Volume 12 Issue 5 • September 29th, 2014

CCA IS THE NATIONAL VOICE OF CANADA’S 68,500 BEEF FARMS

Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement final text In This Issue... gets signed • Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement final text gets signed Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) Director of Government and International Relations John • CETA negotiations officially concluded Masswohl was present at the signing [ http://bit.ly/1nApraH ] of the final text of the • CCA Fall Picnic on Parliament Hill a Canada-Korea free trade agreement (CKFTA) in Ot- success tawa on September 22. It was an exciting moment for Masswohl who watched from the sidelines as • Canada Beef Inc. App takes the mystery Prime Minister and Korean Presi- out of buying and cooking beef dent Park Geun-hye affixed their signatures to the • Register now for CCA Town Hall in agreement during a special ceremony on Parliament Dauphin, MB Hill. Achieving a free trade agreement with Korea has been a top priority of the CCA and a cause • Improved swath grazing through new Masswohl has devoted countless hours to since annual forage varieties and grazing coming aboard in 2004. “This free trade agreement management was achieved after years of hard work and often difficult negotiations but in the end Canada achieved a beneficial result for beef producers,” he said. “We are making history today with the signing of this agreement and I’m really very excited and proud to be here to see it happen.”

Once implemented, the CKFTA will help improve competitiveness by providing Canada’s beef producers with the ability to get every piece of the animal to the market that will pay the most for it, and that’s what maximizes prices at the farm gate. Canada will also be getting an aggressive phase-out on offals that get more value in Korea than they do in North America, which helps to increase the overall value a producer can derive from an animal.

The CCA encourages every Member of Parliament (MP) to support implementing the CKFTA as soon as possible and certainly before Jan 1, 2015 to avoid the U.S. gaining another years’ tariff advantage over Canada.

“Canada used to export $40 to $50 million a year of beef to Korea, but since the U.S. implemented its FTA with Korea a few years ago, we have only exported $7 to $10 million a year,” Masswohl said. “We believe we can get back to former levels and eventually grow beyond them once the CKFTA is in place, which is why we are urging swift passage of the CKFTA through the Canadian Parliament and the Korean Legislature.”

The landmark CKFTA is the direct result of the diligence of Prime Minister Harper, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister and International Trade Minister and the CCA thanks them for their efforts. Volume 12 Issue 5 • September 29th, 2014

Visit http://www.cattle.ca/assets/Article/09-22-2014-Beef-cattle-producers-applaud-Canada-Korea-FTA.pdf for more information on how CKFTA benefits producers.

CETA negotiations officially concluded

What better way to cap off a busy week on Parliament Hill than to officially conclude the negotiations for a free trade deal with Europe. On Friday, Prime Minister Harper and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy signed a declaration stating the nego- tiations for the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement are now completed. CCA was in Ottawa to witness the signing of the agreement, a bonafide game-changer for Canada’s beef cattle industry providing producers with opportunity to tap into $600 million in access.

Barroso described the deal as the most advanced agreement for market integration in the world. More than once he mentioned the duration of the sometimes-difficult negotiations and lauded the very capable Canadian negotiating team for their efforts in producing the now-concluded agreement. The negotiated CETA text can be found here http://bit.ly/1t2qYCr.

Van Rompuy added that all 28 member states of the EU support the agreement.

The agreement must be translated into all the official languages of the EU and undergo legal process- es. Barroso estimated this process would be completed in 2015 with implementation in 2016.

Visit http://bit.ly/1xpQmcd for the CCA’s News Release on what the deal means for Canada’s beef cattle producers.

CCA Fall Picnic on Parliament Hill a success

The 2014 CCA Fall Picnic on Parliament Hill was a big success, with plenty of Members of Parliament, Senators, Ministers and their staff and other key influencers participating in the September 23 event. The slow roasted beef striploin on a bun served to guests was delicious as usual and the CCA thanks the Canadian Meat Council (CMC) for once again sponsoring the beef for the popular annual CCA lobbying event.

Guests included International Trade Minister Ed Fast, leader Justin Trudeau, Minister of State for Sport , Larry Miller, President of the Treasury Board , Minister of State for Finance , Heritage Minister , Minister of State for Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario , MP’s John Barlow, Blaine Calkins, Rick Norlock, Erin O’Toole, Wayne Easter and Senators Doug Black and David Tkachuk. A lot of MPs and senators posted pictures to Twitter from the event, which proved popular with followers of @cdncattlemen https://twitter.com/CdnCattlemen.

