CETA has provided great market opportunities for Canadian beef, but the lack of producers certified to raise E.U. eligible beef is a problem.

Timothy Lowe is a former Canadian resident, who now lives in Amsterdam after being posted in Germany with the Canadian military in the 80's.

Lowe is taking advantage of the opportunities the new trade agreement provides by importing Canadian Beef, raised without the use of growth enhancements, to the European Union, where he will sell the premium product to high end hotel chains, restaurants, and butchers.

CETA has increased quotas for Canadian beef entering the E.U. by more than tenfold, but Canada has never been able to fill these quotas to begin with, Lowe says.

"What's relevant is the stumbling blocks for importation, the technical requirements. To a certain extent, those have been alleviated, because the national standards are now going to be recognized by either side. So, that means if Canada certifies something for export, then according to the European Union and CETA, it's going to be qualified for import."

He says, European consumers are quite avid about getting their hands on premium grade organic beef, and North America is the perfect place to raise this product.

"They're very concerned about food security, food safety, and they have no land over here. Land is at a premium here. Until you get out to Poland, you simply can't raise cattle the way you can do it in North America, or Australia and South America, which is where they are currently getting their high grade beef from."

Lowe encourages more producers to become certified to raise E.U. eligible beef, and says, it isn't as much of a task as it may seem, as lots of producers are already raising beef without the use of hormones and keeping tight records on their livestock.

The Canadian Cattlemen's Association has put together videos and other materials for producers interested in becoming certified, and they are a wealth of knowledge on this topic.