Charlie Christie, the recently elected chairman of Alberta Beef Producers (ABP), says he is optimistic about the province's cattle industry going forward.
"Anything can happen in this industry and it can be very volatile, but I think the industry is in a good position to capitalize on a pretty positive market environment," said Christie, who is a cow-calf producer and feedlot operator near Trochu.
The ABP represents more than 18,000 cattle producers. It advocates for ranchers and promotes the industry.
A past ABP board of directors member, Christie explained that there are a number of key issues and projects facing the association in 2018.
For one, he says he hopes the Alberta government will heed advice and suggestions from the province's ranchers when considering regulations under the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act (Bill 6).
The province has extended the Bill 6 consultation period until the end of February, allowing for more stakeholder input into the wide-ranging legislation, which brings farms and farm workers under Occupational Health and Safety rules and regulations.
The Notley government says the legislation is needed to bring Alberta farms and ranches into line with their counterparts in other provinces.
Producers and others have expressed concerns about the consultation process surrounding the development of the legislation.
The ongoing consultations over Bill 6 represent a very involved undertaking for all stakeholders, he said.
"They had 146 recommendations that pertain to farms, so we need to sift through all that to see if those recommendations are acceptable and if we can truly get the government to accept them," he said."Cattle feeders are looking at it. We (ABP) are looking at it. Individual producers are looking at it. It's a huge job. All sectors of agriculture are looking at it."
The government will hopefully take the necessary time to engage and work with producers when developing the regulations, he said.
"If they work with us, I think we can be successful and truly save lives," he said. "But if they push the agenda too hard I think they are going to have backlash and we don't want to see backlash. There's not a producer out there who wants to see an unsafe situation.
"We have a diverse industry with diverse levels of infrastructure. With every operation their handling systems are a bit different. We are fully onside with making farms and ranches safer, but I'm worried that the government will try to push ahead too fast and put too many operations outside the legislation."
The end result of the Bill 6 consultations will hopefully be to the benefit of all stakeholders, he said.
"If they are careful and communicate and train and move this thing slowly, we will truly save lives," he said.
"If we rush into it and make too many big, onerous changes, be it financial or time commitment or the workload it takes to get up to their standards, you are going to have people throw their hands up and say ‘I'm not going to do it.'"
As well as the Bill 6 consultations, there are a number of other major issues facing the cattle industry this year, including providing input into the ongoing NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) negotiations, he said.
The success of NAFTA is vital to beef producers across Alberta and Canada, he said.
"We need free movement of both cattle and feed across the border," he said. "We are very invested in the Canadian Cattlemen's Association efforts.
"We encourage all our membership to contact their MPs and make sure that they know that NAFTA is truly important and we need to keep negotiating and keep pushing.
"Things (negotiations) have maybe softened a bit but not enough to be overly optimistic. It's something we have to really watch." The Trans Pacific Partnership "could also be a huge benefit for our industry," he said.
"It's easier to create a deal with a large trading group rather than have a whole bunch of bilateral trade agreements with each and every country," he said.
Another major issue on the ABP's plate in 2018 involves efforts by the association and other stakeholders to make the cattle check-off non-refundable.
Under the check-off system, a portion of the sale of cattle goes to the ABP to help fund research, marketing and advocacy.
Currently two dollars of the three-dollar mandatory check- off is refundable if the producer requests it, he said.
"Since the time the government made it refundable a year ago, we've had motions from our fall meetings every year to get the funding back to a non-refundable status," he said.
"We are working with the cattle feeders right now to go to government to say, ‘Both of our organizations are onside with the non-refundable check-off and here's what we will do with the money.'"
Christie says he is encouraged to see "more and more women involved in the cattle industry" in Alberta and Canada in 2018.
As he moves forward in his new position as chairman, Christie says he believes good things are in store for the industry.
"I do see challenges, including if we don't get rain in the south half of the province, it could be a big challenge," he said.
"There are always challenges we are watching for, but I'm optimistic. You have to be optimistic."
"Anything can happen in this industry and it can be very volatile, but I think the industry is in a good position to capitalize on a pretty positive market environment."
