What happens at the end of the five-year certification cycle? What can I do, as a producer, to ensure my certification (s) remains active while we work through the logistics of re-certification? These are questions we get often, so we will walk you through the process.

When your operation has completed the initial on-farm assessment and your certifications (VBP+ and CRSB) become active, the date of that initial on-farm assessment becomes your Anniversary Date. Your certification events, records assessments and self-declarations, next on-farm assessment and notifications around these events are based on that Anniversary Date. That Anniversary Date is also an important guideline to maintaining an active certification. Your certification is active from the one Anniversary Date to twelve months after, or the Anniversary date of the following year.

VBP+ Delivery Services Inc. (VBP+ Inc.) sends notifications of the annual re-certification events (records assessments, self-declarations and the next on-farm assessment starting three months prior to the Anniversary Date. This is done to ensure that you, the producer has everything they need to complete the requirements prior to or by the Anniversary date, maintaining your active certification. When you have completed the requirements and receive your active certificate, you will also be informed of what your next event will be and what your Anniversary Date is. For example, when you complete the Year 5 Self-Declaration, you will receive your active certificate and your assessment report. The report will include a summary of the assessment, any corrective actions assessed, what your next assessment event will be and when it is due.

When you receive that Year 5 assessment report and active certificate, there are a few things you can be thinking about prior to your next on-farm assessment.

• Are you going to renew your certification? There are benefits to maintaining your certification, you can check them out here.
• Is your Anniversary Date working for you and your operation? If your initial on-farm assessment occurred during a time that is inconvenient, we can adjust to a time prior to that Anniversary date (this is important) that is more convenient.
• Does your operation need some pre-certification support? Your provincial coordinator is more than happy to walk through the certification process and requirements with your operation prior to your assessment.
• Coordinating the logistics of the re-certification process, application, payment, assigning an assessor, finding a time that works for both your operation and the assessor can be a time-consuming process. Don’t leave any of these steps to the last minute, communicating with our certification coordinator early, at least three months prior to your Anniversary Date can help ensure the re-certification process is smooth and convenient for your operation and avoid disruption to the active status of your certification.

Renewing your certification doesn’t have to be stressful or inconvenient. VBP+ and VBP+ Inc. can help with any questions you might have or have a look through our resources to see if there are any that might enhance your records or help your operation speak to their practices, processes or values. Check them out at www.verifiedbeef.ca.