Volume 13 Issue 7 • April 13, 2015 CCA IS THE NATIONAL VOICE OF CANADA’S 68,500 BEEF FARMS In This Issue... • Minister announces AMR plan; Canada’s beef industry good at judicious use of antimicrobials • 2015 NBQA retail beef survey to benchmark trends in consumer satisfaction with Canadian beef • Potential for hay prices to ease in short term, but outlook uncertain as acres drop • Forage Quality Minister announces AMR plan; Canada’s beef industry good at judicious use of antimicrobials Canada’s Minister of Health Rona Ambrose brought the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to the forefront recently with the announcement of an integrated action plan aimed at obtaining a more comprehensive understanding of antimicrobial use, trends and resistance in human and animal medicine. The measures announced by Minister Ambrose include a new Federal Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance and Use (http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/publications/drugs-products-medicaments-produits/ antibiotic-resistance-antibiotique/action-plan-daction-eng.php), which builds on the previously released Federal Framework for Action (http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/drugs-products-medicaments-produits/ antibiotic-resistance-antibiotique/antimicrobial-framework-cadre-antimicrobiens-eng.php); an investment of US $250,000 to support a World Bank study of the economic impacts of AMR; and the launch of the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (CARSS), a new surveillance approach that will provide an integrated, national picture of antimicrobial use and resistance across Canada. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) participated in a roundtable discussion with Minister Ambrose preceding the announcement. The roundtable included representatives of human and animal health organizations as well as livestock producer groups (chicken, hogs, cattle and dairy). There was consensus on the need for a common strategy to prevent AMR in the most medically importance antimicrobials. Antimicrobial resistance occurs naturally, even when antimicrobials aren’t used. When antimicrobials are used, susceptible bacteria are killed and die out, while resistant bacteria survive, reproduce and become more common. Inappropriate or excessive antibiotic use in livestock, humans or pets speeds this process up and encourages the growth of resistant bacteria. At the roundtable the CCA cited the need to incorporate the knowledge the beef industry has gained from decades of surveillance in antimicrobial use and AMR to ensure that policy decisions and strategy related to AMR are going to be truly effective. Indeed Canada’s beef cattle industry has a positive story to tell when it comes to the prudent use of antimicrobials. Decades of surveillance and research conducted by government and industry at feedlots, processing facilities and at the beef retail counter show that resistance to antimicrobials of the highest importance in human health is very low and not increasing in Canada. Producers are encouraged to keep learning about this issue to help them reduce the use of medically important antimicrobials when appropriate, and to ensure medically important antimicrobials are used responsibly when necessary. The Public Health Agency of Canada’s Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS) has collected and tested samples from Volume 13 Issue 7 • April 13, 2015 abattoirs and retail beef since 2002. Their surveillance shows that resistance to antimicrobials of the highest importance in human health is very low and not increasing in Canada. The same is true for multi-drug antimicrobial resistance. Similar results have been seen in a series of collaborative studies conducted by industry and government research teams in commercial Canadian feedlots since the late 1990’s. The very low level of antimicrobial resistance observed in Canadian cattle and beef indicate that Canada’s cattle producers use antimicrobials prudently. Research confirms this; fewer than 10 per cent of the antimicrobial treatments used in Canadian feedlot production use antimicrobials of relevance to human medicine. The remainder (over 90%) of the antimicrobials used in feedlot production are ionophores – a class of antimicrobial not used in human medicine. Canada’s cattle producers have an ethical responsibility to protect the health and welfare of their animals. Antimicrobials play an important role in this regard because not all cattle diseases can be prevented by vaccination. Producers also have an ethical responsibility to use antimicrobial products prudently – and research confirms that antimicrobials used in the beef industry are, on the whole, being used responsibly. This outcome is largely due to the Canadian beef industry’s long held pro-active approach to AMR. The CCA policy on prudent drug use was developed in 1994 as part of the original Quality Starts Here program, which evolved into the Verified Beef Production™ (VBP) program in 2004. The VBP program, which includes requirements pertaining to the responsible use of animal health products and record keeping to demonstrate responsible use, was the first Canadian on-farm food safety program to be recognized by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. A new VBP module focused on biosecurity under development will provide Canada’s cattle producers with added knowledge about Best Management Practices to minimize the risk of disease introduction and spread, and should help further reduce the need for antimicrobial use. Of course there is always room for improvement. Canada’s beef industry supports science-based efforts to ensure the continued effectiveness of antimicrobial products in veterinary and human health. This includes continued and increased surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in samples collected from Canadian cattle operations, abattoirs and beef. Also important is scientific antimicrobial resistance research through the ongoing Beef Cluster to investigate the influence of antimicrobial use in feedlot production on resistance to antimicrobials of relevance to human health in samples collected from the feedlot environment, manure, soil, water, and downstream environments. Canada’s beef industry will continue its ongoing communication and extension efforts to help producers, veterinarians and influential organizations make informed decisions that will keep important drugs working effectively for cattle and humans in the future. Together these ongoing efforts will help to reinforce and strengthen Canada’s overall AMR surveillance systems and perhaps bring the perspective necessary to facilitate a shift in focus to more relevant sources of concern outside of Canada’s beef industry. 