Small producers in B.C. will soon have access to the Livestock Tag Reader Rebate Program, in order to help trace the movement of livestock through the whole food chain. New Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) livestock traceability requirements will include mandatory animal identification and traceability of livestock, and asking producers to identify the premises on which livestock is loaded and unloaded from vehicles, including the types of agriculture on the premises, animal species kept at the location and contact information.
The CFIA says mandatory traceability will help protect producers financially when responding to disease outbreaks among livestock, and help manage food safety across the country.
The federal government has partnered with the Government of British Columbia to fund the program, which covers up to 70 per cent of the costs of eligible equipment (up to $3,500), which includes verified readers for radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and the installation of related software and training for hand-held or panel readers. This new program was put in place to help producers whose businesses earned less than $30,000 in farm receipts in each of the previous two years, to help them keep up with the new CFIA requirements and ultimately keep them in business.
To qualify, applicants must be registered B.C. livestock producers in the B.C. Premises Identification Program. Applications are due by February 2018. Application forms are available on the B.C. government website.
- Courtney Dickson