Agriculture Canada is allocating close to $1.3 million from its AgriMarketing Fund to help Canada’s dairy and livestock industry increase the value and volume of its exports.
More than $1 million will be available to help promote and export Canadian livestock genetics, including embryos, semen and breeding cattle.
More than $130,000 will help fund Dairy Farmers of Canada’s efforts to promote specialty Canadian cheese abroad.
Conservative MP Pierre Lemieux, parliamentary secretary to agriculture minister Gerry Ritz, announced the government funding Feb. 2 to the DFC policy conference in Ottawa.
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The genetics export money will go to the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association to help fund trade missions, market assessments and farmer training in embryo transfer.
Lemieux said in his speech to DFC that the government has been laying the groundwork for more genetics exports. Canada has reached agreements with Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines that allow export of Canadian breeding cattle into those markets.
He said Canadian dairy herd genetics are in demand around the world.
Exports of Canadian specialty cheese were worth more than $20 million in 2010 with more than half headed for to the United States.
Lemieux said the goal is to increase exports and the number of markets.
