For Dennis Laycraft, it shaped the trajectory of his career.

On May 20, 2003, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced that a Black Angus cow from northern Alberta had been found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy. This occurred after months of monitoring British beef in Canada due to concerns about BSE.

Almost immediately, the U.S. closed its borders to Canadian beef and cattle, with 40 other countries following suit.

The border would not fully reopen again until July 14, 2005.

As this all unfolded, the Canadian beef industry scrambled to keep up with the rapidly changing events.

“From that moment, we had a board call every morning. Then there was a whole tour of meetings,” says Laycraft, the Canadian Cattle Association’s executive vice-president, who is set to retire this year.

“Effectively, our marketplace became paralyzed by that; nobody knew what any animals were going to be worth. And when you don’t know what animals are going to be worth, sales effectively don’t happen.”

The BSE crisis was pivotal to the Canadian beef industry, not just for the impact it had at the time but for the way it shaped the industry, 23 years later.

BSE in 2003

In June 2003, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced relief funding that was cost-shared with the provincial governments, totalling around $460 million.

A change in how beef was slaughtered was announced as well, where the brain and spinal cord of all cattle over the age of two had to be removed.

At the time, Laycraft was travelling across the country to attend meetings, support producers and help reopen the U.S. border, which he says was critical at the time.

“There was almost two months there where I would pack a bag and buy one-way tickets, and then when I did get home, it was get the laundry done, see my family and then repack and leave again to go to meeting after meeting.”

To get the U.S. border open, the investigation into BSE in Canada had to be completed and the report shared. Meanwhile, more cases continued to pop up in Canada, and in December 2003, the U.S. had their first case.

Laycraft says it was almost a non-stop effort.

“It was pretty much from six in the morning, the calls starting, until 10 at night during that peak period. … Until a person lives through something like that, I don’t think they can ever fully appreciate how incredibly intense and involved it was.”

Though the crisis was resolved by 2005, the impact continued to be felt throughout the Canadian beef industry. A report from BMO’s economics department released in November 2003 said Canadian cattle producers had lost around $5 billion since the crisis began. In February 2004, Statistics Canada reported farm income fell to its lowest level in three years in 2003, with BSE playing a large role in this.

Laycraft says it was the perfect storm to affect the industry for years to come, starting with a major drought in 2002, straight into the BSE crisis, and then into the recession in 2008.

“It should have been that time when you get your highest prices … so all of that put pretty much the industry in survival mode, getting through that period.”

Producer impact

The toll of BSE on both the economy and the beef industry was great, and it was notable for how it shaped both in the years that followed.

But for those producers who had to live through it, what was the effect on them?

Research at Dalhousie University by Tanya Barber and Barbara Clow in 2013 examined just that.

According to the study, the financial implications of BSE left many feeling helpless and caused strain in on-farm relationships, and “participants described facing role changes, depression, arguments and uncertainty about whether or not they could afford to keep the farm in the family.”

The stress affected physical health and had an effect on farming communities as well.

“Participants described how decreases in income along with increases in expenses during the crisis extended into high debt loads, a decline in the numbers of small- to medium-sized farms and reduced feed and equipment sales — all of which negatively affected the economic status of the community.”

This is something Laycraft noted, saying it felt almost like they lost an entire generation of producers due to the crisis and its toll on the economy.

“Especially for those that would have had higher debt loads, which are typically newer producers, there was talk that we lost a generation during that (period), because in 2004, we were just shaping up to be the top of the cattle cycle. So we were heading into what we thought would be the time when, typically, you make profits in the cow-calf sector. And we lost the whole peak of that cattle cycle as a result.”

Dennis Laycraft
Canadian Cattle Association executive vice-president

Industry impact

Even though the industry survived a trying time, it does not mean there were not long-term effects.

But out of those issues, lessons were learned that shaped the industry into what it is today.

Laycraft highlighted the creation of the National Beef Strategy as a direct result of the BSE crisis.

The National Beef Strategy, run collaboratively by key organizations in the industry, is a plan to boost profitability, demand and global competitiveness for Canada’s beef sector.

