Keystone Processors Blog

It’s that time of year again – back to school!  Time to start shopping for school supplies and planning healthy lunch choices for you and your kids.  Incorporating lean beef in after school dishes and in lunch boxes can be easy and help kids stay fueled throughout the day.

Starting Monday, August 23 and running until September 5, Keystone Processors is offering a special 10% off back to school sale on our popular Variety Pack, which includes:

·    One roast (approx. 4 lbs)
·    Two packages of two lbs, 85% lean ground beef
·    One package of wieners
·    One package of two ribeye steaks.

Visit our online store and you can pick up your order on-site at 663 Marion St. or at our two new pick-up locations at the Carver’s Knife (1530 Regent Ave W, or 39 Marion St. in the Dominion Shopping Centre).

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With the fall season approaching around the corner, it’s time to enjoy a delicious steak on the barbecue while you still can! There’s nothing better than the smell (and taste) of a delicious premium steak grilling on the barbecue on a beautiful day.

Keystone Processors is having a 15% off sale on all steaks until Sunday, August 15th.

Just visit our online store and you can pick up your order on-site at 663 Marion St. or at our two new pick-up locations at the Carver’s Knife (1530 Regent Ave W, or 39 Marion St. in the Dominion Shopping Centre).

Our steaks are aged at least 21 days to ensure extra tenderness and flavour. Your won’t find premium steaks at a better price!

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Did you know that eating protein-rich foods such as lean ground beef helps curb your hunger and appetite?  A number of studies have found protein can help you feel full between meals, more than either carbohydrates or fat.

That’s why adding lean protein to meals and snacks, or bumping up the amount of protein you eat, may help with appetite control and weight loss. This can help you resist those urges to reach for unhealthy snacks between meals.

Keystone Processors wants to help you kick start your healthy diet.  Starting Monday, July 12 and lasting until Sunday, July 24, we’re having a special 15% off sale on lean ground beef.  This sale applies to online orders only and limited to one order per customer.

Just visit our online store and you can pick up your order on-site at 663 Marion St. or at our two new pick-up locations at the Carver’s Knife (1530 Regent Ave W, or 39 Marion St. in the Dominion Shopping Centre).

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On June 24, 2010, the Honorable Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan secured a breakthrough agreement with Mainland China to allow market access for Canadian beef.

The Canada Beef Export Federation expects that this agreement, which calls for a staged approach leading to full market access, will see sales of Canadian bovine products to the combined markets of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau increase by $110 million to $175 million when full access has been achieved.

“This is a historical day where the barriers are coming down for Canada in Mainland China in advance of other countries who have diagnosed BSE in their markets,” says Ted Haney, President of the Canada Beef Export Federation. “Mainland China was one of the last two countries to maintain a complete ban on Canadian beef.”

Prior to BSE, Canada in 2002 sold a peak $35 million of bovine tallow to the Mainland China market alone; and $3.5 million in beef products to the combined markets of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Keystone Processors welcomes this breakthrough agreement with China, as access to the tremendous and growing market of Mainland China will benefit the entire Canadian industry. The additional value earned by Canadian beef processors and exporters will support stronger Canadian cattle prices, contributing to stability and prosperity for cattle producers across Canada.

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So it turns out (to no surprise), that Winnipeggers like their barbecues!  Our annual barbeque was held today on location at 663 Marion St. and was a great success!

We would like to thank everyone who came out, showed their support and donated to Siloam Mission.

We really lucked out and had fabulous weather. With the sun shining and the aroma of delicious burgers, hotdogs and steaks in the air, we ended up attracting and serving close to 100 people, from families to business people.

Larry Updike, Senior Communications and Advocacy Spokesperson of Siloam Mission with Kelly Penner, President and CEO of Keystone Processors Ltd.

We greatly appreciate everyone attending.  It was a lot of fun talking to Winnipeggers about our products and what we do here at Keystone Processors Ltd, while serving our premium Manitoba-raised Natural Prairie Beef products.  And it was also very gratifying to see so many of our guests buying a box of our products to take home.

If you would like to buy some of our products, all of our steaks are 15% off, until Sunday, June 27th. Visit our online store to learn more.

Thanks to everyone for taking part and making the event such a great success! We can’t wait until next year!

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It’s that time of year again! Keystone Processors welcomes its friends and neighbours to our annual BBQ lunch on Wednesday, June 23rd.

The BBQ will be free of charge and held on location at 663 Marion St from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Not only can you try our products, but we’re also selling delicious, hormone-free Natural Prairie Beef on site. Straight from the farm to your tables.

