OTTAWA, Ontario – The Canadian government’s Economic Action Plan is investing more than $8 million (US$8.2 million) in its beef industry. This announcement was made on March 10 at the Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA) Annual General Meeting.

The investment intends to support three CCA-led projects:

  • $5.3 million (US$5.4 million) through the Agricultural Flexibility fund to help farms, feedlots and packing plants update their information technology (IT) systems to make sure they remain compatible with the Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS). This beef information exchange system allows a seamless transfer of animal and carcass data from producer to processor. Leading to improved management decisions, the project will improve production efficiencies, reduce costs and the overall competitiveness of the Canadian cattle industry, according to Canadian government officials.
  • $2.5 million (US$2.6 million) for Phase II of the Beef Cluster to build on the research, which at present is being conducted by a team of industry, academic and government experts. Research will focus on increasing competitiveness and profitability of beef producers by reducing production costs, increasing feed efficiency and decreasing the impact of animal-health issues.
  • $364,000 (US$373,000) to enhance the CCA's "Quality Starts Here – Verified Beef Production" (QSH-VBP) on-farm food-safety systems, to further ensure food safety, increase value for producers and continually improve the uptake of On-Farm Food Safety systems.

Canada’s beef industry contributes approximately $25 billion (US$25.6 billion) per year to the country’s economy and is Canada’s largest source of farm cash receipts. Canada is the third-largest cattle and beef exporter in the world.