JULY 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Price set as growers eye ambitious growth target


BC Chicken Marketing Board surplus held in reserve in event of disaster, overproduction has been mandated to determine what the industry can do to achieve 100% production. Nickel noted the underproduction is due to “a number of factors” which could take more than one or two cycles to correct. One of the factors is the huge increase in allocations in the last few years. “Consumer demand is


by DAVID SCHMIDT ABBOTSFORD – The BC


Chicken Marketing Board has finally released its new pricing formula, using it to set the grower price for period A-144 (June 11-August 5). The new formula uses the Ontario posted price as the base, then adds catching costs plus 50% of the six- period rolling average of the difference in feed and chick costs per kilogram between BC and Ontario. “The processors wanted no


difference between the BC and Ontario price while growers asked for the full difference in feed and chick costs so we settled on 50%,” BCCMB chair Robin Smith explained. While the formula may not be what either side wanted, it appears to be one both can live with. “There are no indications at


this time” that either the processors or growers will appeal it to the Farm Industry Review Board, BCCMB general manager Bill Vanderspek said. Use of the new formula yielded a base price of $1.6041/kg for period A-144, an increase of $0.003/kg. While only a marginal increase, BCCMB director Ray Nickel noted the FIRB- mandated formula, in place for the past seven years, would have resulted in a decrease. “The Ontario price went


down 1.3¢/kg in A-144. Yours went up,” he told growers at their regular meeting in


Abbotsford on May 31. The BCCMB also used the meeting to present its 2016 annual report and financial statements. Although the board accumulated a surplus of over $800,000 last year, it decided not to refund any of the surplus back to growers, as has been the practice in recent years. Nor has it chosen to reduce grower levies. The board is instead keeping the funds in reserve, both to offset costs of a future avian influenza or other catastrophic disease outbreak and to be able to pay potential overproduction penalties in the future.


Ramping up production The board says over-


production is a real possibility as it makes a concentrated effort to catch up to BC’s allocation. “We have changed our


regulations by removing overproduction penalties,” Nickel said. “We’re trying to incentivize growers to produce more.” BCCMB director Ralph


Payne has been appointed to head a new value chain committee. The committee includes growers, processors, breeders and hatcheries and


THE INVESTMENT AGRICULTURE FOUNDATION OF BC (IAF) IS AN INDUSTRY-LED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT DELIVERS GOVERNMENT FUNDING PROGRAMS TO ENHANCE THE COMPETI- TIVENESS, PROFITABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF BC AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD.


up to 5.8% over base in A-146. “One concern Chicken


Farmers of Canada has is chick supply. If we can’t get the chicks, it could lead to more supplemental imports,” Janzen said.


increasing and we have seen big jumps in allocation from 2015 on,” BCCMB director Derek Janzen said, pointing out grower allocations will be


He noted the board continues to allocate production “over base” instead of issuing new quota since new quota would be subject to FIRB’s 10-10-10 LIFO (last in-first out) assessments. LIFO effectively means growers lose all quota they received in the past year


in a transfer (sale). “We don’t have that


problem in the chicken industry because we haven’t issued quota lately,” BCCMB manager of strategic initiatives and analysis Cheryl Davie said.


That could change


following the FIRB-mandated quota assessment review underway in all five supply- managed commodities. Davie said the board will report the results of its consultations with all industry stakeholders to FIRB by the end of June.


15


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Peter Donkers Executive Director


E pdonkers@iafbc.ca W iafbc.ca/careers


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