Public & Stakeholder Engagement Program
As part of the Connectivity and Beef Demand Pillars in the National Beef Strategy
The Public and Stakeholder Engagement (PSE) program, jointly delivered by the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) and Canada Beef, coordinates national public trust issue management and proactive content on the benefits of raising beef cattle in Canada.
The team worked with Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), to develop an article about mRNA technology for livestock vaccines. Biosecurity guidelines for international visitors were updated and shared with key stakeholders. Coverage was monitored in several food safety stories where beef was mentioned, and proactive responses were prepared.
A crisis communications tabletop exercise was held with over 35 participants from both provincial and national cattle associations. The exercise reinforced relationships among industry associations, fostering trust and systems for collaboration to ensure industry preparedness in the future. We continue to actively engage in forums and channels to respond to content that contains misleading information about the impacts of beef cattle.
To equip industry advocates public outreach tools, the team has coordinated Introduction to Media Training sessions for 20 participants this past year. The Beef Advocacy Canada program continues to offer short training modules based on tested key messages that improve public trust, with in-person training also offered to university students and producer groups. New this year, a hard copy flipbook called the Public Advocacy Guide is available for industry representatives and interested producers. In the guide are QR codes to access informational videos, short documentaries, and internal factsheets.
Regular consumer research, as part of the three-year strategy cycle, informs proactive consumer campaigns, identifying must-win audiences and ensuring key messages are resonating. Results from 2023 included an increase in the percentage of Canadians that have excellent or very good opinions of beef farmers and ranchers, from 68% to 70%. Participants also ranked beef as the healthiest source of animal protein. A full presentation on the findings can be viewed here.
Public outreach for the past year included the Guardians of the Grasslands game, which is curriculum linked in 10 provinces for students in grades 7-12. A campaign to highlight the role of cattle in upcycling food waste included screening events of the new short documentary Reduce, Reuse, Ruminate in several universities across Canada. This was combined with an influencer campaign on social media with lifestyle and food promoters visiting farms and ranches to learn how cattle transform items humans can’t – or won’t – eat into delicious and nutritious beef.
2023 Highlights
- CTV News and CBC coverage on the Guardians of the Grasslands Game had an estimated broadcast television reach of more than 27 million Canadians, with an additional million through 16 million reach through the print and digital article.
- The Canadian Agri-Marketers Alliance awarded Best Exhibit to the Guardians of the Grasslands game, along with a Certificate of Merit in the website category.
- PSE received two additional Certificates of Merit in the categories of Social Media Management and Persuasive Writing.
- Reduce, Reuse, Ruminate was selected for the Ceres Food Film Festival in New York City and won Best Documentary at Wildsound Film Festival, while Too Close to Home was selected for the British Columbia Environmental Film Festival.
Priorities for 2024
- Screening events for Reduce, Reuse, Ruminate with industry partners, media, and influencers.
- Additional public outreach with the Guardians of the Grasslands game, exploring the potential for applications with other partner industries.
- Continuing to seek opportunities for improved connectivity and skill building with national and regional communications staff in public trust and issues management.
- Exploring options for qualitative based consumer research focusing on animal welfare.
In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, PSE will be operating with a $849,000 budget, of which $212,000 is allocated to Canada Beef and the remaining $637,000 is administered through CCA.