We’ll be collecting donations at the BBQ for Siloam Mission, a connecting point between the compassionate and Winnipeg’s less fortunate. Siloam Mission is a Christian humanitarian agency offering programs and services at no charge to those experiencing homelessness.

So come out and sample a premium burger, join us in giving back to the Winnipeg community and talk to us about our vision for bringing top quality Manitoba cattle to market here at home and around the world.

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We were really pleased to hear that on Tuesday, the Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Trade Minister Peter Van Loan announced that Panama has partially re-opened its domestic markets to imports of breeding cattle and bovine genetics.

“The Government of Canada is pleased with Panama’s decision to re-open its market to Canadian cattle exports,” Minister Van Loan said in a statement issued in Ottawa, Ont. “This is great news for Canada’s cattle industry.”

Canada’s cattle industry has been battling to regain access to foreign markets it lost in 2003 with the discovery of the first native born case of BSE.

Ritz said, “Market by market, we are creating more opportunities for farmers to benefit from expanded sales to more consumers around the world.”

The announcement follows the signing of the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement on May 14th. The agreement will eventually allow for duty free access for all Canadian beef to Panama.

Improving access to international markets is extremely important for adding value to Canadian cattle. We’re hopeful it’s a sign that Keystone Processors and Manitoba cattle producers will be able to expand our market and deliver premium, nutritious beef to more tables.

Keystone Processors Ltd. is focused on raising the best quality cattle with the benefit of top notch farming practices. Our goal is to bring branded Manitoba beef products such as Natural Prairie Beef to the world.

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Food Day is a national celebration of restaurateurs, suppliers, growers, farmers and citizens joining together to show the world the depth and breadth of Canada as a culinary nation.

Over 120 of the top Canadian restaurants are on board, with many more to come.  Restaurants participating in Manitoba include: Fusion Grill in Winnipeg, Manitoba (a Keystone Processors customer); Chris’s Café in Rivers, Manitoba and Churchill Wild in Churchill, Manitoba.

July 31st marks the 8th annual coast-to-coast-to-coast event, heralding our regional diversity, culinary creativity and world-renowned reputation for throwing an amazing party! This year we encourage you to make Keystone Processors a part of your Food Day Canada celebration. What better occasion to experience Manitoba’s premium, locally raised beef for the first time then on a day designated to celebrate local beef producers.

Food Day was originally introduced in 2003 as The World’s Longest BBQ and was launched in order to help Canadian Beef farmers deal with the wave of difficulties brought on by US and world beef bans. The BBQ was a huge success and has evolved into Food Day, an annual mid-summer celebration when we share Canada’s rich culinary heritage, our delicious northern bounty and the best managed food system on the planet.

Click here to learn more about Food Day

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According to an article on blc.cattle.ca, now that the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) is a reality, U.S. retailers are leveraging the label requirements to build unique and differentiated store brands using Canadian beef.

Retailers are recognizing that developing private label and branded beef is important and that Canadian beef can deliver on consistency and quality.

The article states, in a study of U.S. consumers in the fall of 2009, over 76 per cent agreed that Canadian beef is a premium product.  As well, 59 per cent agreed with the statement that Canadian beef came from wholesome, natural environment. This preference demonstrates that Canadian beef meets the demands of the U.S. market and enjoys a favourable reputation with American consumers.

Ultimately, we’re against COOL and we would like the U.S. government to rethink this system because we believe it’s an unfair trade practice and is contrary to free trade.  However, the silver lining is that BIC is opening the door to more possibilities for Canadian beef producers, like Keystone, to expand their markets eventually.  U.S. retailers are promoting Canadian beef as a premium, high-quality beef and we whole-heartedly agree. We need to start marketing Manitoba beef worldwide to build on this existing reputation. That’s why we’re creating one of the most advanced beef plants in North America, so we can broaden our horizons and bring new branded beef products to more premium, niche markets.

Let us know what you think.

Click here to read the full article

Buy Local, Government policy, Manitoba cattle, Natural beef, News Release

The Canadian Beef Export Federation has estimated that the Colombian market for Canadian beef exports is small, worth about $6 million.

Improving access to international markets is extremely important for adding value to Canadian cattle. We’re hopeful it’s a sign that Keystone Processors and Manitoba cattle producers will be able to expand our market and deliver premium, nutritious beef to more tables. Read more…

Community, Environment, Export markets, Manitoba cattle Canadian Beef Export Federation, Columbia, Manitoba Cooperator, Natural Prairie Beef