Aging chicken barns are wearing out and being replaced with the latest technologies, said Dave Mackie of the Saskatchewan Egg Marketing Board.
Mackie said this development largely accounts for the findings of a recent survey that showed a surge in investments by egg producers across Canada. In Saskatchewan, a number of barns have been upgraded in the last five to eight years, he said.
The survey by consulting firm KPMG revealed that 85 of 95 egg producers surveyed in Canada invested $16.2 million in capital assets between 1997 and 1999 and $1.7 million in environmental measures in 1999.
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The Canadian Egg Marketing Agency, or CEMA, believes the investment shows producers’ optimism about their farming futures.
“Egg farmers are planning for their future and they know the Canadian egg industry will be strong for many years to come,” said Laurent Souligny, chair of the agency.
The national agency commissions an independent firm to conduct surveys every four to five years to determine the costs of producing eggs. The first was in 1975.
A previous survey done in 1995 showed little investment by producers, said Barry Lalonde, of KPMG.
“This suggested that farmers were very worried about their futures at that time,” he said.
Greg Pearce, CEMA’s chief finance and operations officer, said eggs got a bad rap in the 1980s over their fat and cholesterol levels.
In addition, the North American trade negotiations of the early 1990s brought uncertainty to the industry.
Today, the future looks more secure with shell and processed egg use in Canada on the rise.
“All that is driving growth and the need for eggs produced domestically,” said Pearse.
