BIXS hits milestone with launch of carcass data reporting

The Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS) recently activated two reporting tools for registered producers to generate detailed carcass data reports on their cattle registered onto the BIXS database. The tools allow users to see detailed carcass data lists as well as a benchmark report on their carcass data. These and other recent developments represent milestones in the evolution and delivery of the BIXS to the Canadian beef industry. Currently the BIXS database houses approximately 1.5 million detailed carcass data records linked to Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) tag numbers. Cargill Foods and XL Beef are submitting these computer vision system camera-derived records retroactive to January 1, 2012. This data includes yield and quality grades, carcass measures such as marbling score, ribeye area, and fat depth. BIXS staff along with cooperating beef producers developed and tested the reporting tools that provide registered users with the carcass data lists and benchmark reports "We are grateful for the assistance of those beef producers who stepped up to help us develop and test these reporting functions," says BIXS program administrator Holly LaBrie. "It took us awhile to get it right but those producers, and others that have tapped into their individual animal carcass data thus far, have welcomed the new ability to see what kind of beef they produce from their cow-calf operations." The reporting functions within BIXS will continue to evolve to include more carcass data as well as feedlot data as development and testing continues. To complement the new tools, the CCA and BIXS teamed up with the CCIA to build an additional data tool that enables users to quickly import their tag ID and cattle birthdate data into the system. BIXS registered producers can simply click a button to import all their cattle tag ID and birthdate records from their CCIA – Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS) account retroactive to January 1, 2010 and populate their BIXS cattle (tag ID) inventory. Once the information is in the system, users can generate carcass data reports using the newly launched carcass data report tools. Carcass records in the BIXS database are from Jan 1, 2012 onwards. However, it is possible that carcass data on cattle born from May 2010 onwards could be in the carcass data pool in BIXS , provided the cattle were slaughtered at Cargill or XL Beef. Registered BIXS users will find the CCIA data pull tool at the bottom of the 'Enter Your Data' birthdate event landing page. Each time a user 'pulls' data they see a log of events found/created and updated in their BIXS account from their CLTS account.

CCA Congratulate Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal Recipients

CCA congratulates Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal recipients December 4, 2012 Calgary, AB – The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) is pleased to announce that 38 Canadians will be awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for their significant contributions to the beef industry, their community and their country. Today, 19 Alberta-based recipients will be honoured during the Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) Annual Meeting in Calgary. These recipients will receive their medals from CCA President Martin Unrau and Past President Travis Toews at a special ceremony during the ABP evening banquet. CCA President Martin Unrau said it is a special honour to be able to recognize the professional contributions of so many respected individuals in the industry that have worked hard to make a difference. “The cattle and beef industry is filled with individuals who are passionate about the industry and whose efforts have and continue to drive real change. The industry as a whole is better off due to their contributions,” Unrau said. The remaining 19 recipients will receive their medals over the next two months at events in their home province held in conjunction with the appropriate CCA provincial member association. Here is the full list of Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal recipients: Morrie Thomas, BC Rudy Johnson, BC Anne Dunford, AB Arno Doerksen, AB Ben Thorlakson, AB Bob Prestage, AB Brian Nilsson, AB Chris Mills, AB Cor Van Raay, AB Darcy Davis, AB Dave Plett, AB David Andrews, AB Dennis Laycraft, AB Eugene Janzen, Ph.D, AB Garnet Altwasser, AB Hugh Lynch-Staunton, AB John Stewart-Smith, AB Julie Stitt, AB Len Vogelaar, AB Steve Morgan-Jones, AB Mabel Hamilton, AB Tim McAllister, Ph.D, AB Brad Wildeman, SK Gary L. Jones, Sk John McKinnon, Ph.D, SK Neil Jahnke, SK (posthumously) Marlin Beever, MB Carolyn McDonell, ON Charlie Gracey, ON Graeme Hedley, ON Jock Buchanan-Smith, ON Margaret Jean Hutton,ON Stan Eby, ON W. Ronald Usborne, ON Henry Knight, NB Robert Acton,NB Charlie MacKenzie, NS Darlene Sanford, PEI The CCA congratulates all the recipients on their achievement. We would also like to recognize the following individuals who were nominated by other organizations (and supported by the CCA) who will be receiving medals for their significant contributions to Canada's beef cattle industry: Martin Unrau (MB); John Newman (ON); Harvey Dann (MB); Shirley McClellan (AB); and Red Williams (SK). For further information, contact: Gina Teel, Communications Manager Canadian Cattlemen’s Association 403-275-8558 x 406 | teelg@cattle.ca www.cattle.ca For media interested in attending the event, contact: Katelyn Laverdure, Public Affairs Manager Alberta Beef Producers 403-561-8578| KatelynL@albertabeef.org

