the five-year average. The lighter cattle are still seeing a good demand, but prices are still below last year at the same time and most categories are easier than 2018 prices.

Predicting where the market will go this year is going to be extremely difficult as the markets evolve daily. We are all in uncharted territory with nothing to reference. Keeping up to date on the market conditions and events will be extremely important. BFO has a COVID-19 section on the website which is updated frequently with information that can keep you informed. The market information

section of our website can also help you with your marketing decisions.

For those without technology, BFO provides a tapeline which is updated twice a day with current auction market sale reports, railgrade prices, cattle futures, and the Alberta and U.S. markets. This can be accessed toll free at 1-866-370-2333 or locally at 519-824-0334. Just dial extension 301 for the noon report and 300 for the night report or the rail report. Daily and weekly reports are available on the BFO website, www.ontariobeef.com or via email or fax. The weekly report is available by regular mail for those without access to the internet. Stay safe and stay healthy! OB

The information provided on this report is based on weighted averages for actual data collected.

Input costs are a guideline only and will vary from producer to producer. BFO does not take any responsibility and accepts no legal liability arising from or connected to damages or losses experienced by producers when using this information. This is to be used at your own risk.

Continued on page 38.

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

37

Continued from page 37. – Market

38

Info

O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

BEEF EXPORTS - CANADA

United States

Mexico

Jan. 1 - Feb. 29

Jan. 1 - Feb. 29

Total

45,225 tonnes

2,986 tonnes

Japan

China

Jan. 1 - Feb. 29

Jan. 1 - Feb. 29

7,192 tonnes

1,331 tonnes

Total

BEEF PRODUCTION - CANADA

Jan. 1 - Apr. 11, 2020 Last Year Same Time

% Change

Fed

286,499 tonnes

281,392 tonnes

+2%

Non-fed

53,205 tonnes

59,153 tonnes

-10%

BEEF IMPORTS - CANADA

Jan. 1 - Apr. 11, 2020

Last Year Same Time % Change

US

33,675 tonnes

28,932 tonnes

Non-NAFTA

+16%

11,094 tonnes

14,999 tonnes

-26%

EU-28 (beef/veal total) 4,499 tonnes

1,779 tonnes

+153%

47,392 tonnes

+9%

Total

51,656 tonnes

LIVE CATTLE - CANADA IMPORTS

EXPORTS

EXPORTS

Jan. 1 - Feb. 29

Jan. 1 - Apr. 4, 2020

% Change

Slaughter steers & heifers 145,118

+7%

Purebred

268

Non-Purebred

44,007 Feeder steers & heifers

Cows & bulls

39,599

-48%

9,115

+2%

LIVE CATTLE EXPORTS - ONTARIO

Week ending Apr. 4, ‘20 Week ending Mar. 28, ‘20 Year to Date

Total to US.

1,709

3,645

43,390

Steers, Heifers, Cows 1,577

3,368

39,929

277

3,461

Bulls

132

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

39

CHECK-OFF DEDUCTION REMITTANCE FORM Every cattle seller (including sales by private treaty) is required under Regulation 54 of the Beef Cattle Marketing Act (BCMA) to pay a $4.50 per head Ontario license fee and a $1.00 per head national levy, for a total of a $5.50 per head check-off. Breeding stock, cull dairy cows, and beef calves are included. Exemptions exist only for cattle sold for the production of milk and veal. Fees are payable by the 15th of the month following deduction. Please note: Licenced Livestock Dealers who sell cattle within seven business days of having purchased them may apply for a rebate with proper documentation.

Firm or Individual Producer Reporting

Forward cheque payable to the Beef Farmers of Ontario with this report. Please retain one copy for your files.

HST Registration No: Period Covered by this Report: a) Number of Head Sold:

Finished:

I declare that this information represents a true and accurate statement of check-off deductions required to be made under Regulation 54 of the BCMA and the Canadian Beef Cattle Research Market Development and Promotion Agency.

