Some of B.C.'s top cattlemen gathered in Prince George last week for high-level meetings about the state of the industry.
The directors of the B.C. Cattlemen's Association held committee and executive meetings to plan the latest strategies to promote the province's lucrative but ailing beef sector. Canadian beef has hoofed its way back into the international market after the 2003 discovery of some bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases in the national herd. Since then, disease testing systems, meat tracking systems and a lot of public awareness has been invested to restore the viability of ranching.
This week's meetings were aimed at clearing more of the business hurdles felt by B.C.'s cattle producers. Chief among them is the drought that has destroyed summer grazing pastures and winter's hay, grain and silage crops.
"We had a lot of grazing losses, and we are having to buy hay and truck it in," explained local rancher Mark Grafton.
BCCA president Judy Guichon said it is a problem all over the province, unlike ever before.
"We are putting together an application for provincial drought coverage," she explained. "Usually only an area or two has to do that, but every single area in B.C. has been hit, it is provincewide, and it has been going on for a few years now. Down in my region (Quilchena, near Merritt), the lakes we've lost will be hard to get back and some of the ones that were big and drinkable for the cattle have now turned quite lethal. We had 16 dead cattle in one morning. We have to fence more and more of them off."
The drought only enflames the forest fire consequences, and that is another key hindrance to the B.C. ranching industry, especially now that dead trees are dry on the stem from mountain pine beetle infestation. The problem is twofold: the threat of the fires killing the cows and the cost of repairing miles of burned fences.
"We have been working with the Ministry of Forests and Lands to get seed on the ground (to replace burned pasture grass) and get fences in right away," said Guichon, and we are drafting a memorandum of understanding to address these issues with a set protocol so we don't have to go over it and over it again every year."
She said the ministry was actively helping them with this, so the working relationship gives B.C. ranchers optimism.
Likewise, with the help of Conservation Officers and other staff with the Ministry of Environment, a predator control program is also unfolding well but has a financial shortfall of about $250,000. The program allows ranchers to call in specialists to deal with particular wolves and bears killing cattle. This allows COs to stay in the wilderness and spares ranchers the trouble of hunting and perhaps over-culling the predator population in their area.
As reported in The Citizen last week, another main item on the BCCA agenda was a trade mission to China. Three B.C. beef producers (all from this area: Grafton, Roland Baumann and Larry Garrett) and several government officials embark this week on a beef industry junket to one of the world's emerging meat consumer markets.
The B.C. Cattlemen's Association will be back in Prince George in an even bigger way come spring. The 2011 BCCA annual general meeting will be held here from June 9 to 11.
