The Rural Voice, 1997-11, Page 50BRUCE
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
44610th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1 P9
519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
• The Rural Voice is provided to Bruce
County Farmers by the BCFA.
Quality Control comes to the broiler industry
Chicken enjoys a high level of
consumer confidence and popularity in
Ontario, but as with other food
products, consumers are demanding
assurance of safe production and
handling practices. In response, the
Chicken Farmers of Canada are setting
up a pilot project on 20 farms in four
provinces to develop a project called,
"Good Production Practices Design."
The program will monitor areas of
potential problems during the growth
and development of the chicken, and
will focus on those elements over
which a farmer has control — feed and
water. The farmers will assure that the
proper feed is fed at the right stages of
growth; that the right feed is in the
right bin; that medication in the feed
has the proper withdrawal time; and
that there is the correct timing of feed
withdrawal before shipping the
chickens to the processing plant. The
quality and availability of water is
another critical factor which the
farmer can control.
Each farmer will be required to
keep detailed and accurate records of
the total management methods of each
flock in each barn. The pilot project
will eventually lead to standard "Best
Farm Practices" which will be
available to all producers. High levels
of volunteer participation by farmers
across the country may prevent such
guidelines from becoming mandatory.
Over the past five years the system
of prices paid by processors to farmers
for their chicken has changed
considerably. Prices used to be set
BRUCE COUNTY FEDERATION
OF AGRICULTURE
Directors' Meeting
Monday, November 17, 1997
8:00 p.m.
OMAFRA Boardroom, Walkerton
Members are welcome to attend
46 THE RURAL VOICE
every two weeks by the marketing
board, which could then be appealed
by processors. The system no longer
served the needs of all parties, and was
changed to a negotiated pricing
structure. Upon agreement by the
commodity organization and the
processors, the price is set for one
quota period of eight weeks.
Failure to reach an agreement leads
to the appointment of an arbitrator by
the Farm Products Marketing
Commission, a government -appointed
body which oversees the regulation of
commodity boards. The arbitrator must
choose one of either the price
proposed by the Chicken Farmers or
the price offered by the processors,
and may not choose to set a price
somewhere in between those numbers.
Decisions to date have, at times, gone
in favour of either side.
Production numbers are decided for
the province by the Board determining
from processors what their projected
needs are. Increases in production may
be allocated to producers in other
provinces by the national organization,
Chicken Farmers of Canada. A new
allocation system is being proposed
that would divide Canada into three
regions, with a cap on production
being applied to the region rather than
individual provinces.
The chicken industry continues to
grow, with a 2.2 per cent increase this
year over last, in large part due to the
development of new products such as
chicken wieners and cold meats.
Chicken farmers and the boards that
work for them continue to look for
ways to keep the industry strong.0
– Submitted by Lloyd Schnurr
Greenock Township Director
Farm vehicles on Ontario highways
- are you in compliance?
Attend a special meeting of farmers and
OPP - MTD - Farm Safety Pages to discuss
• changes to SMV legislation • Secondary attachments - safety chains
• Lights and lighting • Quick connects • Farm vehicle inspection
• CVOR - Commercial Vehicle Operator Registration
Wednesday, November 19, 1997 — 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Freburger Welding, County Rd. 19, just south o1 Hwy. 9, east of Walkerton
Refreshments
Sponsored by the Bruce County Farm Safety Association
BRUCE COUNTY FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE
56th Annual Meeting and Banquet and OFA
Regional Meeting
Saturday, November 1, 1997
Royal Canadian Legion
630 Green Street, Port Elgin
Guest Speaker: Ross Daily, Host "This Business of Farming", BBS - TV
Tickets: $12.50/person
Tickets available from all Township Directors or at our office
Call: 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551