Quota exemption for Ontario’s small chicken farmers

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Chicken Farmers of Ontario is permitting small flock operators to market chickens.

Comments

This quota systems are absurb archaic protectionist systems put in place to protect existing producers, and severly hinder the growth of local food systems and economies.

I agree completely. Quota is stifling innovation and sustainability in the poultry production.They are stifling local and smaller farmers who understand the birds and use production systems that benefit the bird and the land and environment
I wish we could gather more like minded people and show the quota boards the power of the people in this matter. I have tried for 2 years to get the Ontario board to allow organic and free range broilers to be grown under a special license as it is in BC and Nova Scotia. We are willing to pay a license fee, a quota per bird, to be able to produce, sell and market where we please.
I run up against the 'brick wall' everytime. Why is this sector of the livestock industry protected and not others ??? because the 'big boys' of the industry have it all to themselves and refuse to let anyone else on their 'patch' in case they actually produce a better product and have a wide market. When will the consumer wake up to the fact that these prices are fixed and they have absolutely 'no choice ' of bird.
The cost to set up a small operation by buying quota runs into the millions of dollars, who can afford that? or who wants to put themselves into such debt. or even have the ability to borrow such sums?
Itis perfectly simple, they still can have the say of maximum production ( given sensible limits not the paltry 300 per yaer, who can make a living from that?)and inspect the production. I am willing to work with them, include them in the whole process.
Have you ever seen a real free range broiler, a coloured bird, grown under real free range regulations? in any store in Canada? Once eaten never ever would you want to eat another commercial bird again. Maybe that is why the quota boards are so adamant about keeping us out.

Would everyone on this site prefer and American style system where the food industry is completely subsidized by the government and the producers are controlled by the feed companies like Cargill? You can't have it both ways. Nobody cares if a few hippies grow some chickens in their backyard but the Canadian quota systems protects the family farm and ensures their livelihood.

Unfortunately, by protecting your livelihood, supply management is curtailing mine. Take a look at who is driving land prices…….

I personally think there is a very big difference on how people perceive “chickens”

What is scientifically sound for commercial broiler production does not work for all breeds of chickens (there are literally hundreds of breeds). A large portion of the folks who are pursuing chicken farming on a small scale are contemplating doing so with breeds which are outside the current production system.

Most breeds can’t be covered by the processing form since they only exist in small “backyard” flocks as they have done for their entire existence. It probably is best to leave commercial broiler production (anyone using standard commercial breed) to those individuals with quota who can supply the animals which what science has deemed necessary. After all those birds were created for the modern poultry environment.

With the movement to preserve heritage livestock poultry breeds suffer most in Ontario as the necessary numbers needed to preserve a given breed would necessitate some small scale sales of meat or eggs to keep interest in the breeds. None of the “heritage” breeds most small scale producers uses would ever be capable of competing with the efficiency of modern chicken’s in a modern production system. Personally I truly think there needs to be a better definition put forward for a legal definition of what a “commercial” chicken is rather than lumping all breeds together (we don’t do that for any other type of livestock so why we do this under the chicken marketing boards is beyond me).

You hit the nail on the head!It's all about the breed of chicken.

looks like the PFO were all talk about raising 2000 chickens without quota ...and taking CFO to the Tribunal....maybe they realize that the majority of their membership are content raising 300 or less
g kimble

I assure you that we have not given up the fight.

PFO can speak for themselves, but I don't think they have abandoned the cause either.

Nor have any of Small Flockers' other allies.

Only a suicidal fool rushes into battle unprepared and without a plan.

Small Flockers are up against a dug-in, well supplied, tech savvy, millionaire-rich, well connected, cunning, and arrogant foe who has few scruples.

They laugh at us now, and don't take us seriously, but they are expected to fight viciously as they come to realize that they are losing the battle.

We must be fully prepared for everything, and that is what we are doing.

The Chicken Wars will begin soon enough.

