Federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has announced almost 200 thousand dollars for the Verified Beef Production Plus program.

The Verified Beef Production program is a voluntary certification program administered by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

The program certifies that beef cattle operations meet high standards of food safety, animal care and environmental stewardship.

The funding will go to a web portal and an app for remote audits, which will make it easier for cattle producers to access the VBP plus program.

The funding brings total federal support to Verified Beef production and the environmental component, the Certified Sustainable Beef Framework, to 1.9 million dollars.

With over 1.6 million cattle already under certified VBP plus operations in Canada, the latest support will help more producers meet market demands for sustainably raised beef.

Beef production contributes about 21.8 billion dollars to Canada’s gross domestic product.

Last year, Canada exported 425 million kilograms of beef to international markets, valued at 3.26 billion dollars.
—-