Glacier FarmMedia – The Canadian Cattle Association wants producers to share their thoughts regarding the proposed traceability regulations.
“CCA has launched an online traceability feedback survey to ensure that producers have an opportunity to share their feedback,” the organization said on social media.
It includes 15 questions, including the importance of traceability to the Canadian beef industry, level of support for “enhancing” the current traceability system and the regulations’ importance to producers.
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This gathering of information comes nearly one month after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced that it was pausing the publication of proposed amendments to Part XV of the Health of Animals Regulations, which that was intended to occur this spring.
The move followed weeks of outcry from beef producers across Canada.
The proposed regulations are aligned with the Cattle Implementation Plan, which was established by all sectors of industry at the National Cattle Traceability Summit in August 2011 and adopted in 2016. A summary of the plan can be found on the CCIA website.
Many worry that the regulations will unnecessarily burdensome for those who raise, move, feed, and purchase animals.
Across social media platforms and at meetings, producers expressed concern with “government overreach” and said they would not comply with the regulations.
Many producers and provincial organizations also said there had been insufficient communication on the part of industry leaders, the CFIA and the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency.
“The Canadian Cattle Association has, and will continue, to advocate for traceability systems that work for ranchers and feeders and beef farmers,” CCA president Tyler Fulton said in an X video Jan 9.
“Given the Canadian cattle industry’s reliance on export markets, we need to be prepared and have the tools available to manage animal disease events quickly and efficiently.”
Local cattle associations such as Alberta Beef Producers and the Saskatchewan Cattle Association have scheduled producer meetings, with SCA hosting two traceability information meetings in February, weeks after the annual general meeting where traceability and the CFIA were the hottest topics.
“We encourage Saskatchewan producers to take a few minutes to participate and ensure your experience and concerns are reflected in ongoing discussions around traceability,” said SCA on social media.