Although the creation of the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency predated the BSE crisis, the situation heightened the necessity of a traceability system in Canada. Traceability was designed to help track an animal to its farm of origin through the value chain, which helps during animal health crises and is beneficial to food safety and market access.

“I see the industry working more closely together than I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been doing this for over 40 years,” Laycraft says. “And that was one positive, is that it did pull us together in a way that survival will do that.”

He says the Canadian beef industry could not be what it is now without the BSE crisis, though it felt like an insurmountable challenge at the time.

“Unfortunately, when you’re going through those very difficult times, every ounce of efficiency becomes absolutely crucial to survival, and we ended up, as a result, with the most efficient industry in the world.”

He highlights the industry’s sustainability, producing the same amount of beef with a smaller national herd, as well as how other foreign diseases are dealt with.

Disease management

Currently, there are a few disease-related concerns in the Canadian beef industry, such as the potential threat of bovine tuberculosis and foot-and-mouth disease.

There have been a few outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis in Canada, most recently in southeastern Saskatchewan. This, however, won’t cause the mass border closures that BSE did. Instead, restrictions only affect the specific region.

While there are notable differences between bovine tuberculosis and the BSE crisis, there are still lessons that can be applied.

“One of the absolute critical things for any foreign animal disease program to work is there has to be very effective compensation procedures in place,” says Laycraft.

Foot-and-mouth disease is one of the most contagious animal diseases for cloven-hoofed animals. While it has not been discovered in Canada since 1952 and there are many protocols in place to prevent it, it is still a serious concern for those in the industry.

Lessons learned from the BSE crisis are notable here, specifically in the preparedness of the industry in the event that the disease crosses Canada’s borders.

For example, CCA, Alberta Beef Producers and the National Cattle Feeder’s Association organized an FMD simulation event under Animal Health Canada and the CFIA.

The simulations were designed to focus on smaller components of an FMD response, and each simulation builds off of the previous exercise. The simulations focus on discussion to identify the roles and responsibilities of different agencies and individuals should an outbreak occur.

More drills and exercises will occur in 2027 to evaluate Canada’s preparedness and see if there is space for improvement.

“Prevention should be part of the psyche of every industry, and certainly is a big part of our psyche as we move forward, we continue to do simulations and everything to be prepared,” says Laycraft.

Looking back

Laycraft knows there is not much he could have changed when he reflects on how the BSE crisis was handled, and though it was a trying time, he is proud of how the industry came through it and became stronger than ever.

However, there are a few lessons he learned.

“When you live through something like BSE, you can see that the most successful measures you ever take are the ones that actually prevent something from happening.”

BSE Lessons: Strengthening Canada’s disease preparedness

According to the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA), the lessons learned from the BSE crisis have directly shaped current preparedness for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) and other foreign animal diseases:

• Mandatory traceability: The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency was strengthened to ensure animals can be tracked to their farm of origin, which is vital for managing animal health and maintaining market access.

• National coordination: The National Beef Strategy was created to align industry organizations, focusing on profitability and global competitiveness through a unified front.

• Response simulations: The CCA and Animal Health Canada now conduct regular FMD simulations to define specific roles and responsibilities before an outbreak occurs.

• Regionalization protocols: Unlike the total border closures of 2003, modern disease management (such as for Bovine TB) uses regional restrictions to protect international trade while containing the issue.

• Compensation frameworks: Establishing effective compensation procedures is now recognized as a critical “tool in the arsenal” for producer survival during a crisis.

He says prevention is key and should always be top of mind.

“Preparation, preparation, preparation, even when times are good, and especially when times are good, is very important.”

Two decades later, Laycraft can’t forget the BSE crisis. He still remembers it all in vivid detail — all the late nights, the travelling, the phone calls, the uncertainty.

But he also remembers the good, like the people who banded together, and what the industry became because of it all.

“I’ll look back with a great amount of respect to the work that many of them put into getting us through this in the most whole way that we could possibly,” says Laycraft.

