Media Release
For Immediate Release
February 12, 2016
The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) will hold its annual Zone meetings in the coming weeks. The meetings will offer updates on Association activities and resolutions, and presentations on a number of topics of interest to Saskatchewan ranchers.
One such topic is the McDonald’s Verified Sustainable Beef (VSB) pilot project. “McDonald’s is very pleased with the progress being made in the Canadian Sustainable Beef Pilot, and appreciates the strong support Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association and producers in Saskatchewan are providing,” said Matt Sutton-Vermeulen, VSB project manager for McDonald’s Canada.
“We welcome all the ranchers, backgrounders and feedlots to join us on this journey to inform the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, and the world,” he said.
SSGA President Doug Gillespie said the association is proud to partner with McDonald’s on its VSB pilot. “McDonald’s Verified Sustainable Beef program is a cornerstone of a sustainable future for our industry,” he said. “The SSGA is a proud partner in the VSB pilot and supports the promotion of sustainable beef production in Canada.”
The agenda also includes presentations on programming options through the Species at Risk Partnership on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP). Some meetings will not have all of the presentations.
Meeting dates are:
Gillespie says the meetings will give ranchers a say in their association and an opportunity to participate in the future of the industry.
“We’re a grassroots organization,” he said. “All of our strength comes from the membership. The local meetings are our best opportunity to sit with producers, tell them what we’ve been doing and get their direction as we move ahead.”
For more information, contact:
Chad MacPherson, General Manager, SSGA
306-757-8523
ssga@sasktel.net
