Programs

Funded Programs

The Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off provides industry funding for the Canadian beef industry through research, market development and promotion.

The Agency contracts the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) to deliver research programming, and the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) to administer the Public and Stakeholder Engagement Program. Canada Beef is an internal division of the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency with oversight provided by the Market Development and Promotion Committee. The three service provider organizations work to deliver strong returns on producer and import investments, and to leverage those dollars to attract additional government funding for programs and activities to benefit the industry.

Research

The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) provides the national research and extension programming to which check-off dollars are allocated. The BCRC’s mandate is to determine research and development priorities for the Canadian beef cattle industry and to administer Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off funds allocated to research and extension.

The BCRC’s vision is a transparent, competitive, resilient and sustainable Canadian beef industry supported by strategic and effective research, technology transfer and innovation.

The BCRC’s mission is to lead the Canadian beef industry as the most prominent supporter of cattle, forage and beef research with a producer-led Council who invest producer funds into research and technology transfer to support growth in beef demand, increase productivity and earn public trust.

As the national beef cattle industry research and technology transfer funding agency, the BCRC plays an important role in identifying the industry’s research and development priorities and subsequently influencing public sector investment in beef, cattle and forage research and knowledge mobilization.

As a leader in the development of the Canadian Beef Research and Technology Transfer Strategy, the BCRC facilitates and encourages collaboration and coordination among researchers, other funding agencies and industry in order to maximize the benefits obtained from all investments in beef research.

In addition to funding research and technology transfer in support of the Canadian beef industry, the BCRC supports the Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) program.

Market Development and Promotion

As the Agency’s internal marketing committee, Canada Beef works to drive sales and awareness of the Canadian Beef Advantage and build loyalty and commitment to Canadian beef and veal while ensuring the maximum value for producer dollars.

Canada Beef is responsible for the delivery of domestic and international market development and promotion programs through offices in Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, and Taiwan. Driving these efforts is a vision to have Canadian high-quality beef and veal products recognized as the most outstanding by Canadian and world customers.

Canada Beef receives a large percentage of its funding through the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off. The remainder of Canada Beef’s funding is received through programs from government development funds and leveraged dollars with brand partner investment domestically and around the world.

Generic Beef Marketing

The Import Levy (collected on beef imports at the equivalent rate of $1 per head) provides funding for positive beef messaging across Canada. Generic beef marketing includes promoting the positive attributes of consuming beef and veal from all sources in Canada through consumer education, awareness, and trust through public influencers directly to consumers. These activities focus on keeping beef on the plate of Canadian consumers. The generic beef programs are facilitated by Canada Beef and the marketing resources and programming produced are housed on the ThinkBeef.ca website.

Public and Stakeholder Engagement

An increasing emphasis toward building public trust and confidence in how beef cattle are raised led to the creation of the Public and Stakeholder Engagement (PSE) program in 2016.

PSE is funded by the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off and jointly administered by the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) in partnership with Canada Beef. There are two main areas of focus:

Public Trust issue monitoring and response
Proactive content development and strategic partnerships

The PSE team works with national and provincial beef organizations to address consumer questions and issues that could erode consumer and public confidence in the beef industry. Media monitoring and social listening tools are utilized to track and identify emerging issues. Equipping beef producers with the tools to be effective advocates and spokespersons for the industry means providing regular media and public trust training opportunities, including the Beef Advocacy Canada program.