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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • APRIL 2017 Hatching egg producers urged to foster relationships


Supply management is a privilege, not a right, growers told


by DAVID SCHMIDT VANCOUVER – Last year


was a “busy and adventurous” year for the BC broiler hatching egg industry, BC Broiler Hatching Egg Producers Association (BCBHEPA) president Bryan Brandsma told his fellow producers during the sector’s annual meeting in Vancouver on March 3. It started with changes to both the BC Broiler Hatching Egg Commission (BCBHEC) and BCBHEPA. The association welcomed two new directors last year, Art de Ruiter and Angela Greoothof, while the commission welcomed its third chair in less than a year when former BC Farm Industry Review Board general manager Jim Collins was appointed chair at the end of December. Former chair Casey Langbroek completed five years as chair midway through 2016 and his successor, Greg Gauthier, resigned after just a few months in the job.


Accountability


Collins, who was still with FIRB when it released the most scathing ruling ever against a supply-managed board, told producers he will “ensure the hatching egg commission is as accountable as it can be,” adding it is


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incumbent on all other stakeholders to be just as accountable. “The relationships in a small


industry are critical. We have to work together,” Collins said. Brandsma agreed, saying


“we have an industry based on complicated relationships. A successful industry depends on everyone understanding their role and doing it well. I am hoping to change to an era of trust instead of mistrust.”


Transparent


BCBHEC executive director Stephanie Nelson insisted the commission has been doing its part, saying “we’ve always been very transparent in how we do things.”


She said the commission is


well underway on the tasks identified in its recently- completed strategic plan. It includes creating a quota task force, undertaking a thorough input cost analysis, developing action plans for SE and antimicrobial use and increasing attention to emergency preparedness. Both Collins and Canadian Hatching Egg Producers chair Jack Greydanus stressed supply management is a privilege, not a right, and producers must work hard to keep the system. Greydanus said the system provides “predictability” for


Representatives of the BC poultry industry talked to consumers as they handed out 500 free breakfast sandwiches on the streets of Vancouver during the BC poultry conference. DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO


the entire industry. To do that everyone needs to achieve their allocations. “We are responsible to meet the demand.” To that end, CHEP is


reviewing its allocation system so it correctly responds to differential growth in chicken production across the country.


Like Collins and Brandsma,


Greydanus stressed the need to work together.


Relationships “We recognize the


importance of relationships and our relationship with the hatcheries is the most important,” he said, adding “having no Category 1 and


soon no Category 2 and 3 antibiotics will make that relationship even more important.”


CHEP is also finalizing its new animal care program. Select farms will give the program a trial run this year with the expectation of full implementation, including third party audits, in 2018.


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