Helping B.C. ranchers access local consumers

Jun 15, 2020

The provincial government has extended Class D licences to three additional communities

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

British Columbia’s provincial government is taking steps to help provide more communities with locally produced meat.

On June 11, the government announced it is extending Class D licences to three more regions in the province: the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, Electoral Area D of the Regional District of Central Kootenay and Electoral Area H of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.

“This change will help livestock and poultry producers in the new designated areas expand their sales in stores and restaurants in their communities, supporting a more sustainable regional food system and putting more great-tasting B.C. beef, pork and poultry on plates, grills and menus in those areas,” Lana Popham, B.C’s minister of agriculture, said in a statement.

Class D licences allow holders to process up to 25,000 pounds (11,250 kilograms) of meat (their own or someone else’s) per year, for direct sales to consumers, restaurants and other establishments in the region where the animal was processed.

As of June 2018, 21 British Columbians held Class D licences, a provincial report said.

Producers in the affected communities are pleased to see the government provide more business opportunities.

“This is another step in the right direction for local farmers,” Collin Van Horne, a beef producer with Nighthawk Ridge Farms in Port Alberni, said in the statement. “It gives us added flexibility in providing high-quality, locally produced food.”

Farms.com has reached out to the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association and the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board for comment.

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