Alberta Beef Producers (ABP), Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association (ACFA), and the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) have completed a resiliency report for Alberta’s meat processing sector as Part A of the Alberta Beef Competitiveness Study.
The competitiveness study, titled “Building Resiliency in Alberta’s Beef Processing Industry,” was inspired by growing interest in diversifying and building capacity and resiliency, while identifying barriers and actionable recommendations for the meat processing sector.
Of the top five identified Barries to building resiliency in Alberta’s beef processing industry, ABP, ACFA, and CCA are drawing particular attention to the recommendations around addressing immediate labour constraints, harmonizing processing standards between jurisdictions, and increasing support for processors.
With the Alberta Beef Competitiveness Study – Part A now in-hand, the beef industry is prioritizing discussions around the above recommendations through collaborative partnerships between industry and government.
“The challenges for new or expanded packing capacity are many,” said Dennis Laycraft, Executive Director, CCA. “This report helps prioritize areas of focus for governments, industry, and other proponents.”
Brad Dubeau, general manager at ABP, says this is the first step in a long-term process, but they are looking forward to working with government and industry to address these challenges.
“There has been a significant amount of time and effort from industry and experts examining resiliency in the processing sector, and transparency for boxed beef pricing,” he says.
Building Resiliency in Alberta’s Beef Processing Industry was prepared by Serecon Inc. and is being published as ‘Part A’ of the Alberta Beef Competitiveness Study.
Funding for this project was provided, in part, by the federal and provincial governments through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
You can read the full report, here.
As well, you can check out Part B of the Alberta Beef Competitiveness Study, here.
