Comment: Grading changes still on hold

Comment: Grading changes still on hold

On January 21 the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) published its proposed Safe Food for Canadians regulations for public comment. The overall aim is to streamline and tighten up on the regulation of Canada’s food supply. CFIA’s current food safety program is managed under 13 different regulations spread over five pieces of legislation covering nine […] Read more

Identification: Full traceability… we have a plan for that!

Identification: Full traceability… we have a plan for that!

News Roundup from the February 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Full traceability for cattle is once again set to move full-steam ahead as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) renews its push to develop regulations that require mandatory premises identification and animal movement reporting. These two components, together with mandatory animal identification, in place for cattle since July 1, 2001, constitute an internationally recognized traceability […] Read more


Comment: Let us slash some red tape

With Donald Trump pledging to take a knife to government regulations to stoke the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans, Canadians can only hope some of this zeal rubs off on Canadian bureaucrats. Of course, this is a faint hope. Canadian cattlemen, for example, are already preparing to adjust their own business plans to account for more […] Read more

CFIA wants producer feedback

CFIA wants producer feedback

Policy: News Roundup from the January 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

If you want a say in how the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is modernizing its regulations, here’s your chance. The 75-day comment period on the Health of Animals Regulations covering humane transport ends February 15. The discussion paper and online survey on proposals for “a new approach for truthful and not-misleading food labelling” is open […] Read more


Veronica McGuire, executive director of the CFIA’s regulatory and trade policy program.

Mandatory premise ID on CFIA agenda

It is one of the provisions included in planned amendments and regulations

Over the next couple of years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is moving to improve the effectiveness of Canada’s Livestock Traceability System by nailing down where all classes of livestock are produced, what type of animals they are and where they move. In regulations now being developed, both premise identification and animal movement are […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Six quarantines lifted in bovine TB probe

Six premises deemed to be “low-risk” have been released from federal quarantine as officials continue their hunt for Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle exposed to bovine tuberculosis. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday reported it had lifted movement controls on six premises where “appropriate testing” has been completed on cattle so far in the agency’s […] Read more


Quarantined ranches don’t have the facilities to feed the hundreds of calves they expected to sell in the fall, so Alberta Beef Producers is trying to get permission to use — and then find — feedlots willing to take them.

Compensation promised for ranches under TB quarantine

Ottawa promises financial help while Alberta Beef Producers trying to arrange for feedlots to take in calves

Beleaguered ranchers with quarantined herds are getting some relief as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has approved a beef industry plan to allow calves to be sent to feedlots. “We’re working with the CFIA on the conditions and requirements,” said Rich Smith, executive director of Alberta Beef Producers. “Obviously, it would be hard to get […] Read more



New general manager takes the helm of Manitoba Beef Producers

Newsmakers from the May 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Brian Lemon is the new general manager of the Manitoba Beef Producers, replacing Melinda German who was appointed as the first general manager of the National Checkoff Agency in March. Lemon comes to the MBP after a long career with the federal government, serving in senior positions based in Winnipeg with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, […] Read more

Rustlers take more than your cattle

Rustlers take more than your cattle

Be sure you can identify your animals

Nearly six years after 10 bred heifers were stolen from them, Glenn and Christine Strube still feel the lingering stress of the long, drawn-out court process that ended with a guilty verdict. Most disturbing is knowing that the crime wasn’t committed by a fly-by-night thief, but by a neighbour who blatantly lied about it. Little […] Read more