Glenn Black
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada

Well you might just piss off many small flockers by putting them under the radar . Incase you have not figured out that all you need is a wife & kids , other family to all claim they each own 300 of the birds at your place and you too can live in chicken paradise .

As for the chicken wars , are you planning on beating CFO with drum sticks ?

CFO's regulations state that the annual limit of 300 birds is for a lot of land, not a person. You would have to buy multiple properties, or sub-divide the one you have to get around this regulation. Checkerboarding and sub-dividing rural lands is restricted under municipal by-laws, or the Planning Act, and is quite expensive to implement.

It is far better to change the regulation to something more reasonable

without the supply management guys keeping poultry prices at profitable levels you wouldn't even be interested in having your small flock. just a thought

Nonsense - There is no supply management on poultry in the U.S., and Joel Salatin makes very handsome white-collar income at his farm. And he fetches much higher prices for his poultry than do the factory poultry farms in that region.

They are not just protecting the family farm they are protecting there family empire. As all these chicken and dairy farmers keep driving up the price of land so no one young can get in. Yeah great system

This type of long-term legislated privelege is often known as aristocracy - most of our ancestors came here to get away from that type of social system, yet we've created one just as bad, if not worse. Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

Mr. Thompson: If you took the time to do a little research into the past you will find that in late 18th century and well into the 19th century, one of the biggest complaints in Ontario agriculture was land ownership.

Owning land gave a person special rights in society..... most of your ancestors were aware of that hence heeded the call to settle in this country. Many wanted to enjoy the perks of "aristocracy" but could not in their own country as it was cost prohibitive.

Tenant farming and related rental problems was a topic of discussion in parliament for years.

Absentee land owners created burdens on society. As an example: one of the government's main concern was road maintenance, or more specifically, the lack of as land owners were required to perform a minimum 6 statute days of road work a year. The government did not care about the actual farmer through those years of "privileged" land ownership as much as they were concerned about being saddled with expenses that was legislatively being extracted from farmers.

What goes around comes around. Non-farmers owning agricultural lands are creating much of the same problems 200 years ago.

Our government is encouraging a class of "privileged" land owners through legislation such as the GreenBelt, Species at Risk, Water Protection Act, Energy Act, etc.

I would hazard to guess that non-farmer owned land outpaces farmer-owned land 4 to 1.

I would suggest you take a page from your ancestors if you really think you are so oppressed........ land is cheap in Brazil right now.

joann vergeer

I intend to stay here to do my best to abolish the rural aristocracy we have so stupidly created. Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

The amarican goverment dose not subsidize * * * * they say if you want to farm go ahead and good luck with that as for the food industry its the same
As for Quota what about me a guy who is trying to support his famly of 4 Owns a farm but cannot afford the quota ( and the banks wont lend the money) so the barn sits empty I think the number shuld be 2000 birds every 8 weeks w/o Quota
Thanks George

Comment modified by editor

Would you please define what a family farm is anymore.

Today, a family farm is a small, unprofitable farm owned by a husband and wife who must both work outside jobs to subsidize the farm.

According to them, support in the States is only at 9%. Canada is at 16%. New Zealand and Austalia were 1 and 3% respectively. In general, support is falling for all OECD participants. They did affirm that the milk, poultry and egg sectors continue to recieve high price support in Canada. Raube Beuerman, Dublin, ON

In Ontario, there are 1,114 quota-bearing chicken factories owned by various family dynasties. Contrast that with the 13,500 small flock poultry farms in Ontario (the numeric majority) who are persecuted and made uneconomical by the 300 bird limit imposed by the minority millionaire quota farmers.

In Canada, it is 2,700 quota-bearing chicken farms vs. about 35,000 small flockers.

Which of these are the "small family farms" that need to be (and deserve to be) protected?

Glenn Black
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada

The Practical Farmers of Ontario are the only general farm organization in Ontario that sole focus is working for the rights of independent farmers and we make that clear. The other 3 GFO's all pander to supply management, we believe it is a part of ruining the family farm and rural Ontario. If you want a farm for the future that empowers small and Mid size farms then i welcome you to join the PFO and help us fight the good fight to protect our rights as farmers.

