Farm-Scape is sponsored by Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork Play Audio Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.

Farm-Scape, Episode 1536

Canada's beef industry plans to highlight the need to base the cattle trade on science rather than protectionism as World Meat Congress moves into full swing.

Some 500 industry leaders and government policy-makers from around the world have started arriving in Winnipeg for the 2004 edition of World Meat Congress.

Shirley Konibear, of Baulder, represents both the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association and the Canadian Beef Export Federation on the event's organizing Committee.

She says every opportunity will be taken during the international event to talk to every representative, whether they represent foreign governments or large companies.

"We'll have the Secretaries of Agriculture from many of the top exporting countries, from Argentina, Brazil, the European Union, all of those will be visiting Canada and I think it's very important to put our best foot forward at this time.

We're Hoping they will be impressed with the places that they'll be taken to. They'll be taken to the science centre for human and animal health, they'll be taken to the lab in Winnipeg as well as some of the farms, the Mennonite Museum in Steinbach, various places. We're hoping that they will recognize the cleanliness and the wide open spaces that we have in Manitoba.

With trade interruptions due to disease and concern about control of the disease, I think it's important that they recognize the well kept environment that our farmers look after on a daily basis, the wide open spaces and the lab facilities in Winnipeg is a perfect example of top notch facilities available to our producers and to all of Canada".

MCPA will have representatives at the Manitoba Pavilion willing to talk about the need to reopen the borders and to have trade based on science rather than protectionism.

Konibear says we can prove to the rest of the world that agriculture fits well within the environment and we look after both the environment and our animals.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.