Haldimand and Norfolk leads Ontario’s chicken industry

Nov. 8, 2013, Burlington, ON – Across Ontario’s rural landscape, passersby are often greeted by acres of corn fields, or soy swaying in the breeze waiting to be harvested.

Missed in this idyllic landscape is the Ontario chicken farm, which is a huge market for those corn and soy crops. In Haldimand and Norfolk counties, one of Ontario’s top-producing regions for chicken production and processing, it is a particularly important agricultural sector. According to a new economic impact study commissioned by the Chicken Farmers of Ontario, chicken farming in Haldimand and Norfolk generated nearly $60 million in farm cash receipts in 2012, representing eight per cent of the entire chicken farming industry across Ontario — which puts it among the top counties in the province for chicken production. This activity is equivalent to seven per cent of the farm cash receipts in the entire county.

“Chicken farming is like a hidden sector in rural Ontario, so much so that many of our local residents would be surprised to learn that chicken is a significant driver of not just the agricultural economy in Haldimand and Norfolk, but of the broader economy of the area aswell,” says Hank Lise, the Haldimand-Norfolk representative to the Chicken Farmers of Ontario. “Our local chicken farms and processors are key pillars in our supply chain, supporting a wide array of other businesses and services in our community.”

Across the province, the production and processing of chicken generates more than $2.7billion in economic activity, and supports more than 19,000 full-time equivalent jobs, according to a new economic impact report prepared for theOntario chicken industry.

“We grow and process more than 200 million chickens each year in Ontario, which means almost every sector of the economy, from grain production to transportation and food retailing, can count on chicken as a major source of economic and financial support,” says Henry Zantingh, Chair of Chicken Farmers of Ontario.

The positive economic impact of the Ontario chicken industry is best seen on its supply chain. Chicken farmers spent $342 million on feed in 2012, accounting for nearly a quarter of the sales volume of the province’s feed manufacturers. Supplying this feed accounted for 19% of all soybeans crushed in Ontario, and required 14,000 truckloads of corn to be delivered to the feed manufacturers — that’s 54 trucks on each workday of the year.

Chicken farmers and primary processors also support chick hatcheries, energy suppliers, general equipment suppliers and many employers across Ontario’s business sectors. Federal, provincial and municipal governments collected almost $400 million directly from the chicken industry in 2012, supporting the programs and services that Canadians cherish. The total GDP of the Ontario chicken industry is estimated at $1.4 billion.

“We can see across the province there is great economic value in chicken farming,” said Zantingh. “But we are more than just dollars and cents. With more than 1,000 farmers and 18 primary processors located in more than 200 communities fromWindsor to Ottawa, the growing and processing of chicken supports local businesses with their purchases, boosting local organizations and charities and actively building a strong rural Ontario for the benefit of the entire province.”