CCA Pleased with WTO dealine on COOL

December 4, 2012 Calgary, AB – The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) is pleased that the World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrator today established a firm deadline for the United States (U.S.) to ensure its Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements square with its WTO obligations. The U.S. now has until May 23, 2013 to comply with the Panel and Appellate Body reports adopted by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body this past July, confirming that U.S. COOL legislation discriminates against Canadian livestock in the U.S. market. CCA President Martin Unrau thanked Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Gerry Ritz and International Trade Minister Ed Fast for their concerted efforts on the COOL file over the years. “Today’s good news is the direct result of Canada initiating the arbitration process with the WTO in September after efforts to negotiate an implementation date with the U.S. were unsuccessful, and the latest in a series of positive results due to the Ministers’ efforts on a challenging file,” he said. “The CCA looks forward to continuing its work with its U.S. allies and counterparts to develop a solution that eliminates the discrimination of Canadian cattle in the U.S. market,” Unrau said. CCA representatives were in Washington, D.C. recently meeting with congressional leaders to advocate a timely resolution to this dispute and support legislative changes proposed by the majority of the U.S. industry that would end the discrimination caused by COOL. COOL has affected billions of dollars of commerce in cattle and beef products since it was implemented in 2008. The current impact of COOL on Canadian producers is estimated to be $639 million per year. For further information, contact: Gina Teel Communications Manager Canadian Cattlemen’s Association 403-275-8558 x 406 | teelg@cattle.ca Cell: 403-875-3616 www.cattle.ca -30- Thanks, Matthew French Communications Coordinator Canadian Cattlemen's Association 310, 6715 - 8th Street NE Calgary, AB T2E 7H7 T 403-275-8558 ext. 414 F 403-274-5686 frenchm@cattle.ca www.cattle.ca

Canadian Livestock Producers Receive Tax Deferrals

OTTAWA, Ontario – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced Nov. 29 that a list of designated areas eligible for tax deferrals has been expanded. The tax deferral is for the benefit of producers coping with extremely dry growing conditions on forage yields. Eligible producers in designated areas can defer income tax on the sale of breeding livestock for one year to help replenish breeding stock in the following year. “Proceeds from deferred sales are included as income in the next tax year, when they may be at least partially offset by the cost of replacing breeding animals,” according to the agency. “In the case of consecutive years of designation, producers may defer sales income to the first year in which the area is no longer designated.” To qualify, the breeding herd must have been reduced by at least 15 percent. Thirty percent of income from net sales can then be deferred. In cases where the herd has been reduced by more than 30 percent, 90 percent of income from net sales can be deferred. “Our government understands the difficulties faced by livestock producers due to unforeseen weather and we are acting,” said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “With this tax deferral, producers in another 34 drought-affected municipalities will be able to redirect money towards restocking next year.” Eligible producers will be able to request a deferral when filing their 2012 income tax returns.

Harper Government Supports Livestock Traceability and International Marketing at Agribition

