Beef producers who participated in the first three months of a sustainability pilot project received an extra $10 per head, according to results released in mid-March by Cargill.
Some 550,000 pounds of beef produced by more than 70 ranchers were certified through the program during that time.
The Canadian beef sustainability acceleration pilot project is a one-year test to see if beef can be accurately tracked from producer to consumer along with assurances that the animals have been raised in sustainable ways from birth through to slaughter and retail sale.
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Cargill said the first three months show there’s potential to scale up the program and it is encouraging more ranchers to participate for the rest of 2018.
The idea behind the pilot is to meet requirements laid out in the Certified Sustainable Beef Framework, which was established by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. Participation is voluntary.
“We are encouraged by the pilot’s first quarter results. It proved that a significant volume of beef can be successfully traced through a certified supply chain for the participating customers,” said Gurneesh Bhandal, Cargill’s beef sustainability manager in Toronto.
“By adding more producers to the pilot, we can supply more customers with Canadian beef from sustainable sources.”
Cattle are tracked in the process using the Beef Info-Exchange System (BIXS) from the time they are tagged through to processing at Cargill’s plant at High River, Alta.
To qualify for the program, cattle producers must be audited by either Verified Beef Production Plus or Where Food Comes From. They must also be a member of BIXS and either age-verify their cattle or use the Canadian Livestock Tracking System Database.
“Credit payments-per-head will vary each quarter based on total number of qualifying animals, participants’ beef demand and cattle weights,” Cargill said.
Customers for the meat produced in the pilot program include McDonald’s Canada, Loblaws, Swiss Chalet and Original Joe’s.
