Source: Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
“AgriProfit$ is a cost of production benchmarking program operated by Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development, or AFRED,” says ML Manglai, senior livestock economist with AFRED. “This unique program has been offered for over 40 years and provides industry performance measures, which can assist in identifying opportunities for improvement.”
AgriProfit$ has been collaborating over the past 2 years with Canfax Research Services, funded by the Beef Cattle Research Council in support of the Canadian Cow-Calf Cost of Production Network (COP Network).
“The COP Network is in an effort to provide cost of production information across Canada from every province, British Columbia to Prince Edward Island. The intent of the Network is to expand the typical farm focus group approach. This approach groups farmers based on their production practices – for example, calving date, weaning date, typical sales dates, winter feeding practices – so that participants with similarities in production systems can share perspectives.”
Data is gathered in a focus group setting where producers are invited to openly and respectfully share their thoughts. Discussions are captured without attribution to the individual participant and this information is used to develop the benchmark farm.
“Contributing to the COP Network provides producers an enhanced opportunity to compare their performance coast to coast and internationally,” says Manglai. “Canfax’s membership in agri benchmark, a global network, includes model farms in Europe, North America, South America, Asia-Oceania and Africa.”
AgriProfit$ staff will provide provincial coordination of the focus groups based on eco-regions and production systems. Four focus groups of 4 to 5 participants are being proposed for January or February 2023. Participants will need to supply cost of production data to the AgriProfit$ program. Interested producers can sign up to participate on the Canfax website or contact the AgriProfit$ provincial coordinators directly, ML Manglai or Pauline VanBiert.
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