Canadian Food Focus is excited to host you for the Cf24 Conference Tour of Prairie Farm Foods on May 30th in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Below is an agenda for our tour and more information on your hosts. Special thanks to Canada Beef for being a resource for this tour!
Our tour takes us to Prairie Farm Foods Inc., in the heart of the Prairies, for a local beef production facility tour. Prairie Farms prides themselves on raising animals without growth hormones or antibiotics. They are passionate about producing food in healthy soils, bright sunlight and fresh air. They believe nutritious food means producing crops in earth that get everything they need from rich natural sources. Come learn about their efforts to assist customers in making educated choices and learn where food comes from, who produces it, and how it’s produced. Prairie Farm Foods processes pork, beef and bison, as well as artisan sausage and meat products.
Tour guests will enjoy programming on beef cattle lifecycles, breed selection, production systems, feeding systems, regenerative farming, soil health, environmental practices, and sustainability as well as Prairie Farm Foods beef brands. A delicious farm lunch will also be served on-site.
Tour Agenda
8:45 am Group boards coach at hotel
9:00 am Coach departs from hotel and travels to Prairie Farm Foods
10:30 am Arrival at the Prairie Farm Foods Processing Facility
- Location: Gather in the PFF Board Room on the 2nd Floor
- Entrance & Amenities:
- Participants will need to be able to climb a long flight of stairs to the 2nd floor
- Footwear covers will be provided to be put over all shoes at the entrance on the 1st floor
- Accessible washrooms are available on the 2nd Floor near the Board Room
- Refreshments will be available upon arrival
- Presentation:
- Introduction to the Prairie Ranchers Beef Brand including cattle lifecycles, breed selection, production systems, feeding systems, regenerative farming, soil health, and environmental practices.
- Processing Plant Tour:
- Brief tour of the plant facility viewing through the 2nd floor tour windows
12:45 pm – Lunch at the Pine Haven Communal Kitchen
1:30 pm Live Beef Production Tour
- Tour involves travelling by bus to explore the three stages of beef production:
- Cow/calf
- Yearling grazing
- Forage fattening
3:00 pm – Departure
- Thank you for your interest in learning about the Prairie Farm Foods Federally Inspected Meat Processing Facility and Pine Haven Farms beef production system. We hope your visit was insightful!
4:30 pm – Arrival at Hotel
Tour Hosts
Canadian Food Focus
Canadian Food Focus is a gathering place to tell our Canadian food and farming stories. We will explore how food is grown and raised, share recipes and provide useful advice to help you make confident food choices.
Dorothy Long
Home Economist and Managing Director of Canadian Food Focus
Dorothy is a passionate advocate of Canadian food and farming. She holds degrees in home economics and education from the University of Saskatchewan, leveraging her background to promote greater consumer understanding of Canadian food and farming, as well as fostering positive relationships between consumers and farmers.
For over 25 years, Dorothy has organized farm tours for food influencers, such as dietitians, journalists, chefs, and food writers. These tours, which began with Canola Camp in Saskatchewan, have expanded across the country.
Dorothy has also been instrumental in developing a range of agrifood marketing strategies, including CanolaInfo, Saskatchewan Bounty, HealthyFlax, Spread the Mustard, Pick Pork, and the Saskatchewan component of the International Year of the Pulse campaign. In addition to her marketing work, Dorothy served as the Executive Director of Cuisine Canada and the Greenhouse Growers of Saskatchewan. She has written a food column for The Western Producer, edited the Growing Saskatchewan magazine, and co-authored the Discover the Pulse Potential cookbook.
Dorothy believes that food is a powerful connector and the most intimate way that consumers come to understand agriculture. As the Director of Communications with Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan, she spearheads Canadian Food Focus, a public trust initiative and marketing strategy that includes a consumer-friendly website. This project won a national Canadian AgriFood Marketers Alliance Award for Best Website Directed at the Public in 2022. Currently, Dorothy co-chairs the National Consumer Engagement Working Group for AAFC. In 2023, Dorothy was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame.
Julie Kenyon
Communications Coordinator, Canadian Food Focus
Julie and her husband Doug live on an acreage near Lloydminster and have three daughters. In her spare time, you can find her chasing her granddaughter and spending time with her family.
Resources
Canada Beef
The Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency (Agency) is the independent organization responsible for administering the national beef cattle check-off. Check-off funds are directed by the Agency to fund national and international market development and promotion, beef cattle research and public trust/issues management initiatives on behalf of the Canadian beef cattle industry.
MATHIEU PARÉ
Executive Director, Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence
Trained in Western Canada’s most demanding kitchens (La Chaumière, Rouge, Quail’s Gate Estate Winery, CP Rail’s The Royal Canadian Pacific, The Wickaninnish Inn), Mathieu’s focus is on classic technique and execution while maintaining some freedom for surprise, fusion and one-of-a-kind creativity.
As a young chef, Mathieu travelled extensively to develop his palate and diversify his repertoire. Sharing his food knowledge and travel experiences from across Canada, in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Mathieu builds on a platform for the exploration of local and exotic ingredients.
Mathieu is now with Canada Beef as Director of the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence. In this role, Mathieu leads a team creating opportunity and competitiveness for Canadian beef globally through successfully engaging clients across Canada and around the world to build an understanding of the Canadian beef brand and drive demand.
We also ask that each attendee fill out a pre- and post-tour survey to gauge what attendees have learned and to gather any feedback or questions they might have about food and agriculture in Canada. It also helps us with reporting and to get funding for these events in the future.
Let’s stay connected!
- Contact Dorothy Long if you have any questions.
- Check out our Canadian Food Focus website.
- Sign up for our monthly newsletter: Great Food Grown Here.
- Listen to our Ask A Farmer Podcast.
- Join our Canadian Food Focus Forum community, a professional development hub for dietitians, home economists, food writers, chefs, food media, and culinary & dietetic students. We share content regarding professional development or networking opportunities including upcoming courses, webinars and events through a Facebook group and an occasional Newsletter. It is a great place to discover new resources and information developed by our Canadian Food Focus contributors.
- Follow us @CDNFoodFocus on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and YouTube with the hashtags #LoveCDNFood, #LoveCDNrecipes and #LoveCDNFarms.