Sometimes it takes a tragedy to bring a family together.
This was true for the Alberta beef industry as all sectors staggered under the burden of closed markets after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy was announced May 20.
For the last two years, a coalition of beef producers and industry groups, called the Beef Industry Council, complained the Alberta Cattle Commission did not represent their interests well. After several years of bickering and negotiation, the commission rebuilt itself as the Alberta Beef Producers.
The uniting force was BSE.
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Discovery of the disease is forcing changes for all sectors of the industry in animal health regulations, food safety requirements and management regimes.
Pulling the various groups together, agreements were hammered out with government to help the industry recover. BSE sidelined some of the new structural plans but it also forced industry players to unite for a common good.
“I think all stakeholders need to come together like we did through much of the summer. I would hate to see what we accomplished this summer fall apart in the future,” said feeder council chair Glen Thompson, a feedlot owner at Iron Springs, Alta.
The feeder council was already set up with 13 elected delegates from across the province in the nine zones of the beef producers’ organization.
The beef producers annual meeting said a plan for an allied industry council must be presented to the semi-annual meeting in June 2004. The council would consist of service groups to the industry like auctions, order buyers, packers and food service.
Some issues remain as to whether it should be an advisory group to the ABP board of directors, and whether council members should have voting rights.
However, under government legislation, only those who pay the checkoff of $3 per animal sold may vote.
“We have a good opportunity to more broadly represent the industry by establishing this council,” said ABP chair Arno Doerksen in an interview. “It’s not a make-work thing. There are a lot of issues we deal with that affect more than just cattle producers,” he said.
“As we develop more opportunities, there could be arrangements that create linkages right from the feedlot to retail.”
