Beef Advisors
Canadian Beef Advisors – Industry Goals to 2030
A suite of ten-year goals are being developed in collaboration with the national beef organizations that build upon the five-year goals outlined in the 2020-24 National Beef Strategy. This provides a single set of goals that all the national organizations will be aiming to achieve together. These ambitious but realistic goals provide positive and clear messaging about how the Canadian beef industry is striving for incremental continual improvements.
The intent is that these are “stretch” goals that encourage industry to strive for something we would not achieve without setting them, encouraging innovation and pushing industry as a whole to think differently and move out of our comfort zone.The underlying principle of continuous incremental improvement should not diminish what industry achieves if the specific goal is not reached. However, it will encourage industry to explain why a goal was or was not reached. The Canadian Beef Advisors have committed to transparent reporting to industry through the National Beef Strategy.
The first three topics were released in September 2020 addressing
1. Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Sequestration;
2. Animal Health and Welfare;
3. Land Use and Biodiversity.
The next four topics will come in 2021 addressing: Water, Beef Quality and Food Safety, People Health and Safety, and Technology.
This suite of goals covers productivity and support the delivery of a higher quality product. These goals recognize the breadth of benefits from beef production beyond supplying global protein demand.
How these Goals will be used
These goals will be used by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) to inform the update of their Sustainability Strategy. They will also inform the Beef Cattle Research Councils (BCRC) update of the National Beef Research and Extension Strategy for 2023-28. As well as, positioning the Canadian beef industry as part of the solution on these topics, rather than the problem, in Ottawa. In setting these goals, industry is aiming to build government and public support for beef production and its activities through a clear consistent message that addresses the challenges faced head on while also communicating its benefits.
The Process
An iterative process was used to develop the proposed goals including a literature review, stakeholder interviews with researchers, veterinarians and producers that provided feedback on what was feasible for industry to accomplish. This looked at past performance recognizing that previous achievements came from multiple small incremental improvements across the system as a whole. Also recognizing that there are diminishing marginal returns with biological limits in some areas; while other areas may experience acceleration due to technology, adoption and new opportunities. Where feasible, scenarios were provided that included a continuation of historical trends and potential breakthroughs.
Preliminary options were presented to the Beef Advisors, the CRSB membership through a series of webinars and a producer task force with representatives from the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC), Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), CCA and National Cattle Feeders Association (NCFA) for feedback and discussion. Questions that were raised throughout the process are addressed in the FAQ section in each fact sheet.
The Canadian Beef Advisors
The Canadian Beef Advisors consist of the current chair or president and senior staff of each of the seven national beef organizations responsible for policy, marketing, research and sustainability.
They are a diverse group of experienced industry representatives who are leading the implementation of the National Beef Strategy on behalf of the Canadian beef industry. They are tasked with prioritizing and reaching the goals outlined in the National Beef Strategy 2020-24.
The National Beef Strategy promotes a united approach to position the Canadian beef industry for greater profitability, growth and continued production of a high-quality beef product of choice in the world.