Regina, Saskatchewan, November 19, 2012 – The Harper Government has invested in Canadian Western Agribition to track the movement of all livestock entering and leaving the exhibition grounds as well as to promote Agribition in foreign markets, David Anderson, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board and Member of Parliament for Cypress Hills—Grasslands, announced today on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "Our Government's top priority remains the economy, and Canada's agriculture and agri-food industry plays an important role in creating jobs and keeping our economy strong," Anderson said. "These investments, totalling close to $250,000, will help enhance our traceability, animal health emergency management, and food safety systems, in addition to promoting our products in foreign markets, leading to increased profits for our farmers." MP Anderson was attending the opening of Agribition's new cattle handling facility along with Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart and Regina Mayor Michael Fougere. Agribition is Canada's largest livestock exhibition with approximately 3,500 entries for various shows and sales, as well as several hundred head of rodeo stock. "With the help of this funding, Agribition can maintain its status as North America's best beef show," said Marty Seymour, Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Western Agribition. "Our show continues to be the leader in international livestock marketing, and now traceability. We are the first show to implement traceability across our entire system." The Harper Government investments include $100,000 under the Livestock Auction Traceability Initiative (LATI), a three-year, $20-million initiative funded under the Agricultural Flexibility Fund as part of the Economic Action Plan. This project ensures that all animals featured at Agribition have radio-frequency identification tags, and their movement is tracked using mobile reader technology. Another investment of $147,000 through the AgriMarketing Program is helping Agribition to organize and coordinate international market activities, promote itself in foreign markets, and establish the International Business Centre. This will help solidify Agribition's reputation as one of the most sought-after agricultural marketplaces in the world, connecting international buyers with Canadian exporters. Through the AgriMarketing Program under Growing Forward, the Harper Government is investing $88 million to help industry implement long-term international strategies, including international market development, industry-to-industry trade advocacy, and consumer awareness and branding activities. The Harper Government has identified market development as a priority under Growing Forward 2, and this announcement is another example of what is being done to enhance competitiveness and drive innovation and long-term growth in Canadian agriculture. For more information on LATI, please visit www.agr.gc.ca/LATI. For more information on AgriMarketing, please visit www.agr.gc.ca/AgriMarketing. - 30 - For more information, media may contact: Media Relations Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Ottawa, Ontario 613-773-7972 1-866-345-7972 Jeff English Press Secretary The Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz 613-773-1059 **********

CBBC Setting New Directions

Canadian Beef Breeds Council is contacting each of its breed association members as well as exporter and service provider members for their input into the role of CBBC and the services it provides. Mauricio Arcila, Technical Services Coordinator, will be contacting each breed association member in the days ahead and reviewing the following : 1) Defining your market, both domestic and export; 2) Where do you see potential new markets? What is your process for identifying new markets, both domestic and export; 3) What could the CBBC be doing for you to support your goals, both domestically and internationally? 4) Define your relationship with trade/sales facilitators and any issues that have been encountered? 5) Research. What would your top three research guidelines be regarding genetics industry issues should the CBBC gain access to research funding? 6) Service Provision by the CBBC - you will be invited to rank various services that CBBC provides currently and ones that you would like CBBC to offer in the future; 7) Reporting on sales to demonstrate value - is there anything that you believe important for us to keep in mind while designing a template with CanFax for reporting purebred cattle sales domestically and internationally? We look forward to hearing from you!

Canadian Beef Breeds Council participates in Official Opening of Livestock Consultative Centre, Orenburg, Russia Vice President, David Bolduc presented an overview of the Beef Value Chain in Canada and the role of the Canadian purebred cattle producers in this chain. Also presenting were Gordon Stephenson, Canadian Hereford Association, Dr. Roger Davis, Davis-Rairdan Embryos International. The Signing of Agreement on Cooperation between the Canadian Hereford Association and the Russian National Kazakh Whgite-Headed Breeders Association, the signing of Agreement on Cooperation between the Canadian Hereford Association and the Russian National Hereford Breeders Association, and the signing of the Contract between Xports International and LLC Orenburg Ivolga for the delivery of genetics, were completed. The meetings included presentations from the following: 1) Yury Berg, Gobernment of Orenburg Oblast; 2) Fred Gorrell, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food; 3) Fedorov Nicolay, Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation; 4) Valery Kalashnikov, Academic Secretary, Department of Zooltechny, Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Academician 5) Sergey Miroshnikov, Director, All-Russia Research Institute of Beef Cattle Breeding, Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences; 6) Colin Jeffares, Assistant Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Alberta Province 7) Sergey Solovyov, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Processing Industry of Orenburg Oblast; The meetings were followed the next day with tours of cattle ranches including Kalmyk and Hereford breeds.

October 14, 2012 CBBC will be working with Agriteam Canada to develop an Updated Domestic and Export Development Marketing Plan. The plan is to be submitted to CCMDC in early January and will cover the period from April 1, 2013 to March 2014. CCMDC has approved a grant to the Council that will enable us to complete an updated Domestic and Export Marketing Plan. We have engaged Agriteam Canada to coordinate and complete the plan which must be submitted by January 14, 2013

CBBC Participates in Mission to Russia

CBBC Executive and Staff are participating in a mission to Russia with delegates from the federal and provincial governments. The purpose of the mission is to participate in the formal grand opening of the Livestock Consultative Centre in Orenburg, Russia, meet with representatives of government and industry and tour ranches. So far CBBC has attended the Golden Autumn Livestock Show in Moscow and toured Red Square. There are Russian cattle on display as well as American. It was noted that the food displays included very little beef and mostly pork and chicken. Next stop is Orenburg at which time further updates will be posted.

