An autumn update from the Canadian Cattle Association

The opportunity to communicate directly with Alberta producers is something that usually happens in handfuls at ABP meetings or other events through the year.

I appreciate the opportunity to reach many more at once through ABP magazine. CCA has a spot in many producer publications across Canada that allow me to regularly shine light on a few notable current events.

This month my phone has been lit up with questions about ABP’s announced withdrawal from CCA. I was disappointed to receive that notice. As we were in the midst of figuring out the next period of CCA funding by ABP and all of CCA’s nine provincial members it came as a bit of a surprise. The content is not a surprise; these are things discussed over time. The force of the withdrawal was a surprise.

The statement on CCA’s fiscal transparency is one matter I am compelled to address. CCA has always followed Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and is audited annually. MNP is our auditor. Our audit committee chair is Arvid Nottveit. We are also audited regularly by the federal government as CCA and Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) both receive project funding from the federal government. Detailed financial statements are prepared monthly, and our Board of Directors review and approve our financial statements and investment portfolio at every regularly scheduled meeting.

Financial transparency is something we work on regularly. In my time involved with CCA the reports to the Board of Directors and to members have improved and any questions raised are promptly and thoroughly answered by our controller Caron Melin or the senior staff of any of CCA’s divisions. It is worth acknowledging that CCA’s organizational structure is complex and our work sometimes very delicate and nuanced that makes it difficult to communicate the value proposition to our funders, the beef producers across Canada.

We can also deliver on communications. I imagine if you are reading this article you also subscribe to CCA’s biweekly Action News. The amount of content we push out via Action News along with articles in producer publications like Canadian Cattlemen Magazine, breed magazines, and provincial publications such as this is impressive to me. More emails in inboxes is not something I believe people are seeking but perhaps there are other tools. I enjoyed being on the Bovine podcast. Perhaps a discussion with the CCA president could be a recurring event.

The rest of the requests are really to be discussed between ABP and the other eight provincial cattle association members that make up the Canadian Cattle Association. CCA does have some associate organization members (National Cattle Feeders’ Association and Livestock Markets Association of Canada) to consider as well but the core funding and oversight are by the producer groups of each province. Representation splits, funding methods, governance and structure are all part of CCA bylaws. Bylaws are amended regularly at CCA.

I don’t intend to pursue the coming discussions in public media, but I did think this opportunity to address ABP producers directly is timely. I’ve spoken to many of you directly about this. Our staff has as well. I encourage that outreach and discussion to continue. That said, final decisions about much of this will take place among the producer representatives of ABP and its like organizations around the table (BCCA, SCA, MBP, BFO, PBQ, NBCP, PEICP and NSCP). We all gain by working together.

We thank and congratulate the ABP officials and staff who have worked hard to achieve changes to the AgriStability program. ABP and CCA are among those who have been advocating extensively and consistently for years for improvements to the program, and it is gratifying to see changes tested in Alberta.

Trade risk and uncertainty prevail in our industry. Market conditions are strong and margins are high which provide an optimal opportunity to enhance tools like livestock price insurance and AgriStability with cost-shared premiums. The increase is significant, and if producers trigger a payment, more of the loss will be covered. Now is a good time to review the program and plan ahead for 2026.

We look forward to Parliament resuming for the fall session. The fast-tracked process of passing Bill C-202 in the spring was very frustrating. CCA invested significant resources campaigning against the previous iteration of the bill, Bill C-282. Bill C-202 was exactly the same, and we let Members of Parliament and the Senate know that we view this bill as bad trade policy that pits Canadian agricultural sectors against each other. CCA did not publicly share every phone call, letter or meeting about Bill C-202, but I am confident that we did everything that we could to try and stop this harmful legislation.

CCA’s commitment to advocacy and good relationships helps to secure CCA an invitation to participate in important conversations. It is a significant privilege and responsibility. We were invited to share recommendations as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government prepared their first budget. Our budgetary recommendations are the same priorities that we outlined in our election document and include:

• Ensure continued duty-free trade of live cattle and beef with the U.S.A.
• Update Canada’s Specified Risk Material (SRM) removal requirements to align with the U.S.A.
• Investment in Business Risk Management programs—Livestock Price Insurance (LPI), AgriStability and Advance Payments Program (APP)—to make the programs affordable and effective.

CCA was fortunate to be invited to participate in an Indo-Pacific trade mission with Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald. This was also Minister MacDonald’s first international trip, and he is focused on growth in the region.

While there, Australia re-opened to Canadian and American beef imports. While Australia is unlikely to begin importing large amounts of Canadian beef, this is a very positive development. A few other Asian countries still have some BSE restrictions in place, and we hope that they will soon follow Australia’s example and we can further expand our export markets. Increased demand for Canadian beef around the world only increases the demand for more Canadian cattle which will further strengthen our industry.

This was first published in Volume 5 Issue 3 of ABP Magazine (Fall 2025). Watch for more digital content from the magazine on ABP Daily.