The cattle industry in Saskatchewan battled its share of major issues in 2017 from wildfires to the TB investigation and water quality issues.

Shane Jhanke is President of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association and says they also saw some highlights with the strength in the cattle markets and the generosity of people who donated to their Wildfire Relief Fund.

Jhanke says another program they continue to work on with producers is their Beef Drive.

"This campaign was started mostly by our past president Doug Gillespie and our General Manager Chad McPherson," he said. "We will donate some cull cows into four packing plants throughout Saskatchewan, that will be accepting them, those animals will get ground up for ground beef and will go directly to the food bank."
1 in 5 Saskatchewan families has to skip meals just to try and make ends meet.

"That been a huge thing, and there is nothing for families in need to get some good protein on their plate during the Christmas Season," Jhanke said. "If you are interested in donating an animal, please either contact me or the Stock Growers office and will gladly point you in the right direction to whose ability to work with us."

He notes they set a goal of 10,000 pounds adding it’s a huge thing to see families in need get more protein in their diet especially at Christmas.