“Canadian consumers want to know that pork farmers are responsible stewards of the animals in our care,“ says Jurgen Preugschas, Chair of the Canadian Pork Council. “Having the ACA tool, an integral part of the CQA programme, strengthens the position of Canadian pork and Canadian pork producers. Linking the two programmes will also streamline the documentation, registration and validation process for all stakeholders."

Requirements of the ACA programme are outlined in the ACA Manual. Producers already on the programme have found it easy to complete. Production practices currently used on most Canadian hog farms already comply with the guidelines in the ACA. The ACA programme provides a way for producers to document and validate those practices and reassure customers that livestock are being treated humanely and responsibly.

All producers are encouraged to use the remainder of 2011 to familiarize themselves with the ACA programme and complete and submit a self declaration. For all farms, the self-declaration done this year will suffice until their 2012 regular CQA validation. At that point, farmers will complete the ACA documentation as part of their regular CQA renewal process. Farms that are scheduled for a full CQA validation in 2012 will also be subject to a full validation of their ACA. Farms that are scheduled for a partial CQA validation in 2012 will be able to use the self-assessment again to demonstrate compliance with ACA.

It is the producers’ responsibility to ensure provincial delivery agents receive the ACA documentation as part of their CQA renewal beginning 1 January 2012. Both the self-declaration forms and the manual are available here.