Verified Beef Production: Owning Up to your Food Product Quality

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Saskatchewan beef producers are looking at a new way to ensure quality in their product.

Verified Beef Production (VBP) is about taking charge and certifying the quality of the food that producers raise in their agricultural operation, explains Bob Klemmer, a Livestock Development Specialist at Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food.

“It is about producing beef for consumers,” Klemmer says. “Food safety has featured high on the list of consumer concerns in North America for some time. It is increasingly recognized that consumers vote with their pocket books when it comes to food safety issues, whether it is food-born disease or chemical residues that are of concern.

“No-one can afford to lose market share for their product. If we want to maintain and expand it, we have to adopt practices that are used in other sectors of the industry. We should view the VBP process as a trump card in beef markets, because of the differentiation it implies from other run-of-the-mill beef animals out there.”

Klemmer believes that we are on the verge of a new era, one where food suppliers at every level of the food supply chain are working towards the development of quality and food safety assurance programs.

“We certainly hope that more and more beef producers will embrace this vision of what the beef industry can become. If we do this, our beef will likely be seen as the meat of choice by discerning consumers in the future. This process is are already well under way,” Klemmer points out.

Canada’s cattle industry is at the forefront of consumer quality and safety assurance in the development of VBP. Cattle producers who enroll in the VBP program increasingly see themselves as the first line of defense in ensuring the safety of Canada’s supply of beef products.

“They know that assurance of food safety starts at home on the ranch,” Klemmer says. “Back in 1994, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association initiated the Canadian Cattlemen’s Quality Starts Here (QSH) program to promote good production practices on the farm in order to improve food safety and beef

quality. Ten years later, in November 2004, the National Verified Beef Production program received its first review required to be federally recognized by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.”

Vibank beef producer Dave Long is the Provincial Coordinator for the VBP program.

“This program is nothing short of a very effective marketing tool for beef producers,” Long says. “Currently, we have 360 cattle producers in the province who are keeping records to minimum standards for on-farm food safety. We have audited 15 producers and 10 are registered.”

These are operations of all sizes: one is the largest feedlot in Saskatchewan; another is a cattle producer who runs 20 cows. Size does not matter.

For the consumer, the VBP program helps to ensure beef quality and safety at the primary production level. It benefits all players in the beef supply chain.

“For the beef producer, the VBP program assists in improving production efficiency through the use of good production practices,” Long says. “It provides protection through the use of comprehensive documentation of treatments and medications. It provides CFIA approved certification recognition, which will open doors to new and more financially stable markets for their beef products.”

Processors and retailers are looking for ways to ensure the quality and safety of the products they sell. Long and other producers feel if they can be assured of the production practices employed by VBP cattle producers, they can feel more confident in the products they raise.

Beef producers wishing to enroll in the VBP program can contact Dave Long, Provincial Coordinator of the Quality Starts Here Verified Beef Production program. Producers can attend a workshop, develop a personalized on-farm program - with the help of Long and his staff – and, once complete, apply to become a registered VBP beef operation.

Keep in mind that this is a voluntary, beef industry developed and led program, dedicated to protecting the safety of the beef supply and the interests of everyone in the beef supply chain.

Visit www.qualitystartshere.sk.ca for more information.

For more information, contact:

Bob Klemmer
Livestock Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 848-2380

Dave Long
Provincial Coordinator
Verified Beef Production (VBP) Program
(306) 762-2033
dlong@qualitystartshere.sk.ca