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: 1429

▶ 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

Water Stewardship: A Ranching Family’s Approach to Conservation and Changing Landscapes

Nestled in the arid South Okanagan, Thomas Ranches is a multigenerational operation that balances ranching with conservation. In 2000, the Thomas family sold their land to The Nature Trust of British Columbia, preserving natural habitat while continuing cattle operations under a lease agreement. Today, Brian Thomas manages 200 head of cattle on 350 acres, with the remaining 1,650 acres dedicated to wildlife habitat. Effective water management is crucial to sustaining both livestock and the surrounding ecosystem in this dry region. Balancing Water Needs in a Shifting Landscape Thomas Ranches relies on a creek-fed storage dam and an extensive irrigation system. This helps them manage water shortages in a dry climate that gets less than a foot of annual rainfall. Frequent droughts have intensified competition for water resources, and the impacts of increasing population growth, tourism and conservation efforts place additional demands on an already limited supply. Wildfires also pose o

International Association for Food Protection Elects Maria Hoffmann to Executive Board

Members of the International Association for Food Protection elected Dr. Maria Hoffmann to the Executive Board as Secretary. Dr. Hoffmann will take office at the conclusion of IAFP 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and will fulfill a five-year commitment to the Association, serving as President beginning in July 2029. Dr. Hoffmann is a Genomics Research Scientist in the Human Foods Program at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Washington, D.C., where she leads national- and internationally-recognized initiatives to advance the genomic epidemiology of foodborne pathogens. Over the past two decades, she has worked at the intersection of science, public health, and food safety policy, developing advanced genomic methods, building global networks, and strengthening outbreak detection through whole genome sequencing (WGS). She began her public health career at the Institute for Hygiene and Environment in Hamburg before joining the FDA in 2007. An active IAFP Member since 2014, D

Canadian government commits to national soil health strategy

The federal government will work with a national organization to support soil health across the country

Nebraska fires burn grazing lands, threaten plans to grow US cattle herd

Wildfires burn nearly 775,000 acres in Nebraska Land is a grazing resource for about 40,000 cows Producers look for alternative pasture lands, feed Massive wildfires have burned vast swaths of grazing lands in Nebraska, endangering cattle producers' plans for production increases that could help ease record-high U.S. ?beef prices. The loss of grasslands in the second-biggest cattle-producing state removes a feed source for herds and could delay ranchers ?from expanding as they struggle with widespread drought, state and industry officials said. Fueled by fierce winds, fires have burned nearly 775,000 acres since last week, covering an area about the size of Rhode Island, according to data from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. It added the causes of the fires are undetermined. The largest Morrill Fire was ?about 67% contained as of Thursday after being first reported on March 12, the agency said. That amount of land is a grazing ?resource for about 40,000 cows, said Sherry

Canada offers financial aid to farmers and companies affected by Iran war price spikes

Canada's federally backed farm lender is offering financial aid ?to farmers, agricultural businesses and food ?companies hit by the spike in fertilizer and energy prices, it said on Friday. Borrowers from the ?Farm Credit Canada program will be ?able to receive a new or additional ?credit line of up to C$500,000 ($364,670.70), ?to modify terms and to defer principal ?payments on existing loans. The money will come from an expansion of the Trade Disruption Customer Support Program, ?which was introduced in March 2025 to ?help agriculture and food borrowers hit by U.S. tariffs. It will ?now ?also provide support to help producers and agribusinesses "manage financial pressures caused by unexpected market shocks," Friday's statement said. Fertilizer prices have soared ?since the Iran ?war began ?at the end of February and led to the closure ?of the Strait of Hormuz to ?most ?shipping, disrupting urea and sulphur supplies from the Gulf. As a result, farmers around the world are ?strugg

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service