Tod Wallace

A look at international opportunities for beef

Shipping beef to the EU requires adherence to strict protocols, 
but the premium may make it worthwhile

Breakout sessions and informal discussion at the 36th annual general meeting of Manitoba Beef Producers in Brandon earlier this month focused on the possibilities of capitalizing on the European Union and Asian markets. “The markets are changing and as producers we need to adapt. Whether you want to go to the EU, China, or you’re

cattle in a snowy pasture

A new strategy for developing Canada’s beef sector

This strategy is about how we can work together to best position our industry to compete for a larger share 
of the world market and to become the high-quality beef product of choice in the world

The following is an excerpt from the executive summary from the recently released document “Investing in a strong future for Canada’s beef industry,” which maps out an aggressive strategy for industry development both short and long term. The full document can be found at: www.beefstrategy.com. The Canadian beef industry is at a pivotal point in time.


cows feeding on bales in winter

Beef leaders strive to drive industry forward

Goals include boosting production efficiency by 15 per cent and increasing 
carcass cut-out value by 15 per cent in just five years

Business gurus call them Big Hairy Audacious Goals — and now Canadian beef leaders have to figure out how to achieve the ones they’ve set for their industry. “You have to pick a place to get to,” said Trevor Atchison, co-chair of the National Beef Strategic Planning Group. “You can’t make every goal in life,

cow eating hay

Editorial: Foraging for a national voice

Just four years since its inception, the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association is struggling after losing the support of the sector that arguably benefits the most from its activities. Eighty per cent of Canada’s beef production depends on forages as the main feed source. Of the $5.1 billion of economic activity forages contribute to the


meat aisle in grocery store

U.S. appeals latest WTO ruling on COOL

Retaliatory tariffs are now delayed

Canada will have to wait up to three more months before it can impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods over Washington’s mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) law on meat from imported livestock. The U.S. government filed a notice of appeal Nov. 28 against the latest ruling by a World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance panel, which last

men looking at hay

National forage association loses funding, executive director

Canada’s biggest acreage crop running on fumes

Forage is Canada’s biggest crop, generating billions in revenues and environmental benefits, but it’s struggling and so is the national organization created five years ago to promote it. The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association, has lost a major funder and its executive director. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association withdrew its support, which amounted to $20,000 annually,



US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

U.S. set to continue COOL fight at WTO

A third ruling backing Canada’s complaint 
will likely be appealed

Despite three straight rejections of its controversial country-of-origin labelling (COOL) program on imported beef and pork by the World Trade Organization, various reports suggest the United States isn’t prepared to concede defeat on the issue. It’s expected to appeal a Compliance Panel ruling that solidly endorsed two earlier WTO panel decisions that COOL violates international


University of Manitoba food scientist Rick Holley was the principal investigator in a recently completed study on the effectiveness of low-dose electron-beam treatment to eliminating harmful bacteria in beef trim used to make ground beef. Holley also oversaw a panel of taste testers to see if the treatment changed the colour, aroma, texture, juiciness or flavour of the meat.  photo: lorraine stevenson

CCA hopeful resubmitted irradiation petition will succeed

The debate over whether to permit irradiation of beef products begins again

The waiting has begun all over again for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) as it renews efforts to persuade Health Canada to approve irradiation for beef. The CCA submitted paperwork in early May asking the federal agency to restart the approval process for beef irradiation in Canada, repeating a similar request in a 1998 petition.

Please, let’s not win again

Traceability is a fact of life for almost every other commodity that consumers buy; yet somehow we have not embraced traceability’s potential in the world of food. I cannot buy an iPhone that does not have complete traceability back to its basic components; yet what we put into our bodies is rarely traceable to source.