We hope the fall run treated you well. Start your new year with the second issue  of the Livestock Marketers of Saskatchewan's winter newsletter .

Warm wishes for a successful 2018,

Adele Buettner
Executive Director, Livestock Marketers of Saskatchewan
In This Issue

New Directors
LMS would like to welcome our new Directors to the Board: 
Brent Brooks of
Northern Livestock Sales
Lyal Fox
of Just Livestock
Scott Gilroy
of JGL Cattle  

Resources
Livestock Handling Practices for Marketing Centre Staff
Manual & DVD
$79.99 
(+ GST & Shipping)
This educational package provides an overview for new employees, especially those unfamiliar with handling cattle in an auction market or assembly yard setting, and serves as a refresher for experienced workers.

To Order:
Visit Our Website
Contact our Office
1 (306) 933-4404
LMS Annual General Meeting at SBIC
The LMS Annual General Meeting was held on January 25 at the  Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference in Saskatoon. 

We would like to thank our members who joined us and the 
speakers who contributed to our agenda.

We look forward to serving our membership in 2018. 

LMS 2017 Annual Report


Handler Safety on the Agenda in 2018
The LMS Board has identified a resource gap on the subject of health and safety training materials for auction market staff.  
We are looking for partners for a project that would develop resources for all those in the industry who handle livestock, from auction marts to feedlots and ranches.

If you are interested in participating, please contact our office. 

Feedlot Management School
February 6 - 8 2018
Regina, SK

To register for the Feedlot Management School and view
a full agenda,   click here.
by the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association (SCA)
The National Beef Strategy was released in January of 2015 after many discussions across Canada. Provincial cattle associations, including Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association, and five national groups (Canada Beef, Beef Cattle Research Council, Canadian Cattlemen's Association, National Cattle Feeders and the Canadian Beef Breeds Council) agreed that the time had come to develop a strategy to take the Canadian beef industry forward in the areas of productivity, competitiveness, beef demand and connectivity.
 
The organizations identified several key areas that are important for Canadian beef producers to support. These include; research, market development and promotion for Canadian beef and cattle through the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off.  The Check-Off delivers measurable value to Canadian beef producers, bringing $14 in benefits to producers for every $1 invested through these initiatives across the country. 
 
Desires without a plan are bound to fail.
Part of the process of developing the National Beef Strategy included budgeting to meet the goals that were laid out. To meet these goals, it was decided to increase the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off (national levy) by all involved.
 
The authority to set these levy levels is both federal and provincial, so each province is responsible to implement the increase.
 
On April 1, 2018 Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta will all make the increase in the collection of the national levy from $1 per head to $2.50 per head.
 
This will make the combined check-off collected on Saskatchewan cattle sales $4.50 per head. Aside from changing the amount collected from customers and remit to SCA, we do not anticipate any other changes from your end.
 
We understand that your systems and staff likely need some lead time to get this in place.  SCA will be sending a new remittance form that aligns with the new amounts to help with the implementation of the increase. SCA can provide statement stuffers, posters or content for newsletters or any other communication tools you may have as well.  We also encourage you to contact us if there are additional ways that SCA can assist with the transition, or any process improvements that would ensure a successful transition.
 
SCA recognizes that producers may have questions about the national levy increase, and we do not want those questions to be a burden to your staff or business in general. We encourage you to funnel any questions to our office. You will also find a backgrounder regarding authorities to collect and remit the levies attached.
 
If you would like further information on the strategy you can find it at beefstrategy.com. One interesting piece there is the Appendix that goes into the comparative checkoffs.

Please do reach out with any questions to Ryder Lee at 306-585-2333.
Become an Associate Member of LMS
If you would like to show your support for the free marketing of livestock in Saskatchewan sign up for an Associate Membership by contacting the  LMS Office.
Improving Safety in Cattle Sale Handling Facilities
by Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI)
Injury Statistics
A number of incidents at auction-mart facilities throughout Western Canada involved livestock/human interactions that resulted in injuries to workers. Many incidents involved gates being pushed into workers when moving livestock from a pen or corral. The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute conducted a study for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture to recommend potential improvements to worker and livestock safety.

Strategy of Prevention 
Hierarchy of controls (Figure 1) is used in industry to minimize exposure to hazards in an organized method. Control methods at the top are potentially more effective but harder to implement, while control methods at the bottom are easier to implement but less effective. Based on the hierarchy of control, the following list of recommended solutions was developed ...
If you are interested in submitting content for the May 2018 Newsletter, please contact the LMS office at [email protected] or 306-933-4404