Stocker:

Breeding Stock Females:

Culls:

Breeding Stock Bulls:

Calves:

b) Total BFO Check-off ($5.50xa)

Date:

c) HST on BFO Check-off (bx13%)

Signature:

d) Total Amount Owing (b+c)

Print Name: Address:

Mail to: Beef Farmers of Ontario 130 Malcolm Road Guelph, Ontario N1K 1B1

HST# R107797128

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BEEF BUSINESS LEADERS BLUE MOUNTAINS FARM

BAR 5 STOCK FARMS Ron Sr. & Carla Nolan (905) 330-5299

Seeking Ontario Beef!

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519 357 7600

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NOLAN ANGUS FARMS

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Ron Jr. & Mike Nolan (416) 993-3218 / (519) 803-0555 WWW.BAR5.COM OFFICE: (519) 986-1330

P 905.670.3450 |

Greg Nolan (416) 616-8834

Mitch & Brooke Whitton (647) 297-1517 WWW.ARTISANFARMS.CA

OFFICE: (905) 670-3450

636077 EUPHRASIA-HOLLAND TOWNLINE RR #3 MARKDALE, ON, N0C 1H0

Bar 5 Stock Farms

M i ller La n d & Li vesto c k

Charolais Bulls, Hay, Straw, Feedlot George & Dianne, Dwayne, Ashley and Cowal Miller RR 1, Jarvis, ON N0A 1J0

Ph (519) 587-2755

Cell (519) 429-5902

Ron Sr. & Carla Nolan Mobile: (905) 330-5299 Office: (519) 986-1330

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Deadline for August 2020 issue is July 15.

Call 519-763-8833 for information

40

O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

www.bar5.com

636077 Euphrasia-Holland Townline RR #3 Markdale, ON, N0C 1H0

R.R #5 HOARDS STATION Campbellford, Ontario SALE BARN Dave DeNure 705-653-3660 • Auction Sale Since 1949 • Sale Every Tuesday 12 p.m.

• Three Rings – Beef, Dairy, Pigs • Quinte Cattlemen’s Stocker Sales • Spring and Fall Member of O.L.A.M.A

Advertise in

BEEF BUSINESS LEADERS Very reasonable rates!

Deadline for August 2020 issue is July 15.

Call 519-763-8833 for information

Changes to OBCFPP Licenced Dealers List Now Licenced

BEEF FARMERS OF ONTARIO PRIVACY STATEMENT

The entire OBCFPP list can be found on the OMAFRA website at http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/ food/inspection/fpu/fpu_lists.htm

Country Dealer Gord’s Abattoir Ltd. Leamington, Ont.

Or For more information: Toll Free: 1-888-466-2372 ext. 64230 Local: (519) 826-4230 E-mail: foodinspection@ontario.ca OB

No Longer Licenced Country Dealer Martin’s Holsteins (1986) Ltd. Palmerston, Ont. Ryding Regency Meat Packers Ltd. Etobicoke, Ont.

The Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) is committed to protecting the privacy and security of producers’ personal information in compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Subscribers to Ontario Beef magazine, the official publication of the Beef Farmers of Ontario, do so on a voluntary basis. By subscribing, subscribers are consenting to have their contact information used for the purposes of receiving the magazine and developing an BFO mailing list.

This mailing list will be used for the distribution of the BFO magazine.

The BFO will not sell, trade or otherwise share its Ontario Beef mailing list under any circumstances. A service may be provided whereby items are submitted to the BFO and mailed internally with the magazine but all materials must be approved by and acceptable to the BFO. In rare instances where external, non-commercial organizations, like the provincial or federal government, wish to use the Ontario Beef mailing list to distribute information, the government must provide their mailing materials in a finished format to BFO and/or its mailing house.

BFO will then coordinate the mailing, at the requesting organization’s cost, thus maintaining confidentiality of the list. In cases where the BFO may commission a mailing, the company providing the service is required to sign a mandatory confidentiality agreement.

Subscribers to the Ontario Beef mailing list who wish to have their names removed, should call 519-824-0334 or email bethany@ontariobeef.com. Please allow 15 business days to allow us to update our records accordingly.

