In this issue

COVID-19 update

Alberta Beef Producers has yet to receive a response from the Government of Alberta to our request for funding support to reduce premiums for Western Livestock Price Insurance Program calf and feeder coverage, even though the Agriculture and Forestry Minister has acknowledged in the legislature that premiums are up 250% from last year, and that insurance is the best risk management tool for agricultural producers. 
 
Minister Dreeshen talks about changing the program but producers need relief from the premium increases caused by COVID-19. Alberta beef and cattle producers need to get in touch with our government and let them know we need to hear from them now.
 
We also haven’t seen support from the Alberta government for our request to join the growing federal and provincial initiative to remove the Reference Margin Limit (RML) from AgriStability. Removal of the RML would make AgriStability much more responsive to the needs of cow calf producers and would encourage greater participation in the program.
 
On the fed cattle set-aside program, despite the strong recommendation from industry organizations for a bid program to be implemented in July, the Alberta government has decided to make initial payments that could spend up to 30% of the funding before implementing the bid program.  
 
It is unclear how the government plans to establish eligibility for the initial payments and we are concerned that they will not be allocated fairly or effectively.

Call for ABP Environmental Stewardship Award nominees

Alberta Beef Producers is calling for 2021 Environmental Stewardship Award (ESA) nominations. Each year, ABP recognizes a cattle operation that demonstrates leadership in environmental stewardship – one that contributes to the land while improving productivity and profitability. The ABP ESA has been a prestigious mainstay of the industry since 1992 and we strongly believe this is due to the outstanding nominations submitted every year. Help us continue to celebrate Alberta producers who exhibit exemplary environmental stewardship by nominating someone you know whose management practices contribute to the positive story of sustainability in cattle production.

Nominations are due July 15, 2020

More information and the 2021 Environmental Stewardship Award nomination form is available here.

CCA Action News highlights

Emissions Reduction Alberta's Food, Farming and Forestry Challenge

The Government of Alberta is funding the Emissions Reduction Alberta’s Food, Farming and Forestry Challenge through the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) Fund. They announced a call for proposals this week to “accelerate innovation in support of long-term competitiveness and stimulate growth in the critically important agriculture, agri-food and forestry sectors,” as stated in a release.
 
The TIER fund will contribute $40 million to support the challenge in hopes it will lead to job creation and investments in new markets. Farmers, ranchers, industry and innovators are encouraged to submit proposals by August 27 at 5 p.m. More information is available at https://eralberta.ca/ and you can register for an information webinar on June 29.

New BCRC resource: Record keeping and benchmarking

Successful farm management begins with accurate and up to date records. The process of record keeping allows the farm manager to collect and save data so it can be analyzed and used to make better decisions and turn information into actions.
 
Level 1 was previously launched for farm managers who are new to record keeping or who may already keep records but are unsure of what information is worth keeping or how these records can be used.
 
The newly released Level 2 resource has been developed to build upon the themes covered in Level 1 but also goes more in depth on some of the analysis that can be accomplished once you have established a set of records. 

Continue Reading >>