Changes in beef grading
Beef producers looking at custom feeding or retained ownership should know how changes in the beef grading system might affect their marketing, said Terry Grajczyk, beef and sheep industry specialist at Saskatchewan Agriculture.
Beef grading, previously carried out by Agriculture Canada, has been the responsibility of the Canadian Beef Grading Agency since April 1.
“But the way the carcasses are assessed has not changed,” says Cindy Delaloye, the agency’s general manager.
Delaloye says the agency, a private non-profit corporation with headquarters in Calgary, operates under cost recovery. The cost of grading is shared by farmers and packers when the product is rail graded.
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During its first year, these costs have been based on the average government costs for small, medium and large packers. This may change, however.
“The cost of delivery to small packers is not reflected in the current cost recovery, so I think we might assume the future costs for small packers will increase.”
Before privatization, farmers also shared the cost of beef grading, about 25 cents a carcass. Today these per-carcass costs to farmers are: 75 cents at a small packer; 43 cents at a medium-size packer; and 39 cents at a large packer, she said.
Delaloye said the privatization of meat grading benefits farmers through increased efficiency and consistency to standard, which may result in a reduction of costs in the future. As well, there is less hierarchy, so response to farmers’ concerns is immediate and because of the in-house data collection with CanFax, data integrity is improved and analysis increased.
On the other hand, blue tag carcass appraisals are no longer available. Farmers can get detailed information on individual carcasses by special request at the packing plant, but thay costs extra, said Delaloye.
More changes are expected next year.
A Canada Prime grade is being introduced to identify for overseas buyers and restaurants carcasses with higher fat marbling than the AAA grade. Beef that will become Canada Prime is now included in the AAA grade.
“The long-term advantage of a Canada Prime grade to the industry is improved consistency in grading, plus a possible increase in the export market,” says Grajczyk. “The identification of a Canada Prime grade will also please the hotel and restaurant trade.”
The second change will be the option to “knife-rib” carcasses on both sides. This means both sides of a carcass can be used for assessment of grade, which will make it equivalent to the grading procedures in the United States.
The third option allows grading to be performed at any federally registered processing plant. Grading can now be performed only where the carcass has been slaughtered.
– Saskatchewan Agriculture
Control of winter annual weeds
Most plants don’t survive winter because of damage from ice crystals forming in their cells. Winter annuals reduce water in their cells so ice crystal formation is reduced. They also produce a type of antifreeze. A good snow cover will keep the winter annuals green and healthy until spring.
“The rapid development of these weeds’ flowering shoots, or bolting, in the spring, gives winter annual weeds a competitive advantage over crops,” said Linda Hall, agronomy specialist with Alberta Agriculture. “Winter annuals deplete soil moisture and nutrients in fall and spring and, because of their highly competitive nature, must be controlled.”
In conventional systems, they can be controlled by tillage in spring or fall. In direct-seeding systems, winter annuals have an advantage as they are usually too mature to be controlled by in-crop herbicide.
“The best time to control winter annuals in a direct-seeding system is in late fall, between late September and mid or late October,” added Hall. “Research on winter annuals has shown that the most effective control is a herbicide application as close to freeze up as possible when the weeds are young and most susceptible. The longer you wait, the more winter annual seeds will have emerged above crop residue and be vulnerable to the application.”
If not controlled in the fall, there is the option of spring herbicide application. Spring application can be as effective as late fall application if the weeds are sprayed early.
“The best time to spray in the spring is before the end of April,” said Hall. “Once the weeds have bolted, they are much more difficult and costly to eliminate.”
The key to control is identification of winter annuals. Walking fields in spring and fall is the first step. Once identified, select a herbicide based on the type of weed present, herbicide costs and the crop intended in the coming growing season. Time application for late fall or early spring for best results.
– Alberta Agriculture
