First BC Dairy Farm Certified under the Canadian Quality Milk Program - Validations Free to Producer
Burnaby (June 13, 2006) - BC Milk Producers Association is pleased to announce that the University of British Columbia Dairy Education and Research Centre in Agassiz is BC's first dairy farm to be validated with the Canadian Quality Milk Program (CQM).
CQM is an on-farm food safety program designed to help producers demonstrate due diligence and control of food safety measures on their farm. The goals of the CQM are to "keep milk cold and clean" and to be able to prove it.
Mary Hof, retired dairy producer and BC's first CQM validator, performed her first audit today on the UBC dairy farm. Shadowed by Leslie Thompson, Producer Services Coordinator for BC Milk Producers Association, Mary will be performing three additional validations this week.
"I am excited to be part of this program and look forward to seeing all dairy farms in BC on it," said Mary.
Nelson Dinn, Farm Manager, is the man behind the scenes of the world renowned research centre. Nelson manages the day-to-day business of the farm and one of his responsibilities is to ensure that good quality milk leaves the gate.
"CQM is not as daunting as one would initially think. Most of the requirements and record keeping was already being done" says Nelson. As UBC was the first farm to go through the program prerequisites and validation, Nelson believes in the merit of what the program aims to achieve.
Nelson adds that "as farm sizes increase so does hired labour. Having written records and Standard Operating Procedures is a benefit to the producer. If the same information satisfies consumer confidence, then it's a plus-plus relationship".
The board of directors of the BC Milk Producers Association agreed to pay for the cost of all initial validations in order to kick start participation on the program. "We support the implementation of this national quality program," says Cornelis Hertgers, dairy producer in Agassiz and President of the BC Milk Producers Association board.
Canadians enjoy drinking milk of the highest quality. There have always been quality checks on all BC dairy farms and at every dairy processing plant. CQM takes this a step further and provides preventative measures to ensure milk quality and traceability. It does this by recording treatments to animals and monitoring milk temperature and sanitation checks.
Dairy farms in BC already practice good management as required for certification under CQM. Over 40 farms have gone through training and are currently keeping the necessary amount of records before they are eligible for validation.
"It is a great way for maintaining consumer confidence in Canadian dairy products," Cornelis adds.
(Picture, from left to right: Mary Hof, Nelson Dinn, Leslie Thompson)
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