Yes, I think trade is the be-all and end-all. On the other hand, the producers have a job to do themselves in getting organized and branding their product and doing the traceability required to access these markets.
You have in your own province the excellent example of Ontario corn-fed beef, which is solving that slaughter problem by organizing at the producer level to get a volume of cattle to the packer. He can take it from there and demand a premium.