Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Regulatory Burdens on Slaughter Facilities.

A story on the front page of the Regional Country News today about puts it over the top with regard to burdensome regs. on slaughter and meat processing plants. The ridiculous standards imposed on this highly important segment of the farm business infrastructure are beyond bizarre.

When these small facilities are gone, they usually do not come back. Without them, small enterprises like mine might as well shut the door because in the recent years our only positive cash flow comes from our direct-to-consumer marketing side, small as it is.

After reading the story, I am working on forming a small group of like-minded people who would be able to carry an "impactful" and articulate message to the people in charge of the inspection bureaucracy.

This group would ideally include beef/pork producers who understand the value and importance of the local butcher shop, some from the "buy local" movement, etc. Small enough to be agile and fast, and big enough to offer full representation.

Do you have any suggestions?


Views: 1360

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by littlelamb on May 7, 2010 at 1:07am
Laurie,

It was really well written, but Gary Schellenberger lives not more then 1/4 of a mile from me and has never even tried to support us buy buying even one dozen of eggs. He doesn't even canvas us during election, being so close, so I guess why would I expect him to support small farmers.
Permalink Reply by Laurie Knechtel on May 7, 2010 at 1:48am
Which is exactly why this message was written. I couldn't get the image of photo opp's between Ritz, Schellenberger and other parties involved, smiling, holding a cheque and claiming that the $4.5M is going to benefit family farms when, as your message clearly demonstrates, they don't get it - not even close.

A couple updates since I sent the email:
1. I was advised to also copy Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson on email which I did same day as original was sent.
2. Was contacted that same evening by Jim Gracie, VP of Quality Meats indicating that he would like to speak further about this. My response:

Hi Jim.

Thank you for your email in response to my message from earlier today.
I would very much like to chat with you about this funding and the direction in which Great Lakes Specialty Meats in going in the not-so-distant future.

I just came across the following tidbit online:

Mitchell Plant Expansion To Use Ontario Hogs
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 8:21 am
It could take up to two years to finalize the upgrades to the Great Lakes Specialty Meats plant in Mitchell.
But when the upgrades are done a company spokesman says the product coming out of that plant will be a lot different than what's coming out of it now.
Jim Gracie says the plant will change from a basic slaughtering operation to one that's capable of producing higher value-added pork products for domestic and international markets.
And Gracie says they'll be doing that with Ontario hogs.

Quality Meats bought the Mitchell plant late last year.
Gracie says they're hoping to start on the upgrades this summer and have them all finished by March of 2012.

Source: http://www.am920.ca/news.php?mode=day&day=04&mth=05&yr=...

Would love to discuss this and what it means for Ontario farmers and the local option (as it pertains to meat) overall.
I have some time Monday morning. Tues/Wed are pretty booked. Please advise what works for you and we'll proceed accordingly.

Thank you and have a lovely evening.


We are going to be chatting via phone on Monday. Will follow up with you after that.
Permalink Reply by littlelamb on May 14, 2010 at 2:53am
Hey Laurie,

How did the chat go with Jim Gracie @ Quality Foods.
Permalink Reply by Joe Dales on May 26, 2010 at 8:01am
More News on the Ontario Pork Processing Front.

Maple Leaf launches sale process for Burlington, Ontario, pork processing business


TORONTO, May 25, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --Maple Leaf Foods (MFI: TSX) today announced that it is launching a formal sale process for its Ontario pork processing business located in Burlington, Ontario, following renewed interest from potential purchasers and improved economic conditions and credit markets. The Company has engaged financial advisors to support the sale process.

"The sale of the Burlington business will complete the last phase of Maple Leaf's protein transformation journey and supports our commitment to refocus our growth in the value-added meat, meals and bakery business," said Michael Vels, Chief Financial Officer. "We are reinvigorating the sale process following renewed interest, including the potential of completing a sale to a producer group."

The 365,000 square foot Burlington facility is one of the largest and most efficient pork processing facilities in Canada. Together with its management and sales teams it is a profitable business with a highly skilled workforce.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading Canadian food processing company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Company employs approximately 23,500 people at its operations across Canada and in the United States, Europe and Asia. The Company had sales of $5.2 billion in 2009.

