Finding research, management and production information about and for the veal industry can sometimes be a difficult process. This section is dedicated to providing topical, timely, and interesting information about the grain-fed veal industry.
Licence fee FAQ
Who has to pay? How is the money collected? And answers to other frequently asked questions can be found here.
Grain-fed veal fact sheets
Deciding to raise calves for the grain-fed veal market requires thorough and thoughtful planning. This series of fact sheets will help answer common questions and guide you in the right direction.
The Building the Foundation for Healthy Calves II manual
This manual is an essential producer resource designed to address the challenges of today’s veal and dairy calf producers while highlighting the latest best management practices. Learn more here.
These online learning modules feature interactive tools and practical resources for both veterinarians and farmed animal owners. Learn more here.
Dairy at Guelph
As a research centre, Dairy at Guelph creates collaborative opportunities to discover, develop and implement new best practices in dairy production and foods, with support from industry leaders and government. This global leadership has earned the University of Guelph the title of Canada’s Dairy University.
The Ontario Animal Health Network (OAHN) seeks to form a line of communication with as many veterinarians across Ontario as possible, both to collect information about diseases seen in practice and to share pertinent health and disease information. This information is used to create a summary report with supportive educational materials for bovine veterinarians and producers.
As an Ontario veal producer, you are constantly striving to improve animal welfare on farm by adjusting management practices according to current research in order to meet or exceed industry standards for the care of veal cattle. With the 2017 update to the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Veal Cattle there is no better time to assess welfare on your farm and ensure you are following the requirements of the code. While most farms are already following the requirements, a welfare assessment can help you benchmark the level of welfare on your farm and identify your farm’s strengths as well as areas to improve in order to provide the best welfare for your herd. The welfare assessment is simple to complete. You can do it yourself or ask an advisor such as your herd veterinarian to complete it with you. The standards and information you need are all included in the assessment booklet – there’s no need to look anything up.
Subscribe to the Calf Care Corner and OntarioVeal channels on YouTube for more great videos on calf care and veal cattle management.
Employee Animal Care Code of Conduct
The health and welfare of our animals is of paramount importance to Ontario’s veal farmers and VFO. Together, we are committed to responsible livestock care and handling. That means animals in our care deserve to be healthy, safe, and well-cared for.
Farms are encouraged to have all family and farm employees sign an Animal Care Code of Conduct. This customizable document explains that responsible farm animal care and handling among employees and service providers on the farm will be enforced, and that it applies to every person who handles or comes into contact with an animal. The document should be reviewed with new employees and signed, and then reviewed quarterly/annually thereafter. Download it here.
Regulations
The Canada Agricultural Products Act and Regulation referenced in the 2009 O. Reg 266/09 Livestock and Poultry Grades and Sales Regulation infosheet have been repealed and consolidated under the Federal Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulation and incorporated by reference in the Beef, Bison and Veal Carcass Grade Requirements document.
An amendment now brings the maximum weight limit for a veal carcass from 180 kg to 190 kg and came into effect January 15, 2020.
The purpose of the amendment is to provide the Canadian veal industry with the flexibility and opportunity to manage veal carcass weights throughout the supply chain.
O. Reg. 266/09 under the Food Safety and Quality Act provides information on beef and veal identification requirements for provincially licensed meat plant operators.
Reg. 56 under the Beef Cattle Marketing Act provides regulatory requirements associated with weighing of live cattle.
Reg. 55 under the Beef Cattle Marketing Act provides regulatory requirements associated with weighing of carcasses.
The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) has developed biosecurity advice for producers who are travelling internationally or welcoming international visitors.
CCA has also pulled together resources to help mitigate risks to producers and their animals relating to animal health and extreme weather. Visit their website here.
Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is a highly infectious virus that has disastrous consequences on the livestock industry and the population of cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals worldwide. Fortunately, Canada has achieved FMD-free status, but everyone must stay vigilant to the risks and be prompt in our response in case of a possible outbreak.
Learn more about FMD, including symptoms, diagnosis, biosecurity measures as well as what Canada’s response to an outbreak would look like, on the Beef Cattle Research Council’s webpage.
Did you know? DairyTrace and proAction® encourage dual tagging as the ideal practice for identifying all calves born on dairy farms across Canada. As an allowable exception, the white single button radio frequency identification (RFID) tag was introduced by DairyTrace in 2020 as an option for identifying calves born on a dairy farm but are destined for purposes other than dairy production. This exception does not apply in provinces where double tagging is required.
Since 2020, both the DairyTrace white single button RFID ear tag and the approved Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) beef tags were allowable under proAction® as an exception for identifying any calves born on a dairy farm and destined for purposes other than dairy production.
However, as of September 1, 2023, this exception for dual tagging will now only allow the use of white single button RFID dairy tags and not yellow CCIA beef tags. Note: these changes do not affect farmers in the province of Quebec as dual tagging is already required for all calves.
The government of Ontario has updated Table 1 and Table 2 of the Nutrient Management Tables, a part of the Nutrient Management Protocol. The tables, which are intended to provide technical data to assist farmers in the development of their Nutrient Management Strategies and Nutrient Management Plans, are updated periodically to reflect current industry practices.
The updated livestock housing capacity for grain-fed veal is 5.85 m² per head. Producers will need to use these new unit amounts moving forward with respect to their Nutrient Management Plans.