APRIL 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Tough times for
turkey growers Whole bird inventory is way up as consumers hold out for the cheaper birds they used to buy
by DAVID SCHMIDT VANCOUVER – Expecting
retailers to sell your product at a loss is probably not the best way to build an industry. Canadian turkey growers are learning this the hard way as their whole bird inventory reaches its highest level in almost a decade. “Our whole bird inventory stood at 12.3 million kg January 1, up from 9.3 million kg a year earlier,” Turkey Farmers of Canada chair Mark Davies told the BC Turkey Marketing Board and BC Turkey Association annual meetings in Vancouver on March 2. “This is the highest its been since 2009.” With consolidation of the
retail sector, major retailers no longer feel the need to offer 99 cent/kg turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas. At the same time, consumers used to paying 99 cents balk at paying three and four times that for holiday turkeys. As a result, while table egg and chicken producers experience growth, demand for turkey is stagnant. “2016 will not be
remembered as a very good year,” BCTMB general manager Michel Benoit said. “Our allocation dropped from 93.6% in September 2015 to a low of 89.3% in June 2016.” At the same time, 2016
grower margins were the lowest since 2013 but have now rebounded slightly. “All margins are now on the positive side and we expect that to continue for a while to come,” Benoit told growers. The problem is more acute in central Canada than on the West Coast as BC has focused more of its production at the further processing market. “There is consensus that
we will continue to see reductions in whole bird production while the further processing sector will continue to grow,” Benoit stated. “That means more large tom production.” TFC “substantially reduced”
its whole turkey allocations last summer and BC’s national director, Vic Redekop, expects growers to see the impact early this year. “The upcoming year will be
a year of adjustment as the turkey market rebalances supply and demand,” he stated.
Benoit and BCTMB chair
Phil Hochstein said the board has hired consultants to study the buying and cooking habits of Asian consumers, noting they do not consume turkey at nearly the same rate as Caucasian consumers. “We’re looking at Buy Local funding for a marketing campaign aimed at Asian and South Asian consumers,” Benoit said.
AI preparedness
While provincial and national boards focus on production issues, the BCTA, through the umbrella BC Poultry Association, spent a lot of effort refining its avian influenza preparedness. BCTA president Steve Heppell noted the poultry sector held two on-farm training days in 2016.
DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO Thanks a million by DAVID SCHMIDT
ABBOTSFORD – The Canadian Foodgrains Bank has over a million dollars more to help people in needy countries around the globe following the 2017 Farmers Make A Difference sale at McClary Auctions in Abbotsford on March 16. The annual sale raised a record $210,000, almost 50% more than the $145,000 raised last year. The money is matched on a 4:1 basis by the Canadian International Development Agency, bringing the total value of the auction to over $1 million. The money buys Canadian grain for distribution to Ethiopia and other countries hard hit by
“Through these two training sessions with CFIA, industry has a better understanding and we are well prepared to be the first responders when the need
arises,” he said. He also noted the BCPA is
now paying most of the per-diems for work on AI. “This makes cost-sharing between the smaller (turkey
drought and natural disasters. “It was an awesome sale,” says co-
ordinator Bob Brandsma. “People were so much more generous this year.” He notes this year’s sale not only featured
more dairy cattle than in the past, but prices for livestock were robust as farmers look for extra cattle to fill their increased milk quotas. Donations from the agricultural community were also up from previous years and buyers were in a generous mood. “For example, people bought boxes of
chicken worth $35 for $100,” Brandsma said. “That kind of generosity adds up in a hurry.”
and hatching eggs) and larger (chicken and table eggs) sectors more equitable and means we have the best people there (regardless of their specific commodity).”
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