The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association is holding its semi-annual general meeting at the Dakota Dunes Resort south of Saskatoon on Friday.
Part of the proceedings will be a special event for younger ranchers in the morning.
Jeff Yorga, the President of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, says it'll be held in a roundtable format to "discuss topics that they otherwise aren't able to…in a friendly setting and hopefully an open and welcoming setting."
Finances to cattle health are covered in this young rancher seminar.
"We've been asked before a number of times to provide more content for people who are new to the business or just getting started, and you know, this is our first kick at that can." Yorga said.
The seminar starts at 10 a.m. that day, then the semi-annual meetings begin at 2 p.m.
One of the presentations on the agenda is about the federally-inspected meat processing plant being built west of Saskatoon, near Perdue, by the Sunny Dale Hutterite Colony, also known as SDC Farms.
"We've heard a little bit about it but we don't know a lot and I think that's the exciting part about the presentation is we're going to find out what they're doing and what they plan to do," Yorga said. "And it's always positive when we see an expansion in our industry in Saskatchewan."
He has some questions about the facility, such as who they're marketing to and what is their business plan.
The second presentation comes from the Global Institute for Food Security called the "Beef Cattle Life Cycle Analysis". Dr. Steven Webb will be speaking on it.
"It's speaking more to the methane cycle and carbon sequestration in the grasslands. This study has been done a number of years ago and it hasn't been released. It hasn't been shown to the public and we're looking forward to it. There's a very good news story in the beef industry when it comes to beef and the environment and I think this is going to be a starting place for us to continue to relay that message." he said of the second presentation.
Resolutions will be presented and voted on at the meeting. Voting is for members only. Yorga is expecting something related to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) proposed changes to traceability regulations, which are currently on pause.
"I expect a number of strongly worded resolutions pointed at the CFIA," he said. "I think we'll be pretty clear in our language and pretty plain in our requests. You know I think the membership has spoken pretty loud and clear that they're not in the direction of a number of things on the CFIA front and so I expect that to dominate the discussion."
Yorga says there could be an issue previously under the radar that might get attention at the meeting, so he's looking forward to it.
There will also be entertainment in the evening with the presentation of honour scrolls as well as a concert with Chris Henderson. More information is on the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association website.
(With files from Neil Billinger, CJWW)
