chickens

Which chicken, in what pot?

Supply management doesn’t fit well with speciality production and a proposed new quota program is a misstep

Over 50 farmers gathered at the St. Norbert Community Centre on November 1 to hear Wayne Hiltz, executive director of the Manitoba Chicken Producers, present the new Annual Specialty Quota Program announced in September. The new program is designed to serve niche markets in the province with fresh Manitoba-raised chicken year round. This is done

Rudy and Leslie Reimer, shown here with their rainbow trout operation in the background, say new regulations for small chicken producers are causing an upheaval for their operation.

Producers won’t be grandfathered into new chicken quota program

New specialty quota program penalizes existing specialty chicken producers 
for production over 30,000 kgs with 40-cent levy

Rudy Reimer is thinking about his chickens, but feeling more like a sacrificial lamb. His operation, which has been operating under a special permit since the late 1960s, will be penalized under a new specialty quota program being rolled out by Manitoba Chicken Producers because it no longer fits the new guidelines. Existing producers will


portrait of a white broiler chicken closeup

Feathers ruffled at information session

New farmers and established producers believe a new program for speciality birds 
will make it more difficult for them to participate in poultry production

Jeanette Sivilay felt her hopes of adding chickens to the co-operative farm she and her partners operate fading as she read through newly introduced rules governing small poultry production in Manitoba. The Metanoia FarmerWorkers Co-operative, a community-shared agriculture initiative by students and alumni of Canadian Mennonite University, wouldn’t qualify for a proposed small-scale poultry production

Manitoba small-flock chicken producers are worried a new quota system will hurt their business, but Manitoba Chicken Producers says the program won’t hamper them.

Small producers will hear more about new chicken quota program Nov. 1

A farm direct-marketing group questions if this is the right approach

A spokesman for Manitoba Chicken Producers hopes a meeting November 1 sets the record straight on how its new annual specialty quota program set to launch in 2017 will operate. MCP executive director Wayne Hiltz will speak in Winnipeg that day to a producer meeting organized by Direct Farm Manitoba. Hiltz said he can address


Dairy producers say they can talk until there’s nothing left to say, but it’s the government that must act to solve border issues.

Much talk, no action on supply management border issues

A Commons trade committee meeting heard lots of words but little new information at a recent hearing

Many words were spoken, but little new was said. At a recent two-hour session of the Commons trade committee, representatives of the dairy and poultry sector and Lawrence MacAulay, the federal agriculture minister, all spoke at length about border issues — but largely reiterated previous statements. Following a Parliament Hill protest by dairy farmers this

Manitoba Chicken Producers says a new annual quota program will address a changing chicken market, but current small-scale producers say the changes aren’t likely to be helpful.

Small-scale chicken quota changes stir controversy

Manitoba Chicken Producers has launched a new annual specialty quota program in hopes 
of developing new markets for specialty poultry products in the province

Manitoba Chicken Producers is changing the guidelines for small-scale producers. It’s moving to an annual specialty quota program it says addresses the reality that the chicken market is becoming more specialized, and will give consumers access to Manitoba-grown birds. “At the end of the day what we want consumers in Manitoba to have access to


Layer hen rules fuelling scrutiny

Layer hen rules fuelling scrutiny

The National Farm Animal Care Council is the focus of a recent freedom of information request

The organization leading Canada’s development of humane livestock production is under the activist microscope. The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) was recently the focus of a request under the freedom of information legislation. The group says it suspects the move is related to its connection to guidelines for layer hens. The request relates to

Poultry care codes released

Poultry care codes released

The Canadian poultry codes of practice were developed by a committee that included animal welfare groups

Canadian chicken and turkey farmers now have a book to go by. The industry has released a set of care guidelines for their birds to help address consumer concerns about how poultry is produced. The codes of practice were developed under the auspices of the National Farm Animal Care Council by representatives of producer, veterinarian,


dairy cow

Manitoba agriculture economists earn national award

Paper examining impact of supply management on consumer welfare in poorer households was controversial but widely read

A controversial paper on the welfare effects of supply management in poorer households by two University of Manitoba economists has earned a national award. Agricultural economists Ryan Cardwell and Chad Lawley earned the John Vanderkamp Prize from the Canadian Economics Association earlier this month, awarded for the best paper in the journal Canadian Public Policy.

chick and eggs

Determining the sex of a chick while in the egg could make a Canadian technology a global hit

Incubating only female eggs would virtually double the 
efficiency of hatcheries and eliminate animal welfare issues


A new system to sex eggs before they hatch funded by the Ontario Poultry Industry Council (OPIC) could change the way egg hatcheries operate around the world. The machine is being commercialized by an unnamed Brockville, Ont. company and is set to enter the final testing phase later this year, said Harry Pelissero, general manager