Chicken just in time for the Pan Am Games

Thursday, February 5, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

This summer’s Pan Am Games and Parapan American Games being held in Toronto are giving a boost to provincial chicken production.

Chicken Farmers of Ontario submitted “an exceptional circumstance” request for permission from Chicken Farmers of Canada to grow additional amounts of chicken on top of its regular allocation, says Michael Edmonds, the provincial supply-managed commodity organization’s communications and government relations director.

The additional chicken supply is needed to meet the added demand coming from competing athletes and tourists attending the games.

About 350,000 people from around the world are expected to attend. The Pan Am Games run July 10 to 26 and the Parapan American Games are from Aug. 7 to 15.

They are the world’s third-largest international multi-sport games after the Olympic summer games and the Asian Games, according to the Pan Am Games website. They are held every four years and Toronto is this year’s host city.

Edmonds says the Chicken Farmers of Ontario request was “based on an analysis done showing an increase in demand around the games.”

In November 2014, Chicken Farmers of Canada approved additional production for Ontario of 570,806 kilograms live or 422,510 kgs eviscerated. Eviscerated chicken “is the usable weight as meat” and has had the head, feet, feathers and internal organs removed, Edmonds says.

The additional production is to be spread over three quota periods – A-129 (Feb. 22 to April 18), A-130 (April 19 to June 13) and A-131 (June 14 to August 8).

The amount approved was what the Ontario board had requested, he says.

For farmers, the increase means their production will go up by about 0.25 per cent over the total of the three quota periods.

Each farmer gets a percentage of the increased production based on the amount of quota units they own. Similarly, processors’ share of the increase is based on the amount of allocation they currently hold.

In Canada, requesting additional chicken production through an exceptional circumstance request was done previously by chicken farmers in British Columbia for the 2010 Olympic winter games that were held there.

Edmonds says the exceptional circumstances request is to cover a “spike in demand above and beyond what would be the normal growth levels.” BF