Commission mechanics: How ABP leverages producer dollars to foster a successful Alberta beef industry

This article was first published in Volume 4 Issue 3 of ABP Magazine (September 2024). Watch for more digital content from the magazine on ABP Daily.

Farmers know that a good operator understands the mechanics of how their equipment works. That operator understands what it looks like for things to run smoothly, and if something isn’t running quite right, how to fix it.

The mechanics of how Alberta Beef Producers leverages producer dollars to secure a strong future for the Alberta beef industry are just as key for smooth operating of the industry as a whole.

Alberta Beef Producers is a commission, which differs from other organizations in agriculture. Rather than taking out a membership with ABP, every producer who markets beef cattle in Alberta is automatically a member of Alberta Beef Producers.

“As a commission, we have the regulatory authority to collect check-off, and to then act on behalf of and represent producers,” says Brad Dubeau, General Manager of ABP. “We invest those check-off dollars into consumer-facing marketing and communications, producer-facing stakeholder relations, government relations and policy development, stewardship, and beef production and extension.”

“Every time an animal is marketed, there is a $4.50 check-off that is collected,” explains Dubeau. “$2.00 of that is a service charge, which funds ABP, and from those dollars we contribute to funding the Canadian Cattle Association. That portion is refundable.

“The remaining $2.50 is non-refundable, and those dollars flow to the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off Agency,” says Dubeau. “Each province has the ability to set a percentage of those dollars that go to three different organizations: Public and Stakeholder Engagement, Canada Beef, and the Beef Cattle Research Council. Alberta is the largest funder of all these groups.”

Like other commodity commissions and marketing boards, Alberta Beef Producers is overseen by the Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council.

“The Marketing Council is a provincial public agency established under the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act,” explains Doug Sawyer, Chair of the Council and a beef producer. “We advise the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation on matters related to Alberta’s 19 agriculture marketing boards and commissions.”

Members of the Marketing Council are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and are chosen for their experience within agriculture, “to provide valuable input to move the agriculture industry forward,” says Sawyer. Members range from producers to professors, accountants and other industry professionals.

“On Marketing Council, I am a producer from the ag industry first, and I am a cow-calf guy second,” says John Buckley, who is nearing the end of his first term on the Council. “Our role is to bring our experiential knowledge to the table when we’re examining issues, and even though we look at it through different lenses from where we come from, we’re very much looking at it from a whole-industry standpoint.”

Each marketing board and commission is governed by a Plan Regulation, which enables the use of powers from the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act. It is the Alberta Beef Producers Plan Regulation that grants ABP the ability to collect check-off from sales of beef cattle in the province.

Commissions and marketing boards are also governed by a Commission or Marketing Regulation and bylaws. For ABP, the Commission Regulation defines the check-off amount and scope and how information can be collected from producers. The current Plan Regulation is what defines delegate zones, meeting requirements and other aspects of governance and overall purpose of the commission. Bylaws further define the governance for ABP such as meeting quorum and terms of office for directors and delegates. Changes to these plans and bylaws require support from the producers under the plan, which may take the form of a plebiscite for major changes.

As Sawyer explains, the Marketing Council is there “to supervise and oversee the marketing boards and commissions in accordance with legislation.” However, both Sawyer and Buckley also see an important “building” role for the Council. “We have a mentorship role to understand certain issues that come forward,” says John. “Industry may not know where to go, but we can have that discussion and research how to move forward.

One example of how Marketing COuncil has been able to assist industry in making improvements in policy is through the reduction of red tape. “alberta Beef Producers led the way years ago on moving regulation into policy, and that allowed them to be far more nimble,” says Sawyer.

“ABP developed a set of bylaws under the approval of Marketing Council,” explains Dubeau. “What bylaws allow for us to do is manoeuvre a little bit more efficiently.”

As both Dubeau and Sawyer explain, Marketing Council still has to approve changes to bylaws but the process is much simpler and more efficient than doing a full regulatory review. This leadership paved the way for the other marketing boards and commissions to do the same.

With this level of oversight and the legislative powers that come with it, a commission like ABP “can truly say that under good communication with their producers, they represent the views of the Alberta industry,” says Sawyer. “Whether you sell one animal or 100,000 animals, it doesn’t matter. The 4-H kid that sells one beef steer a year gets a vote, and the biggest feedlot in Alberta gets a vote. That makes it extremely democratic.”

The credibility of representing every producer selling cattle in Alberta carries a lot of weight when ABP communicates with government.

“Under this framework, commissions continue to meet high standards for governance and producer engagement,” says Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, RJ Sigurdson. “They are the representative of interest for that specific sector and its producers, and we’ve seen a lot of amazing work done through research, promotion of the industry, advocacy, education initiatives and growth of the market.”

One example of how this relationship can pay off for producers is the development of AgriRecovery programs for producers experiencing drought.

“The government is reaching out to ABP as a sounding board and to be a part of the process to develop programs that work as best they can for producers,” says Dubeau. “The programs aren’t always perfect, but without ABP there to represent producers, there could be much greater challenges.”