“Back to the old, never waste a crisis. There was a lot of work that really went into,’ How do we work closer as an industry? How do we prepare to make sure this never happens again’?” c

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‘The seat of the North West Rebellion of 1885, was in Saskatchewan and north eastern Alberta, around Frog Lake and Whitefish Lake. The story of these troublesome times around the Whitefish Lake is here recorded as it was told the writer by the late Jas. Youmans, who, in 1880, succeeded Rev. H. B. Steinhauer at the Mission School at Whitefish Lake, and remained there until 1886.

“On the suppression of the first Riel Rebellion in 1870 there was a colony of French Cree, or Metis people, living along the banks of the Saskatchewan River south west of Prince Albert. With the setting up of the new government, these people feared an influx of white settlers, and so, abandoning their homes in the Red River Country, they came out to the land of the buffalo.”’

Click here to read the full article, “Reminiscences of the North West Rebellion, 1885,” as a free, downloadable PDF.

‘Our History’ is curated by former Canadian Cattlemen editor, Gren Winslow.

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On December 31, 1953 the ownership of Canadian Cattlemen will be transferred to the Public Press Limited of Winnipeg, Man., owners and publishers of the Country Guide. We have been informed the publication will be continued by the new owners, honouring its traditions under its present name, Canadian Cattlemen. It will be published monthly with Frank M. Jacobs, a highly respected name in the range country, as editor.

I suppose it is but natural for an editor who is confronted with the necessity of writing his last editorial, to look back over the years of his stewardship, especially since the present editor was the creator and has been the sole owner of this publication since its commencement.

My feelings are somewhat akin to those of a proud parent who, being responsible for a newly-born child and having cared for it through its first critical years, having held it to certain principles, now shifts it, a rapidly-maturing youth, to new and experienced hands for further development.

The “birth” of this child was in March 1938, when I resolved that what Canada’s Beef Cattle Industry needed was a publication which would put into print for posterity, the traditions arising from the experiences of those who pioneered the industry and which, at the same time, would develop an industry-consciousness and an appreciation by the beef producers themselves of the importance of the industry in Canada’s national economy.

Next came the necessity of a suitable name. “Cattleman?” No, the name was too singular. “Cattlemen?” That was more to my liking as it suggested that we were all together, working for a bigger and better industry. By the same process of reasoning the qualifying adjective “Alberta” was mentally discarded and the word “Canadian” was chosen. So the publication was given the name Canadian Cattlemen, and its first appearance in this world was June, 1938.

It was launched at a time when Hitler and Mussolini were rattling the sabre in Europe, when nations were apprehensive over the peace of the world. Business men were uncertain as to what the future held. It was a case of plodding on from quarterly issue to quarterly issue, building, building, building; and then the war, almost before the infant periodical was out of its crib and reverberations around the world, the impact on business and men’s thinking. Wartime restrictions on the cattle industry, which it was designed to serve, restrictions on the volume of paper available, careful and correct industry practices, Wartime Prices and Trade Board regulations, tax principles and directives and a host of other subjects unremittingly crowded into the first ten years of life. All the time, the glamor, the worthwhileness of the industry and its men, the trials and work of the pioneers were not forgotten — numerous freelance correspondents saw to that.

Came the victorious conclusion of the war and the anxiety of many over the possibility of a post-war depression. Then came the realization that with the expenditure of billions of dollars furnished principally by the United States under the Marshall Plan and Canada under Mutual-Aid, there was more danger of inflation than of depression. Rising rents, salaries, paper and printing costs and the great and insistent demand from readers for a more frequent issue beset us. “It’s wonderful but it doesn’t come out often enough,” was the common cry. The publication now had eleven years behind it and was growing fast. To publish every other month or to take the plunge and make it a monthly? Finally came the decision in August, 1949. The young publication needed much attention. It was a case of presenting it once a month for an audience which was expanding and included Canadian Westerners, Down-Easterners, Americans, Britons, Australians, Argentinos and library representatives from points scattered all over the world.

It may be usual for an editor writing his valedictory editorial to give advice, but it seems I have been doing just that upon request most of my life. Always it was given without material recompense and always with sincerity. If I am permitted to give advice now it would be somewhat as follows:

First and foremost, know the history and traditions of your industry as the backdrop to your present operations. Do not be bound entirely by them because we are in a dynamic world, but to know them and perhaps to tie to them when the going gets rough, and new and untried theories are advanced, may prove helpful.

