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    Attend the Free VBP+ Webinar: Getting Ready for Your On-Farm Assessment
    VBP+ pre-certification webinar: Getting Ready for Your On-Farm Assessment

    Whether you’re pursuing your first VBP+ or CRSB certification or preparing for renewal, this webinar is for you! 

    Registration is now open for the Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) “Getting Ready for Your On-Farm Assessment” webinar. After participating in this webinar, the on-farm assessment will be more efficient, taking less time and with greater ease as you will be well-prepared for assessment questions.   

    This webinar will dig into the assessment process and the records required for assessment. With the understanding that every operation is different and utilizes unique systems and processes, this webinar provides the opportunity to address specific questions related to your operation.  

    What You Can Expect from This Webinar

    This webinar is being offered on two separate nights to accommodate producers across Canada in differing time zones. The webinar presentation will be the same on each night.  

    Choose the session that works best for you! 

    Eastern Time Zone: 

    Monday, December 1, 7:00 pm Eastern Time  

    4:00 pm BC | 5:00 pm AB | 6:00 pm SK & MB

    7:00 pm ON & QC | 8:00 pm NS, NB & PEI 

    Register for Dec. 1

    Western Time Zone: 

     Tuesday, December 2, 7:00 pm Mountain Time 

    6:00 pm BC | 7:00 pm AB | 8:00 pm SK & MB

    9:00 pm ON & QC | 10:00 pm NS, NB & PEI 

    Register for Dec. 2
    Pre-Certification Tips to Help You Prepare

    Producers who participate in a pre-certification consultation prior to the VBP+ on-farm assessment are consistently better prepared. The purpose of this webinar is to provide this pre-consultation in an easy-to-access format with flexibility to meet your schedule.  

    Live Questions & Answers with VBP+ Staff

    This webinar will provide a live Q&A session, providing you with the opportunity to ask questions specific to your own operation and with specific reference to any area of the on-farm assessment you may be unsure about. This webinar is ideal for producers who are considering certification or have submitted their application and are awaiting assessment! 

    Can’t make the live session? No problem—all registrants will receive the recording. 

    Click to Register for Dec. 1
    Click to Register for Dec. 2
    Managing Hunting Season Risks on Beef Cattle Operations

    Canada ushers in the fall season with beautiful colors, cooling weather, reduced daylight hours, migrating birds, mating ungulates like deer and elk, and scavenging bears. Depending on conditions in your region, cattle are often still out on pasture, on hay fields, swath or bale grazing or utilizing cereal crop residues.

    Fall also coincides with hunting season. Producers can maintain the balance of biodiversity and wildlife conflict through managed and controlled hunting access. While managing access to your property by hunters, it is important to ensure these hunters are respectful of the presence of cattle on your operation to reduce the risk of unintended foreign materials in beef carcasses.

    The potential of birdshot and buckshot in beef carcasses is an ongoing concern. As a landowner and/or manager of cattle, it is important that prevention and risk reduction remain a priority.

    How to protect cattle and consumer trust by mitigating the risk of birdshot and buckshot in beef carcasses:
    • Post “No Hunting” or “No Trespassing” signs on your property so only hunters with permission, and who have been informed of where cattle are located, hunt on your property.
    • Inform hunters of your operation’s commitment to reducing the risk of foreign material contamination in carcasses and confirm their commitment to responsible hunting practices.
    • Ensure that pastures and fields where cattle are grazing or feeding have good fencing to prevent cattle from straying into property where hunters are not aware of their presence.
    Livestock on pasture, No hunting without permission, no trespassing VBP+ sign
    Need signage for hunting season? VBP + has you covered! Note: Shipping is temporarily paused due to the postal strike, but will resume once the strike is resolved.
    How to reduce risk when using firearms:
    • Consider zone of fire when using firearms to deter predators (e.g., coyotes, birds) near herds, feedlots or silage pits.
    • Don’t use shotguns for loud sounds to help move difficult cattle from bush areas.
    • Support training for new firearm users on the operation.
    • Treat every shot as having the potential to travel and spread.
    • Consider zone of fire and the right tool for the right job when performing necessary euthanasia.
    Stop. No hunting without permission. Be aware hunt with care. VBP+ sign

    Birdshot and buckshot contamination of beef carcasses can be a problem caused by irresponsible hunting or handling practices, so it is worth the effort to prevent these production-limiting, costly physical hazards that threaten consumer trust.

