Demands around the world to restrict greenhouse gas and nutrient emissions from all forms of livestock mean feed formulators need to ensure that animals are efficiently pulling all they can out of both macro and micro-nutrients to reduce the amount of harmful substances that end up in the air, water and soil.

“They look at livestock and see pollution,” said Melissa Dumont, executive director of the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada, summing up widely held public and government attitudes toward agriculture.

Those attitudes result in both scrutiny of and demands upon the feed industry that are relentless and sometimes wrongheaded, some researchers and scientists said.

“The pressure on us … is absolutely immense,” said British feed scientist Emily Burton of Nottingham Trent University.

“It’s the assumptions that annoy me most as a nutritionist.”

Within the livestock and feed industries there is much pride over the ever-increasing efficiency of meat production, with per-kilogram greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact significantly falling over time.

For example, the U.S. hog industry claims it now has an eight per cent smaller environmental impact, uses 75 per cent less land, consumes 25 per cent less water and runs on seven per cent less energy than 50 years ago, despite producing much more meat.

Each healthy pig or steer today now produces more pounds of gain with fewer emissions than ever before, while preserving grasslands and consuming materials that would otherwise be waste.

However, millions of people around the planet believe livestock production is a primary cause of climate change, water pollution and soil degradation.

While some have pushed back against what they consider misperceptions of net livestock emissions, virtually all feed companies and researchers now include “sustainability” as a key metric when considering advances and characteristics they are trying to build into feed sources and practices.

Before the official opening of the main ANCC sessions, a full morning was dedicated to researchers who are focused on boosting livestock sustainability with better feeding.

Getting to “net-zero livestock production” and turning pledges into concrete sustainability results for pig and dairy cattle producers were the lead-off sessions for the symposium, which drew more than 400 attendees.

American and Dutch experts challenged the feed industry to take more seriously micro-nutrient impact, efficiency and waste, which they said is generally ignored.

“Most of us don’t (pay attention to micronutrient impacts),” said Terry Engle of Colorado State University.

There’s great stress on researchers to improve livestock sustainability, but fortunately for the industry, it appears there is a stream of young researchers keen to get into the industry. Dozens of graduate students from across Canada, many from non-Canadian backgrounds, attended the conference.

The student researcher presentations, both in posters and from the stage, were popular with more seasoned researchers, and the conference sprinkled student participation through the event.

One organization making its appearance at the conference was African Youth in Canadian Agriculture, which is a new national organization attempting to connect African students in Canadian high schools and universities to opportunities in agriculture, which most young urban people are unaware of and have no clue of how to access.

An example of how African-origin researchers are finding places in Canada’s feed industry was seen in University of Saskatchewan graduate student and researcher Roseline Ogory, who presented her work in incorporating Ahliflower seed and cake in chicken diets to produce better omega 3 content in eggs.

The notion that there are still radical gains to be made in livestock feeding efficiency ran through the conference. Micronutrients are not the only element of livestock feeding that is likely being supplied inefficiently and possibly counterproductively. University of Saskatchewan swine nutrition scientist Dan Columbus highlighted the relative lack of study on sow nutritional needs and the crude manner in which sow diets are supplied, mostly ignoring the cyclical needs of the animal.

Engle, an expert in copper, acknowledged his favourite element befuddles him, despite decades of study.

“I love copper, but it confuses me,” said Engle.

Researchers feel much pressure to feed animals more sustainably, but many also feel optimism that feeding sustainability and efficiency have major gains waiting to be discovered.

That tension between demands for sustainability and optimism about sustainability dominated the conference.

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“We have been patient and proposed solutions to safeguard the interests of Canadian farmers and ranchers, yet our concerns remain unaddressed,” said CPC chair Rene Roy in a news release today.

“Setting a precedent for non-tariff trade barriers within the CPTPP must be avoided to protect our industry,” he said.

The CPC said it was joining the “Say No to a Bad Deal” coalition, a group composed of the Canadian Cattle Association, the Canadian Meat Coalition and the National Cattle Feeders’ Association.

The CPC said this move comes in response to “Great Britain’s stance toward Canada,” which it says shows the U.K. “is not interested in free and fair trade in agricultural products.”

