Chicken Farmers of Ontario keeps its distance from quota dispute

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

by MATT McINTOSH

Chicken Farmers of Ontario officials are not talking about what the impacts might be of their Alberta counterparts’ decision to pull out of the national organization that represents them both.

Henry Zantingh, chair for Chicken Farmers of Ontario, declined comment by saying their media relations department is “better suited to answer these questions.” Chicken Farmers of Ontario’s media relations department did not respond to an interview request. Adrian Rehorst, Ontario’s representative on the national organization, Chicken Farmers of Canada, also declined comment.

The Alberta Chicken Producers left the national organization in mid-February following a dispute about how quota is allocated to the provinces.

Alberta Chicken Producers say their province’s increasing population has made it difficult to satisfy the demand for fresh chicken, and the organization wants population to play a greater role in how the national organization allocates quota to each province.

“We’ve been lobbying for changes since 2007,” says Karen Kirkwood, executive director of Alberta Chicken Producers. “Our proposals have been focused on a more developed approach that accounts for population and industry growth in Alberta.”

Thanks to Alberta’s steadily increasing population, says Kirkwood, the province’s farms are currently running a deficit when it comes to supplying the provincial demand for chicken. Using population as a greater component in calculating each province’s quota share, she says, would help alleviate that deficit and limit the need for chicken sourced from other provinces.

However, Mike Dungate, Chicken Farmers of Canada’s executive director, says Alberta farmers are “already producing enough to satisfy the Western market.”

“We agree with Alberta Chicken Producers on most fronts,” he says. “Where they do not have our support is with allocating quota based strictly on population, which has been the focus of most of their proposals.”

Dungate says that since Alberta is already being adequately supplied by its own producers, a larger quota share would mean chicken produced in Alberta would have to be shipped to areas where the demand is greatest.

“In terms of meat, fresh chicken probably has the shortest shelf-life; it comes down to a distance problem where it just isn’t practical to ship chicken from Alberta to places like Ontario,” he says.

Kirkwood says Alberta Chicken Producers agree that distance is a problem, specifically for Alberta, which “already uses imports to meet demand.”

Despite previous disagreements, however, both Dungate and Kirkwood explain that their organizations are continuing to work together to find a solution that does include a population aspect.

“As an element, population is very important, and we are working together on a plan right now that takes it into account along with aspects of provincial GDP and CPI,” says Dungate.

Kirkwood also emphasizes the issues Alberta Chicken Producers do have are specifically centered on the allocation of chicken quota.

“We are not in disagreement with supply management or Chicken Farmers of Canada more generally,” she says.

The organization will continue operating within the national group under a temporary allocation agreement until this coming July. If no agreement is reached by that point in time, says Dungate, Alberta will be in charge of its own quota allocation.

“Even if no agreement is reached we are largely on the same page; as long as we have policies in place that try to work together, we will still find workable solutions,” he says.

“It’s not the preferred option, but it would work.” BF