The Deputy is In

Who are ALMA and LISA and what do they mean to us?

by Allan Preston

Pay attention now – there will be a quiz at the end of this article. You will be asked to spell out the full meaning of the following acronyms – ALMA, LISA, TTT, IGAC, NAFTS, CCIA, FAHS, GF, CEC, CAHC and maybe a few more that come to mind as I write this article.

I’m going to spend a bit of time talking about what has happened in Alberta the past few months and the impact their livestock programs will have on Manitoba producers.

We will check in on the national front—on the traceability initiatives—and we will talk about what is happening here in our province.

Charlie Gracey came to Manitoba, his visit sponsored by the MCPA, to talk about ALMA and I hope many of you had the opportunity to hear his radio interviews. He added to what I am writing here and knowing Charlie, no doubt he added his very own candid views.

ALMA and LISA
The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency was announced back in June, 2008. Take some time to go onto the ALMA website and review the thirty-six page strategy document that lays out the five year implementation plan – it is an easy, yet informative read. Alberta took this rather bold and controversial step to reposition the Alberta livestock industry as a major competitor on the global stage with world class, reputable, quality products. To achieve its goal, ALMA laid out some key steps that would be required by industry. I’m going to concentrate on three of them: mandatory animal identification and age verification, premise identification/registration, and movement reporting. These elements will all be contained within the Livestock Information System of Alberta – “a robust mandatory traceability system integrated with a broader, industry managed information system,” (meaning the CCIA).

ALMA is linked very tightly to a very rich farm recovery plan that will inject $300 million into the industry. The first half came easily to every known livestock producer, based on existing BRM program data. The second half of this sugar coated carrot, is really a very big stick – the money will only flow after the age verification and premise identification information is in place, along with some animal health data and records of animal movement.

Alberta should be congratulated for taking these steps to reposition its industry, as they work to stem the shrinkage that is occurring in both the cattle and hog sectors. Their leadership comes with risks, however. The industry is far from being unanimous in its support. Producers are funny that way. They like the money bit; but they don’t like having strings attached. Now the question is – how will neighbouring provinces react?

Let’s cut to the chase. January 1, 2009 has come and gone. All Alberta livestock producers were expected to provide their premise identification by that date, as age verification of Alberta born calves became mandatory. At the same time, it became mandatory for any producer, agent, assembler, or auction market that handled more than 5,000 head per year, to start reporting mandatory move-in information on all animals, linked to the CCIA identification. Additional information on vaccinations, pre-conditioning, and treatments will be required at a later date.

January 10, 2010 is the second important date to note. As of then, all calves moving into Alberta will have to be age verified.

Consider this perspective: As of December 2008, Alberta producers were age verifying 61.27% of their calves voluntarily; while in Manitoba, only 5.88% of producers age verify. We have a very long way to go and a short time to get there.

The National Perspective
The FPT Traceability Task Team (TTT) has spent a lot of time and effort putting together the National Agri-Food Traceability System (NAFTS), in cooperation with the Industry Government Advisory Council (IGAC). The Alberta programs are designed to integrate with these national programs since national templates of animal identification, premise identification, and movement monitoring make a lot of sense. And these traceability initiatives are an integral part of the Farmed Animal Health Strategy (FAHS) that is currently being developed by federal and provincial governments in concert with industry, through the organizational efforts of the Canadian Animal Health Coalition (CAHC) and the Canadian Council of Chief Veterinary Officers. (Are you catching on to the acronyms yet?!!)

The Growing Forward agreement has considerable dollars set aside for animal health related issues such as traceability and bio-security, as well as the broader topic of food safety.

One thing that is clear – premise identification is the responsibility of each individual province. Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec have moved aggressively ahead in terms of establishing their livestock premise identification systems. The rest of us are now playing catch up.

Ministers are currently reviewing the traceability, bio-security and animal health programs in place across the country. Given the incredible interest in food safety after the Listeriosis situation last summer, and considering the linkage between food safety and traceability, my bet is that you will see more provinces following Alberta’s lead in moving to a mandatory traceability system.

Manitoba’s Plans
As a province, we have taken to heart the directive from the TTT to establish the provincial premise identification system and database. We have the added impetus of a very clear recommendation in the Clean Environment Commission that Manitoba Conservation and MAFRI establish a database of all livestock facilities in the province. The intention is to follow national templates for premise identification, and to work with commodity groups to utilize information already collected and in place. The trick is to have the cooperation of everyone to share that information freely – otherwise, we will have little alternative but to start form scratch, something I’m sure no one wants to do.

Our pilot projects on full chain traceability have yielded excellent results and have been viewed very positively by industry and governments alike. Traceability is possible, practical and it does indeed yield positive results. The consumer is getting more and more demanding for this type of information and forward thinking individuals, organizations, companies, and governments are working hard to gain a competitive advantage by providing it.

We certainly hope to see the Growing Forward program assist producers and the industry in moving forward on traceability initiatives. There will never be enough money to go around to do everything from the public purse. That said, with careful planning and industry consultation, we can identify the areas where we can achieve the best bang for our buck with these dollars.

The most pressing issue today is Age Verification. I see January 1, 2010 as a bit of a mirage. Right now is the pivotal date for mandatory age verification of Manitoba calves—if we want to plug into that Alberta market this fall. Sure, the regulation says that our calves don’t have to be age verified until 2010, but think about it – if you are an Alberta feedlot operator who stands to gain financially for tracking your age verified calves (along with their health records) you are very likely to want all of the calves entering the feedlot in the 2009 fall run age verified, or else you are going to discount them to offset that sugar coated carrot. As a producer you are free to decide - but I’m going to age verify my calves.

The Path Forward
As one of my very wise former clients so aptly put it: “We are not the low cost producer. We cannot and should not compete on price alone. We have to differentiate our end products, attribute value, and capture intrinsic values that the consumer desires.”

ALMA and LISA are clearly heading this direction. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia don’t have to create any new agencies or pass any new regulations. The big dog has barked and the tail had better wag. We have the basic tool already in place and that’s RFID animal identification. All we need to do now is tie in the age verification, the premise identification, the animal health information, the tracking aspect, and we are ready to play in this new game. With a bit of leadership from government and industry players, Manitoba cattle producers can easily get engaged in this new reality that ALMA has forced upon us.

My biased perspective? Thank Alberta, don’t criticize them. Grab onto their coat tails and enjoy the ride that will move our industry into a new era where short term crisis funding is replaced by appropriate returns from the market place where the consumer is demanding safe, healthy, nutritious beef.

Step one is to register your premise in the Manitoba database that is coming soon to a location near you.

Step two is to complete the age verification process this winter and spring as your 2009 calves are born.

And step three is to start recording all of that health, welfare, environmental information that will add value to your calves in years to come.

Or you can continue to do what you have always done and achieve the results that you have always achieved. You decide.

Until next time . . .
- Allan