Late this January, the Canadian government announced Britain had suspended talks on a free trade deal with Canada amid discontent on both sides about the lack of access to agricultural markets.

The talks – which are separate from the CPTPP – are among a number of negotiations Britain has launched around the world in the wake of its decision to leave the European Union, which excluded it from existing EU free trade deals.

Canada and other nations welcomed Britain into the CPTPP in July. In response, the Canadian Meat Council (CMA), the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) and the Canadian Pork Council issued a joint statement “strongly opposing” the move.

“The U.K. does not accept Canada’s food safety and animal health systems and measures, and those non-tariff barriers limit our access to the U.K. market,” the three groups said.

In a January news release, the Canadian Cattle Association said, “The UK currently has unlimited access for British beef exports to Canada while Canadian beef producers are unable to export into the UK market.”

The CPC said it aims to remind the Government of Canada of its responsibility to prioritize the best interests of Canadian farmers and ranchers.

“Great Britain’s refusal to truly engage Canada in the current negotiations poses significant risks to Canada’s agricultural sector, and it is crucial we address these concerns head-on before the UK joins a trade deal of which we are a founding member,” Roy said.

The CPC said it “supports fair trade terms that uphold the principles of reciprocity and mutual benefit.”

“Canadian pork producers rely heavily on international markets for their livelihoods, with 70 per cent of production destined for export markets,” Roy said. “Fair trade agreements provide producers with the opportunity to access new markets, diversify their customer base and increase profitability.”

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Republican U.S. Senators Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Charles Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana have proposed legislation to create an office for a special investigator within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

U.S. lawmakers and USDA are seeking to address concentration in the beef processing industry in the aftermath of a ransomware attack against meatpacker JBS that disrupted U.S. meat production and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposed office would have a team of investigators, with subpoena power, dedicated to preventing and addressing anticompetitive practices and enforcing antitrust laws in meatpacking, according to a statement from the senators.

“I think it’s a good proposal,” Vilsack said at a congressional budget hearing. “I think it’s part of what needs to be done.”

Four companies including JBS in 2018 slaughtered about 85 per cent of U.S. grain-fattened cattle that are made into steaks, beef roasts and other cuts of meat for consumers, according to USDA.

USDA has separately said it plans to strengthen its enforcement of a 100-year-old federal law intended to protect farmers and ranchers from unfair trade practices. The agency also said it will support increased processing capacity as part of a US$4 billion initiative to strengthen the country’s food system.

— Reporting for Reuters by Tom Polansek in Chicago.

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Moving meat not inspected by the federal system across a provincial border will require a Ministerial Exemption. A process to obtain that was released last week.

The process is temporary, in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why it matters: Meat producer groups have advocated for decades for provincially inspected meat to be allowed across provincial borders. This could provide an opportunity to show that such a system could work.

Meat from federally inspected plants is only allowed to cross provincial borders for sale. Federal inspection is more rigid than provincial inspection, although provincial inspection standards are also high.

It is difficult for smaller meat processors to meet federal inspection rules, so it is mostly only larger plants that can move meat across the country.

The Ministerial Exemption was made with little fanfare.

In order for meat not from federally inspected plants to be moved across provincial borders, a food business experiencing a shortage has to request help from their provincial or territorial authority, which will determine if the situation fits under the Ministerial Exemption process.

Rules will still need to be followed relating to processing and labelling.

“The Food and Drugs Act (FDA) and Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) as well as other relevant federal, provincial and territorial laws related to meat products would continue to apply, despite a Ministerial Exemption being granted,” said the CFIA on its website. “Food labels must be truthful and not misleading and the information should continue to be provided in both official languages.”

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The pandemic has driven up demand for independent meat processors across the province as consumers are purchasing more products and looking for options outside of grocery stores.

Why it matters: Independent meat processors have seen increasing demand, but virus concerns and changing mainstream retailers reduce volume of animals needed by large processors.

“It’s probably one of the busiest times most of our members have seen,” says Franco Naccarato, executive director of Meat and Poultry Ontario.

Naccarato says that any processors also involved in retail have been maxed out.

Shannon Desborough, owner of Finest Sausage & Meat in Kitchener, says there continues to be a line-up to enter their store, especially on Saturdays.

