Study delves into centralized transfer options for Ontario deadstock collection

By Lilian Schaer for Livestock Research Innovation Corporation

A follow up study taking a deeper look into finding solutions to the Ontario livestock industry deadstock management challenges has identified developing additional holding or transfer capacity as a way to reduce costs for both collectors and farmers. 

This is one of five recommendations in a new report recently completed for Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC) by consulting firm MacTavish. LRIC has been leading efforts by the livestock sector to find workable solutions for managing on-farm livestock mortalities.  

Ontario is a large province with regionally diverse livestock production, meaning there is no one solution that will work for all livestock commodities in all geographies. The environment is a challenging one for producers with some having to wait days for pick up depending on demand and/or collector availability. Collection costs are increasing, and the provincial collector licensing system has left some regions underserviced while others have more collectors than needed. 

Collectors, composters and renderers, in turn, are also dealing with rising costs, a complicated regulatory system and the realities of keeping their businesses economically viable. 

The need for solutions led to a report completed last year by the same consultancy on the status of deadstock management in Ontario. That study was funded by Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) in response to a request from Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Beef Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Sheep Farmers, Veal Farmers of Ontario, and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. 

This initial report spawned a series of discussion sessions in 2023 hosted by LRIC that involved government, regulatory authorities, farmers and deadstock industry representatives including renderers, composters and deadstock collectors