Livestock, Meat, andAnimal Genetics Industry

Alberta's

Proud Heritage of Farming and RanchingAlberta's agriculture and food sector is an important cornerstone of life and

culture in the province. Most of Alberta's rural communities come from a

longstanding heritage of farming and ranching.

Alberta TodayAlberta continues to build on this proud heritage and is a

recognized and reliable supplier of safe, high quality agriculture

and food products to consumers around the world.

Alberta's effective industry food safety

programs, along with vigilant oversight by

federal and provincial governments, are vital

to protecting public health, maintaining

consumer confidence and enabling market

access. These strong partnerships and

collaboration across our agriculture and food

industry contribute to the excellent

reputation of Alberta and Canada's

agriculture and food sector.

Meat Sector Starts With HighQuality GeneticsAlberta's livestock and meat industry is

founded on high quality genetics. Alberta

has established itself as a reputable supplier

of beef, dairy cattle and swine genetics.

Alberta also has experience exporting sheep

and goat genetics to various international

markets.

Alberta's livestock genetics industry focuses

on providing high quality live animals,

semen, embryos and related products and

services to customers around the world.

Alberta is a source of high-quality disease

free livestock, and world-renowned genetics.

Supplier of Safe Food ProductsCanada's reputation for animal health is

built upon the practices of bio-security and

monitoring at all levels. Monitoring takes

place from farms to high technology

laboratories through veterinarians and

government inspectors. Producers receive

on-farm food safety training and both

producers and processors comply with

government regulations.

The purpose of Alberta's

and its regulations is to enhance public

health, animal health, and food safety in

Alberta and enhance market access through

effective animal disease control measures.

The Act focuses on the rapid and effective

response to an animal disease occurrence

by authorizing control measures, animal

disease surveillance, traceability, and

carcass disposal provisions. It also

authorizes livestock market inspection and

licensing, and control over the sale of

production animal medicines by retail

outlets.

Animal Health Act

Alberta Beef

Alberta has a

reputation for

producing great

tasting beef.

Alberta leads the

country in beef

processing

accounting for more

than two-thirds of

Canadian beef

processing.

Alberta is Canada's

largest cattle

producing province

with nearly 40

percent of the

national herd.

Safe and Nutritious PorkAlberta has a natural advantage for pork

production with plentiful supplies of barley,

wheat and canola for feed. With access to

superior genetics and a commitment to using

the highest traceability practices, Alberta pork

is unique in texture and quality.

Lean Alberta pork

is a highly nutritious

product in demand

around the world.

Alberta is a

committed leader

in value-added and

safe pork.

Alberta has the most

accessible pork for

Pacific Rim markets.

Alberta Pork

Great Tasting Alberta BeefAlberta has a reputation for producing great

tasting beef. Grain-fed Alberta beef is

delicious and contains 14 essential nutrients

including iron and protein.

Canadian beef is graded based on national

regulations. The regulations provide greater

consistency and predictability in the quality of

specific grades of beef. The minimum

marbling standards applied to Canadian beef

are used to segregate the beef cuts into

Canada Prime (slightly abundant), Canada

AAA (small) and Canada AA (slight). Canada

A beef has some traces but less than slight

marbling and comes from young animals.

Grass and forage are the foundation of our

cow calf industry, but feed for finishing cattle

in Alberta is grain-based (barley, corn and

wheat) with the feed ration containing a high

percentage of grain, augmented by silage.

Major breed combinations in the province

include Black Angus, Hereford, Red Angus,

Simmental, Charolais and Limousin, which

provide optimum marbling and high yielding

carcasses.

Our clean environment, excellent water

quality, favourable climate and relatively

young animals used for meat production

equate to high-quality, tender, juicy and great

tasting beef that is a trademark of Alberta.

The combination of very low pig density and

a prime environment enables the industry to

maintain an excellent health status, leading

to better pig performance and lower use of

medications.

To demonstrate our industry's commitment,

the Canadian Quality Assurance (CQA) ®

on-farm food safety program was developed

to validate producers' daily farm operations.

The science-based program uses HACCP

(Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)

principles and requires engaged producers

to meet a very strict set of standards

supported by extensive record keeping.

An auditor then reviews these documents

and examines the farm facilities to ensure

that all program standards are being met.

Alberta pork producers are committed to

maintaining product quality and consumer

satisfaction.

Horse and Horse ProductsAlberta's horse owners place great value on

their animals. Careful breeding, precise

feeding, attentive handling, effective

vaccination are all measures used to help

safeguard the health of their animals and

ultimately contribute to the protection of the

equine industry. Alberta exports live horses,

genetics and meat.