“I’ve never seen it lined up in the street, but now I’m not surprised when I see it. Even if we weren’t (only letting three people in), if we let everyone in the line up would still be out the door.”

While aspects of his business are up, some are down and others are the same, but altogether, Finest Sausage & Meat sales are up.

“We have a very diverse clientele. Some of the companies I deal with are behaving in different ways. Our markets are gone, some grocery stores are down, while others are up, and restaurants are down,” says Desborough.

He noticed the change in markets as he began to receive calls from panicked customers when the pandemic first came to Canada.

“I was trying to keep people calm. Customers would call asking if we had any food. ‘Well of course we have food’… They were at a local grocery store, a national chain and they were empty.”

The pandemic is going to change the future of meat markets, says Naccarato. It’s showing a lot of vulnerabilities in the food system.

“Our food system, when consistent, is very reliable. Throw an inconsistency in there, it isn’t. That’s where regional food and local food really kicks in. That’s why I think you see more people going back to the butcher shop because they are more reliable in terms of supply and availability.”

Although social distancing hasn’t turned consumers away from buying local, it has changed the way meat processors with retail stores do business.

Many have opted for ordering online, through email or over the phone with curb-side pick-up.

“Everyone is doing something different, and people are looking for all kinds of different solutions,” says Naccarato.

Finest Sausage & Meat has extended its hours to meet customers needs. The company is also increasing store sanitation, limiting number of individuals in the store at a time and allotting certain hours for the elderly.

“We are letting people see that we are also doing our best to keep things orderly – it keeps people calm. We are trying to cater to our customers needs,” says Desborough.

Meat council members take processing precautions

Larger meat processing plants have also taken steps to reduce the risk posed by COVID-19, officials say.

“Meat processors across the country have been working diligently and collaboratively with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and public health officials to take comprehensive measures to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19,” said Marie-France MacKinnon, vice president of public affairs with the Canadian Meat Council.

This includes spacing workers further apart on production lines, installing plexiglass dividers, staggering work breaks, and hiring additional workers to conduct more frequent cleaning of surfaces that are frequently touched, she said. As well, workers have their temperatures taken before their shifts and in warmer parts of the country, some plants have set up tents outside so workers on break can more easily social distance.

– With files from Alexis Kienlen.

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“Unlike previous disease outbreak issues, COVID-19 has not been about food safety or consumer confidence or issues with food products,” Canada Beef president Michael Young said during a recent online town hall.

“Beef demand at retail is up 50 to 70 per cent. Consumers have aggressively stocked up on groceries for home.”

Ground beef is in especially high demand, and many grocers have limited the number of packages that can be purchased at one time.

“It’s too early to know what the impact of COVID-19 will be on retail food prices,” said Young. “What we do know is that the food supply chain is working very hard to keep shelves full.

“Current prices are a reflection of a supply and demand situation, as consumers have been stocking up on food and supplies. This is expected to be short-term as the supply chain will adjust to meet demand and the case of retail purchases normalizes.”

People are also busy searching for recipes and cooking information — with Canada Beef’s website seeing a surge in visitors.

“Canadabeef.ca has seen an increase of 66 per cent total users in March, while Thinkbeef.ca had a 450 per cent increase in visits from February to March,” said Young.

A fact sheet on what the Canadian meat industry has done to protect against COVID-19 has been widely distributed here and abroad, he added.

Most of Canada’s key export markets have been experiencing similar conditions as here, with strong retail demand.

“Many of the markets are making do with dwindling supplies of imported food products, due to the impact of COVID-19 on labour availability at port facilities and transportation,” said Young.

— Alexis Kienlen reports for Alberta Farmer from Edmonton.

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Why it matters: Large commercial abattoirs find it difficult to accommodate small pilot projects and most smaller plants lack the necessary federal licensing from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to export meat products out of Ontario.

“We gutted the existing facility and added about 1,000 sq. feet of space and all new systems,” says Jim Squires, chair of the Animal Biosciences Department at the Ontario Agricultural College, which oversees the facility.

