A new barn was built on a greenfield site in 2019 expand- ing production to 445,000 birds per year.


Cost formula Like all farmers across the world, a focus on cost and perfor- mance is key at Prinzen. “We buy all our feed from either Mas- terfeeds or Nutreco. I don’t get involved with what they include for ingredients, I just let their nutritionist decide. Feed is near CAN$ 400 (US$ 300) per tonne.” He continues: “Of course feed prices can fluctuate, but our live price has a cost of production formula included. So when feed and chick cost moves in price, our live price follows shortly after.” The live price in Canada is determined by the Ontario Chicken Marketing Board. “When I determine profits, I look at the after feed and chicks profit. That really determines how the flock performed,” says Prinzen. Jere- my notes that most of the other costs, for example gas, power, mortgage and maintenance costs, remain somewhat consist- ent at his farms, depending on the time of the year. As with every other poultry farmer he is concerned about avian influenza getting into his flock and takes the necessary precau- tions to try and prevent it. Prinzen states: “Ontario Chicken Farmers have a stringent bio-security system in place including regulations on disinfection, no outside visitors, changing foot- wear before entering the barn and no other domestic birds on premises. I have not been affected directly by AI, but we now pay into an AI insurance fund that will help if we have to depopulate for an extended period of time”.


The new barn is a single-storey building making operations easier.


For many poultry producers around the world disposing of the manure is a huge challenge but he has a good outlet. “All the manure is shipped to a local mushroom plant that buys it off us by the tonne,” Jeremy explains. “They use the manure in their compost mixture.”


Consistency For Prinzen one of the biggest challenges in the industry is chick quality and giving them a good start. The first ten days are the most important to ensure consistent and profitable production. “In our cost of production formula, there is a pro- ducer margin. That portion has had some serious flaws in it over the past number of years. It is not keeping up with other costs associated with farming. Our board is currently working on re-doing that formula to increase the producer margin so we can increase capital investment,” Jeremy reports. “In Cana- da we have a supply management system which means we can only produce the number of kilogrammes that our quota specifies. Our production is kept consistent which also keeps our live price consistent. When there is consistency, we can make better decisions with regard to capital investments.” he continues. “One of my biggest strengths is working from home on your own schedule,” Jeremy concludes. “There’s nothing better than that, nothing better than being a farmer.”


▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 5, 2020 25


For Prinzen one of the biggest challenges in the industry is chick quality and giving them a good start. The first ten days are the most impor- tant to ensure consistent and profitable pro- duction.


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