Beef Cattle Check-Off to more than double this year

Higher check-off will help industry invest in research, market development, promotion

By Kaitlynn Anderson

Staff Reporter

Farms.com

Beef producers across Canada could see a stronger industry in the near future, as many provinces have opted to increase their Beef Cattle Check-Off from $1 to $2.50 per head this spring.

Due to inflation, the original $1 check-off has lost buying power over the past 20 years.

“Today, the same $1 is only worth around 70 cents,” Tayla Fraser, manager of partner engagement with the Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency, told Farms.com on Monday.

The additional funding will help the Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency fund research and development initiatives to meet the goals of the National Beef Strategy, she explained.

These goals include:

• Beef demand: increase carcass cut-out value by 15 per cent
• Competitiveness: reduce cost disadvantages compared to main competitors by 7 per cent
• Productivity: increase production efficiency by 15 per cent
• Connectivity: enhance industry synergies by connecting positively with consumers, the public, the government and partner industries

This strategy “was developed by all provincial cattle associations in partnership with five national beef organizations,” Fraser said.

In addition to helping the industry reach the new goals, the higher check-off “will also trigger an increase in the import levy to the same $2.50 per head equivalent,” she said. “This increase will provide approximately $1.5M in additional in investment to keep beef on Canadian tables.”

The country will be able to access these additional funds once all Canadian beef producers are paying a consistent check-off, she added.

While each province is responsible for increasing its own check-off, most regions have already chosen to implement the change by this summer.

The following provinces have chosen an official date to implement the increase: