Canadian Government Gives Financial Boost to Goat and Sheep Producers
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
The Harper Government made an important announcement August 13 2012 for Canadian sheep and goat producers to improve food safety practices on-farm. The government will be investing a total of $289,000 into the sheep and goat industry to assist producers in mitigating food-borne illness.
The announcement was made on a farm in Listowel, Ontario hosted by sheep producer Brent Royce who is also the President of the Perth County Federation of Agriculture. The Royce’s hosted Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Lemieux who made the announcement on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and other dignitaries including Gary Schellenberger MP for Perth-Wellington who were also present.
"Our Government is committed to food safety and to creating a strong agriculture industry for the future," said Mr. Lemieux.
The funding will be shared two ways with the Canadian National Goat Federation receiving $202,505 and the Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) receiving $86,530. Both commodity organizations are in different stages with their on-farm food safety programs. The CNGF will use the funds to complete the development of their program while developing new training manuals for goat producers on the most up-to-date food safety production practices. The CSF will also update their food safety system for sheep by making sure the industry remains competitive with the latest information and technology.
"This investment will help strengthen on-farm food safety systems and give sheep and goat farmers the tools they need to continue to produce safe, high-quality food for Canadians,” said Lemieux.
As a part of the funding, both organizations will go through a review process of their food safety systems conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s On-Farm Safety Recognition Program. The federal government has done a good job equipping industry leaders with the resources they need to identify potential risks before agricultural products leave the farm-gate, while giving a boost to farmer’s profits.
The government should be commended on their efforts to help Canadian farmers, in this case goat and sheep producers, reassuring consumers that the food they enjoy is safe and has met some of the highest standards in the world.