Sean McGivern
President PFO

PFO is a "group" or "club" similar to Ecological Farmers. It is not an accredited farm organization.
PFO can continue to lobby as a group but it is not a GFO in Ontario......if you goggle the requirements to become accredited...PFO has a long ways to go.

(2) A farm organization does not meet the criterion prescribed in paragraph 5 of subsection (1) if it represents only persons carrying on a farming business in which only certain crops, livestock or poultry are raised or in which only certain agricultural products are produced.

No supply managed farmers allowed in the PFO. How about women?

You make it sound like you are an accredited farm org by saying the other 3 GFO's . Now I know we just had Christmas but you might as well of said Olive ( all of for the PFO minds ) , the other reindeer ..... and call him names ! Sorry too much eggnog !!

A farm empowers the owner not a group . I think you mean if you want a farm group that empowers .....

Further it sounds like you are trying to be yet another OLA .

If its uneconomical why is there 13,500 small flock farmers ? consider yourselves lucky, in dairy there could not be 13,500 "small herd" farmers.

What is going to change by becoming bigger ?
If you can't make money with 300 and are now losing money , having more will only mean you will loose more . Further how many are full time farmers ?

You are starting to think like many other farmers who have to run thousands of acres to make a living . Like I have been told before , they must be piss poor farmers if they need to work thousands of acres to make a living !!

All organizations, farming included, incur both fixed and variable costs. Chicken Farmers of Ontario ("CFO") has previously stated that the 300 bird limit was chosen in part because it was impossible to break even with just 300 birds per year.

By raising the exemption limit to a reasonable level (say, 2000 birds per year), the fixed overheads gets spread over more birds, lowering the breakeven point for the farm, making profitability possible.

Last week, I paid $18 for a 25 kg bag of chicken feed (ie. $720 per metric tonne). Small Flockers have to pay 33% more for our chicken feed than the millionaire factory farmers.

If we assume all other costs are the same, these sky-high feed prices would raise Small Flocker live chicken farm gate prices by 20%, eviscerated meat at wholesale by 68%, and 235% at retail meat counters.

If that isn't bad enough, millionaire chicken factory farmers caused or contributed to these sky high chicken feed prices. Chicken feed is priced 33% higher than all similar non-Supply Management feeds because of the 10 years of bogus FCR charges CFO imposed. These bogus FCR charges for the last 10 years made sure that every time the feed mills raised chicken feed prices, the millionaire chicken factory farms got fully reimbursed for the feed price increase, plus they received a 5.9% bonus payment on top.

Why would the millionaire chicken factory farmers resist price increases if they were 5.9% more profitable every time a price increase occurred?. They'd encourage feed price increases, as big and as often as possible; and that's what they did.

While Small Flockers can't do much about their feed input costs, what is the millionaire factory chicken farmer's excuse for these huge markups they enjoy with their government imposed monopoly?

All Small Flockers want, as well as all Canadian consumers who buy chicken, is to be treated fairly.

For the documented proof on all the above facts, see SFPFC's Blog.

Glenn Black
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada (SFPFC)

So what is going to make things cheaper for more than 300 birds . You will need more than a chicken coupe if you have any more . A place in an old bank barn would also work . If you are thinking that some one is going to pay a mortgage and a new building for 2000 birds then you better think again .

As for your feed cost , if you are buying feed one bag at a time then you are fooling yourself . Bags are the most expensive way to buy feed .
You would be better to go bulk or grind your own if cost is really relevant . Can't help but think that you haven't thought of that already . If not then you are not going to make it anyway .

About 60% of the cost to grow chicken is the cost of feed. I have investigated the possibility of growing my own, or buying local grain.

Local grain from long established farmers off the combine is $225 per tonne (wheat, oats, or barley, canola). As I need about 12 tonnes per year, most of those farmers can't be bothered selling to me. We don't have enough heat units here to effectively grow corn, but it can be trucked in from down South.

