Beef council gets funds to sustain production

The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) will receive investments of up to $21.6 million to enhance the sustainability of Canadian beef and forage production, increase beef exports and ensure continuous global supply of Canadian beef. Of this amount, $14 million will come from the federal government’s Canadian Agricultural Partnership, AgriScience Clusters program and the balance of $7.6 million will be shouldered by BCRC. The amount will be used to fund the Sustainable Beef and Forage Science Cluster. The BCRC is a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA). Previously, the Beef cluster received funding under two earlier policy arrangements that included research on genetics, feed efficiency, and forages and animal health. These two initial frameworks have been credited for helping create a more competitive yet consistently profitable beef sector. The sector contributed $9 billion in farm cash receipts in 2017. Beef and cattle exports reached almost $2.41 billion in the same year. In terms of headcount, 11.52 million cattle and calves on roughly 74,000 farms and ranches in Canada were recorded in 2017.