OKOTOKS, Alta. – In a year of tight cash flow and reduced income on the farm, Alberta Beef Producers is filling a war chest for future trade battles and BSE recovery efforts.
As Canada’s major beef producing province, the organization decided it needs a greater presence on the international stage to defend the industry, including hiring high profile Washington lawyers to advise on how to return to the American market.
“(Canadian Cattlemen’s Association) lobbies for us in Washington but they have a limited budget and we decided since we have half the cattle we should have greater presence,” Eric Butters of the group’s finance committee said during a producer meeting in Okotoks Nov. 2.
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The organization has proposed spending about $3 million on BSE recovery in 2005-06, including enhanced lobby efforts, international trade, new domestic beef marketing programs and beef market re-entry strategies.
The trade advocacy reserve contains $1.3 million, or 10 percent of gross animal sales.
The idea for a more permanent fund came after a fierce fight in the mid-1990s when live cattle exporters were caught in a countervail and anti-dumping suit with the United States. The legal challenge cost $5 million, of which Alberta contributed $3.5 million.
“You can just be sure we’ll have to deal with another one,” Butters said.
The new projects became possible in April when the cattle levy increased by $1 to $3 per animal sold in the province. The organization has developed a budget of $13.5 million for 2005-06 based on 4.5 million marketings. This year’s budget is around $12 million.
The money is spent in a variety of ways.
The group funds provincial beef research and promotion projects such as developing educational literature, teaching school children to cook beef and attending trade shows and fairs.
Three cents of the checkoff is returned to livestock dealers, rebates are paid to out-of-province producers who sold cattle in Alberta and 15 cents per marketing go to the CCA, which amounted to $586,480 in 2004 and an estimated $655,000 next year.
As well, $1 per animal sold goes to the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency, a national check-off agency that distributes the money between the Beef Information Centre, Canada Beef Export Federation and Beef Cattle Research Council.
In 2004, Alberta sent nearly $2.5 million to the Beef Information Centre, a little more than $1 million to the Canada Beef Export Federation and $185,000 to the research council.
Contributions for 2005-06 will send $2.9 million to the centre, $1.2 million to the export federation and $220,000 for research.
With the largest number of cattle in the country, the Alberta organization gains added muscle at the national table because board representation is based on the number of cattle and sales.
For example, Alberta has seven of 27 seats on the CCA board and six of 12 seats on the centre’s board.