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    Getting Ready for Branding
    beef producer filling syringe
    Having one person responsible for managing vaccines (mixing, filling syringes, monitoring temperatures in coolers) or other medications can increase efficiency and ensure good management practices to prevent cross contamination of vaccines and recommended needle changes in the branding pen. Photo credit: VBP+

    The days are getting longer, the seasons are shifting, spring is on the way! On your beef cattle operation, the task of the season is changing too. Transitioning from calving season through seedstock sale season, spring means branding season is just around the corner.

    The branding pen can be chaotic, with lots happening at once. A little preparation ahead of time can go a long way. The first step is determining what your spring processing protocol for young calves will be. If you have already had a discussion with your veterinarian about your annual herd health protocols, such as spring calf processing, you will likely have many of these answers. Not all operations are alike but here are some protocols to discuss with your veterinarian; vaccine protocol, pain mitigation protocols and implant protocols (if it applies to your operation). VBP+ has a herd health protocol template you can take to your veterinarian if one is not provided. You can find it here.

    Once you have your product requirements, you can plan for the equipment needed  such as syringes, needles, sharps containers and animal markers to name a few Is the equipment you need clean and in good working order? Are your multi-dose syringes calibrated? Now is a good time to check. A malfunctioning syringe that dispenses either too much product can cost you money and run you short of vaccine. It’s a good practice to give your syringes a spring cleaning using only hot water. Never use any detergent/soap to clean syringes, as any residue can affect your vaccine. Also remember never to use a syringe that was used for antibiotics as your vaccine gun – when possible, label and use designated syringes for vaccines.

    Planning for your people resources is important too. Depending on what your spring processing/branding protocol is, there will likely be multiple people descending on each calf either on the ground or in the table, many of them friends or family that help out once a year. Are they aware of any biosecurity concerns or protocols on your operation? Do they need a refresher on how to give sub-cutaneous and intramuscular injections properly and safely? A reminder on how to move around the pen to keep themselves, others and animals safe? Who do they go to if they have questions or if something goes wrong?

    Create open communication with your volunteer crew about possible deviations that could occur during branding (ex. animal moved and missed giving the full injection, calf was let go before injection was given). The last thing you want is someone to make a mistake (for example, breaking a needle in an animal or double vaccinating) and you don’t know about it. A quick meeting or training session before the big event can help you to make sure everyone involved knows your operation’s on-farm food safety, biosecurity or animal care objectives and values.

    Keep your individual and group treatment records handy to include any treatments and vaccinations done on branding day. It’s also a good idea to keep extra RFID tags around in case you find a calf that has lost one.

    Sometimes, calves can have adverse reactions to vaccines. Keep yourself prepared with epinephrine on hand. You can also prepare yourself for other accidents or emergencies by keeping a first aid kit handy and having a plan to extinguish a fire around the branding pot.

    Brandings are a good way to get many spring tasks knocked off the list prior to pasture turnouts and indulge in a little social connection with family and friends. Plan for a successful and safe branding day. You, your operation and your livestock will be the better for it.

    Explaining the fuss about the Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration Pilot

    The Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration Pilot (CBSA) hopes to achieve in one year what many in the industry have been trying to accomplish for years – deliver a certified sustainable supply chain to foodservice and retail customers.

    Led by Cargill, Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) and the Beef InfoXchange System, the CBSA aims to sate demand from foodservice and retail companies for gate to plate tracking that verifies the production practices used in raising an animal as sustainable. What’s more, foodservice companies and retailers are helping facilitate the development of a sustainable supply chain in Canada through providing financial incentives for qualifying cattle.

    VBP+ plays an important role in the development of a sustainable supply chain. Eligibility for the CBSA requires that all the places an animal stays throughout their lifetime are VBP+ Registered and that they be processed in an audited packing plant (currently Cargill High River). VBP+, a training and on-farm verification program for Canadian beef producers developed and managed by the CCA, is delivered through various provincial beef organizations across the country.

