Canada’s beef industry is warning federal research cuts could undermine competitiveness, food safety, and export growth for years to come.
The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) and the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) said in a joint statement Tuesday that announced reductions at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the planned closures of research facilities in Nappan, N.S., Quebec City, and Lacombe, Alta., will have far-reaching consequences for cattle producers, consumers, and Canada’s broader agri-food economy. While acknowledging federal fiscal pressures, the groups argue the loss of specialized public research capacity is shortsighted and difficult to reverse.
The groups are urging AAFC to transfer key programs and researchers to other institutions if closures proceed, and to refund industry investments where projects are cancelled mid-stream.
Over the past decade, beef producers have increased their own research funding by more than 600%, viewing innovation as essential to long-term growth and resilience. However, the CCA and BCRC said public-good research remains critical in areas where private incentives are limited, particularly food safety, carcass grading and forage breeding.
“Canada’s beef producers rely on a stable, high-performing public research network to keep farms resilient, food safe and our sector competitive,” said CCA president Tyler Fulton, adding that once expertise is lost it can take decades to rebuild.
The closures are expected to hit forage research especially hard. Work at the Lacombe Research and Development Centre helped producers reduce winter feeding costs through extended grazing systems during the BSE crisis. Researchers at Lacombe, Quebec and Nappan also collaborated on developing higher-yielding, winter-hardy forage varieties and grazing strategies tailored to regional climates, innovations that have been widely adopted across Canada.
The loss of Lacombe’s meat science program is another major concern. The centre housed Canada’s only comprehensive beef grading research team, which developed instrument grading technology now used globally. Its work has been central to harmonizing Canadian and U.S. grading systems and translating Canadian grades for key export markets such as Japan.
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