Annual Report | A message from the General Manager

Reflecting on the past year, Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) has achieved significant milestones, driven by invaluable feedback from our producers, and our agreement with Canadian Cattle Association, which has allowed additional investments in Alberta’s beef industry.

In January and February we returned to offering our Producer Meetings over shared meals. For a modest $10, producers were able to enjoy a quality meal with friends and colleagues across the industry. That $10 registration didn’t just help us pay for the meals, it also helped us with our estimates for attendance, limiting waste and saving money.

Following Producer Meetings, we had the opportunity to hold our Annual General Meeting in conjunction with Alberta Beef Industry Conference in Calgary. We walked away with many great learnings and ideas for 2025, and are excited to reconnect there.

In July we hosted another successful Alberta Beef Industry Stampede Summit. This event continues to bring political representatives and the cattle industry together, and we were honoured to host Premier Danielle Smith, and U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David L. Cohen, and politicians across the political spectrum.

In connection with the Summit and unique this year, we hosted a pre-tour where political representatives joined discussions on-farm. While it was an incredible opportunity to engage, it was also a whirlwind of work for both ABP and our partners, especially during an already bustling week of activities. Looking ahead, we’ll take this valuable experience into account. Perhaps future tours will find a home at other times of the year – when schedules are less hectic – or perhaps we’ll step back and bring cattle producers’ voices to these events as guests, allowing someone else to take the hosting reins. Either way, we’re committed to fostering connections and celebrating our industry in ways that balance enthusiasm with practicality.

For years we have advocated for better business risk management programming for cattle producers, and we are seeing great strides in those areas. This year we saw increases to the AgriStability compensation rate and the alignment of reference margins with tax accounting methods. We also anticipate further discussions thanks to its significance at this summer’s Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Agriculture meeting.

In the last budget, we increased research allocations, which allowed us to make a significant investment in Western Crop Innovations or WCI this year. Our investment is part of a three-year funding agreement, and we’re excited to see how it helps to develop crop varieties that are well-suited to Alberta’s growing conditions.

In 2023 we expanded the team with a position that focuses on stewardship for Alberta Beef Producers and for Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+). In addition to distributing the workload more evenly among staff, this focus allowed us to launch the VBP+ Incentive Program, supported by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

We’ve continued to increase investment in communications through events across the province; television and digital advertisements; radio spots; our quarterly print magazine; and our online communications.

As we look ahead, we are optimistic about the future of Alberta Beef Producers. The significant increases in programming across all areas have strengthened our foundation and prepared us for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. We are excited to continue this momentum and look forward to connecting with producers across the province.

Sincerely,

Brad Dubeau

This article was originally posted in Alberta Beef Producers’ 2024 Annual Report. Find the full report here.