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Regional Meeting Speaker Summaries

Over the course of three weekends the BPA held regional meetings across the province. We had guest speakers at all these events who did an excellent job of informing our members in attendance on bison related issues and ideas.

I have taken the time to summarize the speakers presentation here for you to read. You can get more details on the website at www.bisoncentre.com.

Canadian Bison Industry Update – by Terry Kremeniuk and Mark Silzer.

Terry was able to make it to two of our regional meetings and Mark made it to the other one to do this presentation.

The CBA presentation was an overall update of the Canadian Bison Industry. It talked about bison industry trends and about the CBA's marketing initiatives locally, nationally and internationally. Then the presentation highlighted some membership benefits along with what the CBA has done on behalf of the members in respect to government issues like grading, traceability and identification.

Their has been significant growth in total bison population over the last ten years. There has also been strong growth in number of bison farms, although the farm numbers have plateaued. The CBA are estimating that around 225,000 head of bison now roam the plains of Canada.

Prices on the other hand have fallen over the last ten years. The highest prices were reached around 1998, and the low was in 2003. Since 2003 we have seen gradual improvement in bison prices.

We have seen growth in the bison industry trade and slaughter, although the various issues (BSE, slaughter capacity, etc) have made this growth fluctuate. A couple highlights have been a consistent growth in live animals ready for slaughter to the US and in bison meat exports to the EU.

The bison slaughter infrastructure has grown and matured over the years. We now have 3 EU slaughter facilities across Canada and 10 federal facilities. The marketing industry for bison has stabilized with about a dozen companies handling the majority of the bison trade.

The CBA has been active in marketing bison at many levels. With international markets the CBA has exhibited at various shows, working with marketers that are export ready. They also have made available excellent marketing materials, not only in English, but in French and German as well.

In the domestic market the CBA has been active working with culinary schools, chefs and even partnering to produce television culinary programs. Again having promotional materials has been a large part of what the CBA offers it members and marketing partners.

The CBA is of course directly involved with many member issues such as id tags, traceability and track back and direct member support. They have also worked with government on research projects and on re-structuring the grading program for bison.

The future for the CBA will involve continued work on awareness of bison, along with increased diligence on safety issues and other government concerns. Membership growth in the coming years is also a priority.

Parasite Control and MCF – by Dr. Roy Lewis

Dr. Roy Lewis, a practicing veterinarian out of Westlock Alberta was a speaker at our Strathmore regional meeting. Dr. Lewis also raises bison, with a herd of 70 cows. His presentation was on Parasite Control and Malignant Catarrhal Fever.

Bison are overall a fairly hardy species that are resistant to most diseases if they are managed properly. There are some diseases that are particularly important to the bison industry. But Dr. Lewis has found that sound management is the key to disease prevention.

Internal parasites can be a concern for bison as they are more susceptible than cattle. Parasites of concern are stomach worms, intestinal worms and lungworms. Therefore a proper deworming program should be tailored to the needs of your farm.

Some recommendations would include deworming from 1-3 times per year (depending on stocking density and environmental conditions) along with monitoring fecal counts once or twice a year. Working with your veterinarian is always best.

Dr. Lewis did go through some best practice ideas, talked about various signs of worms to watch for as well as some treatment options.

Dr Lewis also talked about a serious concern to bison producers - Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF). This is a fatal disease of bison that is transferred through direct or indirect contact with infected sheep. 90-95% of sheep carry the virus - although it does not hurt the sheep.

Clinical signs of MCF in bison are nasal discharge, bloody diarrhea, high fever, blue eye, severe depression and ultimately death within a couple days. The disease can incubate for years. All ruminants can become infected, but it is bison that it has the most serious effect on.

The most notorious case has been an outbreak in Saskatchewan in 2000. 163 head of bison were sold through an auction mart that also had sheep in it during the 1 to 2 days they were there. Of the 163 head - 25% (over 40 bison) died. Deaths started around 50 days after the auction and peaked around 60 to 80 days out.

Presently there is no cure for MCF. Education and awareness are the bison industries only weapons.

Overall Dr. Lewis's presentation was highly informative and entertaining.

Agritourism by Brent Warner

Brent Warner with BC Agriculture and Tourism was a guest speaker at the Camrose regional meeting. Brent had spoke at IBC 2007 and also presented at the Canadian Bison Conference.

Brent's enlightening talk was about putting the farmer's face back on food. Brent's ideas were at times controversial, but the way he put things together it made so much sense.

He first talked about the fact that farming, as we have known it over the last fifty years, is really not sustainable. This goes for almost all commodities, from wheat and barley to pork and beef. This is mainly due to Canada's and even all of North America's cheap food policy.

Brent then goes on to talk about where there has been sustainable growth in the agriculture industry. And the surprising answer is in agritourism. This growth has happened all over, from BC to Hawaii to right here in our back yard in Alberta.

Brent's theory then is that we have to diversify - not with other agricultural products, but up and down the food chain. Go right to the consumer with our product - and make that product unique - package it as an event - as a service - move it into the entertainment and luxury niche.

People are wanting more than just to buy food, and they are hungry for the 'natural' experience.

This is a great concept, and Brent had plenty of excellent examples of how this can successfully work in many industries.

What was even better was that we had two producers at the meeting who were doing just what Brent was talking about. Dr. Terry Church with the Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch and their line of restaurants, as well as Peter and Judy Haase and their Farmer's Markets customers. Both were using the story and the experience around raising bison to increase sales and gain customers.

Overall Brent's presentation was interesting and opened the door to new ideas. It may not work for everyone, but for those that can do this kind of thing, the opportunity is immense.

Bison Carcass Grading by Richard Henninger

Richard Henninger who is the supervisor with the Canadian Beef Grading Agency in charge of Beef and Bison for this area was another one of our speakers.

Richard was a guest at our Strathmore regional meeting. We called upon him at that meeting to give us some information in regards to the recent bison grading changes. As it was a hot topic, I asked him back to our Camrose meeting to make a full presentation.

Richard gave us some background on the Canadian Beef Grading Agency, as well as filling us in on some of the goals and objectives that control grading of carcasses.

Then Richard went into how the bison grading changes had come about, and what the new grading system would mean to us. He went into detail on how the new grading was determined, and how it would work in the system.

Overall Richard's presentation was very timely, with the recent change in grading.

Canadian Rangeland by Thomas Ackerman

We were also happy to have one of the provinces larger bison meat marketers represented at one of our meetings. Thomas Ackerman, CEO of Canadian Rangeland Bison made a brief presentation in Camrose.

Thomas outlined Canadian Rangeland's strong 'made in Canada' beliefs. He described their marketing successes and what inroads they have made in the European market. He also shared with producers what they are looking for when they are buying bison for slaughter.

Summary

Overall the speakers were excellent. On behalf of the BPA and all it's members we would like to thank them for their information and taking the time to share it with us. For more details on the regional meetings and the presentations be sure to check out www.bisoncentre.com

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