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The Rural Voice, 2005-08, Page 25chicken producing region it makes up one of nine districts of CFO. Ontario produces about a third of the chicken in Canada. The total farm gate value of chicken in Ontario in 2004 was $526.7 million. The live price of chickens is established through a price formula that takes into account producer margin, feed cost and chick cost. The live price is adjusted every two quota periods through negotiations between Chicken Farmers of Ontario and licensed processors through the Association of Ontario Chicken Processors. Average live price in 2004 was 121.19 cents per kilogram, about 1.2 per cent higher than the 2003 average. Down the road from Nick and Joan Whyte's farm are the farms of their children and partners: David and Karen Whyte and their two children; Brian and Kerri Whyte and their three children; Murray and Amy Whyte; and Crystal Whyte and her husband Ben Driscoll and their four children. Each of these families operates on their own with their own equipment but each specializes in one area and shares their equipment. One, for instance, doing all the baling of straw. Straw is a major operation on the Whyte's extended family operation. On Nick and Joan's farm are a number of large fabric -covered shelters housing bales which will later be chopped and blown into the barns for bedding. The family also provides bedding for some other poultry operations. Among the various farms there is a barn full of chickens being shipped every week and another barn being filled with chicks. Chickens are produced on an eight-week cycle with chickens taking six weeks to reach market weight, and the barn sitting empty for two weeks for cleaning, disinfecting and bedding for the next flock. Many U.S. barns don't have a two-week interval between flocks for sanitation. Over the years better genetics, nutrition and management have cut the time to grow a chicken to 4.5 pounds from 12 weeks to just six, Whyte says. Food safety is a growing concern among all food producers and the chicken producers were quick to put Safe & Professional Dismantling of Barns & Wooden Structures • Insured • NOSTALGIC SALVAGE INC. Danny Farrow 519-323-0175 565 Perth St. N., Mount Forest 1-888-643-8410 ARE YOU READY? Are you ready to make the move to a new home that is: • 2 x more energy efficient than a conventional wood -framed home • 9 x stronger than a conventional wood -framed home • 3 x more sound resistant than a wood -framed wall • 4 x more fire resistant than a wood -framed wall At Donkers Harris Ltd. and its insulated concrete homes division, MaxxWall Systems, we use Nudura insulated concrete forms (ICFs) and the new -generation integrated building technology that is vastly superior to traditional wood framing methods. Building technology has seen rapid advances in recent years, with home owners looking for newer, more efficient ways to build homes that are stronger, more comfortable and energy efficient, while allowing for flexibility of design and lower future maintenance costs. BUILDING VALUE! Call us, toll free: 1-(888) 875-6299 or e-mail: maxxwall@donkersharris.com for more details Y A XIX ARc�NKRI� LTD MA SYSTEMS f AUGUST 2005 21