The Canadian Agriculture Partnership Agri-Assurance program has allocated $602,250 to the Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) program.
The funding will support several VBP+ activities, including:
- Modifying the training platform to meet educational demands by producers.
- Increasing the database capacity and functionality by automating processes where practical and ensuring growing demand is met while adding value and minimizing the cost of the verification process for producers.
- Advancing assessments of equivalency with existing industry programs to provide more value to producers who move through the verification process.
- Developing a system to determine the effect of training on changes in sustainable production practices.
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“By advancing the development of our training resources for cattle producers, enhancing our database capabilities and establishing equivalency with similar quality assurance programs and training platforms, Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) services will be cost-efficient while delivering the greatest value to all Canadian beef producers,” said Cecilie Fleming, chair of the VBP+ management committee and a cattle producer near Granum, Alta.
The funding is part of a recent announcement by Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal ag minister, of an $8.3 million investment for six projects in Canada’s beef value chain. Of that, a total of $1.7 million is directed to two of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s operating divisions: $602,250 in funding for VBP+ and $1.1 million for the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.
