The Canadian and Manitoba governments are investing $350,000 over five years in the Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) to deliver the Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) Program, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay, and Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced today.

"Our Government is proud to support the Manitoba Beef Producers in their efforts to meet the highest industry standards and adopt responsible and sustainable practices. This investment will help the beef sector continue to meet consumer demands for high quality food while maintaining trust and confidence in Canada's world-class production standards."
- Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

"More and more companies are making commitments to purchasing beef from sustainable sources. The VBP+ program will ensure that processors and consumers who demand a high quality product can be confident in the product they are purchasing."
- Ralph Eichler, Manitoba Agriculture Minister

"Verified Beef Production Plus is a transparent and comprehensive way to show consumers that our producers care about how we treat the environment, how we treat our livestock and that we take care to produce the highest-quality of beef. Public trust is important to beef producers and we are happy to have both the federal and provincial government as partners as we encourage more of our producers to have their good practices recognized by this program."
- Tom Teichroeb, President of Manitoba Beef Producers

• The VBP+ program includes a full suite of resources and training designed to establish a common platform to help producers meet marketplace and societal expectations.

• The Manitoba Beef Producers will deliver VBP+ workshops to train beef producers about the program, coordinate the required on-farm audits and transition producers from VBP to VBP+.

• The five-year, $3-billion Canadian Agricultural Partnership includes $2 billion for cost-shared strategic initiatives delivered by the provinces and territories and $1 billion for federal programs and services.

Associated links

• Canadian Agricultural Partnership
• Government of Manitoba Agriculture
• Keystone Agricultural Producers
• Verified Beef Production Plus

Katie Hawkins
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay
613-773-1059
katie.hawkins@canada.ca

Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
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John Neufeld
Public Affairs Specialist
Communications Services Manitoba
204-945-3812
John.neufeld@gov.mb.ca