Chicken farmers say their Ontario marketing board is falling
short of their expectations on key issues.
That emerges from a board-paid survey that brought in about
300 responses from members of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board.
They were asked to provide two sets of rankings, one for the
importance of various things the board does and then for how satisfied they are
with the board’s performance on those things.
Enforcement of supply management was the top priority for
82.6 per cent of the farmers, but only 47.3 per cent said they are totally
satisfied with the board’s performance on that issue.
Lobbying politicians ranked second priority, chosen by 72.5
per cent as a top priority; only 34 per cent said they are totally satisfied
with the board on that issue.
Marketing and promotion was identified as a top priority by
68.5 per cent of the farmers; only 32.5 per cent they are totally satisfied on
that score.
Other issues, with top ranking as a priority and board
performance in brackets, were industry updates and education for farmers: 39.3
(29); promotion of best business practices: 36.6 (27), and enforcement of food
safety, animal welfare and other regulations: 41.9 (36.5).
The board says in its newsletter, which reports the survey
results, that it’s going to use the results to improve its performance for
members.
How many farm organizations have the courage to undertake a similar survey of membership priorities and satisfaction?
