The Rural Voice, 1978-12, Page 5For Harry Hayter
Turkeys are a year
round affair
By Rhea Hamilton
The festive season is almost upon us and with it comes visions
of roast turkey complete with stuffing and cranberry sauce.
For Harry Hayter Turkeys are an all year affair. He fattens up
between 45,000 and 50,000 birds per year for Canadian
consumption.
The Hayter farm is outside of Dashwood in Huron County and
he has been in the turkey business for 30 years. He started out
with 200 birds in 1948 on his mixed farm and now produces over
a million pounds of turkey.
Turkey producers are few and far between in Canada and are
governed by a provincial as well as a Canadian marketing board.
At the Hayter farm turkey chicks are bought three times a year
and marketed in July, September and December.
The day old pullets are kept in a brooder house and require
one square foot of space for the first six or seven weeks and afters
wards are moved to larger buildings (pole barns) where three to
three and a half square feet arerequired per bird.
Like a lot of other livestock being raised for human
consumption turkeys never know what it is like not to have food.
"We keep feed in front of them at all times and they are not let
out to graze" Mr. Hayter said.
"We have automatic feeders and waterers but it still takes
someone to make sure all the equipment is filled and working
right."
The Hayter farm employs two men steadily and one or two
part-time men to keep the farm running.
Cleanliness
Cleanliness is a big rssuc aiuu,Uu me tarm. the urooaer house
is cleaned and disinfected after each crop of chicks comes in.
"There was a time that diseases could be controlled very little
and rare diseases were a problem." said Mr. Hayter. "Now the
stock is healthier. The growth rate has increased and they are
more efficient at gaining weight in less time."
The breed used by almost all turkey growers is Nicholaus,
developed in Santa Monica, California.
"There are very few other breeds that have been developed"
Mr. Hayter said. "There have been attempts made at a
Canadian breed but the results have not been as successful as
the Nicholaus."
For two months of the year, January and February the barns
are empty and cleaned throughlv.
" That is the only time we can get away for awhile" laughed
vin. 114.
WHITS Hr1T.1.AXn TURKI(C'
Mr. Hayter. Turkeys are one of the tew commodities ruled by a
Canadian wide marketing board.
"Since the turkey marketing board came into existence the
business has become more profitable with quotas" Mr. Hayter
said. "They work on a supply and demand system and the
demand has been increasing."
Recently there have been questions raised about the value of
marketing boards. Mr. Hayter keeps in close contact with the
marketing boards and noted that one of the drawbacks to the
quota system concerned the buying of quotas.
Quotas were established in the late sixties by recording the
number of turkeys the present growers were able to raise.
"Younger people can't buy into it (the turkey business). It is
very difficult and the quotas are expensive." Mr. Hayter said.
"Quotas were designed to help the small farmer but they seem
to work the opposite."
At present one person cannot own more than the regulation
number of 2 million pounds of quota.
Unlike some other marketing boards, quota may be sold
between individuals rather than back to the marketing board.
"Quotas should be sold with the farm" Mr. Hayter pointed
out. "What good is a brooding house and barns if the quota has
been sold off the farm?"
Quota
The national quota is 230 million pounds but a some of the
producers are not working at capacity. The Hayter farm is
limited to supplying 69 per cent of the quota.
But it looks like there could be a change. Turkey consumntion
has increased in Canada by 15 percent in the last year. So turkey
producers are hoping for an increase in quota.
"There is a terrific potential here for developing new
products. Different products could be developed to compete with
any other meat product." Mr. Hayter said.
There is such a thing as turkey sausages as well as turkey
rolls, developed by Cuddy Turkey Comapny. "More of these
products you find in the States because they have a greater
volume of market they deal with." said Mr. Hayter.
But the turkey marketing board has been working on more
promotional schemes for the gobblers. There have been eat
turkey ads on radio and approximately 376 turkey billboards a
have been put across Canada, as well as 10,000 posters
distributed to point of sale locations.
THE RURAL VOICE/DECEMBER 1978 PG. 5