National Traceability and Assurance Programs Being Developed and Implemented for Dairy Sector

News Release

March 21, 2014 – Cardinal, Ontario – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Pierre Lemieux, Parliamentary Secretary to Canada’s Minister of Agriculture, and Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds—Grenville, today announced support of close to $945,000 under the AgriMarketing Program for the dairy sector to develop and implement a national traceability program and implement an assurance program for dairy production.

Dairy Farmers of Canada will receive $416,000 to design and implement a national traceability program for dairy cattle, update standards for milk producers to meet traceability requirements, as well as train and assist provincial associations with program implementation at the producer level.

In addition, $529,000 will be used to implement the proAction Initiative, a national assurance program for dairy production that demonstrates the dairy industry’s continued commitment to customers to provide high-quality, safe Canadian milk and dairy products that are produced responsibly. This includes on-farm pilot testing of assessment tools and producer training.

Quick facts

Dairy Farmers of Canada is the national policy and promotional organization representing Canada’s 12,529 dairy farms.
The dairy sector employs approximately 218,000 people.
In 2011, the dairy sector in Canada generated sales of $13 billion.
Traceability systems are a key element in helping to protect the health of animals and the public and support food safety.
The six programs under the proAction Initiative include milk quality, food safety, livestock traceability, animal care, biosecurity and environment.
This investment is made through the Assurance Systems stream of AAFC’s AgriMarketing Program, a five-year, up to $341-million initiative under Growing Forward 2.

Quotes

"Canadian dairy farmers have a reputation for producing high-quality and world-class products. But we can raise that bar even higher. This investment will help the dairy sector demonstrate their commitment to high standards in animal health and food safety, leading to cutting-edge national traceability and assurance programs."
- Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Lemieux

"Dairy farmers in Canada already invest in various products and services to improve the quality of milk and care for their animals. As we proceed with the proAction Initiative over the next 10 years, we want to demonstrate to our customers our responsible stewardship to our animals and to the environment, as well as our commitment to produce sustainable, high-quality, safe and nutritious food. We are very grateful for this investment and recognition of our initiative by the federal government."
- David Wiens, Vice-President Dairy Farmers of Canada

Associated links

Growing Forward 2 (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)
AgriMarketing Program(Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)
Dairy Farmers of Canada
Brochure on proAction

To see traceability in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMttP5Hu4mk.
Video produced and provided by Dairy Farmers of Canada at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair 2012.

Contacts

Emily Hogeveen
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz
613-773-1059

Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972
Follow us on Twitter: @AAFC_Canada

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National Traceability and Assurance Programs Being Developed and Implemented for Dairy Sector

News Release

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