Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Price adjustment for Ontario's chicken farmers

Thursday, April 26, 2012

by SUSAN MANN

Adjustments to the producer margin section of Ontario chicken farmers’ live price continue until the middle of July.

The adjustments were implemented as a result of a study of producer costs completed jointly by Chicken Farmers of Ontario and the Association of Ontario Chicken Processors. The study was based on 2006 information. Mike Terpstra, executive director of the chicken processors association, says this was a new study because the one they were using was dated.

The previous producer margin component of the live price was 47.32 cents a kilogram. The study determined the new producer component should be 46.62 cents a kilogram. The new number was supposed to be implemented for the A-106 (Aug. 14, 2011 to Oct. 8, 2011) quota period but it wasn’t put in until A-109 (Jan. 29, 2012 to March 24) because the results of the study weren’t finalized for it to be included last August, Terpstra says.

Part of the change in the live price for quota period A-109 (Jan. 29 to March 24) reflects the results of the 2006 study of producer costs. The producer margin portion is .007 cents a kilogram lower as a result of the study, it says in the live price update on the Chicken Farmers of Ontario website.

The decrease of .007 cents a kilogram is the difference between the old and new producer margin component, Terpstra explains.

Terpstra says the producer margin component is updated once every six quota periods. They don’t redo the study every six quota periods but use Statistics Canada indices to update that portion of the live price.

A further .007 cents a kilogram decrease was implemented because three quota periods were missed when the new producer margin component should have been in place “so we had to double up basically,” Terpstra says. This decrease is only in effect for quota periods A-109, A-110 (March 25 to May 19) and A-111 (May 20 to July 14).

A revised producer margin component of the live price will be implemented for six quota periods starting with the A-112 (July 15 to Sept. 8) one. The revised number will be compared to the current number of 46.62 cents a kilogram, Terpstra says. If the producer margin component is higher that portion will be increased for those six quota periods whereas if it’s lower the component will be decreased.

The chicken live price is governed by regulation 402 under the Farm Products Marketing Act and includes costs for feed, chicks and the producer margin component. The live price is updated every quota period for feed and chick costs.

There are discussions about how to update the study of producer costs for the producer margin component. “We’d like to be doing them every four years so that we have more current information,” Terpstra says. BF


 

Current Issue

June/July 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility

Friday, June 27, 2025

Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online

Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost

Friday, June 27, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online

Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top