BC Beef Day was held May 18 and was an other opportunity to celebrate TRU’s Applied Sustainable Ranching program.
The first-of-its-kind in BC, the program is offered at the Williams Lake campus. Students gain the expertise to build and sustain ranching enterprises within BC’s industry and apply that knowledge to agricultural businesses in any region. By program’s end, students have an understanding of ecosystem management in the last intact temperate grassland in the world.
“Thompson Rivers University is proud to be expanding our role in the future of ranching in BC,” said TRU President and Vice-Chancellor Alan Shaver. “Two of our strategic priorities are to increase student success and to support the economic and cultural sustainability of our community partners. Our industry advisory board in Williams Lake has championed the need for this program, which will contribute to student success and help sustain the fabric of the region.”
Every May May 18 is BC Beef Day and this year was the seventh year. The day also served as a celebration of the partnerships between government and industry stakeholder groups, including BC Cattlemen’s Association, BC Association of Cattle Feeders, BC Association of Abattoirs, and the BC Breeder and Feeder Association.
In 2014, the BC beef industry generated more than $279 million in farm cash receipts—an increase of nearly 54 percent from the previous year—with the Thompson-Okanagan, Cariboo, Peace River and Nechako regions being the top beef-producing regions in the province.
BC Beef Day 2016 celebration in Victoria. Pictured left to right: Sustainable ranching program students Davana Mahon, Megan Flatt, Angela Abrahao and Aftaab Dhillon, BC Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick and sustainable ranching program industry representative Martin Rossman.