SOURCE Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Three Agricultural and Food Sciences profs recognized with emeriti title

Three retired faculty members were named professors emeriti in 2025 for their distinguished service to the University of Manitoba: Dr. Harold Aukema, Dr. Ying Chen and Dr. Qiang Zhang. The title is one of the University’s highest honours. Individuals are selected on their distinguished service to teaching, research, creative and scholarly works and service. Each of the awardees contributed to the Faculty and UM throughout their accomplished research and academic careers. Their nominations read: Harold Aukema, Food and Human Nutritional Sciences A dedicated faculty member for 26 years, Dr. Harold Aukema has made transformative contributions to nutritional science, becoming a global leader in the study of diet and fatty acid metabolites, known as oxylipins. His pioneering research has advanced understanding of dietary interventions for kidney health, directly shaping national and international dietary recommendations for polycystic kidney disease. He has published more than 150 peer-

Grow Canada: Strengthening our Voice, Sharpening our Tools

Grow Canada took place in Calgary, AB, December 2-4. It captured the best ideas from a sharp lineup of speakers and panellists, and built the kind of connections that turn good ideas into action. Connecting farmers, dietitians, industry and content creators, it connects everyone to talk about our agriculture industry and discuss the challenges it faces. The main themes were advocacy, artificial intelligence (AI) and inflation. Canadian agriculture is an economic engine that drives jobs, exports and innovation. Our story lands when we tell it consistently. That means increasing our lobbying efforts, showing up with data and farm-level examples, and making the economic case for stable rules, competitive infrastructure, and market access. Advocacy isn’t a side project; it’s risk management for our next decade. AI is like a wrench in the toolbox; useful when pointed at the right bolts. For best results, we need to be repetitive, rules-based, have documents prepared, regulatory submission

Stock Talks connect producers, municipal officials

When Curtis Vander Heyden of Picture Butte’s Grandview Cattle Feeders Ltd. attended Lethbridge County’s Stock Talks in October, he was prepared to discuss some of the challenges his family’s operation faces but did not expect immediate action. “I did attend the Lethbridge County Stock Talks and it led to the operations manager Ryan Thomson, reaching out and coming to one of my locations for a ‘one-on-one’ so we could both air our frustrations about the past management of the road infrastructure and elaborate on what we could change and work together on,” Vander Heyden says. He appreciated the opportunity to meet with a municipal official for a boots on the ground interaction. “It was the first time in recollected memory that anyone from the County of Lethbridge not only took the time, but actually asked for continued input,” Vander Heyden says. Indeed, the Stock Talks he attended provided an organized and moderated environment to have meaningful two-way discussions with municipal o

Province of Manitoba Commits Second Round of Funding for Gate

Cereals Canada today announced that it has received an additional $10.5 million in funding support from the Province of Manitoba for the Global Agriculture Technology Exchange (Gate). This investment brings the total pledged by the Province to $23.5 million. “I would like to thank the Province for its continued support of Gate, and Premier Wab Kinew for championing this project over the last nine months,” said Dean Dias, CEO of Cereals Canada. “Today’s announcement puts us another step closer to getting shovels in the ground at a critical time for Canadian agriculture.” Gate is a new $102-million, state-of-the-art facility being developed by Cereals Canada in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is envisioned as a world-class hub for research, training, and international collaboration to ensure the long-term competitiveness of Canada’s cereals industry. “A strong Manitoba economy depends on helping our agricultural producers reach new markets,” said Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kost

Saskatchewan Exports Continue to Support Food and Energy Security Worldwide

Today the Ministry of Trade and Export Development provided data on Saskatchewan's global exports. Despite a challenging year, where international trade disputes, tariffs and geopolitical events have disrupted trade to traditional markets, Saskatchewan exports are making their way to different markets across the globe. "Saskatchewan products are being sent to over 160 countries, helping to ensure food and energy security for billions of people," Trade and Export Development Minister Warren Kaeding said. "Saskatchewan exports, and the value of those exports continues to grow. Here at home these exports are essential for creating jobs and providing services and infrastructure that ensure the great quality of life for the people of Saskatchewan."  Highlights include: In the first nine months of 2025, one of the top destinations for Saskatchewan products in South America was Brazil, where exports totaled $1.3 billion dollars, primarily in potash.  Exports to Japan have grown considerabl

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service