To buy tiled land and good used farming equipment would cost way more than buying trucked-in feed. I can't find anybody interested in crop sharing.

All that the local feed suppliers have is 25 kg bags. After encouraging my two local feed dealers for over a year to bring in 1 tonne bags of feed for me, I finally gave up on them, I went to a different supplier, and now I have tonne bags of feed at $550 per tonne, a 24% savings over the 25 kg bags of feed. I still pay 62% more for my feed than the chicken factory boys.

Other Small Flockers may not be so lucky in getting a partial solution to their need for affordable feed.

Glenn Black
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada

Please explain why you are paying 62% more for feed than the chicken factory boys are? Is it because they own high priced land and produce feed below their true COP? Are you asking crop farmers to sell feed grains below their cop so that you can make a profit on your chickens?

Cargill doesn't own quota in canada? And owning quota in Canada doesn't give them a un fair advantage to the competition in the u.s.

The quota system does NOT protect the family farm. It is one of the things that is DESTROYING Canada's family farms. The quota system only protects the gargantuan, corporate factory farms. No family can afford to get into the quota system today. Also, tough guy, since when is someone who is trying to feed his family a "hippie". I can think of many names for you, but unlike you, I would only call them to your face.

You can name call and it is allowed to be posted? Fine, so can I and only if they have balls will they allow it to be posted.

Comment modified by editor.

Quota is important to have. If everyone had chickens, there would be no money in it and everyone would sell their chickens. If few people had chickens, there would be good money in it and everyone would buy chickens, then there would be no money in it and..... It's a cycle. Other countries in Europe have gotten rid of the quota system and that^ is exactly what happens. I too am a small chicken farmer and wish I could have more chickens without quota, but I also realize the importance of it. Quota keeps production and supply stable.

SM is pitting farmer against farmer . What other farm sector gets to set it's own price/profit in a global market ? Farming is global but for some reason here in Canada with the protection of SM we are stuck in a feed our and rape the consumer mentality .
What other Ag sector gets to set it's price based on the Gov regulations and ignoring the global price ?

Appearently the beef and pork industries cared little about global prices when retail prices in this country rose at times to over 40% in 2015.

So, if I interpret this right, even if I only raise birds for my own use, I must register them, even if I hatch them myself, I must register them. This gives inspectors the right to come onto my property. Customers are not allowed near the birds. Free range is pretty much impossible. I must get rid of all my other livestock and pets. By registering I am supporting an industry I don't agree with through fees imposed at their discretion and the government is also looking for more if they find me in violation. This is what society gets for demanding the government supply cheap food. This is supported by a government that maintains they are accountable. Our question should be "just who are they accountable to?" I wonder what they will do now that urban areas are allowed to have backyard chickens. If this is all about avian flu, I need to know what they will do about all the wild turkeys, grouse, geese and ducks in my area, not to mention all birds. It's AVIAN flu, not chicken flu, and it became a problem due to the conditions of the commercial industry. It's interesting to note when I allow my birds to roam, my feed bill drops considerably, which suggests to me that they are not getting everything they need or want from commercial feed. I am not interested in supplying the public with meat, but only for my own consumption, so I see this as a direct assault on privacy. Just sign me---Outraged

The chicken, dairy, turkey, egg, and a few other commodities asked the government to put in supply management. The farmers voted for it, each of the SM commodities have a farmer board voted in by their members who make they rules. The Beef, pork and about 95% of all commodities voted against being SM.
I am a beef producer with 250 cows. We raise cow/calf to finish cattle. We sell our beef into the local market. We have raised some meat birds for ourselves, and some laying hens over the years.

If you wish to know about what Avian Flue is like I suggest that you talk to chicken farmers from BC that went through it. (it come from some small lock and not an large industrial flock, AF did bankrupt some feed companies and a few others. The chicken farms were compensated by the federal government for their birds that were destroyed ) All in all it was a horrible time for everyone. A lot of the rules are made to protect the animals, and the people, that is the governments job, to protect the National herd/flock! That is why we have rules. In case like avian flue, Foot and Mouth or any FAD , the government needs to know where the animals are as quickly as possible to stop the spread , save human and animal lives. It may be an assault on your privacy, but your sick birds killing my children is an assault on mine.