“Last year, when it came to the drought conditions, I was working hand in hand with Alberta Beef Producers to be able to have conversations about what producers’ needs are and make sure that we move towards an AgriRecovery for them as quickly as possible,” says Minister Sigurdson. “The logistics of meeting with every beef producer are impossible. When you have a formal commission with such a high degree of engagement with producers, it provides me that confidence that they’re representing the needs of the industry.”

Alberta Beef Producers also amplifies the voice of producers to the public through channels that are not accessible to individual producers.

“We invest in marketing to support the Alberta beef brand and make it top of mind for consumers,” says Dubeau. “ABP is investing significantly in digital campaigns, and growing our TV and social media campaigns as well, trying to cover all the bases.”

Within the industry, Alberta Beef Producers works closely with the Beef Cattle Research Council, “to leverage producer check-off dollars for grant funding, which allows for more significant investment into research that will improve efficiency and productivity for the beef industry,” says Dubeau.

Another area that producer dollars go towards is communication with producers to keep them up to speed on how their dollars are working for them and on developments in policy, research, and other areas of the industry. When check-off is collected, ABP does not receive any personal information from producers beyond the number of cattle sold and the number of dollars and cents collected. Producers who want to stay up to date are encouraged to contact ABP to join the mailing list.

To access the producer voice in shaping all of these activities, ABP has a board of producer directors who represent each of the five zones across the province. While having a touchpoint with all Alberta producers selling cattle is key, ABP has also recognized the need for member-based groups to represent clear voices from different sectors of the industry. Currently, Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association, Feeder Associations of Alberta, Alberta Auction Markets Association, Western Stock Growers’ Association, Alberta Grazing Leaseholders Association, and Alberta Veterinary Medical Association are all invited to ABP’s board meetings to participate in the discussion but are non-voting.

Paving the way for MBCs

When the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (MAPA) was changed in July 2020, all agricultural Marketing Boards and Commissions (MBC) were provided authority to develop bylaws identifying:

• Governance of the board or commission
• Management and conduct of the board or commission affairs, including management and carrying out of powers, duties and functions by the board or commission
• Procedures respecting how members are elected to the board or commission
• Eligibility for membership and general rights of producers
• Terms of office of a director
• Appointment or election of the chair and vice-chair
• Removal of a director, chair or vice-chair
• Procedures for meetings including notice of meetings, the holding of meetings and quorum
• Approval process for bylaws by producers

Since 2009, ABP was the only agricultural MBC with bylaws, enabled by its Plan Regulation. It wasn’t until 2020 that all other MBCs could develop bylaws in the same manner as ABP. ABP truly paved the way for all MBCs, though it took the Government of Alberta’s red tape reduction initiative in 2020 to ultimately enable this for other organizations governed by MAPA.

ABP made substantive governance changes in 2020 to its zones, composition (number) of directors and delegates, among other minor and administrative changes. During the 2020 Plan Review, ABP did not comprehensively review its regulations in light of the MAPA amendments, as the timing for the MAPA amendments and review did not align (ABP’s Plan needed to be reviewed by June 30, 2020, and the MAPA amendments were not made until July 2020).

The 2024-25 Plan Review (regulatory review) provides an opportunity for ABP to update its Plan, regulations and bylaws to align with the amendments made to MAPA in 2020. The Plan Regulation is made by the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, whereas ABP bylaws are made by beef producers, upon approval of Council, and ABP’s Commission Regulation is made by the ABP Board, with approval from Council. There is also an ABP Authorization Regulation, but due to recent clean-up amendments to MAPA, this regulation is no longer necessary as ABP is authorized to make regulations now through its Plan Regulation.

Proposed changes to the ABP Plan Regulation will shift many requirements such as those for meetings, quorum, auditor, removal, appointment of returning officer, voting and destruction of ballots from ABP’s Plan Regulation into ABP’s bylaws. This will create a much more nimble regulatory framework for ABP. No substantive changes are proposed to the requirements, only where these will be positioned going forward.

Shifting many of the governance-related provisions from ABP’s Plan Regulation to bylaws, provides ABP with more flexibility in managing future changes with appropriate oversight of Council. This new framework also frees the Minister to focus on more substantive policy and regulatory matters affecting ABP and other agricultural commodities.

Other changes proposed during the review are administrative in nature such as modifying the review date for ABP’s next regulator review to 2032. There was a requirement for all marketing boards and commissions to review regulations every five years, but this shifted to seven years now that a majority of agricultural marketing boards and commissions have established bylaws.

Specific changes proposed to ABP’s Plan Regulation, Commission Regulation, and bylaws can be found on ABP’s website in the coming weeks. ABP invites producers and key stakeholders to review these documents and offer any additional comments or changes that are necessary to ensure ABP is operating as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Feedback can be directed to Brad Dubeau (bradd@albertabeef.org), or brought to the 2025 Producer Meetings, where ABP will lead discussions on the details of these changes.