Verified Beef Production program gains momentum

There’s little doubt that interest in food safety is front and centre in all parts of Canada’s agricultural industry, and that all players are realizing that Canada’s reputation for food safety is a critical part of successful marketing domestically and globally.

In the beef industry one sign of that is a renewed interest in the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program. The program is attracting Canadian producers in significant numbers, driven in part by its third-party verification system which offers a platform for marketing around food safety.

“There is real evidence that the industry is recognizing consumers’ concerns over food safety and is building on its reputation for acting responsibly,” says Terry Grajczyk, VBP program manager. “When VBP was set up the hope was that it would help anchor Canada’s reputation for food safety. Today, that’s coming true. In many cases, all producers are doing is proving what they are already doing, but they are understanding this program is part of the broader goal for the industry.”

There have been several adjustments made to the program in order to better tailor it to the needs of Canadian beef producers, says Grajczyk. Here’s an overview of ongoing developments.

Program simplified
After starting out as a program covering food quality, animal welfare and food safety, the VBP program updated its manual in 2006 to focus exclusively on food safety. In the process, action items in the manual were divided into clearly-highlighted categories of “must do’s” and “recommendations” with extra emphasis placed on clear wording.
“We had a little bit of misinterpretation in the past between those two categories,” says Grajczyk. “We want this to be as user-friendly as possible to encourage participation.”

Validation process streamlined
Participants who want to be officially registered with the VBP program are verified through a third-party, audit-style process. This is another element of the program that has been adjusted to better meet producer and program needs, says Grajczyk.

“Before September 2006, the optional validation assessment was not clear. This is no longer the case,” she says. “Now, after the initial on-farm audit required to become validated in the program, participants declare their conformance by sending in their records or an annual self-declaration. This reduces concerns producers may have over audit costs while still keeping it credible in the international marketplace.” Read more!

Verified Beef Program back on track

The future of the Verified Beef Program was looking quite bleak after federal budget cuts threatened to shut down the three year-old program.

But thanks to the lobbying efforts of provincial coordinators the program is back on track—at least until the end of the year.

“One bright spot in all the difficulties cattle producers are facing right now is that we have an MP here in Manitoba who is willing to go to bat for agriculture,” Green said. “After we provided James Bezan with the information, he took the producers’ concerns forward to the right people.”

In early summer Green was notified that 85% of the Verified Beef Program had been cut. That meant there was virtually nothing left to cover workshop and administration costs.
With the increasing focus on on-farm food safety and quality assurance, the funding cut caught Green and everyone who heard about it by surprise.

“The program was really starting to take off,” she said. “To date we’ve had 1,000 producers enroll in the program so producer uptake wasn’t the problem.”

After a vigorous letter writing campaign Green met with Bezan. Within a week, the program funds were extended until the end of the year. Green says the Agriculture Policy Framework is in a transition year and in the process of putting forward a new generation of programming which will be introduced in 2009.She is confident it will continue next year.

“We will work with the government to ensure that the transition be smooth. “It is one of the requirements of the new Alberta Livestock Strategy, so if we’re going to sell feeders into the Alberta market, we need the program here as well.”

This also means more workshops will be held giving producers the opportunity to qualify for a $750 equipment rebate on equipment purchases.

“Our objective is to ensure food safety starting right at the farm and making these operations safer and more efficient.”

If you’d like to learn more about the program or attend a workshop see the ad in this issue or call Betty at (204) 372-6492 or visit the website at: CLICK HERE
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