ASHERN, Man. (Staff) – The beef industry is lagging behind other meat producers in responding to the market, says the president of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association.
Bob Kerr said because ownership of cattle usually changes several times before slaughter, there is no way to get information on the animals’ performance back to the producer.
“When the marketing department tries to call the production department, they can’t get a connection,” Kerr said. “The information doesn’t flow and it’s holding us back.”
Kerr, who operates a feedlot in Ontario, told cattle farmers meeting here the industry needs a better way of assessing value. Although technology for electronic tags is improving, there is no method of maintaining the identity of beef through the system.
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A producer who contacts a feedlot to see how his cattle performed on feed will rarely get a specific answer.
“He may tell you they did real well, but can he get down to specifics? Can he tell you what the marketable yield was?”
Ben Thorlakson, whose cattle feeding operation in Airdrie, Alta. handles about 39,000 cattle, said producers who want feedback should consider marketing through smaller feedlots or maintaining some ownership of the animal until after slaughter.