The renovated meat science laboratory features new processing equipment, an industrial smokehouse, freezers, kitchen and a spice room, as well as an updated chill cooler, handling pens to accommodate large numbers of cattle, pigs, and sheep and a carbon dioxide stunning system for humane euthanasia of pigs.

Teaching areas include a carcass dissection classroom where students can observe or participate in meat cutting; a glass-fronted display cooler where carcasses or meat cuts relevant to current classes can be displayed; and a 99-seat lecture theatre that can accommodate formal lectures, as well as carcass and meat-cutting demonstrations.

Faculty and students from the departments of Animal Biosciences and Food Science along with the Ontario Veterinary College use the facilities for training and research to improve food safety and animal welfare, productivity and health.

“We use the University of Guelph research stations for livestock research, and animals that are part of meat quality studies are processed through this facility,” says Squires, who is currently hiring a new meat scientist, who will conduct research in meat quality and muscle biology issues related to slaughter processes.

As well, the new smokehouse and the CFIA licence for ready-to-eat products means collaboration with industry partners on projects like new product development is possible.

True Foods, a division of Grand Valley Fortifiers responsible for value-added programs, is one of those partners. The company provides nutrition programs and third party verification for farmers raising livestock for value-added meat programs, such as organic or raised without antibiotics.

“When you add value through a program like organic, what the animal ate is the biggest factor in the label claims,” says Ashley Delarge, value chain governance manager with True Foods. “We want to be that liaison between farm level and retail and make sure that the claims made on the label are true.”

One of their customers who is producing Omega-3 pork had an opportunity to explore shipping to Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China. The challenge was the potential buyer wanted a small test shipment of pork to sample and test with retailers in Asia.

This required segregated slaughter and processing facilities to ensure the meat met ractopamine free, raised without antibiotics and Omega-3 standards, which isn’t possible on a small scale at large commercial processors.

While small Ontario plants could handle the requirements, most lacked the federal inspection requirements and certifications needed for exporting outside Canada.

“This is where the University of Guelph lab was a huge help. They’re federally licensed and do small quantities, which is ideal for these types of product testing scenarios,” Delarge says, adding Guelph’s abattoir manager Brian McDougall and his staff provided the proper cutting, labelling and packaging so product specifications guaranteed meat quality and were compliant with CFIA regulations.

“The level of consolidation (in the packing industry) makes it a hard market if you want to get something new like this going, so being able to access this type of service from the University of Guelph is a real benefit to industry,” she says.

The facility expansion was funded by the University of Guelph’s Food From Thought program, the Strategic Investment Fund, the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario and the Ontario Agricultural College’s Class of 1977.

This article is provided by Livestock Research Innovation Corporation as part of its ongoing efforts to drive innovation in the livestock sector.

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“I agree, it is always nice to see a local product on a local shelf,” said Auburn-area producer Tom Oudshoorn during a three-person panel discussion at the recent Veal Farmers of Ontario (VFO) annual meeting in Stratford.

Why it matters: Veal farmers in Ontario are challenged to compete outside of Ontario without more federally inspected processing capacity.

The challenge, repeated by numerous speakers during the March 6 event, is that only one federally inspected slaughter facility in Ontario currently processes veal, compared to several facilities in Quebec. VFO Executive Director Jennifer Haley, at one point in the meeting, encouraged VFO members to enrol in the Verified Veal Program that would be necessary for their animals to be processed into export-ready meat. But the response from producers was that it isn’t worth it if they don’t have access to the federally inspected slaughtering capacity that’s also a requirement for export.

There was a 186 per cent increase over the past year in veal sold in Ontario that wasn’t raised here, said Kendra Keels, VFO’s director for producer and industry development. Consumer demand is growing she says, but VFO members’ challenge is taking a larger role in supplying that growing demand.

Haley reinforced that assessment during her presentation about VFO’s marketing activities. “We’re not on the defence. We’re on the offence now,” the organization’s executive director said, adding the VFO team is targeting consumers who already eat veal. The goal is being pursued in programs like the Best Veal Sandwich program.

The program’s first year provided VFO with strong insight into how restaurants get their veal.

“Being able to get that intel and knowing that they really want to be able to source Ontario product was very valuable to us,” said Haley.

