Beef cattle check-off increase approved with strong support from delegates

GUELPH – Last week, delegates attending the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) 63rd Annual General Meeting in Toronto approved an increase of $1.50 to the national portion of the beef cattle check-off with strong support and a vote of 92 per cent in favour of the increase. BFO will begin the formal process of requesting that the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness amend Regulation 54 of the Beef Cattle Marketing Act, which will likely take several months to complete. Upon approval, the existing mandatory $1.00 per head federal agency levy will be increased to $2.50, and total Ontario check-off per head will be increased from $5.50 to $7.00 per head.

The approved increase will provide several important benefits. Firstly, it will help to address financial constraints faced by BFO in light of inflationary pressures and flat marketings. Additional dollars will also be used to increase support for the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association for their operations and management of the Ontario Corn Fed Beef program, as well as increased investment in the Ontario Beef Market Development Program which is jointly managed with BFO. From a national perspective, the increase to the national portion of the Ontario check-off will align Ontario’s rate with the rest of the country, and will allow BFO to increase investment in national research and consumer and public engagement efforts to better align Ontario with the National Beef Strategy.

“We truly appreciate the support of our members and the trust they have put into the leadership of BFO to invest their dollars to make improvements in our sector,” shares Craig McLaughlin, BFO President. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are committed to demonstrating the value we provide to our members through our government relations and advocacy work, our focus on policy and issues, our consumer and market development efforts, and the educational opportunities and support we provide to beef farmers.”

At the meeting last week, the Board of Directors of BFO elected their 2025 president and vice president. Craig McLaughlin will continue to lead the association in the year ahead as president with Jason Leblond continuing his role as vice president.

Joining the BFO Board of Directors in 2025 are Nicholas Martin and Denise Byers for respective three-year terms. Martin, who will represent the feedlot sector on the board and replace Joe Dickenson who completed two terms, resides on Manitoulin Island where he operates a cow-calf-to-finish operation with his family. Byers will serve as southern director, and will replace Ron Stevenson who also completed two terms. Byers and her family operate a cow-calf-to-finish operation in the Durham Region.

Returning to the BFO Board of Directors are cow-calf director Don Badour and at-large director Kim Jo Bliss.

The BFO Board of Directors and staff welcomed close to 400 attendees during this year’s two-day annual general meeting. Delegates and guests heard from a number of speakers, including keynote speakers Tim Hudak who shared his five commandments of high impact advocacy and Dr. Jody Carrington who spoke about the importance of fostering connection and battling burnout. Attendees also heard from a panel, which focused on the topic of traceability and how beef farmers and industry can be prepared for the new Livestock Identification and Traceability Amendments to the Health of Animal Regulations (Part XV) once implemented. BFO was also pleased to welcome Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Francis Drouin, who brought greetings during the annual banquet where guests enjoyed an Ontario Corn Fed Beef dinner provided by St. Helen’s Meat Packers.