In a recent report from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, the organization’s president Bob Lowe stated there is a critical need for better business risk management tools for the beef sector. In addition to improving coverage for cow-calf producers by seeking the removal of the reference margin limit, he called for raising the current $3 million […] Read more
Stories by Iain Aitken
Packer windfall?
The old saying “too much of a good thing” doesn’t seem to apply to Alberta’s beef packing companies. The Feb. 11 announcement that XL Foods (a Nilsson Bros. company) will receive $1.6 million in Growing Forward/ ALMA (Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency) funding over the next two years to increase the value-added production capacity of […] Read more
An alternative solution to cattle crisis
Iain Aitken, a cattle producer from Rimbey, Alta., advocates direct marketing of beef. These suggested solutions conveniently overlook the more obvious cause of the beef crisis – the proportion of the retail beef price returned to beef producers are at historically low levels, and rapidly declining. Whether we blame the packer or the retailer (when […] Read more
