Changes to beef check-off go into effect next week

Jul 21, 2025
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content, Farms.com

The changes apply to producers in B.C, Alberta, and Saskatchewan

Beginning Aug. 1, 2025, beef producers in three Western Canadian provinces will experience changes in their beef check-off collection rules.

As of the beginning of August, check-off levies in B.C., Alberta, and Saskatchewan will be collected based on the seller’s home province and not where a sale takes place.

So, a farmer in B.C. who makes a sale in Ontario, for example, would only pay B.C.’s $5.00 checkoff instead of Ontario’s $5.50.

This change applies to all interprovincial sales, including auction markets, dealers, and direct farm-gate sales.

This helps ensure the benefits of the sale support programs in the selling farmer’s province.

“This is about fairness and alignment,” Trevor Welch, chair of the Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency, said in a statement. “Producers, provincial cattle associations and other stakeholders have been asking for a more consistent system that reflects their home province’s priorities, especially as interprovincial marketing and transport becomes more common. This change delivers on that.”

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