Poultry abattoir proposed for Thunder Bay

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Abattoir is seen as a key resource for providing locally produced product say area farm leaders

Comments

There is another person working on a similar facility in the area near Kakabeka Falls.

We are in South Africa, and I can tell that the market is widely open, that's why we as a group wants to approach that market and I know that will be successful because of our researches and experiences in that field of processing, the only thing is money or lets call it finance, but before that step, we need a good business plan to take over a existing operation plan.

I grew up in the Niagara region and it seemed like every corner had a butcher shop / Abattoir on it. In Thunder Bay there is only one abitor for the whole NorthWest District and this is a huge district.
So the owner has a monopoly on what he wants to charge. The wait times for slaughter are unacceptable. I know people who have began slaughtering at home due to wait times

My concern about the lack of knowledge in the general public has been justified here.
Jason Reid mentions his concern that "food safety and meat quality regulations aref the same in federal and provincial plants. " is far off the mark!
Within Ontario regulations, there is no particular concern for meat quality in the poultry business. Whereas, there is greater concern for meat quality in the federal level. Overall meat quality is of no concern whatsoever of OMAFRA. They do not grade meat! (Poultry)
Although Brekvelds idea of one national abattoir system is noble, it would require every small meat plant owner and operater to step up to federal standards.
You had better check out those regulations before you speak this language! Does anybody know what HACCP costs? And that would only be the beginning.
Small, custom meat plants face a considerable uphill battle to stay in business, let alone get into business.
Again, Brekvelds idea of a one stop meat inspection program would ultimately cost an exorbitant amount of money. This plan would ultimately push the price of processing both red meat animals and poultry very much higher than it is right now. Farmers have already been faced wIth higher costs of production due to fuels, labour and fertilizer, let alone feed costs. Would they be expected to shoulder the burden of higher processing cost? I think not.
Moving to federal regulations has its positive side if the processor is planning to export their product.
Moving to federal regulations has absolutely no upside to a provincial plant that is only processing custom poultry for a few farmers in the area.
On a side note, OMAFRA is not the only concern for both processors or farmers alike.
The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission is of much bigger concern to marketing local food within our very close agricultural community. (Did you know that you can not grow over a single acre of asparagus without quota rights?)

Ken

Please forward a complete business plan to start an poultry abbatoir

In Jan 2014, I proposed an Ontario-wide solution for poulty abattoirs, so all areas of Ontario can be well served at minimal cost to farmers, consumers, and the province.

This solution is based on what the Connecticut poultry farmers have already done. Ontario would need 128 mobile site locations scattered throughout Ontario and 7 mobile abattoirs trailers for serving all of Ontario.

Assuming that the mobile abattoir crew would do all birds at a site in one day, a second day to clean up, and a third day on the road to travel to the next site & set up there, that is a 3 day cycle per site.

If farmers are doing the typical quota-based 6.5 poultry grow cycles per year, they will need the mobile abattoir to come by their area for each of those poultry grow cycles. Therefore there are 6.5 cycles per year x 128 sites x 3 days/site= 2,496 days of work to be done in all of Ontario. Assuming 350 work days per year for each mobile abattoir, we would therefore need 7 mobile abattoirs trailers for serving all of Ontario.

Rather than serving just themselves, hopefully Thunder Bay's needs will encourage them to lobby for a better solution that serves all Ontario AND Thunder Bay better and cheaper.

If we do this piece meal, the grand solution for everybody becomes less and less feasible. Ontario can't afford to put a stand-alone bricks and mortar abattoir in every community. That means if Thunder Bay gets a solution just for them, and others follow suit, vast regions of Ontario will be left behind with no solution.

Is Thunder Bay's current proposal in the best interest of all Ontario?

Glenn Black
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada

a regional solution or an Ontario-wide solution? why need to choose one or another? We all know that the location of Thunder Bay is very trickey, therefore a mobile abattoir plan, with Thunder Bay included, will be very fuel consuming, and the fuel money will be added up to the meat price. If so, how about consider an On Ontario plan without Thunder Bay to lower the price for Sothern Ontario, and let Thunder Bay develope their own?

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