New hatchery to be built in Woodstock, Ontario

July 8, 2016 – Sargent Farms, in partnership with Quebec-based Boires & Freres have announced it will be establishing a new hatchery in Woodstock, Ontario. 

Henry Zantingh, Chair of Chicken Farmers of Ontario said in a release that the Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) are “pleased to see this kind of investment in hatchery capacity and infrastructure in the Ontario chicken industry value chain. Our chicken farmers have a strong relationship with their local hatcheries and depend heavily on the quality and service we receive from our chick suppliers in order to ensure that our production meets the evolving needs of our customers and our consumers.”

“Ontario’s chicken industry has been experiencing significant growth over recent years, and CFO has been working to ensure that all stakeholders including chicken farmers, chicken processors and hatcheries understand the importance of meeting local consumer markets by continuously improving our business standards, assets and production practices,” said Rob Dougans, President and CEO of CFO. “The introduction of a new modern hatchery to the Ontario system will further enable the quality, service, flexibility, and sustainability of the Ontario chick supply.”

The new hatchery, called Thames River Hatchery, is expected to be operational by the third quarter of 2017. The new facility will involve an announced investment of $10 million and have an initial capacity of 20 million chicks per year. CFO farmer-members are expected to grow almost 220 million chickens in 2016.