You may discard many of your inherited characteristics and philosophies, but I for one, will forever be disappointed if you surrender your tradition of individual enterprise — your right to run your own business in your own way and the right to have something to say in the marketing of the product of your toil. Let yourselves be the source of authority of grass-roots thinking, and resist anything and everything which through socialistic or other theories pour down from above the blessings which you are to enjoy. Time has proven beyond doubt that these blessings derive only from personal planning and downright hard work.

Be informed on all new methods and devices and develop a creative attitude yourself. Many of the finest inventions have come from rural people. Lessen your production costs, constantly improve the quality of your stock, modernize your home, be fair with your children to hold their interest in your ranching operation, support their junior clubs, lend assistance to your schools and community activities. In short do everything which will make your way of life something to be desired by all.

And above all, have vision, faith and patience — vision to see that Canada’s Beef Cattle Industry has a growing and permanent place of importance in Canada’s national economy, faith that your conclusions are correct, and patience to see that your vision and your faith are given time to become actualities. The soundness of the industry has been made manifest this summer and fall. Its future is beyond doubt.

‘Our History’ is curated by former Canadian Cattlemen editor, Gren Winslow.

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Click here to read the full article, “Reorganization Gives Promotions,” as a free, downloadable PDF.

‘Our History’ is curated by former Canadian Cattlemen editor, Gren Winslow.

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‘“I’ll be ninety-five this September, but I feel thirty-five.” This is Mrs. Ada D. Costigan, Western Canadian pioneer, now residing in Vancouver, B.C. She defies time. My visit found her industriously working on a local paper’s Coronation Contest while beside her lay a half read novel. She subscribes to a daily newspaper and is up to the minute on all current events. “I’ve lived a full life,” she comments, but refuses to sit around in the a housecoat even though she had the misfortune to break her hip last summer. Instead, she dresses fully each morning at nine, and can walk again with the assistance of a cane.’

Click here to read the full article, “Mrs. Ada D. Costigan,” as a free, downloadable PDF.

‘Our History’ is curated by former Canadian Cattlemen editor, Gren Winslow.

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Within the year under review, prices of all meats declined an average of 22%. The most drastic decline was in cattle, and consequently beef, prices. A decline was not unexpected. It had been predicted for more than two years. Cattle prices had advanced to a much higher percentage of the pre-war level than was the case in respect of any other food. During the war period prices were controlled. Meats were rationed and ceiling prices were maintained. All Canada’s surplus meats were shipped to the U.K. An embargo was imposed against shipments of live stock or meats to United States. These controls continued until 1947.’

Click here to read the full article, “Canada Packers Limited – Report to the Shareholders,” as a free, downloadable PDF.

‘Our History’ is curated by former Canadian Cattlemen editor, Gren Winslow.

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The highly contentious and troublesome condemnation insurance deduction has been removed. The major packers on Monday, September 21 (1953) instructed their buyers no longer to make the deductions on any livestock purchased. It spread immediately throughout all markets across the nation and today Canadian producers find only the horn tax arbitrarily imposed upon them.

We congratulate the packers for the leadership they have provided in removing the ill-will provoking deductions and observe that it is now squarely the responsibility of the meat producers of Canada through their associations and in the case of cattlemen through their association and the Beef Council to organize and finance the nation-wide program to persuade the Canadian people to greater meat consumption for better health and to develop better public relations with consumers.

We say the meat industry advisedly because while the removal of the deduction on cattle amounts roughly to a half million annually for Canadian cattlemen, it amounts to nearly a million for the Canadian hog producers. Sheep producers never have been subject to the deduction. All, therefore, should now co-operate to bring about a better domestic market and public relations for the industry.

Briefly the history of the condemnation insurance deduction is as follows: The Meat Inspection Act was made effective across Canada on September 1, 1907. Under its terms inspectors were placed at “inspected” plants and had the authority to condemn any carcass or part which they deemed unfit for human consumption. As condemnations occurred it was argued between drovers and packers who should stand the loss. Finally, out of a meeting of drovers and packers in Toronto on January 16, 1912, came the plan calling for deductions of 20 cents per head on steers, heifers and bulls and 50 cents per head on cows with 1/2 of one per cent on the value of the animal on hogs. Later in 1912, the trade practice was extended to the West but in the case of cattle it became 1/2 of one per cent of the value of the animal. There were no deductions on calves in the East but calves became subject to the levy in the West. There was no charge East or West on sheep.

