Industry partners announce the completion of report on resiliency in Alberta’s beef processing industry

March 14, 2023 – Alberta Beef Producers (ABP), Alberta Cattle Feeders Association (ACFA), and the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) are pleased to announce the completion of a resiliency report for Alberta’s meat processing sector as Part A of the Alberta Beef Competitiveness Study.

“Building Resiliency in Alberta’s Beef Processing Industry,” inspired by growing interest in diversifying and building capacity and resiliency, identifies barriers and actionable recommendations for the meat processing sector.

“The challenges for new or expanded packing capacity are many,” said Dennis Laycraft, Executive Director, CCA. “This report helps prioritize areas of focus for governments, industry, and other proponents.”

Of the top five identified barriers to building resiliency in Alberta’s beef processing industry, ABP, ACFA, and CCA are drawing particular attention to the recommendations around:

• addressing immediate labour constraints,
• harmonizing processing standards between jurisdictions, and
• increasing support for processors.

With the Alberta Beef Competitiveness Study – Part A now in-hand, the beef industry is prioritizing discussions around the above recommendations through collaborative partnerships between industry and government.

“There has been a significant amount of time and effort from industry and experts examining resiliency in the processing sector, and transparency for boxed beef pricing,” said Brad Dubeau, General Manager, ABP. “This is the first step in a long-term process, and we look forward to working with government and industry to address these challenges.”

Building Resiliency in Alberta’s Beef Processing Industry was prepared by Serecon Inc. and is being published as ‘Part A’ of the Alberta Beef Competitiveness Study.

Funding for this project was provided, in part, by the federal and provincial governments through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

Access ‘Part A’ of the Alberta Beef Competitiveness Study

For more information, please contact:

Debra Murphy
ABP Stakeholder Relations Manager
Email: debram@albertabeef.org
Office: 403-451-1176

Gina Devlin
ACFA Communications Manager
Email: gdevlin@cattlefeeders.ca
Office: 403-250-2509

Michelle McMullen
CCA Communications Manager
Email: mcmullenm@cattle.ca
Office: 403-451-0931