MARCH 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


25


Cattle producers must champion codes of practice Public education isn’t always helpful in building trust with consumers


by DAVID SCHMIDT ABBOTSFORD – ProAction


in dairy and Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) in beef are industry’s response to public concerns about how their food is produced, but do those programs achieve their goals? Developed by Dairy


Farmers of Canada, ProAction was publicly launched in 2016 and includes six components. Those addressing milk quality, food safety and animal care have already been implemented. The traceability component was rolled out last August but will not be fully implemented until August 2019. At that point, DFC expects to roll out its biosecurity component, followed in September 2021 by the environmental component. ProAction’s basic premise is


for farmers to “say what you do, do what you say and prove it,” BC Dairy Association director of policy and sustainability Elizabeth Schouten told the Centre for Organizational Governance in Agriculture livestock seminar in Abbotsford, February 14. Although called ProAction within the industry, Schouten calls it “our sustainability story” when talking to the public. For the public, it represents trust, transparency and social licence, while for producers, it represents consistent standards and measurable results. The program became mandatory in BC as of January 1, 2018 although BC Milk Marketing Board director Corny Hertgers notes, “we still have a few non-compliant producers.” Producers have up to six months to become registered and then 30 days to resolve issues. If they fail to do so,


they receive a series of letters leading to “soft penalties.” These include being barred from receiving any milk quality bonuses and/or new quota, swapping quota, or participating in the quota exchange unless they’re selling all their quota. Ultimately, the BCMMB could suspend milk pickups or even cancel a producer’s licence altogether. BC Dairy Association


president David Taylor praised “those in leadership 15 years ago who had the vision to start ProAction,” saying the program has “made me a better farmer.” Schouten says the program


is self-regulated “with expert input,” but notes the industry is “in danger of losing” self- regulation. “Third-party audits is a road


we hope not to go down but it all comes down to credibility,” she says, adding she expects increased pressure from processors as to what they want to see in the program.


Beef differs While ProAction has the


force of law, that’s not the case with VBP+, says Manitoba VBP+ coordinator and rancher Betty Green. Like ProAction, VBP started as an on-farm food safety program. The “+” was added when the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association added modules covering the environment, animal handling code of practice and biosecurity. The program provides


science-based industry- sanctioned practices for responsible livestock production. Putting it together was a challenge because the industry is so diverse. “We have cow-calf operators with as few as 10


cows, grassers, backgrounders, right up to finishing feedlots with thousands of animals and the program has to work for all of them,” Green said, adding affordability was critical. “What is affordable is different for 10 cows than 2,000 cows.” Producers are trained


through webinars which take place at least once a week and participants are audited by “independent” cattle producers. “It’s not a third-party audit


but it’s 2.5,” Green says. Manitoba offered Growing


Forward 2 funding for equipment and branded the program to encourage producers to participate. Cargill, one of the main beef processors, is now offering a credit for animals which go through VBP+ and Green expects other processors to follow suit. “Production assurances are


growing in importance,” she notes.


Both Green and Taylor


insist producers must back up the program by “presenting our story” in the public arena. Just how the industry educates and assures the public is still a big question mark, says Marina von Keyserlingk, NSERC animal welfare professor with the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre (DERC) in Agassiz. “When videos [such as the


one showing animal abuse at Chilliwack Cattle Sales] come out, how do we defend the industry?” von Keyserlingk asks. Passing “ag-gag” laws


prohibiting the taking of photos, videos and audio recordings on farm without the owner’s consent, as several US states have done, is not the way to go, she says, noting a recent DERC study


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showed people are far less trusting when they learn about ag-gag laws. “Reducing transparency is


likely counterproductive,” she says. Public education is also not the answer. A survey of people attending a DERC open house showed they became less confident after being “educated” about the industry. Issues they were most concerned about included lack of outdoor access, immediate cow-calf separation and restriction of


movement and social interaction (calf-hutches). Von Keyserlingk says


industry will have to deal with these issues within the next 10 years. There may be valid scientific reasons for separating a cow and her calf at birth (she says 100% of veterinarians support the practice) but it does not resonate with the public’s “mother-baby bond.” “Science tells us what we can do but the public tells us what we ought to do,” she concludes.


Canada’s Verified Beef Production Plus Program


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