2015 NBQA retail beef survey to benchmark trends in consumer satisfaction with Canadian beef Results from the 2009 National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) survey of retail beef showed an increase in Canadian consumer satisfaction with steaks purchased at retail stores in eastern Canada (Quebec and Ontario) and in the west (Alberta). Consumer satisfaction findings were supported by the results of laboratory measurements which indicated that the tenderness of Canadian beef had improved. In 2015 the NBQA retail beef survey will be repeated to further benchmark trends in consumer satisfaction as well as beef quality and specification related attributes. Trends observed in 2009, such as a decrease in the average thickness of retail steaks sold in Canada, will be further evaluated. In addition, with funding from the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency and the Beef Research Cluster, detailed data will be obtained on how Canadian beef is merchandised. An area of particular importance to beef producers is the prevalence of method of production claims (organic, sustainable, antibiotic free etc.). These claims require producers to make adjustments on-farm and may result in higher production costs. Therefore it is important that these trends be monitored and the information shared with the supply chain. Over time the Canadian retail landscape is changing and price, labour availability and other market factors are significantly influencing how beef products are sold. Some have suggested that increasingly the larger Volume 13 Issue 7 • April 13, 2015 retail food market in Canada is diverging with higher-end and lower price focused segments becoming more prominent while approaches that cater to the middle of the market are losing share. Despite a changing environment the one constant for the sector is the importance of ensuring consumer satisfaction with Canadian beef and this is the ultimate focus of the retail portion of the NBQA. The NBQA is being conducted from 2014 to 2017 and is financially supported by the Beef Cattle Industry Science Cluster and coordinated by the CCA. Potential for hay prices to ease in short term, but outlook uncertain as acres drop Grain prices have moved into higher price ranges, cattle prices have increased dramatically, and this has also supported higher hay prices. Although hay prices will follow general market trends, hay is also very dependent on weather, as it is a localized market due to high transportation costs. Extreme cases such as large U.S. droughts can decrease Canadian hay stocks as well. Droughts or harsh winters can have a big impact on supply and demand from year to year. Drought years certainly stand out on historical price charts, but despite relatively good crops the last couple years, long harsh winters have required more feed for cow-herds, and this also drove up prices. This winter has been much more seasonal, and there have been anecdotal reports that hay prices may be easing slightly. Forage prices are impacted by grain prices, because tame forage has to compete with the grain industry for land use. Over the last few years, as producers have exited the cattle industry, and grain producers have been looking to expand, tame forage acres have been dropping. Statistics Canada has been showing tame hay acres generally increasing since the 1970’s, likely related to the higher productivity of tame forage, but after peaking in 2006 at just over 8.2 million hectares, acreage has quite rapidly decreased 18 per cent to 6.76 million hectares in 2014. Over this same period, the Canadian beef cow herd has decreased 27 per cent. Although the cow-calf sector is currently very profitable, longer term hay prices and forage availability will be critical to a larger and competitive cow-calf sector. Forage Quality Matching forage quality to animal needs is part of cattle management as nutrient requirements of cattle change throughout the year based on the stage of the production cycle. When feed grain prices are high, a high-quality forage can provide a lower cost ration than a low quality forage supplemented with a concentrate. Failing to provide all the nutrition a cow needs due to low quality forage can have animal health and performance consequences that directly impact cost of production (COP) (e.g. loss of body condition, dystocia, lower milk production, and delayed returning to estrous). This can be largely avoided by feed testing, particularly when hay is of an unknown quality. Stage cut, fertilization and grazing intensity determine forage quality, and it refers to the plant’s ability to provide digestible, absorbable, essential nutrients at levels that meet the animal’s physiologic needs. Forage quality is a function of voluntary intake and nutritive value (nutrient content and digestibility).1 It is typically assessed by measuring crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), and acid detergent fibre (ADF) (Kerley 2004)2. Continue reading at http://www.beefresearch.ca/research-topic.cfm/forage-quality-86 Volume 13 Issue 7 • April 13, 2015 A bumper crop of calves enjoy the sunshine and fresh air in Manitoba. Photo credit: CCA director Ramona Blyth. CCA Action News Staff Contributors: John Masswohl, Reynold Bergen, Tracy Herbert, Mark Klassen, Brian Perillat Contributors: Karin Schmid Written, edited and compiled by: Gina Teel, Anthony Murdoch The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is the national voice for Canada’s beef cattle industry representing 68,500 beef farms and feedlots. To sign up for CCA’s “Action News:” For more information, contact: Visit www.cattle.ca and click on “Action News Signup” CCA Communications at [email protected] or visit our website at www.cattle.ca Head office: Ste. 180, 6815 8th Street NE, Calgary, AB T2E 7H7 Phone: 403.275.8558 Fax: 403.274.5686 Ottawa office: 1207, 350 Sparks Street, Ottawa, ON K1R 7S8 Phone: 613.233.9375 Fax: 613.233.2860
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