1. Provincially licensed meat
processing facilities in BC
Lessons learned from a decade on the meat file
And the effort to “make it work”
Kathleen Gibson and Abra Brynne for
Farm, Fish and Finance * May 2013 * Toronto
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 1
2. Introduction
The “meat file” decade
2003-05 BC Food Systems Network
2005-12 BC Food Processors Association
Government-funded projects MIES, MTAP
2005-08 Help Desk
2008-12 Project Manager
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 2
3. BC’s Meat Inspection Regulation
Prior to 2003: Meat Inspection Areas
2004: all meat for sale for human consumption in BC
must be from a licensed, inspected facility
2007: full implementation; introduction of waste Code
from MoE and SRM requirements from CFIA
2009-10: Remote Sites Consultation, D/E licences
2011-13: provincial inspection system review
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 3
4. 25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 4
BC’s graduated meat processing licensing system
5. BC slaughter facilities
We worked only with the provincial system
The very many very small
This discussion will focus on A and B facilities
BC currently has:
56 A and B licensed facilities
95 D and E farmgate licences
11 federally licensed facilities (only one red meat)
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 5
7. Producers and processors
Interdependent relationship, reciprocal roles
PRODUCERS
Need accessible, affordable slaughter facilities
10% animals available for slaughter in BC are processed
in provincial facilities
PROCESSORS
Need steady, reliable, good quality animal supply
Can’t recover most capital costs from marketplace
Often lack affordable waste solutions (red meat)
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 7
8. Facility business models
1. Private business
2. Co-op
3. Social enterprise / community business
Jurisdiction, terrain, population size and type,
foodshed and food culture are determining factors
Operation may be
Slaughter plant only (B)
Slaughter plus cut/wrap (A)
Slaughter, cut/wrap (A), plus butcher shop
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 8
11. Capital costs
Plans, building, equipment
Projects usually cost 2X what was budgeted and took
2-3X longer than forecast
Actual cost for a new poultry mobile $150-350K
Actual cost for a new red meat mobile $300K or more
Actual cost new red meat fixed plant $1M
Waste handling facility costs on top, could cost as
much as the abattoir
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 11
12. Operating costs
Training and compensating workers
Slowdowns with new people (workers, inspectors)
Downtime required for repairs
Refrigeration – ongoing cost and repair issues
Waste management, removal or dumping
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 12
13. Regulatory costs
Every regulation carries cost, even filing for a permit
Many iterations for plans approval
Health, environment regulators recommend gold-plated
“world class” measures
First licence puts the facility on other agencies’ radar
Producers want abattoirs, neighbours don’t, leads to
cost through time-consuming public process
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 13
15. Marketing
Customers should be the basis of the operation
Work backwards from marketplace
Meat from provincial facilities may only be sold in BC
Be careful what markets you wish for!
Same product may earn more away from home
Ethnic markets growing, especially Halal
Can combine direct sales and web-based organizing,
ordering and sales
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 15
16. Business planning
Good producer does not necessarily = good processor
Tight margins in slaughter, best debt is O
Value adding tends to help profitability
Small operations are seasonal
Operating plan is critical, needs strong emphasis on
value chain relationships, scheduling
Qualified labour is hard to get and retain
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 16
17. Of note
Production envelope can be stretched – up to a point
Mobiles are not a magic solution
For food safety, good hygiene is the best prevention
You can’t achieve zero risk or zero contamination
Relationships and communications are key – web is
under-used
Licensing and inspection should be graduated, based
on assessment of public health, animal welfare and
environmental risks
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 17
18. Challenges
Export-oriented single-
commodity system
Reactive, risk-averse
environment gold-
plated standards,
increasing liability, cost
Regulatory maze
Farmers and rural
communities struggling,
supply faltering
Opportunities
Large system reaching
limits
Import replacement
potential
Solid demand for local,
especially from cities
Increasing demand for
ethnic foods and meats
Handful of capable
survivors in the business
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 18
19. Worth exploring – next steps?
1. Community food processing facilities
Red meat, poultry, fish, vegetables from farm to package,
sharing refrigerated storage
College or UBC farm as sponsor, with regional government?
2. Standardized modular portable facilities, using
containers, that can be ramped up and down seasonally
3. Online support for processors (e.g. NMPAN)
4. Online tools
For producer-processor organizing and scheduling
For customer orders
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 19
20. Some abattoir websites
Red meat
northwestpremiummeat.com
www.pasture-to-plate.com
www.kelownafreegrazelamb.com
Poultry
www.farmhousepoultry.ca
www.passmorepluckers.ca
Red meat and poultry
www.saltspringabattoir.ca
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 20
21. Thank you! Questions?
GBH Consulting Group Ltd.
659 Radcliffe Lane, Victoria, BC V8S 5B8
Tel: 250.598.4280
Cell: 250.216.9736
Email: gbhgroup@shaw.ca
Skype: kathleen.gibson.659
25/05/2013 (c) GBH Consulting Group Ltd. 21
Notes de l'éditeur
Safety standards are upheld with scale-appropriate measures based on a risk assessment of actualon-farm slaughter techniques: small volume, nearby customer, low risk
Small regional abattoirs are more likely to come up with solutions that recognize value in the waste
Most few large federal facilities receive regular infusions of government funding Province provided A and B proponents with 50-cent dollars to a cap under MTAP 1, 2 and 3 Hutterite communities are examples of model 3 – lots of built-in labour and volumes for a group of 200
Unit fabricated in East Kootenays, from a used motorhome Sold to new operators in Kootenays – currently sitting at one location “Dirty” areas outside, “clean” areas inside
Farmers’ Institute has led process from 2004 Feasibility study originally suggested using facilities on Vancouver Island, ferry ride away Then fund-raised in the community, developed and built a portable facilityModules with movable kill floor, leased site Has strong community support Not yet bringing in enough business to be profitable
Re the waste costs, we had an abattoir assessed for a liquid waste management upgrade and the estimated cost was over $200K
Many operating problems can be prevented with appropriate design
Requirements from different agencies may also be contradictory and/or mutually irreconcilable
Modular portable examples: Salt Spring and Pitt Meadows unit for Halal lamb at Eid