2017 was another busy year for the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association.
Ryan Beierbach is Chair of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association and says they met with Federal and Provincial Government representatives about some of the policy changes and programming they are looking at:
"We have lots of consultations with the provincial government," he said. "They're working to change some of the regulations around local abattoirs, and meat packing plants, and transport regulations. The federal government is looking to change how long cattle are on trucks and how long they have to be rested, so just making sure that that's informed by good research."
He notes there are a variety of other issues to be addressed including the new Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
Beierbach would like to see programs like the Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program and the Western Livestock Price Insurance program remain in place.
Saskatchewan’s Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence started to take shape in 2017 at its site at Clavet.
The new $36 million facility is being funded in part by the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association, the U of S, with assistance from both Federal and Provincial governments, as well as donations from other benefactors.
Beierbach says that was definitely one of the highlights over the past year:
"The feedlot in Saskatoon was pretty outdated and kind of in not the best spot," he said. "It's surrounded by the city, and we've been working with the university to move it out of Saskatoon to Clavet and then to also move the western beef development centre operations to their as well."
Source : Discoverestevan