NOVEMBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Turkey growers look to boost


markets Promotions court Chinese, Indo-Canadian shoppers


by PETER MITHAM ABBOTSFORD – Turkey


growers are looking for ways to court new consumers and grow market share. BC Turkey Marketing Board general manager Michel Benoit told the September meeting of BC growers that Canada-wide consumption of turkey totalled 152.4 million kilograms in the 12 months ended August 31, down 3.6 million kilograms from a year earlier.


Sales at Thanksgiving 2017


were below average and sales at Christmas were average. The numbers point to a further decline this year. The total commercial allocation is 149 million kilograms; the allocation to whole bagged turkeys is 60.5 million kilograms, down 1.8 million kilograms from a year earlier, and a further processing allocation of 88.5 million kilograms.


Successful outreach to


groups that don’t typically consume turkey is helping growers. These include Chinese consumers, for whom turkey measures up on the food safety front, and Indo-Canadian consumers, who recognize the health benefits of the meat. Building the market is


going to take work, however. This is why Turkey Farmers of Canada is budgeting $5 million a year over the next five years to fund a new promotional campaign. “The turkey market is not


so good, and TFC wants to make it better,” says Les Burm, vice-chair of the BC Turkey Marketing Board. BC growers will pay a part of the cost of the program through a new levy, details of which have yet to be determined. Catering to new consumers may mean moving away from the kind of turkey formerly sold. While whole bagged


turkeys were once a sure thing at Thanksgiving and Christmas, farmers today are seeing growth in value-added products. “The further processing side is what’s keeping us where we are,” says Benoit. “The decreases in whole bird are now probably balancing off with the increases in the further processing sector.” This year, for example,


breast meat sales for the year are forecast to increase 3% to 30.5 million kilograms. While the outcome of this


year’s holiday sales are unknown, Benoit is optimistic.


It has been several years since an elite auction was held in a barn yet that’s what took place in Abbotsford, October 12, at the Ronelee Opportunity Sale. Hosted by Gary Baars of TNT Hay and Cattle Sales, the sale featured 100 cows with elite genetics from the famed Ronelee Holstein herd in nearby Whatcom County. The fact the Polinder family chose to hold the sale in Canada instead of the US highlighted how poor the dairy market is in the US. However, prices were extremely low, pointing to the uncertainty USMCA has created among Canadian dairy farmers. DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO


“We don’t know where it’s going to be next year, because Thanksgiving and Christmas are so important to us, but right now it looks like the increases in the further processing market might be enough to offset the decreases in the whole bird market.” AgSafe executive director


Wendy Bennett was guest speaker at the September meeting. She addressed workplace impairment policies and the higher WorksafeBC premiums turkey growers face in 2019. The preliminary rate was set at $1.44 per $100 of insurable payroll, up from $1.31 last year, and includes a 15 cent allocation to support AgSafe.


Here’s to the GROWER


From all of us at FCC, thanks for making Canadian agriculture so amazing.


#HeresToCdnAg fcc.ca


Mark Driediger, CFP, Senior Wealth Advisor Assante Financial Management Ltd. www.MarkDriediger.com | (604) 859-4890


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