The Rural Voice, 1983-04, Page 35EGG ANNUAL
Ontario egg producers approved in
principal a new quota policy that will
open up the egg business to new
producers without the expense of buy-
ing an existing farm and equipment.
The old policy required producers
who wanted to expand or persons
wanting to enter into the egg business
to buy an entire egg farm and the quota
that goes with it.
The new policy allows anyone with
less than 500 hens to purchase up to
2,500 fowl of production quota. For a
producer with 2,000 fowl or more he
may buy up to a maximum of 500 fowl
of production quota.
For producers wishing to sell part or
all of their quota, they must advertise in
the monthly newsletter Cackler for a
required number of days and the local
board will purchase ten per cent of the
production quota at the going rate
which is currently $10 per fowl.
To prohibit profiting from the quick
turnover of quota, producers must use
that acquired quota within six months
and must own the quota two years
before selling.
Producers who have leased out their
quota are not eligible to acquire any
production quota while the lease is in
effect.
Before the new quota policy can be
put into effect it must be approved by
the Farm Products Marketing board
where the policy is now being reviewed.
Betty Henderson, longtime represen-
tative for the Pullet Growers on the egg
producers marketing board has retired;
Bill Long a producer from Perth county
will replace her. Also re-elected to the
board to represent pullet growers was
Jake Visscher from Wellington.
In zone 13, Bob Wolgermouth will be
replacing Erich Kluge and John Hentz
will be holding office for Zone 4
replacing Ken Watterworth. The remain-
ing zones re-elected their directors.
The board has launched a new quality
control program limiting the number of
cracked eggs by careful monitoring of
hens.
Older hens will be monitored through
field inspectors so that the weaker -
shelled eggs that older hens lay will be
culled before entering into the system.
Agriculture Canada will be monitoring
all flocks over the 60 weeks of age
limit.
Flocks found to be outside the
tolerance level will be given four weeks
to correct the problem or market the
hens. All avenues of consultation will
be available to the producer and Dr.
Peter Hunter will be working closely
with the producers.
The Ontario Egg Producers Marketing
IN THE NEWS
Board will be spending over $2 million
promoting their industry. The largest
chunk of that funding will be directed at
the under 12 group where producers
hope to instill good breakfast habits
and get youngsters eating eggs on a
regular basis. Starting September 1, a
new character called Crack -a -doodle.
doo-it will be showing youngsters,
through the media, how to make nutri-
tious meals with a few simple steps
using eggs.
Everything from 'egg dogs' to 'egg
pizza' and 'egg on a stick' will be
introduced. The character will be avail-
able to attend fairs, exhibitions, and
schools. Advertising executives termed
this likeable character as the Ronald
McDonald for the egg industry.
Linda Robertson advertising manager
for the Ontario Egg Producers attributed
the five per cent rise in Ontario egg
consumption last year to the advertising
the group has been undertaking.
Advertising is funded by levies that
the marketing board deducts from the
producers gross returns. The cost can-
not be passed onto the consumer
because the producers' returns are set
by regulation.
THE RURAL VOICE, APRIL 1983 PG. 33