Cattlemen argued that the condemnation deduction practice did not take into account the tuberculosis eradication programs of the government and certainly did not recognize the general healthy condition of western range cattle. They also argued that the United States, where a highly organized cattle industry had developed, had not seen the necessity of the deduction, that the packer always bought the animal for what it was and if he was not too certain he bought “subject” anyway.

After a lull in the controversy for a decade the Western Stock Growers’ Association again raised the issue in 1939 and continuously debated the subject whenever the opportunity was presented. When the Council of Western Beef Producers was revived in the early ’40s, the subject was raised on a regional basis. The debate grew livelier until the packers saw the justice of the Western claims and on August 13, 1945 all packers levied the Eastern scale of deductions in the West. The 1/2 of one per cent charge was dropped. It was estimated that during the next six years that concession saved Western cattlemen $700,000 per year. They, however, were not satisfied that the principle was correct and advocated that the charge should be eliminated completely.

The September 1945 issue of this publication stated, “it is a concession in the right direction but it is no permanent solution to an ill-will provoking problem. The better health record of cattle in the West is still not fully recognized and no recognition is given to clean herds and clean areas. The packer buyer still buys the cattle beast for what it is and the price he pays takes into consideration such factors as finish or condition, possibilities of condemnation, probable dressing percentage and grade. The deduction is still a further reduction in the buying price which has already been arrived at to include all risks. It is hoped that the bad-will subject of condemnation insurance deduction will someday be entirely removed from our industry. There seems to be only one permanent solution and that is to remove it entirely.”

Then the National Council of Canadian Beef Producers, representing both East and West, after concluding a four-day session in Toronto from October 28, 1946, and after setting up a joint producer-packer committee of six with J.S. McLean, Canada Packer’s president as chairman, reported, “the Council is hopeful that the troublesome Condemnation Insurance Deduction program may be solved in a manner whereby it will no longer appear on the beef cattle producers’ account of sales, and condemnations will be absorbed by the packers in the price structure. If this should be done the way will then be cleared for the beef producers through their Council to raise their share of the large sums of money which will be needed for promotion of the beef product and the betterment of the industry.”

That was in 1946. Approximately seven years later the deduction has been removed not only on cattle but on all livestock. The packers have given leadership and it is hoped now that the general program, already initiated, of a voluntary deduction by the producer of five cents per head on cattle marketed will gain wide acceptance and momentum. The hog and sheep producers should also stir themselves and perhaps a “Canadian National Livestock and Meat Board” which has long been a dream by many may become a reality.

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‘From the middle of July to the end of November each year the grass cattle rancher gathers his beef harvest. It is the so-called fall marketing season, commencing with fat dry cows and ending with steers which sometimes have had a little cover-cropping. The bulk the offerings, by past experience, has been concentrated in the month of October.’

Click here to read the full article, “Community Auction Sales Association Limited,” as a free, downloadable PDF.

‘Our History’ is curated by former Canadian Cattlemen editor, Gren Winslow.

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‘Alberta is rich in early History, much of which is passing away. We are fortunate in having the Historic Sites and Monuments board of Canada, the Provincial Historical Society, the Old Timers’ Associations and kindred organizations, interested in preserving and keeping alive, an interest in the early West. Our old, historic buildings are fast falling into decay, and many of them would now be gone beyond repair, were it not for the intervention of interested groups.’

Click here to read the full article, “Alberta’s Storied Past,” as a free, downloadable PDF.

‘Our History’ is curated by former Canadian Cattlemen editor, Gren Winslow.

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It was a great source of pride to Cornelius (Neil) Jahnke that three of his sons “took to” ranching. When he died in the spring of 1952, Peter, Ben and Elmer were all on ranches, and working in partnership. Friends and acquaintances gathered from close by and for 150 miles around to attend the funeral. And they’re still saying of Neil Jahnke, “He was one of Nature’s gentlemen — the only one of a kind. They threw away the pattern after they made him!”

