Manitoba Chicken Production Continues Record Pace

Manitoba chicken production is continuing to register record growth. In
his first appearance at the Manitoba Chicken Producers (MCP) annual
general meeting, held March 16th, new general manager Wayne Hiltz
reported that last year's figure was 40.4 million kgs eviscerated, an
increase of 1.1 percent from 2004's record 40 million.

Manitoba chicken production is continuing to register record growth. In his first appearance at the Manitoba Chicken Producers (MCP) annual general meeting, held March 16th, new general manager Wayne Hiltz reported that last year's figure was 40.4 million kgs eviscerated, an increase of 1.1 percent from 2004's record 40 million.

Hiltz succeeded long time MCP GM Fred Homann, who retired at the end of June.

The MCP board also approved a change of ownership for eight farms, which resulted in four new producers entering the industry.

On the hatching egg side, Manitoba production was up 10 per cent, import supplies were down 11.5 per cent and total eggs increased by five per cent. Both Hiltz's report and board chairman Waldie Klassen's report touched on similar themes. They spoke about World Trade Organization deliberations and the aviation flu situation, and both commented on how well the merger between the broiler producers and hatching egg producers is working out.

“Every year brings change, and 2005 was no exception,” Klassen said. “The year began with the amalgamation of the chicken board and the hatching egg commission followed by Fred's retirement and our hiring Wayne.

Everyone was on a steep learning curve and we all worked hard to make the transition successful.”

One of the priorities of the expanded board – which now includes two additional members representing hatching egg producers – was to combine and revise the broiler and hatching egg regulations, noted Waldie. 

“The task proved to be more difficult than we first anticipated,” he observed,  “but, with the exception of a few issues, the new regulations are almost complete.”

Klassen also spoke about changes in how Manitoba determines live prices (currently based on Ontario pricing), and proposed new provincial regulations regarding manure management and water quality.  He said the regulations deal with phosphorus levels in soil and run-off water, which have been linked to high phosphorus levels in Lake Winnipeg. 

Producer and livestock organizations have had opportunities to comment on the regulations and are watching closely to see whether the government makes any changes.

Marketing and Promotion
Karen Armstrong. the MCP's communications person, spoke of the organization's marketing efforts last year, and what is in store for this year.

She noted that spring and fall respectively saw the releases of Volumes 3 and 4 of a recipe book series the MCP introduced in 2004.  Volume 4 was intended for middle and senior high school food teachers and featured eight simple recipes for students with limited cooking experience.  Television ads were used to promote the recipe books.  The recipe books are also available through the MCP web site: www.chicken.mb.ca.