Government of Canada Investing in Traceability of Cervid Industry

LLOYDMINSTER, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - April 8, 2010) - Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz today announced an investment of over $1 million to the Canadian Cervid Alliance to help the cervid industry capture new market opportunities and respond to the growing consumer demand for full traceability in livestock and poultry.

"Canadian producers can be proud of their safe, high-quality livestock, and a more complete traceability system will give our customers the information they need when they make their purchasing decisions," said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "This investment is another step towards reaching our goal of national traceability for livestock and poultry by 2011."

The Canadian Integrated Food Safety Initiative (CIFSI) is funding two projects that will help producers provide on-farm traceability assurance and proactively manage risks. The two funded projects are:

--  $673,500 to develop a national traceability system by gathering, storing
    and analyzing traceability data for farmed cervids, which include deer,
    elk, caribou, moose and reindeer.
--  $361,400 to help build a national food safety system, the Hazard
    Analysis of Critical Control Points-based cervid on-farm food safety
    system (OFFS).

"Market Access is critical for the farmed deer and elk industry in Canada," said Randy Wehrkamp, President of the Canadian Cervid Alliance. "These projects will provide enhanced quality assurances and increased marketability for our antler and meat products to consumers in Canada and in international markets."

This project is being funded by Growing Forward, an initiative created to help position Canadian farmers for success.

Agriculture is a core economic driver in Canada, and that is why the Government of Canada is also making investments to the agriculture sector through Canada's Economic Action Plan. For more information, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.