Announced by Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, the funds will be used for three projects in the Canada Pork Excellence platform: PigSAFE, PigCARE and PigTRACE.
The Canadian pork industry’s PigSAFE and PigCARE programs are on-farm food safety and animal care assurance programs that enable producers to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable pork production. PigTRACE, the national traceability program is critical to quickly managing a disease outbreak.
The funding for these programs ensure producers will have the tools to implement them on-farm.
The support for traceability, the funding will enable the development of more efficient ways for producers to submit data and the identification of more effective ways to utilize the data. The Canadian Pork Council received CAD$3.5m under AgriAssurance for PigSAFE and PigCARE, and CAD$354,000 for PigTRACE.
The Canadian pork sector’s effort to expand opportunities was improved with the confirmation of CAD$1,232,348 in AgriMarketing program support for a joint domestic marketing initiative of Canada Pork and the Canadian Pork Council.
Meanwhile $1,093,730 was allocated under AgriScience program for a research project coordinated by the Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement.
Canadian Pork Council chairman Rick Bergmann welcomed the funding. “We’d like to thank Minister Bibeau for taking the time to meet with pork producers and leaders of the industry. The projects announced will further strengthen the Canadian Pork Excellence platform and contribute to growing the Canadian economy.”
