A small beef packing plant being built by beef farmers in Atlantic Canada could be the guinea pig as the country’s first plant that can guarantee customers total traceback information, say promoters of the plant.
But so far, the federal government has not shown an interest.
“We feel we have a real opportunity in our plant to do that,” Dean Baglole, chair of the Atlantic Beef Producers Co-operative, told the Senate agriculture committee. “Our 190-plus producer members are the ones who will be supplying. We have a direct correlation between the people who are supplying the product and the meat.”
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Since traceability is an industry issue in the post-BSE world, he said the small plant at Borden, P.E.I., would be a good test case after it starts processing in September.
“We have sent letters to the federal minister of agriculture expressing interest,” he told senators. “We have been disappointed that we have not had a response.”
Bryan Inglis, a board member for the new generation co-op, said it could be a test of whether the international market that is now skeptical of Canadian beef would respond.
“That will give us a little niche to start with,” he said. “Traceability would be the huge leap. Because we are small enough, we believe we could be one of the first plants ever to be completely traceable, and if we are traceable, then the Japanese would like that.”
The plant is being built by Atlantic region beef producers who have for more than two years had to ship their animals to Better Beef in Guelph, Ont., after the last beef processing plant, in Moncton, N.B., got out of the business.
The new plant was designed to kill fat cattle only and has not yet decided whether to deal with cull cattle.
“We have not been able to reach a decision on that yet,” Baglole told the senators. “It was not in our original business plan. Our business plan was done pre-BSE.”
The plant will be small, handling 500 animals per week, and will be partly owned by the retail chain Co-op Atlantic to sell a branded product Atlantic Tender Beef Classic, in regional stores.
For each $60 share, the producer can deliver one animal to the plant every year.
Baglole said there was no problem selling 26,000 shares and more could be sold if expansion is wanted in future.
“It is a one-time investment by a producer,” he said. “For someone who has 100 cattle, it is $6,000 and they are in for life and that is very appealing. Right now, we pay in excess of $80 an animal to have them shipped to Ontario, so to pay $60 to own part of a plant you can actually call your own was a no-brainer for many producers.”
