Good evening, everyone. My name is Theresa Bergsma, and I am the secretary-manager for the Manitoba Corn Growers Association.
The MCGA supports and represents over 800 corn farmers in Manitoba, and it is a member of the Grain Growers of Canada. The Grain Growers of Canada consists of 13 member organizations, representing over 80,000 farmers in the country, from every province except Quebec.
Although we believe that Canada's grains, oilseeds, and pulses sector provides some of the safest product in the world, the Grain Growers of Canada recognizes the need to have a food safety program in a ready state for a national on-farm food safety program. It should cover all grains, oilseeds, and pulses in Canada so that we can meet the needs of our customers today and into the future. For that reason, we have been working with many other groups, from our membership and beyond, to put together a practical and effective on-farm food safety program under the guidance of the Canada Grains Council.
My role here today is as the Grain Growers representative on the management committee that is overseeing this program. With me today I have Dale Riddell, who is the project manager for this Canada Grains Council initiative. Dale has worked with the management committee extensively, and he has an excellent knowledge of the basic principles of the program.
For a bit of background, in 2001 the Canada Grains Council, encouraged by industry, and with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada funding, formed a management committee to create a national on-farm food safety strategic plan for grains, oilseeds, and pulses. It was recommended that it be HACCP-based, that it examine a post-farm plan, and that there be no implementation until the marketplace demands it. Producing safe food and feed and protecting it from hazards would be the primary focus. It would be built on scientific data to give farmers and their customers extra assurance that the grains--cereals, oilseeds, pulses, and special crops--are produced, handled, and stored on the farm in the interest of food safety. It was recognized that Canadian grain is safe and that any program would simply provide extra assurance for customers and consumers.
Modules have been completed for the farm and beyond the farm, for truck, rail, elevator, terminal, lake freight, and transfer elevators.
With respect to what we have currently, most elevators in Canada are now ISO or HACCP-based certified.
The food safety initiative for farmers has a producer manual based on a scientific generic model. The producer manual details and lists the safe production practices, plus a process for record keeping that demonstrates appropriate steps, at the right time, were put in place by the farmer. It is being used selectively today for niche markets and industry production contracts.
A management plan has been compiled that details how the initiative will be managed nationally, how technical competency will be maintained, how farmer compliance will be managed, and it sets out a process for training farm auditors and managing the audit process.
Both the producer manual and the management plan have been approved in a technical review with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
For the future, the management committee plans to set up a non-profit incorporated entity with a national board, representing grain-related farm organizations, commodity groups, industry, and regions, to direct the initiative. It will be known as ExcelGrains Canada. There will be provisions for selecting the directors, and it will be farmer directed and controlled.
The purpose will be to provide a government approved on-farm HACCP-based food safety certification to Canadian grain farmers. It will maintain technical currency; maintain integrity of the national program with a provincial implementation system, as indicated in the latest “Growing Forward” recommendations; and provide training to producers and auditors that meets standards set by ExcelGrains, a technical committee, and CFIA. It will develop a database of certified farmers and qualified auditors, schedule and perform audits, and it will do production contracts and whole-farm HACCP-based certifications. It will participate in multi-commodity food safety initiatives, and it will provide advice to governments on food safety policy.
On the funding side, we would like to facilitate the transfer of the program from the Canada Grains Council to ExcelGrains and to maintain the management committee to manage the national direction and administration. There must be some federal funding for start-up assistance that will utilize the work done to date by farmers, CFIA, AAFC, the scientific community, and grain organizations.
With the involvement of both provincial and federal governments, the management committee and the Grain Growers of Canada feel it is crucial that the initiative be coordinated nationally and recognize that this will involve considerable communication with and oversight of provincial activities to ensure the Canadian program does not become fragmented and ineffective.
Initially, we see a need for government support for the national board and its related activities. Eventually, as the program grows, participating farmers, marketers, and value-chain participants will assume a higher percentage of the costs. Government funding is justified, as food safety is in the interest of all consumers, and visible programs are being demanded by the public.
Provincial government funding will focus on program implementation such as producer and auditor training, and farm audit costs.
The management committee is currently compiling an application for federal funding support. Without this support the program will falter and risk the investment made by farmers and governments thus far. We have built a world-class farm food safety program for Canadian farmers that will be available as the market demands. It would be a great loss to the Canadian public and the grains industry if the work done to date was lost due to a lack of funding to bring it to fruition.
In summary, Canadian farmers have an excellent record of producing safe grains, and they consistently meet and exceed standards set by our customers and the Canadian Grain Commission. Canadian grain farmers do not need additional government regulation. ExcelGrains will provide the extra assurance for grain customers with a science-based, industry-led, HACCP-based program that will be respected worldwide. Its adoption must be based on market demand.
We appreciate the opportunity to present. If you have any questions, we will do our best to answer them.