In his opening remarks to the event, CCA President Dave Solverson said it is a great time to be a beef producer in Canada, with cattle prices sustained at record highs for most of the year. While the high prices are in large part a result of the opening of foreign markets, he cautioned that the good times could be tempered by larger issues that may impact the industry’s ability to take full advantage of the Volume 12 Issue 5 • September 29th, 2014

opportunities represented by the landmark trade deals like the CKFTA and the Canada-Europe Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

International Trade Minister Fast was the keynote speaker and in his remarks announced that he had earlier that day introduced legislation to im- plement the CKFTA. The CCA welcomes this development and encourages the Govern- ment of Canada to implement the agreement as quickly as possible. Labour was among the key industry issues discussed at the fall picnic and in the meetings CCA staff and directors had before and after the event with MPs from all political parties from across the country who sit on various committees. The CCA has taken every opportunity to raise the very serious issue of labour shortages on farms and in meat processing plants, and the Fall Picnic was a timely opportunity to advance those conversations.

CMC Executive Director Jim Laws provided perspective from the meat processors his organization represents. “In the absence of sufficient labour to operate our meat processing establishments in a competitive and sustainable manner, Canadian producers, processors, workers, consumers and communities all lose,” he remarked. Laws said the meat council looks forward to working with the government on this issue and particularly the current challenges in recruiting and retaining labour. He encouraged government to work with industry to secure a practical solution.

Canada Beef Inc. App takes the mystery out of buying and cooking beef

In mid-September, Canada Beef Inc. launched its first ever App called Canada Beef’s The Roundup™ Guide to Buying and Cooking Beef. The App is a new mobile tool designed to help enable consumers to make informed beef purchase decisions and also learn about the proper cooking method for a particular cut of beef. The Roundup App will ultimately help build affinity for high quality, nutritious Canadian beef and the Canadian beef brand.

The new App has also been identified as a tool to help train meat counter staff, participants in the Beef Advocacy Canada opr - gram, and others interested in beef.

The Roundup App was developed as the mobile version of Canada Beef’s popular Consumer Buying and Cooking Cuts Chart poster, Beef 101 and Roundup booklet resources, with detail of the major cuts, tested and true cooking instructions, nutrition info, buying tips, The Canadian Beef Story and more.

Check out the App here: http://makeitbeef.ca/meat-muddle-canada-beefs-got-roundup-app/

Register now for CCA Town Hall in Dauphin, MB

Don’t forget to register for the CCA Town Hall Meeting to be held in Dauphin, Manitoba on October 28. To be held in conjunction with Manitoba Beef Pro- ducers, the town hall provides an excellent opportunity for area producers to connect with CCA executive and managers and get the latest news, updates Volume 12 Issue 5 • September 29th, 2014

and in-depth information on the many initiatives the CCA is involved in on their behalf. CCA Town Hall meetings are sponsored by Farm Credit Canada.

The Dauphin Town Hall will run from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Credit Union Place Arena 200,1st street SE. A complimentary beef meal will be served so please RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cca-town-hall-meeting-dauphin-manitoba-registration-12728680827?ref=ebapi.

Improved swath grazing through new annual forage varieties and grazing management

By improving agronomic and grazing management practices, researchers and producers have increased the yields of crops seeded for swath grazing. This has reduced overwintering feed costs for the cow herd. Aspects of swath grazing that could be improved, however, are the overall nutritive value of the swathed-grazed crop and weathering during fall, winter and spring, which reduces carrying capacity.

Research currently underway and funded by the National Check-offhttp://bit.ly/1tbHZdz and Canada’s Beef Science Cluster http://bit.ly/1vrbETD is working to further improve pasture carrying capacity and reduce overwintering costs by evaluating new annual forage varieties and developing management strate- gies with improved forage quality that can be maintained throughout the swath grazing season.

This research will provide recommendations that would reduce the daily feed cost per cow, make the swath grazing system more flexible, allow cows to maintain good body condition during extremely cold conditions without supplementation, and allow swath-grazing to be used over a broader geographical area.

To learn more, see the BCRC fact sheet: http://bit.ly/1rFboAr.

CCA Action News

Staff Contributors: John Masswohl, Tracy Sakatch Written, edited and compiled by: Gina Teel, Anthony Murdoch

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is the national voice for Canada’s beef cattle industry representing 68,500 beef farms and feedlots.

To sign up for CCA’s “Action News:” For more information, contact:

Visit www.cattle.ca and click on “Action News Signup” CCA Communications at [email protected] or visit our website at www.cattle.ca

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