MISSISSAUGA, ON – Specialty breeds farmers from across Ontario joined together for a productive day of networking, learning, and sharing of best practices. The event marked the first-ever Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) hosted workshop designed specifically for specialty breeds farmers.
Highlights included an opening address from Ed Benjamins, Chair of CFO, an informative session on brooding best practices by Dr. Scott Gillingham, poultry veterinarian, and a presentation from Bill Vanderspek, Executive Director of the British Columbia Marketing Board - who shared insights from the British Columbia specialty breeds farming experience.
“CFO’s Specialty Breeds Chicken Program is an opportunity for the Ontario specialty chicken value chain - hatcheries, farmers, distributors and retailers of specialty breeds of chicken - to support current and emerging ethnic markets,” said Ed Benjamins, Chair of Chicken Farmers of Ontario. “Workshops like today support specialty breeds chicken farmers discovering new and evolving practices to strengthen and grow their businesses and the specialty breeds market.”
CFO's Specialty Breeds Chicken Program continues to expand and grow.
Workshop attendees received information and findings from the recent CFO Specialty Breeds Chicken Program market survey. The market survey revealed that speciality chicken is available in over 80 retail outlets across the Greater Toronto Area and that the consumers’ everyday consumption appears to be generally well served, with further opportunities for growth.
“We’re pursuing a robust strategy with disciplined portfolio management in our Core, Specialty and Community business segments to stay relevant in ever-evolving market,” said Rob Dougans, President & CEO of Chicken Farmers of Ontario. “CFO is continuing to develop the specialty business segment where we expect faster, greater growth in a number of select product categories.”
Source : CFO