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Canadian Beef School looks 'under the hide'

Hands-on course helps producers and other participants understand and support value from gate to plate.

Seeing is believing. Doing is understanding.

These are two principles of the Canadian Beef School, run by Olds College and Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (AAFRD).

Launched with funding from the National Beef Industry Development Fund (NBIDF), the Canadian Beef School is a three-day, hands-on course that helps beef producers and others learn about the quality, fabrication and marketing of beef. It covers all steps in the beef production process from the farm gate to the dinner plate, providing participants with direct experience in areas they wouldn't normally have exposure to.

"The Canadian Beef School is an effort to help remove the mystery around what happens in the supply chain after the animals leave the farm or the feedlot," says Dalin Bullock, chair of animal science at Olds College. "The more people understand about the components of that process and how they create value, the more they can contribute to that value through their own particular role."

The supply chain from producer to consumer is complex and often times fragmented, he notes. Because of this, the sharing of information between various levels of the supply chain is often limited.

This lack of awareness between the different sectors can create a barrier to producing high value beef and satisfying the customer. With the Canadian Beef School, an overriding goal is to break down this barrier by helping participants learn what happens and how value is determined at all levels.

Participants learn not just by hearing, but by seeing and doing. As much as possible, the beef school aims to puts participants in the shoes of people at different points in the chain, so they can see things from that perspective.

High demand

Though roughly half of beef school "students" are beef producers, the Canadian Beef School is open to anyone with an interest in the Canadian beef industry. In addition to feedlot operators and cow / calf producers, those attending have included a range of others involved with various aspects of the beef and food service industries. As well as those directly part of the supply chain, participants have included veterinarians, marketers and communicators such as food editors. Lead instructor is Brad McLeod of Olds College.

Interest in the Canadian Beef School has been very high, says Bullock. The school began in 2005 and has offered two sessions per year, one in the spring and one in the fall. All sessions offered so far have filled up quickly and resulted in long waiting lists.

"Because this is an intensive, hands-on course, we've only had spots for about 20 people each time," he says. "Typically, there have been another 20 to 30 on the waiting lists."

The school operates on a break even basis, charging participants $395 to take the course - a relatively modest cost given the substantial resources and unique training provided by the school.

Due to high demand, the beef school has started to consider additional sessions for specialized groups who have expressed interest. The first of these, for a group of Montreal-based meat buyers, is planned for spring 2007.

"In my experience with people in the agriculture industry, anytime you can give them an opportunity to do something on a hands-on basis it's always well received," says Bullock. "That's certainly been the case with the Canadian Beef School."

Intensive schedule

Participants pack a lot of learning into the three-day course, with two 12 hour days and a half day filled with a variety of discussion, training and activities.

Beef school students evaluate animals. Photo credit: Canadian Beef School

Day one. The first day begins with a discussion of course objectives, followed by a beef industry overview, both delivered by Olds College instructors. Next up is a lecture on grading by a representative of the Canadian grading system. After a short break, participants are trained in live market animal evaluations and asked to perform their own evaluations on live animals provided for the course. This is followed by a presentation on maintaining quality, with a special focus on how this relates to high standards of animal care.

After lunch, a food safety exercise is performed, with swabs taken from the hands and clothing of participants to be used as examples of microbial threats to food contamination. Next is a trip to the lab, where participants view the initial processing of killed animals, including the dropping of the hide, removal of non-food parts and cleaning of the carcass.

"In the real world, very few people get to see the animal without the hide on it," says Bullock. "That's why our slogan is 'A look under the hide.' One of the surprises participants often get is when they evaluate a live animal and then later see the carcass and the cuts and the retail value that results. Even for producers and others who have been in the industry for decades, often what many think of as a top value animal isn't the case."

Carcasses are evaluated for grade and yield, followed by a lecture on factors affecting tenderness. After a break for dinner, there's an evening discussion of feeding and management strategies to improve carcass quality, conducted by an AAFRD instructor.

For producers, the course often helps them get a better understanding of common misperceptions and even frustrations, notes Bullock.

"You might hear a producer say they delivered a 1,200 pound animal and only 400 pounds of meat came out. The course helps explain how that can happen. For many participants, it's eye-opening just to learn what a typical yield would be on an animal."

Discussing carcass quality. Photo credit: Canadian Beef School

Day two. The second day is equally intensive, beginning with a presentation on meat inspection, as well as an overview of carcass anatomy and beef cut identification. Following the morning break, participants suit up and learn about rules and methods of meat cutting, then collect quality and yield grade data on the carcasses. After lunch, they assist in the actual carcass fabrication process, with one session devoted to meat cutting on the forequarter and one on the hindquarter.

Dinner is followed by an evening discussion on utilizing beef muscles, new cuts and muscle profiling.

"By the end of day two, the students have a complete understanding of the amount of meat and what particular primals and cuts come from that animal, as well as what people would pay in a store for those particular cuts," says Bullock. "That's where they begin to piece together what the true value is in a beef carcass."

Day three. The final day starts with results and interpretation of the food safety exercise, with participants viewing how the microbial populations swabbed from their hands and clothes have grown over the two day period. The results and interpretation exercises continue with evaluation of beef cutting results, differences and pricing.

Next on the agenda is a discussion and activity on factors affecting beef palatability, including a sensory evaluation where participants taste a variety of beef cuts that illustrate the results of diverse production and processing methods.

"With the sensory evaluation, the participants can be consumers for a moment and reflect what affects the eating experience," says Bullock. The remainder of the final half day is capped by a featured speaker discussing a timely "hot topic" for the industry, followed by a question and answer period, workshop evaluation and farewell.

Energized, enlightened

At the end of the course, the mood among beef school graduates is typically full of excitement and energy. That attitude is fueled by the satisfaction of having emerged with a better appreciation for their industry and their role in its success.

All students receive an interactive CD that takes them through a lot of the program, including videos on all the different cuts.

"The students come away with a pretty comprehensive package," says Hansen.

The National Beef Industry Development Fund (NBIDF) is a $9.25 million fund created through the investments of the governments of Canada, Alberta and British Columbia. It contributed to more than 120 research and development projects from 2002 to 2006, to support the competitiveness of the Canadian beef industry.

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