Cornelius Jahnke was born in Clear Springs, Manitoba but left it for the Northwest Territories in 1903. In that year before the Province of Saskatchewan was established, Mr. Jahnke settled on a ranch beside the South Saskatchewan River, 11 miles northwest of Main Centre, near Herbert, Sask. He was a real pioneer, one of the first settlers in the region, and definitely the first to start ranching thereabouts.

His brand was F. Rowlock on the left shoulder. And that’s what it still is, for the sons still work in partnership, even though their ranches are miles apart. Peter, the eldest, worked with his father a long time, and indeed it was largely his efforts that put the ranch on its feet, according to his sister, Mrs. Herbert Wiebe of Herbert.

The other sons were quite a bit younger, but they too decided on ranching, including Bruce who left it later. Neil Jahnke acquired two other ranches. Peter now has the Big Coulee Ranch, formerly the Gordon, Ironsides and Fares Ranch, near Gouldtown. Elmer has the Log Valley Ranch, near Glen Kerr, which once belonged to Gib Kerr. And Ben Jahnke is on the “Home Ranch,” the one his father started.

All the ranches border on the Saskatchewan, but Ben’s home is close to the river. He draws water there for his household, and his cattle help themselves to all they care to drink.

Peter’s ranch has a little spring, which he dammed back to form a pond. On the Log Valley Ranch, Elmer with the assistance of the P.F.R.A. has dammed up a coulee in the hills to catch surface run-off.

In every instance, the ranch buildings are well kept, surrounded by trees which had to be planted, except right along the bank of the river. The homes are heated with oil burners and propane gas is installed in the kitchens for summer work.

Altogether the Jahnke brothers run about 2,000 head of cattle, a good commercial herd with purebred sires. These are Herefords, which they cross with Shorthorn bulls every now and then. Last spring, Ben bought eight purebred Shorthorns to run with the Hereford cows, believing that it improves the milk quality of the latter and produces thriftier calves.

Being in the buffer zone which surrounded Saskatchewan’s quarantine area, the Jahnke brothers had to hold over their cattle for a year. The embargo was therefore an inconvenience but it was an occasion for thanksgiving when not a sign of foot and mouth cropped up in their herds.

Beef cattle are sold by private treaty, as a rule, and are sometimes shipped from Teakle on the C.N.R. Occasionally the brothers drive the cattle 21 miles to Herbert, an overnight drive which seems to do them little harm.

Many years ago, they sent a carload of steers to England for a fancy price. Unfortunately, it was just at the moment when the pound was being devalued and the end price was much less attractive thana it had looked at first.

Previous to the sanitary embargo, most of the cattle were shipped to the American market. And the high prices of several years ago made things easier on these ranches as well as on others.

There’s plenty of work on a ranch at any season of the year, such as fencing, haying and harvesting of coarse grains. The Jahnke brothers have some alfalfa and raise a lot of oats and barley for their own use. Even at that, they have to buy more. They make a lot of hay in low areas, which is baled and hauled to winter quarters.

Winter brings its own problems of blizzards, with only a whisper of a chinook once in a while to ease the cold. When the cattle drift, the Jahnke brothers don their warmest clothing and ride out after them.

“Ranching in this part of the country isn’t exactly cowboy stuff,” they insist. “It’s more a matter of farming.”

But the Jahnke brothers have had their share of rodeo honors, and still do the roping at branding season and cutting out herds for breeding and shipping. Pete was calf-roping champion of Saskatchewan for a time and Ben competed in shows at Calgary and Swift Current.

But they’ve settled down to the more serious business of raising beef nowadays. All are members of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers’ Association, of which Ben is vice-president this year, and Pete a director.

When conventions are held in winter the boys manage to get to them come wind or cold weather. If the roads are blocked with snow they summon a light airplane to pick them up. Ben has a good way out, however. The Saskatchewan River forms an icy highway past his front door to Saskatchewan Landing, where he strikes the highway.

‘Our History’ is curated by former Canadian Cattlemen editor, Gren Winslow.

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