Canada's export program ensures that only

healthy animals and animal products and

by-products which meet the import health

requirements of an importing country are

exported, and that live animals are

transported in a humane manner. In Alberta,

regulations requiring premises identification

are part of the Animal Health Act. Premises

registration is a valuable tool to include in an

overall animal health management program.

These requirements for equine enhance food

safety as well as the ability to trace back

equine meat products in response to

international customer requests.Poultry Products that MeetCustomer DemandsAlberta's poultry industry production consists

primarily of chicken, turkey, ducks and eggs.

Alberta also produces ratites, including

ostriches, emus and rheas for their extremely

lean meat and for their hides, feather and oils.

Alberta's poultry products are low in fats and

high in protein, and contain amino acids,

niacin, vitamin B6, iron, zinc and many other

essential nutrients.

Alberta's industry is equipped

to provide halal-certified and kosher poultry

as well as a range of organic products.

To meet the requirements of different cultures

and countries,

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Flavourful and TenderBison MeatAlberta bison has a full, rich flavour and is

a nutritious, lean meat with high protein

content. Grading of bison according to

national regulations provides greater

consistency and predictability in the eating

quality of the specific grades.

Alberta bison are raised without the use of

growth stimulants or sub-therapeutic

antibiotics. Bison are handled much less

frequently than other livestock, allowing

them to range on pasture lands the same

way they did historically.

Due to preservation efforts of ranchers and

the benefits of raising bison, Canada now

has 125,000 bison on private ranches and

farms. Bison ranching has significant

ecological benefits and often involves the

return of farmland to grassland, which

eliminates the need for chemical pesticides

and herbicides.

Meat products from registered facilities in

Canada are produced and inspected to

ensure they meet current requirements and

safety standards. Canada has procedures in

place to detect and control potential residue

issues in the meat supply. All facilities in

Canada that process equines destined for

export markets for edible purposes must

have complete records for all animals

(domestic and imported) presented. In 2010,

Canada released the world's first welfare

standards for handling slaughter horses

“Recommended Handling Guidelines and

Animal Welfare Assessment Tool for

Horses”.

Natural and Delicious LambAlberta lamb is in high demand by Canadian

consumers. To meet consumer

specifications for consistent quality and fine

taste, lamb producers raise lambs on

forages and finish them with grains.

Consumers enjoy the resulting excellent

flavour, tenderness, and quality of Alberta

lamb.

Canada's Sheep and Lamb Food-Safe Farm

Practices program facilitates an effective

recording of good production practices to

address potential on-farm food safety risks

and meet consumer expectations for safe

high quality product. This program is

complemented by the mandatory Canadian

Sheep Identification Program where every

lamb is identified as it leaves its farm of

origin.

A Valuable Trade PartnerAlberta has developed a coordinated

approach to system integrity based on federal

and provincial legislation, world class animal

health protocols, food safety practices and

emergency response and preparedness.

Our focus is on high standards and continual

improvement to better meet the needs of our

customers at home and abroad.

Alberta is an experienced exporter of genetics

from a variety of livestock species. These

genetics include semen, embryos and

breeding stock. Alberta suppliers are able to

produce meat products based on customer

specifications, such as organic, Halal and

hormone-free.

Alberta is a reliable and trustworthy provider

of high quality agriculture and food products.

Our goal is to provide our industry customers

and consumers worldwide, with safe,

consistent, high quality products – and we will

continue to work hard to earn and keep your

business.

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development

E-mail: agrifoodexports@gov.ab.ca

www.agrifoodalberta.ca

A Culinary Treat or MedicinalIngredient - ElkAlberta represents nearly half of Canada's

total farmed elk. Alberta's elk meat and

velvet antler are exported internationally.

Elk meat is tender and healthy with a mild,

distinctive delicious flavour. It is very low in

cholesterol and calories and can be

included in many cooking styles and

cuisines.

Tasty Goat Meat and QualityProductsGoat meat and dairy products, cashmere

and mohair, fine leather and sleek hides,

and bath and beauty products have been

valued agricultural products for thousands

of years.

Alberta exports live goats for breeding and

meat production.

Alberta …The Alberta lamb supply chain is

collaborating on projects developing models

for sustainable lamb production, for

consistent lamb quality and for national

traceability for sheep. Alberta also has a

thriving international sheep genetics industry

supplying the global industry with

reproductive expertise, services as well as

genetics.