Leading up to the October federal election, trade is one of the main focuses for a group representing 60,000 of Canada's beef farms and feedlots.

Canadian Cattlemen's Association Senior Manager of Government and International Relations, Fawn Jackson, says the new NAFTA agreement is a top priority for the export-orientated industry.

"We want to make sure that see's ratification both in Canada as well as in the U.S., and then of course we need to see resumed trade with China."

Canada stopped issuing meat export certificates upon China's request in June after Chinese customs claimed to discover a shipment of non-Canadian pork exhibiting technical irregularities and fraudulently certified as Canadian.

Jackson adds, they'd like the Government to address obstacles getting in the way of the beef industry fully utilizing Canada's trade agreement with Europe.

Although trade is a top election priority for the beef industry, The Canadian Cattlemen's Association will also be looking for more research funding.

Jackson says research is what keeps Canadian farmers at the fore front of agriculture production globally.

"We're looking for increased capacity and funding for things such as high risk discovery research and support for production research through programs such as the science cluster."

She says another key area for the Association includes enhancing economic resiliency tools for producers.

To view the full CCA document, you can visit their website.

 

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