Dope,

Having fools that don't wash their hands, clothes & boots coming from flock to flock is what spreads bird flu. It's like most cat AIDS [hence why most shelters have two separate areas and tell you WASH YOUR HANDS going between them].

You don't seem to comprehend chickens and the problem - mostly because cows aren't as heavily regulated. In fact I don't even believe you have a quota so you won't have a clue how this handicaps.

Hello, I am a consumer.

I just want to say that there is a growing number of consumers that are looking to buy local, ecologically produced poultry from diverse breeds.

It's better for our health, it's better for the environment and it tastes better.

Could someone explain the system to me in detail of why this isn't possible?

Best,

Paul

Our wonderful government caters to huge factory farms and to hell with the little guy. Period.

Buy local buy fresh is a Gov push . It does however come with a pretty hefty price increase . I think the Greenbelt Foundation has money for niche producers .
There is nothing to prove one is better/healthier than the other .

Very old and unwell I have trouble finding protein food to eat as chickens in stores taste like cardboard to me and i do not find trustable place to get real organic. I have a large garden outside of city. Can I get a few chicken to eat with my family and is there restrictions, cost and supervision to restrict me from doing this?

Just because they say its local does not mean its safe or good for you. Make sure you see where it is being raised or grown to make sure it is being as they say, and not just brought in and say they raised or grew it.

Without the quota system there would be an abundance of supply with no room for profit. It isn't sustainable to produce our food at a loss. There are cases in Europe where meat is thrown away due due excessive production of a perishable product. I believe that the small flock producers should be able to have more than 300 birds , but its a pretty good start.

Let's not forget that the quota system also stifles supply too much. Can we say Chobani yogurt? If I am not mistaken, CAMI poultry was also denied a supply of chicken. Without these competing processors there is too much room for profit for the other processors under the sm system. What a shame. Raube Beuerman, Dublin, ON

As a person who works in commercial sales I also own a farm on the side. If I had 2000 chickens roaming my fields I would have no problem selling the eggs and making a good buck at it. Profit is there to be made if you have a good product that is not generic.

without the quota system there would be far more innovation in the poultry industry as a whole. They have been raising the industrial birds in the same old way for 40 years since quots came into force. It is nonsense to say there would be an overproduction of chicken and no room for profit, there would be a thinning out of the not so good farmers and an establishment of the farmers that are innovative with marketing and rearing there birds in a welfare friendly system. If quota was the reason that all food could be 'managed' how come lots of other livestock is sold for profits in other markets, and how come we do not need quota on everything. The cream will always rise to the top, and good producers will rise to the challenge. In business we all have competitors, it is how we treat our livestock and our customers and the fine products we provide that make our customers remain loyal and bring us profits.

there are many ways in which the chicken board could allow much more enterprise in chicken production without quota, and still be selling their millions of birds with no impact on their sale at all. Niche marketing is the key to be able to survive in todays markets.

Niche marketing is over-rated because it's one of those things in which just one-too-many units of production can, and does, drive the price to zero. Niche marketing may be OK for retired people and/or the independently wealthy, but the volume side of the cost/volume/profit equation still rules, and beats niche marketing every time, especially for those things which are, in effect, commodity items in the first place.

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

full time mixed farming can be financely secure...each part of your farming operation aids the other......grow the feed and make your own rations/sell the animals and products from them/grow produce and sell the produce directly to customers ( retail or wholesale)/ use the manures ( compost) as fertilizer.......work hard ...get organized...and be REAL FARMERS

g kimble

Inherent in your proposal is the belief that transfer pricing is irrelevant, and it's not. For example, why impoverish yourself and risk your farm by deliberately "selling" your corn to youself and see it "walk off" the farm for half of what you could have had by understanding, and following, the concepts of transfer pricing? Mixed farming can be, and often is, anything but secure because the "whole" can easily be less than the sum of the parts.

