© Copyright AgMedia Inc
by BETTER FARMING STAFF
In Canada the chicken, turkey, egg and dairy industries employ a quota system that matches supply with demand ensuring stable pricing and consistent supply. Beginning in 2009 however the chicken board will allow operators to sell up to 300 birds a year at the farm gate without having to buy quota.
Ann Slater, president of Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario (EFAO), says her association is “happy” with the marketing board’s Thursday announcement. The EFAO and the National Farmers Union have been pushing for a relaxation of the board’s quota exemptions since 2005.
Small flock operators have been able to raise birds for their own use since 2006, says Mary Fearon, a spokesperson for the board. Quota prices are negotiated between farmers for each sale but quota value for 300 birds could be around $15,000 according to numbers published on the board’s website
Fearon says the decision to relax marketing restrictions follows a pilot program held this year. It attracted more than 8,000 participants.
Participants sold an average of 61 birds over the course of a year. “So the number 300 more than accommodates the majority of the people,” she says.
Although considerably more than the 102 allowed until 2006, Fearon admits Ontario is still more restrictive than other provinces.
Alberta Chicken Producers don’t require those growing and marketing up to 2,000 birds a year to buy quota. Communal farms with up to 6,000 birds are also exempt.
“In the West they may have had to address some Mennonite communities,” she says. “But there are other provinces that have 300 as a number.”
In Ontario, producers must register with the marketing board to get their birds. “We’ve coordinated with the hatcheries and broker dealers so they need the form 300 in order to purchase the chicks.”
Producers will also have to take the form to the custom processor “so that there’s some coordination along throughout the system.”
Fearon says there’s no cost for registering right now, but the regulation permits the board to impose a fee in the future if it wants.
Producers can register online and with broker dealers and hatcheries early in 2009.
She anticipates the board will see the same numbers participating as those in 2008.
Harry Pelissero, general manager of Egg Farmers of Ontario, says his organization looked at its quota exemption limit for egg-layers and decided against an increase.
Those with layer flocks of up to 100 birds don’t have to pay quota. They can use the eggs for their own use or farm gate sales. There are no registration requirements.
Pelissero says there some quota exempt producers with flocks numbering 500. They are members of the Mennonite community and obtained special exemption arrangements in the early years of the marketing board’s operation. BF
Comments
an online visitor replied on Permalink
chicken 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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
chicken quota
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.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
I have been raising a few
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
Jon replied on Permalink
Wasted produce
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.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
without the quota system...
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.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
I agree with most of it, but....... not niche marketing
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
diversified mixed farm works
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Your proposal is implicit upon ignoring transfer pricing
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
has worked for us
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Full time farming
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!
an online visitor replied on Permalink
It's not the way it is now
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Farming as an occupation ????
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
there's a fallacy in play here
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
You can full-time farm
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Are you kidding?
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.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
not enough produce
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Chicken raised for feeding small family, own garden, not selling
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?
an online visitor replied on Permalink
local
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.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Full Disclosure on Chickens at the Farm Gate
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada believe in full disclosure for those who buy chicken at the farm gate. That means everything, from the parents who produced the egg, the chicks, the feed, the housing, the water source, what the farmer means by "free range", drugs and treatments done to the birds throughout their lives. Try getting that kind of info from the quota-based chicken factories. For more info on this, see a real Disclosure Form filled in for a typical small flock farm at https://www.dropbox.com/s/cwmujds40pb71b8/FarmGateFoodSafetyPlan_A03_BBa...
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Consumers want to buy local, ecologically raised, breed diverse
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
buy local
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Quote Systems suppress growth of local food systems
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.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
quota
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.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Quota System
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.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
stats from the OECD
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Question.
Would you please define what a family farm is anymore.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
The amarican goverment dose
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
not family farm family empire
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
by any other name
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
learn from the past
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Quitters would go to Brazil
I intend to stay here to do my best to abolish the rural aristocracy we have so stupidly created. Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Unfortunately, by protecting
Unfortunately, by protecting your livelihood, supply management is curtailing mine. Take a look at who is driving land prices…….
an online visitor replied on Permalink
without the supply
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
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Nice Try
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.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
chickens
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).
an online visitor replied on Permalink
You hit the nail on the
You hit the nail on the head!It's all about the breed of chicken.
an online visitor replied on Permalink
Pretty quiet with regards to Chicken quota exemption
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
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