Nailing down the restaurant market can only do so much for Ontario’s veal sector. Access to federally inspected slaughter would displace Quebec-processed veal from major grocery chains (none of which currently stock Ontario-processed veal). In the longer term it would allow for greater Ontario participation in a European-Union market that emerged in the wake of recent trade agreements.

Keels cited two major factors – the increase in finished Quebec product coming into Ontario, and changes in dairy breeding strategies leading to more beef animals coming out of Ontario’s dairies. In 2018, only 34,290 veal animals were slaughtered in Ontario compared to 91,000 in 2004. The website of the Federation des Producteurs de Bovins du Quebec shows just over 190,000 head of veal were produced in that province in 2017, although it is not an apples-to-apples comparison, since the Ontario number doesn’t capture animals sent from Ontario into Quebec for slaughter.

Ontario Livestock Exchange President Larry Witzel used an hourglass analogy to describe the situation. There’s lots of supply of veal animals in the province (the top of the hourglass), and Ontario consumers are eager to try veal (the bottom of the hourglass). In the middle, though, is the bottleneck of processor capacity.

The challenge of verification, without a processor

The “Catch-22” scenario became clear, though, when the three afternoon panelists were asked by an audience member if they would consider joining the Verified Veal food safety and traceability program finalized in April, 2017 by VFO and the Producteurs de Bovins du Quebec.

Despite Haley’s encouragement to join the program, and her assertion that Verified Veal is mandatory in Quebec, but limited to a single participant from Ontario, all three said no. Even Oudshoorn, whose farm was a pioneer in adapting RFID eartag technology for their own use tracking animal sales and transport, said they would reject the added paperwork necessary for Verified Veal unless they could be guaranteed a premium price.

But, as the panel also noted, the status quo without Verified Veal isn’t necessarily all that bad.

Oudshoorn noted there’s not the same level of provincial government support for Quebec farmers as in the past, so producers in the two provinces are much closer to an equal footing when it comes to supplying calves to the Quebec-based processing plants. Producer/panelist Marvin Kroesbergen agreed, suggesting that much of the finished product in the fridges of Ontario’s grocery chains was actually raised in Ontario before being shipped to Quebec for processing.

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It’s a difference between a sector being disrupted and in decline, and one that continues to grow and draw investment.

Mark Brock, past chair of the Grain Farmers of Ontario was the first one I saw to make this observation on the day of the Maple Leaf announcement and he took it further, calling for policy that truly supported the largest sector of the economy — agriculture and food.

The Maple Leaf Food announcement of what is being called the largest investment in Ontario agriculture history at $650 million is significant for several reasons, beyond the optics of the contrast with the GM plant closure.

The investment was sorely needed.

New meat processing plants are rare and expensive investments and Maple Leaf’s commitment should assure the demand for chicken for a generation.

Efficiency improvements are important for processing plants. They are usually incremental, small improvements within a plant that make a process better or more profitable. This plant will help bring a significant jump in processing efficiency. It will also give the company the ability to sell more of its product. It expects the plant capacity to help grow the amount of chicken that Maple Leaf sells and that’s good for poultry farmers.

It will not be good for overall employment as the total number of jobs, when the three plants slated to close is compared to the new plant, will likely drop.

I feel for the people of St. Marys. As someone who lives within commuting distance of the town, I know people who have worked in that plant. It’s been important to local employment. But it is also an older plant, with scale that no longer works at the high-speed processing line investment level.

When a plant closes, it also means adjustments to suppliers and service providers to the plant. Some of them will end up with a continued relationship with Maple Leaf, some of them won’t, which is challenging for a small town.

Let’s not forget that Maple Leaf finalized the closure of the poultry processing plant in Thamesford earlier this year, costing 300 jobs there.

So, yes, there have been job losses and the centralizing of processing into one plant instead of three will mean fewer access points for farmers. The London plant should mean easier access for more farmers because getting into plants in the Toronto area is never a fun job.

The poultry investment is good news but we need some similar news in the hog and beef sectors.

We badly need a similar upgrade to a new facility for hog processing in Ontario. Maple Leaf Foods sold its Burlington plant instead of opting for that large investment in pigs and has its centre of operations in pork now located in Manitoba.

