Marked for slaughter plant | The facility would specialize in halal and kosher beef
Manitoba Beef Producers passed a resolution last year to end the checkoff to enhance beef processing in the province, but Manitoba’s agriculture minister believes most producers still support the levy.
Cattle producers have paid a $2 checkoff on every animal sold since 2006 to support the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council (MCEC), which is mandated to expand slaughter capacity in the province.
Kostyshyn said only a minority of producers request refunds of the voluntary checkoff, which demonstrates that farmers support MCEC.
“I think the last statistics we’ve had, the check-off dollars are still being retained,” he said at the Ranchers’ Forum in Brandon in late November.
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“I think the percentage, last we heard, was around 68 to 70 percent was still being left in the account.”
MCEC, which is also funded by a matching $2 levy from provincial taxpayers, is planning to build a 250 head per day slaughter plant in Winnipeg, which will specialize in halal and kosher beef.
MCEC leaders have suggested over the past 18 months that ground will be broken for the $40 million plant, called ProNatur, in the near future.
MBP passed a resolution at its 2011 annual meeting to lobby the government to end the checkoff. Some of its members have lost faith in MCEC and don’t believe the council will ever construct a plant in Winnipeg.
Kostyshyn said MBP leaders haven’t raised the issue with him.
“I haven’t had any discussions with them personally, and I guess that will be a choice of theirs, when they want to give a call to me.”
