No seat for small processors at chicken advisory committee table
Saturday, October 1, 2011
by BETTER FARMING STAFF
Independent chicken processors won’t get a seat on an advisory committee that serves Ontario’s chicken industry. Instead their views will taken to the table by Chicken Farmers of Ontario.
In a decision posted on its website this week, the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission noted that changing the composition of the Chicken Industry Advisory Committee, which was established in January as a “forum to foster a team Ontario approach to address significant chicken industry concerns,” could jeopardize the progress it has made.
Chicken Farmers’ approachability was one of the factors that the Commission’s panel considered in its decision. Henry Zantingh, first vice president, told the Commission’s panel, held on Aug. 30, that the Ontario independent poultry processors could still present issues or concerns to his organization. Chicken Farmers in turn could determine whether they needed to be brought to the industry committee level.
A representative of the Ontario Independent Poultry Processors, which had sought a seat at the committee table, could not be reached Friday for comment. Chicken Farmers of Ontario does not wish to comment on the decision, a spokesman said.
Elmer Buchanan was chair of the Farm Products Marketing Commission panel. Other members were Anna Andres, Jim Clark and Vance Drain.
The panel decision noted that the committee represents a broad range of processor interests and already represents processors of different sizes and specialization. The panel also observed that the Commission has members on the committee and “thereby also has a role in ensuring that the issues and perspectives of all persons engaged in the production and marketing of chickens in Ontario are considered by CIAC.”
The industry committee was established in January as a “forum to foster a team Ontario approach to address significant chicken industry concerns,” the decision states. It has nine members: three appointed by the Commission; three by Chicken Farmers of Ontario and three by the Association of Ontario Chicken Processors (AOCP), which represents large processors. According to the Commission’s ruling, Reg Cliche, chair of AOCP, noted his members handle 96 per cent of all the chickens processed in Ontario.
The Commission introduced the industry committee after AOCP proposed restructuring the industry. According to the evidence that AOCP representatives gave during the hearing, held Aug. 30 in Guelph, relations between the processors and Chicken Farmers have been adversarial in the past.
During the hearing, Jon Slot, the Independent Poultry Processors’ general manager, argued that his organization’s views differed from those of the AOCP. His organization had previously participated in addressing generic industry issues such as food safety and safe work practices, the decision stated.
According to the Commission’s decision, the independent processors association has eight members across the province. It was formed in 1999 to represent the smaller, independent processors serving niche markets such as organic, kosher, antibiotic-free and dual purpose chickens.
Witnesses from both AOCP and Chicken Farmers agreed that the new committee had fostered better relations between the two groups. They expressed concern that another player at the table could impede its progress.
Kevin Thompson, the AOCP’s former executive director, testified that the industry committee was “not about specialized interests or sectors,” the decision stated.
AOCP members range in size from those with an allocation of 50,000 birds or less to those who process more than 19 million birds and are involved in both niche and commodity markets. All chicken processors can join as long as existing members approve. Cliché, AOCP’s chair, was away on holidays this week and could not be reached for comment. BF