Ontario's chicken farmers mull future growth
Monday, January 12, 2015
by SUSAN MANN
Chicken Farmers of Ontario representatives will be using the information gleaned from consultations being held this winter to help shape decisions on how future growth in the industry is distributed to both farmers and processors.
The consultations are a project of Chicken Farmers, the Association of Ontario Chicken Processors and the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission. Chicken Farmers says on its website growth in established and emerging chicken markets “presents a real opportunity for the industry to review existing mechanisms of allocating growth.” The idea is to assess the current system and explore new ways to administer growth to both producers and processors.
Michael Edmonds, Chicken Farmers’ director of communications and government policy, says the plan is to hold 10 meetings for Chicken Farmers of Ontario members, plus additional meetings for others in the industry, such as processors and retailers. There are also two public meetings being held later this month. Sixteen meetings are being held in total. More may be added if they’re needed.
Written submissions are also being accepted at: www.ontariochicken.ca/chickenindustryconsultations.
The farmer meetings began in December 2014 and are just wrapping up now. “We are very pleased with the high level of attendance and participation at those meetings so far,” he says.
Chicken farmer Ted van den Hurk, who farms near Stayner, attended the Orangeville meeting Jan. 6 and agreed there was a good turnout. “The room was packed.”
The high turnout shows there’s a huge interest among farmers in the consultations. “It will determine how the future growth will be distributed to the farmers,” he says. “That is very important to farmers to know how that can happen.”
He declined to give his personal opinions on how future growth should be distributed. “Every comment is recorded and saved as is, so for me to say: ‘This is the way I think it should happen would destroy the whole process.’”
Background documents on the Chicken Farmers’ website say the consultation process will help generate input and feedback on how to allocate growth in a manner to successfully position the Ontario chicken industry for additional future economic growth and success.
In particular, the consultations are focused on:
- Determining how Chicken Farmers of Ontario can help evolve the allocation systems for farmers and processors to improve the flexibility and responsiveness in capitalizing on growth opportunities in the marketplace.
- Coming up with ways to create value by serving the needs of growing and emerging markets.
- Initiating ideas to encourage innovation and new business building ideas.
- Exploring how best to serve the needs of existing markets.
- Identifying the components of a predictable and stable system.
- Exploring how best to encourage quality, efficiency and value creation.
Mike Terpstra, executive director of the Association of Ontario Chicken Processors, declined by email to say what their ideas are on how growth should be distributed. The AOCP “will put its views forward on the distribution of growth through the consultation process,” he says.
Edmonds described the consultations as a “very extensive process. We’re reaching out to as many stakeholder groups and stakeholders as we can to encourage full participation for all those who are interested in the chicken sector in Ontario.”
Once the consultations are done, it will be up to the consultation committee, called Team Ontario, to decide what happens next and when a report will be released, he says. A deadline or time for when any new type of system will be in place hasn’t yet been determined.
John Slot, general manager of the Ontario Independent Poultry Processors, which represents small chicken processors, couldn’t be reached for comment. BF