Beef producers are putting some extra money in their pockets with a new pilot project.
The one-year Canadian Beef Sustainable Acceleration Pilot Project is under way, aimed at creating a certified sustainable beef supply chain.
The Verified Beef Production Plus program is working with Cargill and the Beef InfoXchange System to deliver the pilot where direct financial credits flow back to cow-calf and feedlot operations on a per head basis for their qualifying cattle.
National Business Manager of Verified Beef Production Plus, Virgil Lowe, said in the first quarter from October 2017 to the end of December, producers enrolled saw a return of $10 per qualified head, with an even more impressive second quarter.
"From January to March 2018, the pilot paid a financial credit of $20.11 per head for qualifying cattle. Those per head payments went back to 111 producers and we were able to track about another 600,000 pounds of fully certified sustainable beef product."
Virgil said, in the first half of the pilot project they've tracked over one million pounds of certified sustainable beef.
Cargill is crunching the numbers and expects the financial credit will fluctuate based on the number of participating producers, volume of qualifying beef, cattle weights and demand.
Source : Steinbachonline