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

I guess we are your textbook example of how to make a living at farming. My wife and i are fulltime mixed farmers and have made a very decent living for the last 30 years. We are able to sell from our farm in the most economically viable manner............When did full time farming stop being an occupation????

g kimble

I have only three farm clients who farm full time - two are senior citizens and one couple is in their late 50s, and living off the equity coming from the sale of their milk quota. That leaves about 97, or so, who are not, and who, thanks largely to supply management's ability to rape and pillage at will, never will be full-time farmers. Full-time farming is so 1970s - it's a dream which doesn't exist any more for anyone except those who were born with quota under their pillow.

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

why is it so difficult to get people to believe that Farming is still occupation.....there are so many skills that a real farmer has
we are full time farmers as i mentioned before and we employ 3 seasonal helpers ......we are selling directly to our customers
maybe other guys don't want to work like us????
we are not senior citizens.............and we are not living in the 70's ...we are producing what the modern day consumer wants.

g kimble

With respect, I suggest you may be falling into the trap sometimes described as "the fallacy of composition" which assumes that works for your farm, in your case direct sales, will work for every farm, and that's simply not valid. Direct sales works only for a very few farms (none of my farm clients who are in direct sales, and who work hard at it, are making any money) and without the right location, and if every farm was doing the same thing, you'd be right back at point zero, no matter how hard you worked.

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

Mr Kimble is right you can full-time farm but Mr Thompson is right in that what works for one farm will not work for other farms. It might also depend on what you define as full-time farmers. I know guys who raise beef cattle and cash crop but in the winter they cut wood out of the bush or move snow. I say they are still full-time farmers. There are also guys who truck cattle or fix up, use, then resell equipment I think they are full-time farmers as well. It is easier to be a full-time farmer milking cows when you have the milk cheque come in every month but they still that have in non-supply managed countries. You can full-time farm but it takes work, ingenuity and a lot of years. Dont expect to do it out of college either not without a lot of help

Full time stopped being an occupation hmmmm a long time ago! I have been waiting all my life to be able to farm (39 yrs) and thanks to all these large operators and the peeps that have immigrated to Southwestern Ontario I don't stand a chance. Where I live land is selling for 20000 plus an acre and quota is unreachable.At almost 40 who the heck has that kind of required down payment and what you get back out of it won't even come close to making the payments!

where are you located?...we want to start farming and raising cows and chickens for others. Would love to know how you do it and if it's worth it

Thanks
Cynthia :)

our farm is just outside an urban centre where the young generation of foodies want products direct from a farm that they know and trust.....it is possible to make a living as farmers

Don't forget the fact that many have benefitted from raising their own feed . Many have built an empire based on cheap feed and a low dollar to only complain about loosing money because of the dollar changing and feed going up in price .
So how secure is the Mono over mixed ? Likely what ever gov support you get .
Hhmmmm SM sort of shows that the example you might like to refer to only works when gov support is not needed .

If you can buy corn to feed hogs cheaper than you can grow it yourself then that might be the way to go . But if it can be grown for less then that is the way to go . But you can't easily set up to have it both ways and be any size in the market . Try to pay a mortgage on a barn that is empty and not producing .
And I am not talking an old bank barn .

I have been raising a few chickens to sell at farmgate to help supplement my income from raising rabbits( a lean and low cholesterol meat by the way), I don't want to raise thousands of chickens or compete with the corporate farms, I certainly can't afford numbers like $15000 for quota for 300 chickens. All I want is to be able to raise some free-range chickens to sell to those people who want something more "homegrown" lets say. I am not a threat to the big farms and if you have raised chickens you will know it is not for the feint of heart, they can be smelly and messy and you certainly will never get rich raising a few to sell at farmgate (believe me). Anyway if Ontario is the largest producer of broilers in Canada why isn't the number we small farmers can raise more in sync with the other provinces? I will raise about 180 this year and due to our short summer here that will be all I have time for. Kathy Flagler

We have proposed raising the quota exempt limit from 300 to 2,000. Based on CFO data, that 2,000 limit will give each Small Flocker just 0.001% of the Ontario chicken market.

