CFO holds semi-annual stakeholder meeting

Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) hosted its second Industry Insight meeting of 2019 in Guelph, Ontario. This semi-annual CFO meeting brings together chicken industry and associated value chain stakeholders to discuss and align on relevant industry news, growth opportunities, and important initiatives. The meeting was attended by primary processors, value-added food processors, feed manufacturers, veterinarians, transporters, hatcheries, government, academia and other allied industry partners.
 
Presentations and main topics of discussion included: provincial and national progress updates from the CFO Board and Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC), respectively; the upcoming due date and application requirements for the Ontario Innovation & Growth Program - which gives primary processors, value-added food processors, food retailers, restaurants or foodservice operators the chance to win additional kilograms of supply for bringing new, innovative chicken products to consumers; an overview of Canada’s Federal Election Outcome and what it means for Ontario agriculture and agri-food - presented by guest speaker Jason Lietaer, President of Enterprise Canada; and an update on CFO’s progress on CFC’s Antimicrobial Use Reduction Strategy.
 
“There are many facets of the Ontario chicken value-chain, and it’s important that all industry stakeholders stay informed on the progress of initiatives across the sector,” said Ed Benjamins, Chair of CFO. “This meeting is just one of the many ways in which we can share information and stay aligned with our stakeholders.”
 
“Our CFO vision of success is a growing, profitable and sustainable chicken industry, and part of our strategy to achieve this is to work closely with our partners and stakeholders to build value and shape the future of the industry together,” said Rob Dougans, President & CEO, CFO. “Of course, this collaborative process would not be successful without the contributions of our meeting participants; as such, we would like to thank all participants for their insights provided at today’s meeting.”