| | New Market Realities in the Livestock Industry is the theme of this year's Capturing Feed Grain and Forage Opportunities conference. This 4th biennial conference is being held in Red Deer on December 9 and 10, 2009.
.
"All livestock and feed producers, as well as industry agronomists and businesses involved in the production forage crops, livestock marketing, health or feeding are welcome to attend the conference," says Stephanie Kosinski, with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD). "The industry and individual businesses have been faced with increasing challenges over the past few years. In many instances, this has meant tighter margins forcing producers to find new ways to reduce production costs and maximize their return on animals, forage and other marketed products.
"This conference has been designed to help producers address these challenges by including topics such as current and future market trends, business arrangements and marketing, managing risk, animal nutrition, carbon credits, and agencies and programs available to increase the viability of your operation. The conference will provide decision-making tools, which will help attendees with their bottom line."
The agenda for the conference features high calibre speakers. On the livestock market side, Anne Dunford, Gateway Livestock Exchange, will be discussing the current and future situations in the Canadian beef industry. Brent McEwan, with ARD, will cover the current status of livestock traceability in Alberta and will also discuss where it's going. Diane McCann-Hiltz, ARD, will examine what meat cuts and products consumers are putting their dollars down on in the grocery store. Christoph Weder, Prairie Heritage Beef, and Keith Robertson, Northwest Consolidated Beef Producers Ltd., will discuss different cattle marketing options available to producers in the province. Sean McGrath, Creo Episteme Ltd., and Dr. John Basarab, ARD, will look at ways to add value to your calves through breeding, feeding, and managing.
Brenda Schoepp, Beeflink, will provide insights into how to sustain production and be profitable in the current market situation. Other speakers will highlight current and future funding opportunities in Alberta. Kerrianne Koehler-Munro, ARD, will look at the carbon offset market, while Marcia Hewitt-Fisher, ARD, will touch on the numerous Growing Forward programs available to producers and the industry at large. Finally, Morris Seiferling, Land Use Secretariat, will give an overview of the newly implemented Land-use Framework and the Alberta Land Stewardship Act.
For more information on the conference, contact the Ag-Info Centre toll-free at 310-FARM (3276), the Chinook Applied Research Association at 403-664-3777 or by checking out theARD's website at www.agriculture.alberta.ca and search Coming Events.
Contact:
Stephanie Kosinski
310-FARM (3276) |
|