Fewer cattle sold | Alberta Beef Producers had to return $2.1 million in refund requests
EDMONTON — Alberta’s cattle organization has been forced to shrink its budget for the upcoming year, largely because of cattle producers asking for check-off refunds and fewer cattle sold.
“We have a lot less money, we’re struggling financially for sure,” Alberta Beef Producer chair Doug Sawyer said during the organization’s semi-annual meeting.
Sawyer said ABP expects that the number of cattle from which it can collect the $3 checkoff will drop to 3.5 million from 3.9 million, which will cut its income by $500,000.
The budget is still set at $5 million because it must be based on money from previous years due to income uncertainty.
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Less money forced ABP board members to make tough decisions on what to trim, including $500,000 sent to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.
However, Gordon Graves, a cattle producer from Iron River, believes the amount of money sent to the CCA should be reduced further and spent on priorities within the province.
“We have cut, in some case too much, trying to stay within the means, and yet if you follow the marketings, and see how much we have given CCA, CCA hasn’t taken the cut. If we cut ourselves too thin here, we will cease to exist as an organization,” Graves said.
“I would hope that CCA would do the right thing and lower their budget so it falls within cattle numbers. It all has to be relative.”
ABP expects to send about $1.4 million to the national organization. An additional $110,000 has been allocated for enhanced lobbying and trade management.
Graves said that money has been misplaced.
“We have failed dismally over the years keeping producers and consumers aware of what we do,” he said.
“We do a lot of research, but we don’t tell anybody. Within our budgeting process we better pull up our socks and tell everyone what we are doing.”
Sawyer said the budget is based on priorities set by cattle producers at the fall annual meetings and through resolutions. It’s those priorities that shape where the money is spent.
“We invest the dollars producers invest in us to meet those high priority areas,” he said.
“The budget is a reflection of dollars invested, but you have to understand the process starts with priorities and what the producer needs us to do.”
Sawyer said 29 percent of the ABP’s budget is spent on national issues. Ensuring Canada has good export markets can only be done through extensive lobbying and negotiations, he added, which means they have become priorities.
“Right now, with all the trade action going on, we’re going to have to work on that nationally, through CCA. That is why we invested a large amount of money into what CCA does.”
CCA vice-president Dave Solverson said it is important for the cattle organization to be part of the negotiations as the federal government embarks on an aggressive trade agenda.
“As long as the government is there, and wants us there, it is not a time to cut back,” said Solverson.
Sawyer said a dramatic drop in research funding is one of the biggest impacts of the smaller budget.
ABP received 940 check-off refund requests in the last year worth $2.1 million.
It represented 30 percent of the service charge revenue.
Of the refund requests, 15 percent were for amounts greater than 1,000 head and represented 85 percent of the money refunded.
Of those, 168 refund requests accounted for $1.8 million of the refunds.
Sawyer thinks it may take a few years before the organization’s revenue is restored. Cattle producers have started to retain heifers in their herd, but it will be at least two years before they produce a calf that can be sold and trigger a checkoff.
