Ontario’s beef industry was already in the midst of an economic crisis, but COVID-19 is worsening the financial toll on the province’s cattle feeders. Due to extremely limited processing plant capacity, an uncompetitive market and disruptions to trade and market access, Ontario’s beef industry was losing an average of more than $2 million per week […] Read more
Tag Archives beef farmers of ontario — page 4
COVID-19 strains already-battered Ontario beef industry
Limited processing capacity remains financial challenge for province's feedlot sector, despite recent increase in retail demand
Beef farmers reaching crisis point: BFO
Beef farmers looking for federal government assistance
There’s high demand for Ontario beef domestically and globally, but farmers have limited options for processing cattle and are struggling to stay afloat. Ontario’s 19,000 beef farmers are passionate about raising cattle, but the last year has been tough for all of us. A perfect storm of market and trade disruptions has caused average weekly […] Read more
Strong global protein market drives meat production expansion
The growth in American beef and pork is based on export markets
Strong demand continues for beef around the world, along with other proteins. That’s kept prices decent globally despite growing supplies. “The global demand for beef is very very strong,” says John Baker, the director of Business Development with the Ontario Corn Fed Beef program. He also works with the combined beef marketing committee of the […] Read more
The beef with packing capacity
Ontario is missing opportunities and stuck with lower farm gate prices because of low beef packing capacity. Here’s what the sector is doing about it
There are numerous ways to increase beef processing capacity in Ontario — but none of them are quick or easy. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is working with Beef Farmers of Ontario, the Ontario Cattle Feeders Association and Dairy Farmers of Ontario to try to find some relief to a lack of processing capacity — and […] Read more
Ontario offers cash for abattoir upgrades
Applications now being accepted through April
Ontario’s 123 provincially-licensed abattoirs can now start applying for a piece of $2 million in federal/provincial funding to step up food safety, biosecurity and animal welfare measures. The Ontario and federal governments on Wednesday announced applications for cost-share funding can be submitted between now and April 30, “as long as funding for the initiative is […] Read more
Antimicrobial monitoring project gets support
A project to monitor antimicrobial resistance in beef feedlots recently received funding. The Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) welcomed the investment of up to $294,314 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to conduct new research on the “National Surveillance of Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance in Ontario Feedlot Cattle”. “Collecting antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance […] Read more
Antimicrobial monitoring project gets support
A project to monitor antimicrobial resistance in beef feedlots recently received funding. The Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) welcomed the investment of up to $294,314 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to conduct new research on the “National Surveillance of Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance in Ontario Feedlot Cattle”. “Collecting antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance […] Read more
Ryding-Regency’s federal beef packing licenses cancelled
Citing “false or misleading information” given them during an E. coli probe, food safety officials have now permanently pulled the federal slaughter, processing and export licenses for Toronto’s Ryding-Regency Meat Packers and related companies. The cancellation, announced Monday, indefinitely prolongs what was already described as “critical processing capacity shortage” for the province’s cattle producers, leaving […] Read more
Editorial: Farm group management changing quickly
It’s a time of generational change in Ontario’s major farm organizations, with significant retirements of long-time stabilizing influences and the hiring of new leaders of a different generation. Neil Currie, for 19 years general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), and Dave Stewart, executive director of Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO), where he’d […] Read more
An experienced look at farm organization futures
Retiring farm leaders on what Ontario agriculture needs to thrive
After years acting as organizational leaders in Ontario’s farm sector, Dave Stewart of Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO), and Neil Currie, who was for 19 years general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), see great potential for the farm and food sector. However, both believe co-operation and ongoing efforts to foster new leadership […] Read more
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