Research and Development

Animal Health, Research & Technical Issues

It is increasingly challenging for producers to obtain up-to-date information on a number of issues relating to the health of their animals and technical issues they face during day to day operations. This section includes information on current animal health and technical policies, practices and issues facing the industry, as well as on-going research projects. Producer questions can be directed to Reynold Bergen, ABP Animal Health & Welfare Manager, at reynoldb@albertabeef.org or (403) 275-4400.

Alberta Beef Producers Funding Application

Groups seeking funding from the Alberta Beef Producers are asked to submit a letter of intent regarding the proposed project. The letter of intent form is provided as a Word file. Letters of intent must be received no later than February 1. Applicants will be notified in mid-February whether a full proposal will be requested; full proposals will be due on March 15. Funding decisions will be made in June. Preference will be given to practical, applied projects that seek to leverage industry funding, have a clear technology transfer plan and have the greatest potential to enhance the competitiveness of Alberta beef producers.

Download Letter of Intent Word Document

Priority areas include:

  • Improving yield and quality of cereal grains and silage
  • Improved production efficiencies, economics and risk management
  • Improved consumer confidence in beef
  • Improved animal health and welfare
  • Alternate uses and disposal of specified risk materials
  • Improved environmental sustainability and waste management
  • Marketing over thirty month beef and value-added beef products
  • Traceability

Proposals addressing other issues identified in the recent Competitiveness Study will also be considered (email reynoldb@albertabeef.org for a copy of the Competitiveness Study).

Requests for letters of support
ABP will consider providing letters of support for projects that address issues of importance to the Alberta beef industry. To ensure that ABP has sufficient information to make an informed decision we will require a full proposal. A proposal form will be forwarded on request to reynoldb@albertabeef.org for this purpose.

Small projects
Applications requesting no more than $20,000 for projects lasting no longer than one year will be considered throughout the year.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Research

This report was developed under the direction of the Alberta Science and Research Authority together with the Alberta Agricultural Research Institute and Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. Conducting an assessment of the global situation for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) research and identifying areas where Alberta’s scientific capacity can be best utilized and identifying where new related R&D endeavors should be initiated, were the key outcomes identified for the first phase of the Prion Sciences Initiative. …..more

Age Determination by Dentition

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) implemented its Specified Risk Material (SRM) handling practices in late July 2003 which requires dentition be used on all cattle for age determination purposes
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Custom Cut Out Analysis Worksheet

A growing trend in Alberta is for producers to process animals and market directly rather than relying solely on traditional marketing venues to move their beef cattle. To assist producers, the Beef Information Centre (BIC) has introduced the Custom Cut Out Analysis worksheet.

The program allows producers to input numbers relating to live animal weight, aged weight, kill and disposal costs, cutting costs and cooler and cutting shrink, in order to calculate what the product yield is from each animal.

Livestock disposal

An information sheet has been developed by the Carcass Disposal Committee to help livestock producers pre-select suitable disposal sites for mass carcass disposal. In instances where large numbers of carcasses must be disposed of, pre-selection of an environmentally suitable mass burial site would be beneficial to producers.

Livestock Biosecurity

Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) can have a devastating effect on the health and welfare of livestock and on the economic viability of livestock operations. See the Livestock Biosecurity overview and checklist, to develop a biosecurity program for your operation to help reduce the chance or impact of an outbreak.

Beef Research

The ABP is committed to supporting research that will improve the economic and environmental sustainability of the Alberta cattle industry. The ABP has supported research projects directly, collaborated with industry partners, and today oversees the operation of the Canada Alberta Beef Industry Development Fund (CABIDF).

CABIDF is a $16.4 million federal/provincial fund dedicated to supporting research to address issues directly affecting the beef industry in Alberta. Funding is allocated to projects that fall under six priority categories; cow/calf, animal health, intellectual resources, feedlot, intellectual resources and beef marketability.