By Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter) with files from the Beef Cattle Reserch Council

Pilot Project to substantiate why it pays for Canadian Beef to be sustainable

Jan 18, 2018 | 3:23 PM

CALGARY – A one-year, Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration pilot project was recently launched by beef industry groups. It`s purpose is to create a certified sustainable beef supply chain, in which financial credits flow back to cow-calf and feedlot operations.
 
If successful, the pilot would help Canada become the first country to build a supply chain like this, making Canadian beef the sustainable choice in the global marketplace.
 
The goal of the pilot is to be able to track cattle and beef all the way through the beef production and supply chain, so that we can properly attribute whether or not an animal was raised and processed through certified, sustainable operations.

Virgil Lowe, national business manager of Verified Beef Production Plus, says the pilot program is an initiative lead by Cargill, Verified Beef Production plus and the Beef Information exchange system

Lowe outlines how the pilot project works

“Three end-user organizations, McDonalds, Loblaws and Cara foods, through its Original Joe`s and Swiss Chalet brands, have agreed to provide financial incentives for the pounds of beef that make it through the certified sustainable supply chain.“

Lowe says that for producers to qualify for the pilot, they have to be verified beef production-plus registered, and then have completed the on-farm audit, and be in compliance with their annual audit requirements. 

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“They also have to be a member of the beef information exchange system (a member of BIC), and they have to upload their cattle to the CCIA database, which for cow-calf operations, it means age verification, or for anyone else down the chain, it means `move them in`, and they need to complete all three of those steps, and then have their cattle go through operations that also meet those steps, in order for the cattle to qualify.

Stress is being put on participation for both individual producers and the Canadian beef industry as a whole.

The pilot is a really exciting further step in our certified sustainable beef production journey.  We finally have commitment and financial incentive from end users – beef sellers – to provide product that meets these demands, so the ball`s really in our court as beef producers to build this supply chain.  It`s really important that verified beef production, plus cow-calf operations, and verified beef production plus feed lots work together, to ensure animals remain in the verified supply chain, and we encourage those producers to look at the VBP plus website to find other registered producers.“

Cattle producers can find a list of VBP plus certified operations to purchase cattle from at www.verifiedbeefproductionplus.ca  

For more information on the pilot and how to get financial credits for being VBP plus certified, go to cbsapilot.ca or contact Lowe directly at lowev@cattle.ca