Proposed Federal Livestock Traceability Regulations

December 23, 2025

Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) is aware of questions and discussion regarding the proposed federal livestock traceability regulations and their anticipated implementation timeline. We want to clarify that the regulations will not come into force on January 1, 2026.

While amended regulations are expected to be published in Canada Gazette, Part II as early as the spring of 2026, we anticipate that implementation will occur through a phased approach, with time for education, system adjustments, and industry support.

Background

For more than a decade, BFO along with national industry partners has been actively engaged in consultations on proposed amendments to Canada’s traceability regulations. These proposed federal changes are intended to strengthen Canada’s livestock traceability system by improving the country’s ability to respond quickly to animal disease outbreaks and food safety incidents, while also protecting access to domestic and international markets.

BFO’s position is supportive of regulated traceability in principle, but conditional on cost-sharing, practicality, and producer-feasible implementation. Specifically:

BFO supports strengthened, regulated traceability in principle
BFO agrees that enhanced traceability regulations are important to improve disease response, food safety, and surveillance, and explicitly supports regulatory amendments aimed at faster and more effective responses to animal health threats

BFO supports specific regulatory tools (e.g., PIDs, expanded species coverage)
BFO supports requiring Premises Identification Numbers (PIDs) for livestock movement reporting and supports expanding traceability requirements to additional species (e.g., cervids and goats) where disease risk overlaps

BFO remains concerned about disproportionate costs and operational burden on farmers
While supportive of the regulation, BFO strongly objects to the assumption that industry can absorb implementation costs (readers, reporting, labour, technology), noting costs are disproportionately high for the cattle sector and likely to be passed on to producers

BFO supports regulation only if accompanied by flexibility, funding, and transition time
BFO calls for government funding and grants to offset infrastructure, technology, and training costs, and requests a two-year grace period to allow producers time to learn and comply with new regulatory requirements

BFO supports outcomes of traceability but seeks practical, Ontario-specific implementation
BFO supports movement reporting and improved traceability outcomes, but recommends more practical reporting timelines (e.g., 14 days instead of 7) and role clarity to reflect Ontario’s production realities and avoid unintended hrm to speed of commerce

Canadian Cattle Identification Agency
Getting Ready for Proposed Regulatory Changes

As reported in the October 2025 edition of Ontario Beef magazine

The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) is committed to supporting its clients through a smooth transition as proposed regulatory changes approach. CCIA is encouraging both their current regulated species groups (beef cattle, bison and sheep) and pending regulations, cervid and goat groups to begin preparing for the incoming changes and utilizing all the tools available to them in the Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS), which aim to help reduce the administrative burden of the incoming reporting requirements.

The agency recommends CLTS clients verify their Premises Identification Numbers (PIDs) are up to date and registered through their provincial PID registry. Once federal amendments take effect, movement reporting using PIDs will become mandatory across all sectors involved in livestock handling.

The movement record function in the CLTS is now live and available for use ahead of proposed regulatory amendments. CCIA is asking clients to begin reporting livestock movements in the CLTS and to share their feedback on the tool’s usability.

“Our goal is to create a data system that supports our clients across every stage of the livestock supply chain and helps reduce the administrative burden of our clients to meet the proposed regulatory requirements when the amendments come into effect,” said CCIA general manager Ashley Scott. “Starting to use the movement module now and providing feedback, strengthens traceability and ensures our clients are ready when CFIA publishes the updated regulations in Canada Gazette Part II.”

What’s New in the CLTS?

To ease the reporting burden, CCIA’s new movement record module streamlines communication between producers, transporters, and destinations.

Here’s how it works:

1. The source account/premises initiates the movement record in the CLTS.
2. An email notification is sent to the transporter, who inputs relevant details—without needing login credentials.
3. Once the animals are moved, the destination site, account/receiver, confirms receipt of the animals and updates the movement record with its PID submitting it as a Move-In event in the CLTS.

This workflow simplifies the process, reduces paperwork, and ensures compliance with the incoming regulatory requirements.

Flexible Reporting Options for Group Movements
The movement record module can also be used to report group movements without tag numbers for certain operation types, such as assembly yards or auction marts. It enables collaborative reporting between producers, transporters, and recipients. This creates a live, shared record where each party enters their portion of the movement data, supporting integrated and flexible traceability workflows.

It complements other CLTS features:

• Individual movement reporting still exists and requires tag IDs.
• Users can also report movement events through batch uploads, the CLTS MOBO mobile app, or automated web services for software-integrated systems.

Group Movement Specification

• Auction marts and assembly yards are not required to report tag numbers but must include the total number of animals and species.
• Feedlots and other sites must report tag IDs in the Move-In event.
  Working Together

CCIA and national industry associations are working together to ensure industry-wide readiness. From early communication to joint system testing, the goal is to strengthen Canada’s traceability system. Producers and industry stakeholders are encouraged to update their internal systems and protocols to reflect proposed movement reporting responsibilities, take part in CCIA training sessions and workshops, and stay informed as the final regulatory text is published in Canada Gazette Part II (CGII).

For more information on how to get ready for regulatory changes and explore the new movement record module, visit clts.canadaid.ca or contact CCIA’s support team at 1-877-909-2333.

Premises ID: Free and Easy

Article from the August 2024 edition of Ontario Beef magazine

So, what is premises identification? Premises identification is a way of linking livestock to land locations and is critical to support disease control activities and for managing animal health emergencies. Having a premises identification number for each location that you have beef cattle or other livestock or crops allows for traceability information to be accessed quickly for the protection of animal health, public health and market access for our industry.

Many Ontario government programs require producers to have a valid and up to date premises identification number, which includes emergency contact information so you might already have one. If not, you can register by visiting ontariopid.com or by calling Agricorp at 1-888-247-4999.

To register your premises, you will be asked to provide the physical land address where you keep your cattle, other livestock or crops and your Assessment Roll number (ARN) – your tax assessment number from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). This can be found at the top of your property tax documents and is an 15-20 digit number.

If you cannot provide an ARN, you will need to provide one of the following:

• Latitude and longitude coordinates from a global positioning system (GPS)
• Municipal address of the premises to be registered
• Legal land description (lot, concession and township of the premises)

You will also need to describe the agricultural or agri-food activities that take place on the premises, as well as the emergency contact information for each property.

Once approved, each registered parcel of land or premises will receive a unique PID, and a certificate will be issued displaying this number. Unlike farm business registration numbers (FBR), each PID is linked to a specific parcel of land, not to a business. For example, if you have cattle on your home farm and own 50 acres down the concession where you grass cattle, each property will have its own unique PID.

Each premises needs to be registered only once. If your premises has already been registered, that PID is still valid and there is no need to register again. However, changes to existing premises like land sold, contact information that has changed, or a change in agri-food activity (i.e. cattle to cash crops) should be reported so that the PID can be updated.

LEARN MORE

Back to News & Media