Programs & Services

Traceability in Canada is a collaborative effort involving government (federal, provincial and territorial) and the livestock industry. Livestock traceability is critical for Canada’s ability to respond quickly to disease outbreaks, food safety issues and natural disasters.

Age Verification is the association of bison birth date information with a bison identification number (tag number). This voluntary, free of charge program allows producers to store information and have it readily available should it be required by domestic or export markets like the United States and Japan.

After completing the research and development, the Canadian Bison Association is offering three new genomic tools to bison producers and the conservation community so that they can better understand the genetic profile of their herds.

There are two parts of the Canadian Bison Association Registry: 1. Registration of bison thorough the Canadian Livestock Registry. 2. Registration of Bison Conservation herds through the Canadian Bison Association. Learn more about the registry.

Bison grading helps to ensure that the meat form both heifers and bulls reflects a certain quality. Bison Grading is a voluntary service for a fee provided by the Canadian Beef Grading Agency. The Government of Canada maintains the regulations and the grading standards.

The bison industry is relatively new in Canada. The infrastructure that has developed to support the bison industry is less developed that other sectors where there is over a century of commercial development.

The Canadian bison industry is a relatively new industry. It does not have the benefit of information that has been developed in more mature sectors. To overcome this deficiency, the bison industry initiated a cost-of-production and production performance data collection program for bison operations involving cow/calf, backgrounders, and feedlot enterprises.

The restoration of bison to the plains of North America is truly a success story. The bison herds that once numbered in the millions were on the brink of extinction with fewer than 1,000 animals at the end of the 19th century. The bison industry is what it is today because of the combined will of a handful of private ranchers, conservationists and government officials who saved the last remaining animals and began to restore the species in Canada and the United States.