A marketing campaign promoting corn fed beef has dramatically boosted the amount of cattle fed in Ontario, says the director of the Ontario Corn Fed Beef brand.
The number of cattle fed through the program has jumped to more than 300,000 since the brand was launched 10 years ago, which is 60 percent of the cattle on feed in Ontario.
The popularity of the program with cattle feeders and customers is enormous, said John Baker.
What is resonating with consumers, and especially with new clients in the United Arab Emirates, is the “consistent quality” of corn fed beef, he added.
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“It came out loud and clear that consistent quality is what they experienced.”
All cattle in the program must meet on-farm food safety, animal health and sustainable farming practice protocols. They are on the same corn fed diet for a minimum 100 days to ensure consistent quality meat.
Feeders who follow the program receive some certainty of markets and a way to differentiate their product.
About 515 Ontario cattle producers follow the program, which the Ontario Cattle Feeders Association developed to expand and improve the province’s beef industry.
The number of beef cows on Ontario farms has steadily dropped to 275,000 in June from 425,000 in 2004, a year after BSE was discovered in Canada.
The corn fed program has been so successful in Ontario that the brand has been expanded to become the Canada Corn Fed Beef program to include Western Canada. Most of the cattle on feed in Ontario come from Western Canada, while Ontario farmers grow 75 percent of the corn grown in Canada.
In 2014, the George Morris Centre credited the Ontario program with generating an additional $26 a head for all cattle sold in Ontario. Baker said that number has since increased to more than $50 a head.
“It’s been tremendous for Ontario producers. It gives them something that is unique and uniquely Canadian,” he said.
The cattle are processed in Ontario, and the program has become an identifiable brand in the province’s grocery stores.
It recently showcased its product at an international food show in Dubai, aimed at increasing sales to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other nearby countries.
mary.macarthur@producer.com
