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: 1397

▶ 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

The Most Wanted Wheat Seed Across the Prairies — AAC WALSH

PART ONE The sign was up before anyone knew who put it there. No name. No description. Just a dark silhouette nailed to the side of the grain elevator, paper already curling at the edges where the prairie wind worried it loose. MOST WANTED. That was all it said. In a town like this, that was enough. People here understood value. They understood timing. They noticed things that arrived quietly and stayed put. By midmorning, more than a few sets of eyes had found their way to the elevator wall, lingered longer than necessary, then moved on without comment. At the café, steam rose off coffee cups and hung in the air like unfinished sentences. “Yield and protein like that,” someone said eventually, not looking up, “oughta be outlawed.” It was meant as a joke. It didn’t land like one. No one asked who that was. Nobody needed to. The phrase carried weight all on its own, passing from table to table, slipping into conversations that paused just long enough to acknowledge it. By the

Canada-China Trade Agreement Boosts Outlook for Canola and Prairie Seed Sheds

Renewed exports may narrow the basis and reduce surplus stocks, but rebuilding grower confidence will take time. Tariffs and economic trends are often discussed in the abstract, but their consequences couldn’t be more concrete for Prairie seed sheds. In recent months, real-world examples have already reared their heads — such as canola multiplications in California facing counter-tariffs — forcing Canada’s seed sector to adapt to a trade environment that can change quickly, even when agreements are reached. The recent trade deal between Canada and China has brought some much-needed relief to the sector, particularly around market access and export movement. But for many farmers and seed companies, the agreement also underscores a hard truth: the impacts of trade disruptions don’t disappear overnight. It is little surprise that global trade ripples affect local decisions: fewer seed options, changing input costs, and constrained access to genetics. “Tariffs create uncertainty in an

Canada Gains Expanded Meat Access in Indonesia

Canada has secured a major expansion of market access for beef and pork exports to Indonesia, marking a significant milestone following the signing of the Canada–Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) last September. 

'Phone in one hand, beer in the other': High-tech automation is giving farmers more time

Anyone visiting Don Badour’s cow-calf operation in the last 18 months will have noticed his cattle sporting some spiffy orange bling around their necks. The bovine baubles aren’t just for looks, however. They’re part of a sophisticated virtual fencing system that helps the Lanark County farmer monitor and track his herd’s movement and wellbeing. Badour is quite pleased with the investment — and so are the cows. “I thought that the cows might be not too happy with them on, but we put them on, they gave their heads one or two shakes, and that's it,” Badour said during a panel discussion at the 2026 Northern Ontario Ag Conference, hosted by the Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance in Sudbury Feb. 6-7. “They've come to realize they're there. So we haven't had any trouble with the cows rejecting them.”? ?Made by the New Zealand company Gallagher, the eShepherd neck bands weigh about eight pounds each and are powered by solar-charged batteries. They run on GPS and the system is ope

Trump EPA sued over reapproval of dicamba herbicide as farm and environmental groups warn of renewed crop damage

Farmers and environmental organizations have launched a new legal challenge against the Environmental Protection Agency, arguing its latest approval of the controversial herbicide dicamba ignores court rulings, scientific evidence and the interests of growers harmed by chemical drift. The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court by a coalition that includes the National Family Farm Coalition, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Center for Food Safety and Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, challenges the EPA’s decision to re-register dicamba for use on genetically engineered soybeans and cotton. The decision marks the latest chapter in a years-long dispute over dicamba, a weedkiller widely used in U.S. agriculture but criticized for its tendency to volatilize and drift, damaging nearby crops, orchards and natural vegetation. “EPA’s re-registration of dicamba flies in the face of a decade of damning evidence, real world farming know-how and sound science, and, oh-by-the-way, t

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service