Ten years after its creation, the BC Association of Abattoirs is waiting for the province to take action on two reports intended to enhance meat processing capacity in the province. The legislature received a report last fall from the Select Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fish and Food, which was resurrected to examine and make recommendations …
abattoir
Slaughter capacity squeezed
Spring has hardly sprung but fall is fast approaching for livestock producers. An announcement last week from Johnston’s Custom Cutting in Chilliwack urged producers who hadn’t already done so to book slaughter dates with the facility. “The slots are already getting limited from July to December 2019,” a memo to producers said, noting that dates …
Meat processing review fails to meet expectations
MERRITT – First it dodged half the province by cancelling a week of scheduled meetings in June and now it’s squandering the chance to show leadership and help the BC meat processing industry move forward. The legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fish and Food has delivered its final report, making no definitive recommendations on …
Prince George packing plant gets further study
SMITHERS – The possibility of a larger scale, federally inspected beef processing plant for BC is getting a boost from the province with $450,000 to support further study. BC agriculture minister Lana Popham announced the funding at the BC Cattlemen’s Association annual general meeting in Smithers on June 1. “Bringing a federally inspected beef processing …
Processor capacity challenges small-scale farmers
MERRITT – Small scale abattoirs are closing across BC and that is an increasing concern for small-scale livestock and poultry farmers. The lack of processing capacity means more time spent travelling to the ones that remain. For Blue Sky Ranch, near Merritt, it means Kam Lakeview Meats near Kamloops and Rocana Meats in Salmon Arm. …