Goat, rabbit producers preparing to vote

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

The organizations representing Ontario’s goat and rabbit producers are preparing to hold a vote to obtain formal recognition as a commodity group.

Jennifer Haley, their executive director, says the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission has approved producer expression-of-opinion votes about permitting the two organizations to, among other things, replace voluntary membership fees with check-off fees. Ontario Rabbit and Ontario Goat, as well as Ontario Veal, share staff and office resources but remain separate entities. The commission controls the province’s marketing boards and delegates marketing powers.

Haley says the organizations are working with the commission to set dates. “There’s no deadline per say other than the current project funding that’s providing the resources for what we’re doing ends December 2012,” she says. “We want to make sure that everything is going to happen in a timely fashion so we can get everything done with the government and with any potential regulations that need to be in place if we’re successful with our vote in time for January 2013.”

The ability to charge a check-off fee will help the organizations fund activities such as producer education and promotion. Ontario Goat is asking for a check-off of $0.0075 per litre on every litre of milk shipped and $2.50 for every head of animal sold for meat or breeding stock valued over $20.

Haley says some goat producers have been divided over whether Ontario Goat should ask for marketing powers. “We are not asking for price setting; we are not asking for negotiation powers at this time; we are not establishing quota for milk,” she says. “Our request is very simple, to be able to get ourselves established as an organization, to be able to be financially self-sufficient and self-supporting with the check-off and to be able to know who our producers are and be able to communicate and work with those producers.”

Ontario Rabbit is asking for the ability to collect check-off fees on every meat rabbit produced and processed for meat, including those sold out of province. The fee would be introduced over three years and begin at $0.15 per rabbit and rise to $0.25 by the third year.

For Ontario Rabbit, the biggest challenge has been determining the number of rabbit producers in the province, Haley says, because the commodity falls under the “other” category in provincial statistics gathering. Ontario Rabbit has 70 voluntary members. However, its research indicates there may be 150 to 200 producers “that would have quite a range in operation sizes,” Haley says. All farmers who produce rabbits commercially for meat will have an opportunity to vote. She adds that one of the benefits of the proposal to formalize the organization is that it would help the industry to get a better handle on who is producing rabbits so that information, communication and education could be better directed to the sector.

Ontario Goat has 325 members, which is a little more than half the 600 meat and dairy goat producers in the province. All goat producers will have an opportunity to vote.

The voting period and time and dates of information sessions preceding the vote will be unveiled at the two organizations’ annual meetings April 11 in Stratford.

Ontario Veal is also moving toward formalizing its organization. Haley says the organization went last week to the commission to discuss a revised proposal. “We did receive feedback that they would be proceeding towards a vote,” she says. That vote will take place after the rabbit and goat votes, she says. BF