Small-Scale Meat Producers Association

On February 5th, The Ministry of Farms, Food and Fisheries announced that BC Premises ID registration will become mandatory in early 2022. Contrary to Minister Popham’s assertion that B.C. farmers and ranchers have been clear that a new regulation to trace their animals is needed, the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association is unaware of a groundswell of pressure from producers for more government regulation. Most commercial producers have been tracing their animals through... existing, mandatory livestock programs and have been registered with the BC Premises ID Program for years.Registration has been a requirement of many necessary activities and programs including all reportable animal movements, the Environmental Farm Plan, production of any regulated commodities such as poultry, and many others. There seems to be significant confusion amongst those who are unfamiliar with Premises ID due to the overlap with livestock traceability programs. The BC Premises ID allows for tracking of properties where livestock reside. This should not be confused with programs like Canadian Pork Council - PigTRACE and Canadian Cattle Identification Agency - Canadian Livestock Tracking System for cattle, sheep, bison, goats and cervids. These programs track individual livestock movements. Both of these programs require Premises ID registration and generally speaking, individual livestock are transported from one registered location to another registered location. If the BC Premises ID is to become the primary method of identification for producers, it stands to reason that providing this number should negate the need for gathering any further location information, as is currently required on a Form 3 livestock manifest, for example. A Premises ID is all that is required when reporting the movement of pigs through PigTRACE as long as both the origin and destination locations are registered. Any new regulation puts an additional burden on farmers and ranchers so it is important that there be clear, demonstrable benefits to the industry. We see the opportunities for traceability, emergency coordination and notifications about disease outbreaks but in order to reap the benefits of the BC Premises ID Program, there must be systems in place to facilitate the sharing of information and mobilization of infrastructure that may be required. We hope that these systems and infrastructures will be there to support BC Premises ID registered producers when these events occur. https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021AFF0004-000206

FYI: New pricing at Rangeland Meats

Copper Mountain Processing is a BC gov't inspected abattoir. We are accepting processing bookings for 2020! We are filling up fast and are already booked solid ...from Sept 22 till we close mid October. Check out our website for more information or PM me. www.coppermountainfarms.com We are located 15 min west of Kamloops, Cherry Creek area. See more

How are you all feeling about the new Premises ID regulations? https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021AFF0004-000206

February 11, 12-3 PM Pacific The next National Farmers Union NFUniversity Climate Class will take a deep dive into regenerative agriculture! Regenerative agriculture aims at whole-system productivity and soil health by focusing on building soil organic matter, above- and below-ground biodiversity, integrating animals, optimizing grazing, minimizing tillage, keeping the land green and growing, repairing the water cycle, closing nutrient loops, and minimizing inputs. Join us o...n February 11th to explore these techniques and practices that can reduce emissions while building on-farm climate resiliency. Register: https://www.nfu.ca/nfuniversity/regenerative-agriculture/