Manitoba Beef Producers GM Looks Back On 2020

The beef sector was one industry that felt the impact of COVID-19 early on.

 

Carson Callum is general manager of Manitoba Beef Producers.

 

"Obviously, a big impact in the spring when these closures came down as a result of some health challenges with the staff at these different processing plants, so that was a big concern in the sector and that led to some backup of cattle and some market fluctuations. Definitely folks took a hit during that period."

 

Callum says improving Business Risk Management (BRM) programming was a key priority in 2020.

 

"As COVID has shown more than anything, there really needs to be effective Business Risk Management tools for agriculture producers to manage some of their risk that does arise. Really, that's been the focus of a lot of advocacy work from us and other lobby groups, to look at improvements to those different programs. Hoping that we can see some movement on that and adjustments to different programs such as AgriStability would be welcome."

 

Callum lists public trust, Ag Crown Lands, and BRM programming as key priorities heading into 2021.

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Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.