Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Chicken board announces small-flock plan


The Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board is following up on its earlier plans and is inviting applications from small-flock producers for “The Artisanal Chicken Program”.

It Is open to those willing to produce 600 to 3,000 birds per year.

It is also strictly limited because the national agency only allows Ontario to increase production by a percentage of growth in national demand.

Earlier the board allocated quota to producers to supply the market for dual-purpose and red-feathered birds. They need to buy their poults from Frey’s Hatchery in St. Jacobs and commit to marketing their birds to board-approved processors.

Although not many details have been revealed, this new plan appears to be open to any breed of bird and any processor.

The board says its program “provides opportunities for small, independent, locally based farmers to meet local demands for safe high quality chicken.

“The Artisanal Chicken Program will help farmers fill local food and seasonal markets and will give Ontario consumers more choice and options in how and where they buy locally grown chicken.

“CFO will strive to foster close productive relationships between Artisanal Chicken Farmers and their business partners based on strong artisanal values in the production and marketing of artisanal chicken.”

Production will begin next year and successful applicants must be in “compliance with the On-Farm Food safety Assurance Program and (OFFSAP) and the Animal Care Program (and) will be required to maintain biosecurity and industry standards which support the long term sustainability of the chicken industry in Ontario.

“The closing date for submissions for 2016 Applications is September 4, 2015.”

The permission to grow birds under this program will be for one year at a time.

Small-flock owners, led by Glenn Black of Providence Bay, Manitoulin Island, have been lobbying long and hard to gain permission for small-flock farmers to market up to 2,500 birds per year without quota.

I could hear Black cheering all the way from Providence Bay to Kitchener!

Under board regulations, it would cost more than $1 million for quota alone to become a member of the marketing board.

The board says it will launch two other new programs - a Local Niche Markets program, and a Business Development program – but has provided no details.

Black has long argued that there is a keen market among consumers who want special types of chicken from local farmers. He has argued that allowing small-flock owners to fill this demand without having to own quota would not hurt quota holders and would do much to enhance the reputation of supply management.