    McDonalds, Loblaws, Swiss Chalet, and Original Joe’s are among the foodservice and retailers that have come forward to provide financial incentives for qualifying cattle. This is significant in terms of timing because they are providing financial incentive before they can make claims back to their customers. In other words, McDonalds, Loblaws, Swiss Chalet, and Original Joe’s are so committed to supporting certified sustainable beef (a program that meets commercial Canadian beef industry standards, unlike most other “certified” programs) they are willing to support the development of supply chains to provide it before they can reap the benefits in their stores. Now it is up to us, as producers, to build those supply chains.

    Our role in CBSA as beef producers is simple. Complete the VBP+ verification process (including the audit) to become Registered and then try to ensure you sell your calves (or buy calves if you are a backgrounder or feedlot operator) to other VBP+ Registered producers. To get Registered and have your cattle qualify simply:

    1. Be or become a VBP+ Registered Producer;
    2. Be or become a BIXS member;
    3. Age verify or move your cattle to the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) database (either directly or through BIXS).

    If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out directly to me or contact your local VBP+ Provincial Coordinator. Stay tuned for updates.(Reprinted with permission from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association)

    Verification Built By Producers, For Producers with the End User in Mind

    My name is Cecilie Fleming and I am a seedstock and cow calf producer from west of Granum, in southwest Alberta. Our operation is a longtime established farmstead surrounded by ranching and feedlot production. Our place consists of farmland, riparian areas, and tame and native grassland ecosystems supporting native species. Is everything perfect on our place? – No. But being a part of Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) as Registered Producers has helped us look inward at our operation to see how we can improve and minimize risk.

    I sit as the National Chair of the VBP+ Management Committee, the roll of which is to set policies ensuring the VBP+ program is meaningful and usable for beef producers and delivers value. The management committee consists of national producer representation by Province or Region. VBP+ is something that beef producers in Canada can be proud of as an excellent and affordable tool to help them tell their story of beef sustainability to the world.

    We are a business based on science, selling to consumers, who often choose based on emotion, through marketers who interpret what consumers need. This relationship is why it is critical for beef producers in Canada to be involved to ensure marketers are telling our truths. VBP+ is the national program that can help producers help themselves by being a part of the Sustainable Beef movement.

    Who: Registered VBP+ farms, ranches and feedlots are run by producers who recognize the need to be a part of a national verification system to meet the needs of some of our end users. They are producers willing to invest time and resources to confidently make the claim of VBP+ Registered status as VBP+ positions itself to be a delivery agent of beef sustainability verification nationally.

    What: A Registered VBP+ Producer takes training in on-farm food safety, biosecurity and animal care, they assess their operation’s environmental wellbeing, as well as the operation’s human resources and community involvement. The training and assessments ensure producers document, keep records, are prepared to meet a 3rd party audit, and take part in annual assessments to maintain their registered status.

    When: A producer can become involved with VBP+ any time of year by contacting their Provincial VBP+ Coordinator and initiating the process. There are 3 modes of training: scheduled in person workshops, scheduled webinars and anytime online training. Once training is complete, producers begin keeping appropriate records for a set period of time (6 months for cow-calf, 3 months for feedlots) leading up to their first audit. They prepare by completing a pre-audit checklist and then a 3rd party auditor will be assigned to their operation. The auditor contacts the producer to schedule the on-farm audit at the producer’s convenience.

    Where: Everywhere beef production takes place in Canada. VBP+ is a national verification program available to all beef producers in the supply chain.

    Why: We have end users asking for beef raised sustainably. If the end user is going to make the claim that some or all their beef products are ‘sustainably raised’, they must be a part of a robust program with documentation, audits, rigor and transparency to backstop those claims. VBP+ and the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) are working together to establish equivalency so Registered VBP+ beef operations would qualify to be recognized as Verified Sustainable Operations. Clearly, we did not want multiple end users building lists of sustainability criteria where producers would face trying to meet the needs of many differing platforms. The CRSB has been a great venue to collaborate and come to consensus on what defines beef sustainability in Canada. The guidance enables producers to tell their story and demonstrate they are doing things right and on a path of continual improvement. Being a Registered VBP+ Producer in good standing would, in time, allow you to make the claim of Sustainably Raised Beef.