BC Cattle Programme Tracking Success
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA - B.C.’s cattlemen have ensured the highest participation rate in Canada for an innovative programme that is assisting in re-entering and expanding export markets for B.C. beef, Minister of Agriculture and Lands Stan Hagen announced.According to KeremeosReview, after the 2003 BSE crisis, age-verifying of Canadian calves is vital to restoring and retaining beef exports.
The news organisation says that by 2010, age verification will also be increasingly important to market cattle in Alberta. While stakeholders looked for ways to increase participation, the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association was developing an incentive programme to boost participation. The incentive of $12 per calf has brought on a steep increase in participation, boosting it to 47 per cent.
“The B.C. Cattlemen’s Association (BCCA) has done a remarkable job since the Province first invested in the age-verification of cattle program last May,” Hagen told KeremeosReview. “This success is due to their strong organization that represents the interests of the cow/calf sector, and I want to thank the executive and staff for their hard work in devising and delivering the incentive program.”
“It’s been good to have the provincial government’s support on this project,” said Roland Baumann, president of the BCCA. “We’ve always been the voice for ranchers in this province and it’s great when we can make that voice heard and see this kind of success.”
TheCattleSite News Desk