The British Columbia Vegetable Marketing Commission (BCVMC) is helping to introduce Provision food safety software for producers across the province.
Totalling roughly 150 growers and processors, the BCVMC represents a major interest in Canada’s year-round supply of conventional and organic vegetables. It regulates the marketing of more than 200 million kilograms of BC-grown vegetable products annually. By coordinating the interests of this group, BCVMC was able to structure an appealing bulk deal on Provision, producers’ software of choice for food safety. In return, BCVMC expects producers can make gains in efficiency and process control.
BC’s regulated vegetable producers are leading the way for Canadian AgTech. With Provision, it’s easier for our producers to accomplish 100% audit scores, which makes our products more competitive. The process trending in Provision helps our producers learn from data to advance their control of safety, quality, and cost.”
General Manager, BCVMC
Under a regulatory standard such as CanadaGAP, BC producers may complete up to 1,000 forms annually to validate their food safety compliance. In exchange, they can earn a globally-recognized certification such as GFSI that increases sales reach into major retailers.
Provision is being configured to provide CanadaGAP compliance for the BCVMC storage crops, processing crops, and greenhouse crops. It allows producers to use simple digital forms that save up to 75% of data entry time. Conventional operations get PCP numbers and automatic math built into spray records; organic operations get connected records that can trace back years in a field’s history. Automatic rules and responses are built into Provision to identify and prevent mistakes.
Susan Snow is Owner of Snow Farms, a producer spanning roughly 110 acres in Delta, BC. Tracking more than 40 varieties of certified organic vegetables, Snow Farms has a high standard for record keeping.
We chose Provision because of its intuitive interface, which makes it simple to enter, organize, and find information in an audit-ready format.
Owner, Snow Farms
Snow Farms is among the initial wave of BCVMC licensed producers who are introducing Provision this fall. Others include Badyal Farms, Camirlaney Farms, Cheam View Greenhouse, Swenson Farms, Pacific Potato Corp, Shadow Produce, Local Leaves Farm, and more.
These producers add to Provision’s booming client roster in horticulture, which recently benefited from a partnership with Purdue University south of the border.
Provision Analytics was founded in 2018 to provide digital solutions for food safety and quality assurance. Its cloud software is fully configurable to suit any commodity, process, and food safety standard. Provision clients use dynamic digital records to capture process data, with automations to ensure compliance and reports to expedite audits and analytics. Since inception, the software has been adopted by leaders in agriculture, manufacturing, and distribution across three continents. The company maintains Canadian offices in Calgary, and American offices in Chicago.
The Commission is the first instance regulator and acts by the authority delegated through the Natural Products Marketing (BC) Act and its Regulations. It is responsible for administering the Scheme, including coordinating producer activities, to ensure Orderly Marketing. Orderly Marketing is achieved through the promotion, control, and regulation of production, transportation, packing, storage, and marketing of vegetables.
BCVMC regulates three main crop categories: storage crops (root crops, cabbage, potatoes), processing crops (peas, beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc.) and greenhouse crops (cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers). The Commission achieves its main policy objective of maximizing producer returns through centralized, coordinated marketing of regulated product.