Gren Winslow

Your $1 per head may buy a lot less this time next year It seems like we’ve been talking about the national checkoff (NCO) in the pages of this magazine for more than a decade. So it is somewhat surprising to realize that it is now under threat before it has even been fully implemented. […] Read more

Gracey puts some numbers to the loss We all know it’s true but it still seems a bit harder to accept when the numbers are spelled out so clearly. That’s the feeling one gets when looking at Charlie Gracey’s recent analysis of the producers’ shrinking share of the beef dollar. As most readers of this […] Read more

We still haven’t reached bottom in cattle numbers The numbers are in and to no one’s surprise Canadian producers followed their American colleagues by shrinking the national beef herd for the fifth year in a row, this time by 1.3 per cent to 13 million head. Canadian beef cow numbers are down 3.8 per cent […] Read more

Alberta’s controversial ag minister is replaced In January Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach dropped his controversial agriculture minister George Groeneveld from cabinet. Normally the changing of an agriculture minister wouldn’t warrant comment. In today’s world one minister is much like another. Each leaves a small mark on the face of the industry they watch over on […] Read more

It could be our next BSE It is time to take what we have learned from BSE and apply it to Johne’s disease (JD). Johne’s is different from BSE. It is caused by a bacteria, Mycobacterium avium, subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), not a lifeless prion, so it can be killed. Rather than attack the brain JD […] Read more

Assessing the impact of Alberta’s refundable checkoff Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) is as ready as can be expected for April 1, the day when Alberta’s $3 checkoff becomes refundable. ABP delegates endorsed their refund plan at their annual meeting in Calgary last month. But it has yet to be approved by the Alberta Agricultural Products […] Read more

It won’t work, says this report In tough times it’s only natural to yearn for something better. That can be useful when the yearning leads to a concrete plan for making things better. Conversely, daydreaming over impossible ventures can be harmful if it keeps you from making hard choices about the future. This is why […] Read more

Plenty of producer interest, but too many provinces are giving VBP the cold shoulder In his column this month meat industry observer, Steve Kay argues that the best way to beat country-of-origin labelling in the U.S. is to generate our own Proudly Produced in Canada beef products. This is not a new idea. Value chains […] Read more

Producers are victims of hard bargaining at Moose Jaw plant The news out of Saskatchewan last month about XL Foods locking employees out of the cow plant at Moose Jaw is bound to have raised eyebrows in the West, if not right across the country. Of more immediate concern to the company might be the […] Read more

One needs to remain optimistic that things will improve Ted Haney, president of Canada Beef Export Federation, offers up some positive signs on the export front in this issue. It’s always good to look for a half-full glass but no one should be deluded into thinking the climb back will be an easy one. The […] Read more