Canada’s broiler hatching egg farmers are examining the possibility of an insurance program to protect them against uncompensated losses resulting from reportable diseases in their flocks.
Canadian Hatching Egg Producers is investigating an insurance package that would cover lost product ion and income from flocks that have to be destroyed.
So far, the invest igat ion is “strictly in an investigative stage,” according to Jack Greydanus, CHEP chairman.
But it’s important to find something to fill a legislative gap in compensating producers for disease losses, Greydanus said during the recent Mani toba Chicken Producers annual meeting in Winnipeg.
Read Also
Seeding Indigenous agricultural prosperity
National Circle for Indigenous Agriculture and Food says Indigenous agricultural success needs strong relationships.
“You’re compensated for your birds. You’re compensated for the cleanup. You’re not compensated for your lost income,” he told the meeting.
Under the federal Health of Animals Act, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency compensates farmers for livestock destroyed because of a reportable disease outbreak. Compensation is based on the market value of an animal, up to a certain level.
Changes to the act’s regulations in March raised the maximum compensation for a breeding broiler to a maximum $60 from the previous $24.
Greydanus, a producer from Sarnia, Ontar io, said that might cover a bird’s value but it doesn’t cover the revenue a producer loses from not having the bird.
What producers need is something to compensate for the lost value of the assets while trying to restart their operations, he said after speaking to the MCP meeting.
“I’m not asking for 100 per cent of the profitability of that bird. I need something to pay my mortgage payments. That’s really what I’m looking for.”
Waldie Klassen, MCP chairman, said breeders are more vulnerable to disease losses than regular broiler chicken producers because it takes them more time to get back into business.
Broi lers are grown on a seven-week production cycle. A producer can miss two cycles and lose only 14 weeks of income. But it can take almost a year for breeders to restock their barns and get back to full production, he said.
That’s what happened last year to a Manitoba turkey breeder who discovered a low-pathogenic strain of avian influenza in his barn, Klassen noted.
The producer’s birds were destroyed and his barn was disinfected. CFIA paid for that. But because Manitoba’s eight turkey breeders stagger their production cycles throughout the year to meet the ongoing demand from hatcheries and other producers, this producer lost the bulk of one year’s income.
Greydanus said a breeder hen starts to lay eggs at 26 weeks of age. A producer may have $30 invested in the bird before it even starts to produce. That makes losing a flock in its early stages especially costly, he said.
Greydanus stressed the idea of insuring against lost income is only an idea so far. He said it or iginated with Dean Penner, Manitoba’s CHEP representative, who asked the agency to look into the option.
CHEP represents about 300 farmers across Canada who produce broi ler hatching eggs.
Greydanus wouldn’t speculate about what the program might look like. But he said Ontario hatching egg producers have an insurance plan for losses from salmonella enteriditis in their flocks. His premium is 30 cents a year for every breeder placed.
Klassen said Ottawa should take some responsibility for producers’ lost income because reportable disease control is a federal matter.
“If it’s a federally reportable disease, it involves huge trade issues. The first thing that companies buying from Canada will do is close their doors,” he said.
“It has long-term implications.” [email protected]
———
“You’renot
compensatedfor yourlostincome.”
– JACK GREYDANUS, CHEP