It seems that CFO feels that 0.001% market share for a Small Flock farmer is totally unacceptable. CFO wants 100% market share for its members, and hoped to use the bureaucracy and regulatory straightjackets on Small Flockers as an effective method of genocide on Small Flockers, sending them the way of dodo birds and dinosaurs.

So far, there plan hasn't works, as the number of Small Flockers has increased by 19% in the last few years. We now have at least 15,500 Small Flock chicken farmers in Ontario, about 50,000 in Canada.

Glenn Black
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada

no you do not get rich on a few chickens but as an organic producer one know that you your family will not be subjected to the mis use of GMO grains and ANTIBIOTICS. There is more of a need for these producers and to stay small we cannot aford quota.

I wish we could all get together on this on line, maybe someone out there will start a facebook page.It is time the consumer in Canada knew she only has the choice of one breed of chicken, she can choose from over 50 kinds of toothbrushes, maybe 40 types of breads. and the list goes on, BUT only ONE choice of chicken from coast to coast.
Define an industrialised chicken..that is easy there are only two industrial breeds here, a Ross and Cobb both engineered to grow to maturity in 39 days. Both kept in large barns with no natural daylight ( cannot have that, they would actually move around and run some weight off) in large numbers ( why not get more in if we can)Dimmed lights to make sure they just move from the water to the feed....fast weight gain is the issue here.
I am once again going to the board in Ontario to try and persuade them to let us grow an alternative heritage breed without quota, but under license, in a non confinement programme.Willing to pay an annual fee per bird and a levy , let the board visit all they like....guess I am still hopeful someone on the board will be honest about what they are doing there, as you say, feathering their own nests and keeping it 'all in the family'.

Love this quote from Scott Monty, head of Ford's social media.

In business, NOW is a good time to shake things up, So many businesses keep the "we've always done it that way" mentality when the world around them has changed.
Always listen to your customers. Right or wrong the passionate ones need to be embraced.

Get together Canadians and demand a choice of chicken at the grocery store, and the freedom for producers to grow alternative breeds without quota. Get your local supermarket on track with you..they have the clout with these big guys.Get them to pressure the boards to let people grow under license for a fee per year and NO QUOTA wow what wonderful chicken you may see in your stores then.

Barbara in NS

The squeaky wheel gets the grease and it's high time to squeal like a pig! The last effort to raise the quota was accompanied with a petition of 1000 names. A concerted effort could get 1000 signatures at 1 of the larger farmer's markets IN 1 WEEKEND! Customers that I talk to are appalled and unaware of the restrictions that Joe farmer has by the Corporate monopoly. It starts Spring 2015.

you are only allowed 300 birds per property not per name. This will be verified by the CFO regime when they raid your property, steal your lively hood and trample your basic human rights.

Sean McGivern

thank you for clearly pointing the CFO regulations on small flock numbers...it's 300 per property

Exactly how many members do you have Sean?

You are right it is all about the breed. if you want an exceptional tasting free range chicken, grown without antibiotics and under some set regulations as to housing and density in the house and on the land ( to preserve the pasture area) then you use a heritage bird or a mix of heritage birds. These have all the old characteristics of robustness, forgaging habits, and meat flavour that reminds us of times past. Grown , slowly, not rushed ( 39 days for a commercial chicken vs 63 -70 days for a heritage bird) for a longer period, the meat is more flavorful and tender.The bird has the advantage of fresh air, a more natural diet and a happy life. It is a proven fact that happy chickens taste better ( Bristol University UK study) and the meat is more tender and with more flavour.
Give us small free rage growers a chance and we will give you a bird with a flavour that will remind you of times past. Only let us have enough in numbers ( not thousands) to make an adequate living, not 300 who can live on that.

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