BFO’s complete privacy statement, covering areas of information including the electronic update system, Website, membership list and market information can be viewed on its Website at http://www.ontariobeef.com/privacy.asp

Garry & Sheila Smart

Advertise in

BEEF BUSINESS LEADERS Very reasonable rates!

Deadline for August 2020 issue is July 15.

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“Industry Accepted since 1978”

137606 Grey Rd. 12, RR # 2, Meaford, Ontario N4L 1W6 Phone: 519-538-4877 Cell: 519-372-7459 smartlimo@bmts.com www.smartlimousin.com

Breeding Stock Available at All Times.

Sunny Meadows Charolais

Selling progressive quality genetics since 1975 ~ polled with French influence.

Tel: 705-887-5142 Fax: 705-887-2341

Andy Millar

109 Bulmer’s Rd. R.R.#2 Fenelon Falls ON K0M 1N0

SUNRISE ANGUS (since 1995)

We source Canadian genetics to produce quality breeding stock.

Joel & Irene Thomas 477285 3rd Line Melancthon ON L9V 1T5 Phone: 519 925 5661• Cell: 519 940 1258 Email: sunriseangus@xplornet.ca

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Commercial Angus Purebred Red Angus Purebred Black Angus Purebred Hereford

The Seed Family- Greg: 705-648-4274 seesonranch@outlook.com 845040 Morrow Rd, New Liskeard Ontario, P0J 1P0

Silver Springs Farms James & Joan McKinlay R.R. 1, Ravenna, Ontario N0H 2E0 Tel: 519-599-6236 jmckinlay@bmts.com

Breeders of Quality Cattle Simmental • Red Angus • F1 Crosses

P: 519-760-0892 E: uspecs@roievents.ca FB: UNDERHILL SPECS

Performance live/frozen genetics available!

Wright’s R.R#1, #402144 Hanover, ON N4N 3B8 Tel: 519-369-3658

Carl Wright Cell: 519-369-7489 Ben Wright Cell: 519-374-3335 Laurie Wright Ofc: 519-369-3658

ON TAR IO BEEF • MAY 20 20

41

WELLNESS ON THE FARM

By Jessica Schill RN MPH, BFO Policy Advisor jessica@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com

Protecting Yourself, Your Family, Your Employees and Your Farm From COVID-19 O

ver the past few months, all of us – as farmers, employees, employers, family members and friends – have been navigating the new situation of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We’ve been listening and acting on health recommendations from government and industry, and working diligently to change our behaviours and dayto-day activities to reflect these recommendations. Unfortunately, as new information becomes available daily, and sometimes hourly, and misinformation spreads like wildfire, our focus can become impaired and we can lose sight of how to best take care of our health during these unprecedented and worrisome times.

Prevention is our best protection against chronic and communicable diseases, and COVID-19 is no exception. The health of your farm operation relies on your physiological and psychological health. Even if you are feeling unwell, the cattle still need to be fed and crops still need to be planted. Here are some prevention methods to help keep you, your family, your employees and your farm operating.

4. Proper hand hygiene. To limit the spread of COVID-19, proper and frequent hand hygiene is crucial. Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after using the washroom or before preparing food. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available, like in your vehicles. Always wash your hands or use an alcohol-based sanitizer after blowing your nose. Ensure that you have performed proper hand hygiene after visiting a public place or businesses or touched a commonly used surface in the community.

1. Understand the situation. COVID-19 comes from a large family of coronaviruses, some of which can only infect animals while others can infect humans. Symptoms may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure and could last as long as 14 days after becoming symptomatic. Transmission occurs through direct person-to-person contact, droplets generated from coughing and sneezing, and indirect contact through touching an infected surface and then touching your mouth, eyes or nose before washing your hands.

COVID-19 can also be transmitted to others from those who are pre-symptomatic (not yet showing symptoms) or asymptomatic (will never develop symptoms). At this time, there is no vaccine to treat or prevent COVID-19.