The Sofina plant in Burlington has been a marvel case of continuing to operate an old facility within a city. It’s the largest processor of pigs in Ontario and some day it needs a replacement. Conestoga Meats continues to expand and recently built a new addition to its plant replacing older and less efficient areas.

There was some hope that the former Great Lakes Meats hog processing facility in Mitchell, now also owned by Sofina, would also become the home of a much larger plant, but it has been revamped into a turkey processing facility.

We also need more beef processing competition and capacity in this province. The lack of capacity has recently put a damper on how many cattle farmers can put into their feedlots.

And while I’m on the topic — small scale meat processors continue to fight their way through regulations and the challenge of finding labour, although my sense in my area is that some of those abattoirs have found some stability with increasing demand for local foods. There are some excellent small meat processors in this province and they need to be encouraged.

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African swine fever is about to unleash the most profound changes in meat and feedgrain markets that farmers will see in their lifetime, says a market analyst.

Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Financial Advisors, said a “pandemic of infection” in China is going to lead to surging demand and prices for North American meat products.

“It looks to us like we are heading into a meat protein bull market in hogs, chicken and beef,” he said during a video podcast on the subject.

“We think this is a once in a generation kind of anomalous event.”

Why it matters: Pork producers in Canada may be positioned to fill in supply shortfalls caused by the spread of African Swine Fever. As the Chinese pork industry restructures, it could also create new markets for feedgrains.

Hackett said the rapid spread of the disease in China is going to require “draconian action” by the government.

Half of China’s pork production comes from backyard operations, which are difficult to monitor and control.

He said the only way for the government to get on top of the problem is to shut down those small operations and move their production to large corporate farms that have proper biosecurity procedures in place.

That transition will cause significant supply disruptions with some people forecasting a 30 per cent reduction in China’s hog herd.

Hackett is using a more conservative estimate of a 10 to 15 per cent decline over the next year.

“Just to give you an idea — that reduction in the Chinese pig herd would be equal to almost the entire pig herd of the United States,” he said during a video podcast on the subject.

China would lose six million tonnes of pork supply, which is close to what the world’s top three exporters together ship out annually.

“We simply do not have the exportable supply to handle a reduction in Chinese supply of this magnitude,” said Hackett.

In addition to the shrinking supply, he expects to see a contraction in demand from consumers who mistrust the government and mistakenly worry that Chinese pork meat is tainted. They will look for other sources of protein.

“We think that chicken and beef are likely to see a tsunami of replacement demand away from pork while this crisis is underway,” he said.

If 10 per cent of Chinese pork demand shifted to beef because of changing consumer preferences, it would equal the combined exports of the world’s top four exporters.

Beef and chicken prices would have to rise dramatically to entice extra production and increased exportable supply. Hackett said there are already signs that is beginning to happen with beef.

Jorge Correa, vice-president of market access with the Canadian Meat Council, agreed that demand for Chinese pork may drop.

“The consumer in China is losing confidence in their own industry,” he said.

Correa said that could lead to increased demand for imported pork, and Canada is well situated to meet that demand.

China is 95 per cent self-sufficient in pork supply with the other five per cent imported from North America, South America and Europe.

African swine fever has spread throughout Europe, making it an unlikely supplier, and the U.S. is facing stiff tariffs into the Chinese market, so Canada, Brazil and Chile would be the likely candidates to pick up business.

“In Canada we haven’t seen that increase yet,” said Correa.

He thinks that is partially because Canada has been shipping more pork to Mexico instead, a market where the U.S. is also facing new tariffs.

Correa thinks it is unlikely that Chinese consumers will switch from eating pork to beef or chicken because they are pork lovers, consuming 40 kilograms per capita per year. As well, beef is more expensive than pork.

Hackett is convinced the Chinese situation will create a massive increase in pork, beef and chicken demand, which will also do wonders for feedgrain prices.

That includes soybean meal. Many people believe China’s shrinking hog herd would be bad for the soybean market, but Hackett said the backyard operations that would be shut down don’t use soybean meal in their rations. It is used by the larger farms, which would be increasing their hog herds.

“We could actually see an explosion in bean meal demand a little further down the road,” he said.

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