Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's nice to see you here from Atlantic Canada. Maybe we can do a little surf and turf after we're done today.
A bit of what I'm going to say was touched on by Rich Smith, so there might be a little repetition and maybe some reinforcement of points made. Thank you for coming to Calgary.
My name is Bryan Walton. I am the general manager of the National Cattle Feeders' Association. Our members are provincial cattle feeders associations across the country, essentially the feedlot operators. I'm joined today by Mr. John Weekes, who is working with the National Cattle Feeders on trade matters and providing us advice on things such as the TPP. Mr. Weekes is a former Canadian ambassador to the WTO and was the chief negotiator on NAFTA. We get good advice from Mr. Weekes.
To reinforce what Mr. Smith has said here, you are in the heart of cattle country. Between Alberta and Saskatchewan, we have about 80% of the beef herd in Canada. In this province of Alberta, we have about 70% of the cattle on feed. The second largest feeding jurisdiction in Canada is Ontario, with 23% of the fed production. The cows from the ranches that Rich represents come to the feedlots from across the country. Those cattle are in turn shipped to the big plants: in Ontario to Guelph, in the West to Cargill Meat Solutions in High River, and JBS in Brooks. We're pleased to see that a fourth plant, a large plant, is expected to reopen at Balzac some time in July. That's called Harmony Beef.
We also ship live cattle to the United States. A significant part of our production does go to the U.S., but nationally the beef industry counts for about $33 billion in sales of goods and services. We have an integrated system that's been built over a generation. We have a natural advantage with grass. Cattle produced on land that might not otherwise be used, and is unsuitable for cropping, is where it starts. We have the climate, we have the grass, we have the infrastructure, we have the know-how, and the genetics. We have the plants, and now we just need those export markets and market access. That's why this agreement is so important to us. We think we have a great opportunity to excel. We are a sustainable industry, and we are renewable. Put all of that together and you can see why the TPP represents such an enormous opportunity for Canada and Asia. Mr. Weekes will explain that in a bit more detail. I can tell you that you should be proud of this industry, as Canadians, because we're world class. We're innovators, and we are employing modern technology in the production of cattle in Canada.
I thank you for your attention. You have a copy of our written brief that was submitted in advance.
John.