Dollars for tracking a smart move says Ontario producer

Monday, February 14, 2011

by KRISTIAN PARTINGTON

Federal investment in traceability measures is a smart move regardless of the province in which it takes place, says a Warkworth, Ontario producer.

Traceability measures are a fact of life in the agriculture industry and Canadian maple syrup producers must take advantage of any means necessary to increase consumer confidence in their product, says George Potter of Sandy Flat Sugar Bush. “Every batch I make I can pinpoint, either at stores or what have you – that's the key to traceability.”

On Tuesday, the federal government committed more than $110,000 to Potter's Quebec counterparts to help them enhance maple syrup traceability. The money, presented to the Fédération des Producteurs Acéricoles du Québec, will fund feasibility studies of new technologies, such as radio frequency identification chips, to track barrels of syrup through all stages of the value chain, from tap to market.

Potter, who has been in the syrup business for more than 25 years, says all producers stand to benefit from any knowledge gained. He tracks every ounce of syrup that comes from his 5,000 tapped sugar maples.

If consumers feel more confident in the product then the work is worth it, he says.

Potter says it’s logical to locate the initiative in Quebec because its maple syrup production is much larger than Ontario’s. Quebec's maple syrup industry produced an average of more than 24 million litres of syrup between 2000 and 2004 compared to Ontario's 1.1 million over the same five year period.

He says he isn't concerned the funding could place Ontario producers at a competitive disadvantage.

“I think it's a wonderful thing,” Potter says, of today's announcement. If Quebec's producers find new technologies that make traceability measures more efficient and effective then “it would help everybody in Canada.” BF