The President of the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) says he's optimistic that they can reach an agreement that will see the Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) remain part of the national organization.
Last week, ABP gave the CCA notice to withdraw from the national organization as of July 1, 2026, citing among its concerns the organization's funding model, board structure, and representation since Alberta producers contribute over 50 percent to the organization.
Tyler Fulton is optimistic they'll be able to agree on a workable solution for everyone.
"When Alberta beef producers got back to us with a little bit more detail on their concerns, I didn't see any big glaring problems with them. I mean, a lot of them were ones that we were already working on and were valid criticisms. I think it is unfortunate, you know, that we have to deal with it with this kind of ultimatum. But in any case, I'm confident that we can work through it."
He believes the CCA's semi-annual meeting will be the right venue to discuss it in person and gather different perspectives from all the provinces.
Alberta Beef Producer Chair Doug Roxburgh notes the funding model, board structure, and governance have been issues within their organization for a number of years, and they've been raising their ongoing concerns with the CCA.
Fulton points out that when they negotiated Alberta's last agreement, they temporarily changed from a total marketing assessment to retained marketing because of a shortfall on ABP's end as a result of excessive refunds on producer checkoffs.
He says the CCA felt the hit from that change, but were able to manage through it. Just coming out of the pandemic, there was still not a lot of travel being done.
They were also able to pull from the CCA's reserve fund. Over the years, the CCA board had set up a fund, where they set aside a certain percentage of the check-off as a contingency to help manage through potential tough times in the future.
Fulton says at the time they agreed on the temporary measure with the idea that they would be able to find a new long-term solution that would work for both parties.
"When we moved into that agreement, I think there was an expectation broadly that we would see the movement towards possibly a mandatory checkoff in Alberta that obviously would resolve the issue of the amount that they were able to retain. Quite simply, we didn't get there, and here we are two years into a three-year agreement; very surprisingly, CCA received this notice. Quite simply, I was very disappointed."
He notes that while Alberta is the biggest funder of the CCA, every other province contributes and helps fund the CCA.
Fulton points out that while ABP has always been the biggest contributor and had the largest representation, they haven't had a proportionate share of the seats that reflects that.
"The CCA doesn't have the unilateral authority to negotiate what that funding model looks like. It needs to be a collaborative and cooperative process that includes all of the other provinces."
Fulton is optimistic they'll be able to agree on a workable solution for everyone, adding he wants to see the CCA remain a unified national voice for the cattle industry, and so do they.
To hear Glenda-Lee's conversation with CCA President Tyler Fulton, click on the link below.