In this issue

"Finding Alberta Beef" educational resources for teachers and parents

Teachers and parents in Alberta now have additional resources to help both occupy and educate elementary students during, and beyond, COVID-19. In the past few weeks, the team at Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) has been working diligently to complete updates to their “Finding Alberta Beef” educational resources. While these informative resources have been primarily created for use by teachers across Alberta in the classroom, they are freely available to parents as well. 

“With recent developments surrounding COVID-19 and major changes in learning delivery in Alberta, we want to make sure that both teachers and parents have different resources available to them to help educate and entertain children in our community,” said Brad Dubeau, Marketing & Education Manager with ABP. “We believe our Finding Alberta Beef Learning Pages will do just that.” 

The Finding Alberta Beef Learning Pages are grouped by grade level and include customized content for Kindergarten and Grade 1, Grade 2 to 3, Grade 4 and Grade 5. Through stories, photos and engaging activities, these booklets help students engage with Alberta cattle ranchers, environmental stewardship and nutrition and are suitable for use in Social Studies, Science and Health. Additionally, these resources align with the Alberta Education curriculum.  

“We’re proud to support education and our communities and now more than ever we believe it’s important to come together to get through these challenging times," said Dubeau. 

The Finding Alberta Beef Learning Pages can be found at 
www.albertabeef.org/consumers/resources​ free of charge. 

COVID-19 industry update

• Beef producers and industry stakeholders from across Canada tuned into the second Canadian Cattle Industry virtual town hall meeting yesterday to hear the latest industry developments regarding COVID-19. You can watch a recording of the town hall meeting by clicking here.
• Alberta Beef Producers and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association are asking producers to support our increased advocacy efforts and reach out to their government officials regarding the serious impacts on the beef industry due to COVID-19.
  • A provincial template letter for producers to write their MLAs is available here.
  • A federal template letter for producers to write their MPs is available here.
• While Canadians working in the agriculture sector are no strangers to facing adversity, COVID-19 creates its own unique set of challenges, building on any already existing personal and financial hardships. During this difficult time, we encourage ranchers and farmers to prioritize the mental well-being of themselves, employees and families. A list of mental health articles and resources is available here.

AAFC launches agriculture and agri-food jobs website

As many Canadians face employment challenges as a result of COVID-19, the Government of Canada has launched a new webpage to promote job opportunities in the agriculture and agri-food sector. The webpage titled, “Step up to the Plate-Feeding Canadians”, provides links to job listings and student employment resources, while highlighting the industry’s designation as an essential service and the various skill sets needed to operate a reliable food system.

Access to labour remains one of the most important issues impacting beef production in Canada. Moving forward, attracting Canadians who are seeking employment to the agriculture sector will play a key role in further positioning the industry as a driver of economic growth.

To learn more, you can visit the website here.

Notice of Exception: Certified Sustainable Beef Framework

After careful consideration, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) has issued a temporary exception for all Certification Bodies. 

Under the Certified Sustainable Beef Framework, certification would normally be conducted on-site by independent auditors. These auditors work for third party Certification Bodies approved by the CRSB.
 
This temporary exception allows for auditing to the Sustainable Beef Production Standard and Chain of Custody Requirements, to be conducted remotely, at the discretion of the Certification Body. For situations that do not allow for an on-site or remote audit to be completed, a six-month extension may be granted for operations requiring recertification.  
 
This exception will remain in effect until December 31, 2020 or until withdrawn by the CRSB, at its discretion.

Certified Sustainable Farm Audits 
At the discretion of the Certification Body, an on-site certification may be replaced with a remote audit where necessary. If an onsite audit or remote audit is not viable, the audit may be postponed, and an extension may be granted for operations requiring re-certification onsite audits. 

Chain of Custody Audits 
On-site chain of custody audits may, at the discretion of the Certification Body, be replaced with a remote audit. If an onsite audit or remote audit is not viable, the audit may be postponed, and an extension may be granted for operations requiring recertification on-site audits. 

Certified Sustainable Processing Plant Audits 
On-site processing plant certification audits shall be postponed until further notice.

Agroclimate Impact Reporter

The Agroclimate Impact Reporter (AIR) is an online geospatial program designed for the collection and reporting of weather and climate impacts on farm operations across Canada. Each month, producers across Canada are invited to participate in a short online survey to inform AAFC’s National Agroclimate Information Service (NAIS) about recent agroclimate impacts to their farm.
 
Extreme weather events and climatic variability can have significant effects on Canada’s agricultural sector and the economy. Over the past 10 years, drought, flooding and excess moisture have resulted in large costs to the Canadian economy. AIR has made a mission of monitoring the impacts of weather on water, soil and agricultural production to help impacted regions adapt, withstand and recover from climatic extremes.
 
If you are a Canadian producer or someone who loves agriculture, we encourage you to take five minutes to fill-out a short survey providing AAFC valuable information on how agroclimate impacts are affecting your farm operations. During the active survey period, the last week of the month from April to October, navigate to the Drought Watch website (www.agr.gc.ca/drought) and click on the ‘Submit Impacts” button on the right hand side. We are grateful to all of our contributors as well as the individuals that encourage producers to try our survey and products.
 
If you are interested in learning more about the Agroclimate Impact Reporter and how you can participate, please contact droughtwatch@agr.gc.ca or visit AAFC’s Drought Watch website at www.agr.gc.ca/drought.