CRPC Update: September 2011

Gord Speksnijder has written the updates since they began and has now handed it off to me, Bruce Roberts, the new CPRC executive director. Gord continues his involvement with the CPRC and has been a lifeline for me as I learn about the objectives and activities of an organization delivering a very complex service to the Canadian poultry sector. I am also fortunate to report to a knowledgeable and experienced board of directors made up of representatives of the CPRC membership, who are in turn supported by capable and professional staff from the partner organizations. The Canadian Poultry Research Council is definitely a co-operative group effort.

As part of the orientation to my new position, I have been reviewing information about the Canadian poultry sector and have found some interesting data on the sector’s size and importance to both Canadian agriculture and the economy. For example, Statistics Canada’s Farm Financial Survey reported that poultry farmers controlled almost $15 billion of farm assets in 2009.

Almost all of those assets are located in rural Canada and make up an important part of the rural economic base. Statistics Canada also reported that poultry farmers generated over $3 billion of farm cash receipts from the sale of poultry products in 2010 – more than seven per cent of total cash receipts from the sale of farm products. These farm cash receipts support employees, input suppliers and many other businesses and families in rural Canada.

Another feature of the Canadian poultry sector is that most of the product produced is processed, sold and consumed within Canada. Processing adds a significant amount of economic value to our country – jobs, purchase of supplies, transportation and so on. Again, much of this activity helps support our rural economy.

Like many industries, poultry production and processing must continually improve productivity and efficiency in an ongoing search for cost control measures. As with other sectors that deal with animal husbandry, poultry farmers and processors are challenged to continually seek to improve animals’ welfare and their relationship with the environment. These challenges continue at a time of increasing consumer awareness of, and interest in, the food they consume and how it is produced and processed.

Research is one of the most important tools in our industry’s efforts to meet these ongoing issues. Research is also important as a risk management tool to address present concerns and those that we will face in the future. Agriculture and the food system have changed rapidly over the past 10 to 15 years and it is unlikely that the pressures that increased the pace of change will let up. Research on poultry issues conducted by all parts and levels of the Canadian poultry sector will help all those involved in the industry adapt to changes and embrace the challenges and opportunities they bring.

The CPRC has a lot of work planned – all of it directed at supporting poultry research that will benefit the Canadian poultry sector. Our watchwords in all of our activities will be “co-operation” and “communication” to ensure that the CPRC and other poultry research stakeholders are going in the same direction. Some of our plans include:

• Completion of the Poultry Research Strategic Plan that was started in 2010.  A lot of very good input was received in a workshop in May of that year and our main priority is to complete the process over the next year.
• Work with the CPRC member organizations, research-related organizations, universities and government at all levels to develop a co-ordinated system that will maximize research funding and have an impact on the industry.
• Development of the CPRC’s own Strategic Plan in conjunction with the two prior steps.
• Development, in co-operation with our research partners, of a comprehensive poultry research proposal to be ready for the start of Growing Forward 2.
• Creation of a poultry research database that will offer a single source of information for researchers and industry stakeholders.

The CPRC has taken a major step in creating a full-time executive director position and relocating its operations to Ottawa.

These actions reaffirm the commitment to the Canadian poultry sector and poultry research of the CPRC board and its membership.

The membership of the CPRC consists of the Chicken Farmers of Canada, the Canadian Hatching Egg Producers, the Turkey Farmers of Canada, the Egg Farmers of Canada and the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors’ Council. The CPRC’s mission is to address its members’ needs through dynamic leadership in the creation and implementation of programs for poultry research in Canada, which may also include societal concerns.

The CPRC’s new contact information is available at www.cp-rc.ca.