Egg Farmers of Canada announces move to alternative hen housing

© AgMedia Inc.

Description (Tag): 

Comments

Cage production means that one person can handle 50-100,000 laying hens. How many people are required for the same number of cage free hens?

If there are 100,000 hens in a cage barn now, how many similar sized barns will be needed for the same number of hens without cages?

How much more feed will be required?

Bottom line is no one is saying what cage free will mean to the cost of a dozen eggs.

If I understand things correctly, Burnbrae Farms, the eastern-Ontario egg empire partially-owned by Mary-Jean McFall, Ag Minister Lawrence MacAulay's newly-appointed (and conflict-of-interest plagued) Chief-of-Staff, recently signed a deal with McDonald's to provide them with all of their cage-less eggs.

Since this would all have to go through the Egg Farmers of Ontario, and since they claim to be open and transparent about all of these things, why don't you ask them what "cage free actually does mean to the cost of a dozen eggs"?

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

Cost of a dozen eggs does not mean squat . It is about the hen and her lifestyle . If XY is what the customer wants then that is what the customer will get .
What it does mean is that Egg producers will get what ever added cost they think they need to supply the eggs since they have the legislated right to do so . So yes you are right that no one is saying what cage free will mean to the cost of a dozen eggs . I will say that it will most likely increase the cost of a dozen eggs .

How many more acres of farmland will be required for free range? For example will we need to pave over twice as many acres or 100 times more?

Just stop and think for a minute, Egg Farmers of Ontario have a new producer program and selected new farmers are all unable to purchase quote.

Maybe if this caused some of the largest egg farms to scale down the size of their operations due to new regulations this might create opportunities for new younger producers to enter the industry.

I have long been critical of supply management, because it never put in place any caps on the amount of quote one producer can own.

There isn't a farm family in Ontario that needs to milk 500 cows, or run 100,000 plus hens, that's just greed plain and simple.

I know lots of family farms out there milking under a 100 cows and supporting 2 to 3 families and they are all living very comfortably .

Sean McGivern

Mary Jean McFall, the heiress to the Burnbrae Farms egg farming and processing dynasty, by far the largest egg farm in Canada, was recently appointed Chief of Staff to federal Ag Minister, Lawrence MacAulay.

With somebody with reportedly over $140 million of egg quota at stake guarding who gets to see and/or speak to the Minister, your suggestion has as much chance of being implemented as if when, as Lewis Carroll penned, "pigs have wings".

It's bad enough that Stephen Harper turned a blind eye to the wretched excesses of supply management, it's even worse that Justin Trudeau appointed one of the chief beneficiaries of this wretched excess to the "inner circle"

It could be worse - if McFall had won the election for the Liberals in her eastern-Ontario riding last fall, she could be, at this very moment, the Minister of Agriculture rather than MacAulay.

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

Post new comment

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
Image CAPTCHA
We welcome thoughtful comments and ideas. Comments must be on topic. Cheap shots, unsubstantiated allegations, anonymous attacks or negativity directed against people and organizations will not be published. Comments are modified or deleted at the discretion of the editors. If you wish to be identified by name, which will give your opinion far more weight and provide a far greater chance of being published, leave a telephone number so that identity can be confirmed. The number will not be published.