October 12, 2012 The Council has named chairs of five working committees and a Task Team to provide input and strategic direction for the Council. The committees and chairs are; 1. Task Force – Doug Fee 2. Communications- Rob Smith 3. Member Services Neil Gillies 4. Fund Raising – Bruce Holmquist 5. Strategic Alliances – Byron Templeton 6. Domestic & Export Marketing – David Bolduc

September 13, 2012 CBBC has engaged Doug Fee , former CEO of the Canadian Angus Association to manage our office and and coordinate with Agriteam Canada to lead the development and implementation of Governance and structural changes in the Council

Announcement of Additional BIXS Funding

CCA welcomes Minister Ritz to AGM, announcement of additional BIXS funding

March 08, 2012

Ottawa ON - The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) is pleased that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Minister Gerry Ritz today came to the CCA’s annual general meeting in Ottawa to announce that the Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS) will receive an additional $3 million in federal funding.

The funds will be used to expand the program to ensure crucial data is incorporated into the BIXS data base. CCA President Travis Toews said the ability to flow more data into the BIXS data base will complete the circle of information, and provide the incentive for producers to participate.

“This expansion of the BIXS program is precisely what the Canadian cattle industry has been waiting for and I thank Minister Ritz for his support for the BIXS data base,” Toews said.

BIXS is an individual animal and carcass data information exchange system developed by the CCA and the Canadian Beef Breeds Council as an integral part of the Canadian Beef Advantage, with funding provided through AAFC’s Agriculture Flexibility Fund. The $3 million announced today is in addition to the original AgriFlexibility Fund contribution of $5.36 million announced last March for the development and implementation of the BIXS program.

In addition to the BIXS announcement, Minister Ritz also re-confirmed both the Government of Canada’s and his commitment to opening international markets for Canadian livestock, beef and beef products. He highlighted the very important recent market access openings for beef in Korea and beef tallow in China.

“We are very pleased that Minister Ritz shares the CCA’s view that access to global markets is a top priority. He has worked tirelessly to open markets for Canadian beef and we will continue to support him as he persists in those efforts,” Toews said.


For further information, contact:
Gina Teel
Communications Manager
Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
403-275-8558 x 406 | 403-875-3616
teelg@cattle.ca | www.cattle.ca

Beef production protocols for the EU Market

On January 1st, 2012, Canada implemented a new protocol for the production of cattle used to produce beef for the European Union (EU) market. While the requirement to ensure that no Growth Enhancing Products (GEP) are used in animals for the EU remains firmly in place, significant progress has been made to reduce paperwork and other costs of participation. Among the most important changes is the removal of the requirement for a dedicated EU program ear tag. In the past, the protocol specified that a special EU tag be placed in the animal's ear in addition to the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) tag. This change reduces costs for participants and also the logistical challenges of securing these tags from a single supplier.

Another important attribute of the new approach is that it permits sales of EU eligible animals at the auction mart. Given the numbers of animals sold at auction, it is important that Canadian producers be able to utilize this option in the same manner as EU protocols implemented in Australia and the U.S. currently permit. Simplified requirements for testing and monitoring on the farm have also been put into place which reduces the cost of labour and also expenses related to veterinary oversight.

While significant progress has been made at the livestock production level, further improvements regarding EU-approved slaughter protocols are needed in order to get more facilities approved for the EU and to help those that are already approved operate more efficiently. For example, under the current EU requirements it is not possible to use the antimicrobial treatments that many processors rely on. These include organic acid washes which are sprayed onto carcasses and cuts. Currently the use of lactic acid is being considered in the EU following a positive recommendation by the European Food Safety Authority. The approval process has been slow to proceed and it remains to be seen when this type of intervention will be an option for beef exported to the EU.

The importance of antimicrobial interventions will continue to grow as new microbiological testing requirements for the U.S. market are implemented in March of this year. Accordingly, the CCA will continue to work towards further results on these technical issues so that the Canadian industry is able to take full advantage of the free trade agreement currently being negotiated with the EU.