Harper Government invests $289k to Enhance On-Farm Food Safety<

Aug 13, 2012

Canadian Government Gives Financial Boost to Goat and Sheep Producers

The Harper Government made an important announcement August 13 2012 for Canadian sheep and goat producers to improve food safety practices on-farm. The government will be investing a total of $289,000 into the sheep and goat industry to assist producers in mitigating food-borne illness.

The announcement was made on a farm in Listowel, Ontario hosted by sheep producer Brent Royce who is also the President of the Perth County Federation of Agriculture. The Royce’s hosted Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Lemieux who made the announcement on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and other dignitaries including Gary Schellenberger MP for Perth-Wellington who were also present.

"Our Government is committed to food safety and to creating a strong agriculture industry for the future," said Mr. Lemieux.

The funding will be shared two ways with the Canadian National Goat Federation receiving $202,505 and the Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) receiving $86,530. Both commodity organizations are in different stages with their on-farm food safety programs. The CNGF will use the funds to complete the development of their program while developing new training manuals for goat producers on the most up-to-date food safety production practices. The CSF will also update their food safety system for sheep by making sure the industry remains competitive with the latest information and technology.

"This investment will help strengthen on-farm food safety systems and give sheep and goat farmers the tools they need to continue to produce safe, high-quality food for Canadians,” said Lemieux.

As a part of the funding, both organizations will go through a review process of their food safety systems conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s On-Farm Safety Recognition Program. The federal government has done a good job equipping industry leaders with the resources they need to identify potential risks before agricultural products leave the farm-gate, while giving a boost to farmer’s profits.

The government should be commended on their efforts to help Canadian farmers, in this case goat and sheep producers, reassuring consumers that the food they enjoy is safe and has met some of the highest standards in the world.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.