I took this from Ranchers Net - thought some might be interested here:
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Livestock farmers in Ontario, tired of waiting for a resolution to the BSE crisis have opened Gencor Foods Inc. - an innovative, producer owned and operated C$12-million meat processing plant in Kitchener, according to a release from the group.
The facility is one of the first of its kind in Canada, and may soon become a template for other farmer owned and operated plants, Brian O'Connor, General Manager, Gencor, said.
Gencor's Board of Directors, comprised of 12 dairy farmers - made the decision to enter a segment of the industry known for its tight profit margins in December, 2003.
The integrated approach, allowing farmers to quickly react to market issues and trends, has attracted attention right across Canada, with farmers calling from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and the Maritimes.
"They want to know how we did it, how we structured it," he noted.
Miller Thomson LLP partner Frank Brewster, lawyer to Gencor, The Genetic Corporation for the past 10 years, worked with the company's Board of Directors to gain key industry knowledge from Fergus-based, meat packing and processing consultants Mallot Creek Group Inc. He assisted Gencor Foods Inc. with its agreement of purchase and sale for the facility - a former meat packing plant - and helped with the financing.
Funds contributed include: C$5.5 million from the federal government's Farm Credit Corporation; $2 million from the federal government's CanAdapt program; and a $5 million operational line from the Bank of Montreal. Financial support for this project was also provided by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food under the Mature Animal Abattoir Fund.
"The Board of Directors of Gencor are a group of farmers greatly affected by the border closing. They decided to apply long-term solutions to the BSE crisis," said Brewster.
Cattle farmers have seen prices plummet at auction barns from 60 to 18 cents per pound for 'cull' or older, cows. That's due to a closed Canadian border following the May, 2003 diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a single Alberta breeder cow.
Gencor Foods pays producers a fair price based on the value of the meat that they sell. Currently that price is 32 cents per pound.
In the past, 70% of dairy farmers' cull cows were processed in the United States.
"That part of processing is completely gone," explained O'Connor. This led farmers to a venture that would have seemed unthinkable just one year ago, he noted. However, key initiatives from the federal government including a decision to suspend supplemental meat imports, "gave our group the opportunity to get into processing."
Processing up to 65,000 pounds of meat per day, a typical Gencor Foods Inc. order may range from 10 cases to 40 skids. Clients include wholesalers based in Alberta, Quebec and southern Ontario. However, Gencor has set his sights on supplying to industry giants Schneider Foods and Maple Leaf Foods.
Gencor Foods Inc. employs 65 people and operates under Canadian Food Inspection Association standards. A $2 million expansion to the facility is slated for a February, 2005 completion.
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Livestock farmers in Ontario, tired of waiting for a resolution to the BSE crisis have opened Gencor Foods Inc. - an innovative, producer owned and operated C$12-million meat processing plant in Kitchener, according to a release from the group.
The facility is one of the first of its kind in Canada, and may soon become a template for other farmer owned and operated plants, Brian O'Connor, General Manager, Gencor, said.
Gencor's Board of Directors, comprised of 12 dairy farmers - made the decision to enter a segment of the industry known for its tight profit margins in December, 2003.
The integrated approach, allowing farmers to quickly react to market issues and trends, has attracted attention right across Canada, with farmers calling from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and the Maritimes.
"They want to know how we did it, how we structured it," he noted.
Miller Thomson LLP partner Frank Brewster, lawyer to Gencor, The Genetic Corporation for the past 10 years, worked with the company's Board of Directors to gain key industry knowledge from Fergus-based, meat packing and processing consultants Mallot Creek Group Inc. He assisted Gencor Foods Inc. with its agreement of purchase and sale for the facility - a former meat packing plant - and helped with the financing.
Funds contributed include: C$5.5 million from the federal government's Farm Credit Corporation; $2 million from the federal government's CanAdapt program; and a $5 million operational line from the Bank of Montreal. Financial support for this project was also provided by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food under the Mature Animal Abattoir Fund.
"The Board of Directors of Gencor are a group of farmers greatly affected by the border closing. They decided to apply long-term solutions to the BSE crisis," said Brewster.
Cattle farmers have seen prices plummet at auction barns from 60 to 18 cents per pound for 'cull' or older, cows. That's due to a closed Canadian border following the May, 2003 diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a single Alberta breeder cow.
Gencor Foods pays producers a fair price based on the value of the meat that they sell. Currently that price is 32 cents per pound.
In the past, 70% of dairy farmers' cull cows were processed in the United States.
"That part of processing is completely gone," explained O'Connor. This led farmers to a venture that would have seemed unthinkable just one year ago, he noted. However, key initiatives from the federal government including a decision to suspend supplemental meat imports, "gave our group the opportunity to get into processing."
Processing up to 65,000 pounds of meat per day, a typical Gencor Foods Inc. order may range from 10 cases to 40 skids. Clients include wholesalers based in Alberta, Quebec and southern Ontario. However, Gencor has set his sights on supplying to industry giants Schneider Foods and Maple Leaf Foods.
Gencor Foods Inc. employs 65 people and operates under Canadian Food Inspection Association standards. A $2 million expansion to the facility is slated for a February, 2005 completion.
