The Canadian Cow-calf Cost of Production Network launched in 2020 with the objective to benchmark cow-calf production systems across Canada. Analysis and results from the 2020 reference year are now available online.
Baseline data were collected from 115 cow-calf producers who attended virtual focus groups between January and March 2021. These data were modelled into 25 cow-calf and 3 dairy-beef production systems. These models present the first instance in Canada of standardized benchmarking for many types of cow-calf production systems, reducing response burden on cow-calf producers and allowing them to track progress into the future.
For producers, the Network provides opportunity for continuous learning, which is one of the top farm management practices that contribute to financial success. Within the Network, share what you know, learn from others, and find support to attain your goals for the future.
Does your operation look like one of the 28 systems we’ve modelled so far? Don’t hesitate to investigate by reviewing each of the Farm Summary results from 2020. The Farm Summary reports are baseline reports for each production system. These reports may provide you with a valuable starting point for data-driven decision-making, industry competitiveness and continuous improvement within your own operation.
Figure 1. Network Operations Across Canada
What is next for the Network? We’re strengthening our baseline dataset with more producers and more production systems. We’re inviting producers to sign-up for next year! All producers are welcome to apply for the next round of data collection that will take place January to March 2022. We especially need participation from producers with herds over 400 head. Follow one of the links below to sign-up and a provincial coordinator will contact you in December 2021 with more details.
· Cow-Calf Producer (English) Sign-up
· Cow-Calf Producer (French) Formulaire d’admission
In the meantime, we are modelling future farm scenarios to support our current Network participants in their short and medium-term goals. Together, participants developed ambitious but attainable future farm goals during their virtual focus groups. Whether improving ADG, grass management, or death loss, we’re calculating what those goals might look like for profitability, and what trade-offs may need to be made to get there.
Figure 2. Missing Production Systems
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