Future Fare
is an annual event put on by the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA).
ALMA’s purpose is to be a catalyst in the development of a profitable and internationally
competitive Alberta livestock and meat industry. Future Fare was a gathering of
producers, processors, retailers, consumers and academia, where industry
partners showcased their research, technology and best-practices to highlight
their passion and forward thinking within the industry. Here are a few
highlights from the conference.
Cameron Bruett was one of two keynote
speakers for the day. In addition to being the Head of Corporate Affairs and
Chief Sustainability Officer at JBS, he is also the president of the Global
Round Table for Sustainable Beef (GRSB). His talk was focussed on
sustainability in the livestock sector. He started by saying that one of the
greatest difficulties surrounding sustainability was coming up with a common
definition. It’s like the new “buzz word” and everyone has a different
perception of what sustainable agriculture entails. He said that consumers have
an idealistic view of sustainability. They picture a small farm with a few
black and white cows in the field, rail fences and a barn. He went on to say that sustainability in his
eyes should mean producing more with less. He challenged organic and grass fed
livestock operations that call themselves “sustainable” since really they are
producing less product with more resources. Cameron says modern agriculture has
an amazing story to tell, and we just don’t tell it enough.
The average
household income is currently increasing, and Cameron believes that as this
occurs, the first thing consumers will increase expenditures on is diet. They
will increase the amount of high quality protein in their diet, which is good
news for the livestock sector. He also challenged McDonalds who say they will
have 100% “verified sustainable beef” beginning in 2016. He posed the question:
“Aren’t they already doing that?” Going forward, Cameron believes
sustainability will be a balance between social, environmental and economic
responsibility.
Next,
Cameron drew attention to technology. He said consumers love technological
advances to their Iphone, Ipad, laptops and tvs, yet they are afraid of any
kind of technological breakthroughs related to food production. He posed the
question, “How do we meet the challenges of tomorrow if technology is not an
option?” He says that all beef systems can be sustainable, but we have to have
continuous improvement, and we must convey this sustainable message to
consumers. He said consumers want to have choice in the beef products they buy
(ex. natural, organic, grass fed), but we need to give them options without
telling them lies. We need to stop saying organic meat products are safer than
conventionally raised beef. He says the reality is, if it’s in the grocery
store, IT’S SAFE. It wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t. He finished by saying that
we are very lucky to be in the livestock business because people love our
product! We just need to give them the license to continue to love it!
Consumers have lost trust in the industry, but this can be rectified. His
group, the GRSB, has globally defined sustainability as “planet, people,
animals, and progress.” Going forward, their group will focus on the global
scope of sustainability while centering on regional empowerment!
Rich Vesta spoke about the new Harmony
Beef processing plant that will be opening in Rocky View County, Alberta in
November. This facility (formerly Ranchers Choice) is undergoing 18 million
dollars worth of renovations and upgrades. They are installing a European water
recycling technology that will take their overall water usage from over 500,000
gallons per day down to around 20,000 gallons per day. Part of the renovations
includes an entirely new refrigeration system throughout. Once at full
capacity, the facility will process about 800 head per day. Rich went on to say
that Harmony Beef will be, “large enough to be meaningful, but small enough to
be flexible.” He envisions the facility being number one in the business for
overall worker safety, food safety, and animal health. He says we need the
passion of a packer to tell the story of Canadian Beef, and he thinks Harmony
Beef will fulfill that role!
The second
and final keynote speaker of the conference was Mario Pilozzi, the former president and CEO of Wal-Mart Canada.
Mario has extensive experience in the retail business. His talk surrounded what
he feels are the three things that all successful businesses have in common.
They are as follows:
·
A strategy with a clear point of differentiation (POD) that is relevant and meaningful to
the target customer. Mario said that if you don’t differentiate yourself, you
may have some success when the industry and economy are strong, but whenever
they decline; your business will have trouble succeeding. “Without a point of
differentiation, your company will just ride the tides,” said Mario, “You need
to have something that makes you special.” He gave a few examples of successful
companies that have a point of differentiation:
o
Costco – Their POD is Quality and value! He
reiterated that Costco doesn’t sell cheap products, but they have value. He
polled the audience, “how many times have you gone out of Costco and spent less
than $100?”
o
H&M – Their POD is today’s fashion at an
affordable price!
o
Apple – Their POD is unique solutions
o
Wal-Mart – Their POD is low price and one stop
shopping! Mario explained that Wal-Mart has started retailing groceries as a
“draw card”. People shop for general merchandise one or two times a month but
they shop for groceries once or twice a week. The food gets the foot traffic in
the door so people will spend money on the general merchandise which has higher
margins!
·
The second trait that a successful company has
is a culture that is aligned with
the values and beliefs of the business. The culture must support the company’s
mission and vision. Mario said that if your company’s point of differentiation
is low prices, then your culture and operations should reflect that. This means
cutting unnecessary business costs such as staff travel. He said his employees
always shared a room when travelling for business, and he would do the same. He
said you can’t make your staff share a room and then get the CEO a private
suite. One time, Mario said he was offered a free upgrade to a first class
flight, and he declined it because he had other staff members on board and it
would give them the wrong impression. Mario says, “Everyone in the business has
to live the culture.” He further said that you need to put culture at the
forefront of your business. You need to be talking about it all the time, since
in larger companies you will always have staff turnover.
·
The third trait of a successful business is investment in people! Mario says people
are important. You need to train your staff to live the culture by motivating,
recognizing and inspiring them! Invest in classes on leadership, sustainability
and negotiation and hire third parties for mentorship. “Everyone needs a mentor,”
said Mario. If a good staff member wants to grow with the company and needs an
MBA, Mario believes the company should facilitate that. He said that you should
allow people to grow at their own speed. “The more they want, the more you give
them.”
Mario finished
by saying that a company needs to always be innovating and improving or they
will get behind their competition. No staff meeting should go by without
speaking about the culture of the business, and giving recognition to deserving
staff.
Posted by Matt Bates Feedback: mbates@cdnangus.ca