6. Practice respiratory etiquette. To reduce expelling respiratory droplets into the air, always cough or sneeze into the bend of your arm or a tissue. Dispose of the tissue immediately into a lined trash can and wash your hands.

2. Physical distance. As transmission occurs through direct contact and respiratory droplets (that can reach up to two metres when expelled from the body), we need to practice physical distancing.

In part, we need to stop using physical greetings such as hugs and handshakes – a simple wave will suffice. We should also avoid crowded places and non-essential gatherings. If you must visit a public place, like the grocery or hardware stores, try to maintain a two-metre distance from others at all times.

3. Stay home. As part of remaining physically distant from others, staying home or on the farm is an effective method to reducing your exposure. To reduce the number of family members leaving your home or the farm, designate one person to do the community visits for groceries, prescriptions, feed, parts, banking, etc. To limit your trips into the community, also consider having your groceries, prescriptions, parts, feed, etc. delivered to your home or the farm.

42

O N T A R I O B E E F • M AY 2 0 2 0

5. Disinfect. COVID-19 can survive on surfaces for up to several days depending on the temperature, humidity and type of surface. To reduce the frequency of indirect transmission, shared spaces and commonly touched surfaces or objects such as toys, door knobs, faucet handles, etc. should be cleaned more often. Using household cleaners or diluted bleach solutions have shown to be extremely effective in killing the virus when used according to the label instructions.

7. Monitor mental health. The pandemic was unexpected, resulting in uncertainties and unknowns. It is normal to feel worried, sad, confused, mad, scared or stressed. It is okay to reach out if you are feeling overwhelmed or are having difficulty managing your stress.

With so many advances in technology, virtually staying connected with friends and family can aid in reducing the feelings of social isolation. The Government of Canada has introduced Wellness Together Canada, a tool that provides resources to address low mood, worry, substance use, social isolation and relationship issues during the pandemic. We, at BFO, want you to know you are not alone and that our producers’ well-being is important to us during the pandemic. For industry-related mental health resources and links, please visit our Wellness on the Farm webpage at www.ontariobeef.com.

For updated COVID-19 health information, please refer to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Public Health Ontario, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization websites. For information about COVID-19 in your community, please visit your local public health unit or family health team websites. OB *The information above should not be substituted for medical advice from your local public health unit or family physician.

The horn fly menace costs the beef industry upwards of $1 billion per year in lost productivity. A “do-nothing” approach to control can be costly. It’s crucial to get ahead of the horn fly season, so control for the spring begins now. Starting Altosid® IGR in feed supplements 30 days before horn fly emergence and continuing throughout the season means your herd will be protected all summer long.

Do something against horn flies. Add Altosid® IGR to your feed supplement now.

To learn more, visit AltosidIGR.com or talk to your supplement provider.

Altosid® IGR Now available in Canada! ® ®

Always read and follow label directions. Altosid and the cow head design are registered trademarks of Wellmark International.

Central Life Sciences with design is a registered trademark of Central Garden & Pet Company. ©2018 Wellmark International.

THE 2020 SUPER DUTY®

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FOR DETAILS, VISIT FORD.CA/SUPERDUTY Vehicle may be shown with optional features. *When properly equipped. Maximum gooseneck tow rating of 37,000 lbs. available on F-450 Regular Cab 4x2 diesel. Class is Full-Size Pickups over 8,500 lbs. GVWR based on Ford segmentation. **When properly equipped. 475 horsepower and 1,050 lb.-ft of torque with the 6.7L PowerStroke® V8 Turbo Diesel engine. Class is Full-Size Pickups over 8,500 lbs. GVWR based on Ford segmentation. ^When properly equipped. Maximum payload on 2019 F-350 DRW 4x2 Regular Cab Long Box with 6.2L gas engine and Heavy-Duty Payload Package. †Class is Full-Size Pickups over 8,500 lbs. GVWR based on Ford segmentation. Driver-assist features are supplemental and do not replace the driver’s attention, judgment and need to control the vehicle. ©2020 Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. All rights reserved.