All you didn’t know about the Canadian beef business, but were afraid to ask

Spots are still open for the November 2009 and May 2010 Canadian Beef School at Olds College, Olds, Alberta. It is a great learning experience for anyone involved in the Canadian beef industry – whether you are a producer, or feeder, or processor or involved in a related service industry, such as the animal health industry.

The school isn’t about how to produce beef, but is all about what happens after it leaves the farm gate. How it is fed, processed, graded, and then cut and wrapped for the retail counter.

I attended the two-and-a-half day school last year and even though I just write about the ag industry, it was a great eye-opener and learning experience. There were about 20 in my ‘class’ last year that included cow/calf producers, backgrounders and animal health company reps.

I think everyone learned something, but there were a few cow/calf producers interested in developing their own farm-gate markets for beef, who found it particularly of value.

The school covers a lot of topics, that include both classroom sessions as well as hands on experience at grading carcasses and later in cutting sides of beef for retail sale. The school is led by Jim Hansen, a beef specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Brad McLeod, an instructor with Olds College with years of practical experience in the meat cutting business. They bring in guest speakers to talk about specific topics, there’s a fair bit of myth busting that goes on, and lots of discussion with instructors, as well as a good exchange among the various attendees.

It is well worth the price of admission and it is two-and-a-half days well spent. You get a great binder of reference material to take home (and if you don’t act up in class you might even get a great souvenir sweat shirt, as well).

A few spaces are still open for the November school, Nov. 25 to 27 and a few more spaces for the May 2010 school, May 5 to 7.  For more information contact Jim Hansen at 403-653-5132 or email jim.hansen@gov.ab.ca or Brad McLeod 403-556-4792 or email: bmcleod@oldscollege.ca . You can visit the college website as well: www.oldscollege.ca

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