Beef Focus Group: Challenges Facing the Sector

The Simpson Centre ran a focus group in July 2022 to better understand how the Canadian cattle industry is handling various challenges, how they interact with policy and their short-term and long-term priorities . The focus group was made up of industry stakeholders from various points throughout the supply chain . The discussions were recorded and then analyzed and coded to determine the key points and develop policy recommendations . Four key points were identified from the focus group: policy, sector challenges, future generations and supply chain challenges . Communication between the provincial and federal governments, between governments and the public and between governments and producers needs to be improved to help form better policies, remove red tape, provide investments where needed and ensure the industry’s longevity . Participants noted that governments are creating policies and programs to help the cattle industry but many gaps still need to be addressed . Current programs and policies can be very difficult to navigate and are often developed without proper knowledge of the industry . In addition, the provincial and federal governments need to collaborate to provide financial investment to boost certain subsectors, ensuring parity and revenue flow along the supply chain . Successes within the cattle industry need to be more prominent in the media . Environmentalism and sustainability programs and practices have been widely implemented and continually evolve, yet participants believe the public sees them in a negative light . Education and information sharing should show the public the benefits of the industry and its initiatives in capturing greenhouse gas emissions . The longevity of the cattle industry is also affected . There is a shortage of younger people entering the industry, not just producers but other key players such as large-animal veterinarians . This is due to the high costs prohibiting them from entering the industry, especially with the low economic returns . The lack of veterinarians creates challenges with animal welfare, economic losses and emotional well-being of producers . The government needs to provide more programming and incentives to help fill these gaps . Other challenges include competitiveness, particularly internationally, high production costs due to taxation, regulations and climate challenges and a general lack of knowledge leading to policies that may hinder the sector . While many of the policy recommendations that resulted from the focus group require investigation to determine their feasibility, many others can be accomplished in the short term as well .