FAIRVIEW, Alta. – A group of producers is exploring the idea of building a new generation co-op slaughter plant in Alberta’s Peace River area.
“The support has been pretty much overwhelming,” said Neil Peacock, who is leading the drive to raise membership in the co-op that would build the multi-species plant.
Depending on producer support, the proposed $4.2 million plant would slaughter between 50 and 150 animals a day.
If the membership drive is successful, the group will go ahead with a feasibility study and begin the project by June. About 600 members are needed to make the plant feasible.
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Peacock said that during the nine membership drive meetings, organizers asked producers to say how many cattle they would be willing to commit now and in the future to operate the plant. Most producers said they are willing to commit 10 percent of their herd if it helps return control to producers and away from the large packing plants, Peacock said.
“They want to be treated fairly by the purchasers of their animal. They see the packers going full bore and look at the price in the store, and there’s quite a spread there from what the producer gets,” he said.
The BSE situation was the “deciding moment,” said Peacock, who added producers are tired of sending their livestock to market with no control over the final price. Under the co-op, producers would be paid a set price per animal and possibly a dividend if the co-op makes money.
Under the proposal, producers buy shares that will ensure them a kill space in the only federally inspected and European Union approved plant north of Edmonton.
