“Many of Ontario’s provincially licensed abattoirs are facing critical, ongoing labour shortages and we appreciate the provincial government’s support in helping the industry find solutions that will alleviate stress and pressure for both abattoirs and farmers,” said Meat & Poultry Ontario Executive Director Franco Naccarato. “Long-term, tools like Processor Links that can improve the efficiency and logistics of managing processing capacity will play a key role in maintaining and expanding our ability to provide safe, locally produced food in Ontario.”
In its existing form, Processor Links offers users a summary of current booking lead times at participating abattoirs, contact information for provincially licensed facilities, and what species they’re able to process as well as which businesses have the capacity to accommodate last-minute bookings. Ultimately, an automated booking system will decrease logistics workloads for abattoirs, simplify allocation of inspection resources and make it easier for farmers to find and make appointments.
“We’re excited to take on the next step in the development of the dashboard and are looking forward to engaging with the industry to develop what a long-term vision for Processor Links should look like,” said project manager Betty-Jo Almond, General Manager of AgSights. “This is a project that will benefit our entire livestock and meat processing sector and the government’s support is critical to helping us find lasting solutions to the labour challenges we’re facing.”
Meat processing has long struggled with labour shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic not only intensified worker shortages, but also contributed to increased custom processing demand as more people began purchasing meat directly from producers or raising their own backyard flocks or small livestock. The dashboard is available on the AgSights website.
Meat & Poultry Ontario (MPO) is the representative voice of Ontario’s meat industry. Its members are independent businesses proud to serve the communities they live and work in. The association is comprised of meat and poultry processors, wholesalers, and retailers; industry suppliers; and not-for-profit organizations that support MPO’s objectives. Ontario’s meat and poultry sector employs 25 per cent of Ontario’s food and beverage processing industry — the single largest manufacturing employer in Ontario — and generates $11.2 billion of the province’s $45 billion food and beverage processing industry revenue. Learn more.
AgSights is a not-for-profit cooperative established in 1993 as Beef Improvement Ontario. The organization is dedicated to making data capture along the food supply chain as easy as possible using innovative techniques and adding value through linkages and analysis. Data collection enables genetic evaluations, the flagship value AgSights brings to livestock production, informing breeding decisions that drive meat quality. Learn more.
Source : Meat Poultry