Talking turkey in media
Producers and processors will spend $2 million to promote "Turkey Tuesdays"
BY RICHARD CHARTERIS
Turkeys will fly - out of retail coolers, at least - if the Canadian Turkey Marketing Agency (CTMA) has its way. Beginning April 12 and running to September, a $2-million national TV, radio and print advertising campaign will urge Canadian consumers to consider "Turkey Tuesdays" as a means of upping consumption and establishing growth targets for the sluggish industry.Canadians' annual consumption of turkey has held firm at 1974 levels: 4.8 kilos per person. CTMA's five-year goal is to raise use to 6.3 kilos per capita. John Stolp, a St. George producer and chairman of the CTMA, concedes the targets are aggressive, but doesn't believe they're unreasonable: "U.S.
consumption rose from 3.8 kilos per person in 1974 to eight in 1997," he says.
Among respondents to a national survey conducted by CTMA, turkey was a meal choice 15.5 times a year on average. Forty per cent of respondents were classified as "heavy users" (20.3 times per year), "Happy holiday" users (26 per cent; 8.4 times), "fence sitters" (25 per cent; 16.1 times) and "non-users" (nine per cent) comprised the rest.
The marketing effort targets fence sitters, says P&H Foods Canada president Paul Borg, because they represent the greatest opportunity for growth. They buy the bird occasionally, enjoy it when they do, believe in its healthfulness and most significantly, says Borg, indicated they'd buy more of the bird if they "knew more ways to serve it."
The campaign, which takes place in the window outside Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas - traditional whole bird occasions - is part of a planned three-year, $4-million marketing plan. Financing comes via a one cent per kilo check-off split 50/50 between growers and processors across the country.
Program details were outlined to producers, processors and retailers during a five-city cross-country promotional tour in January. At the Ontario stop in Toronto, Stolp said he hoped that provincial turkey marketing boards would "pick up on the promotion. Retailers, too, because I think we're giving them some exciting new products."
As part of the print campaign, a 16-page recipe booklet will be included in the June issue of Canadian Living magazine. The 12 recipes focus on preparation of turkey parts.
Among the dishes featured in the TV ads and in the booklet are turkey tacos, quesadillas and chowder; a turkey tortilla pie and a turkey, beans and greens salad. The recipe booklet will also be included in a Canadian Tire BBQ pack promotion; playing into that are recipes for barbecued wings and drums, burgers and kabobs.
Stolp admits there was some initial concern about the ambitious consumption target levels, and whether production and processing capacity could measure up. He says a strategic approach eliminated those concerns "and retailers know we have the capability to handle the demand we're anticipating."
Bob Grant, national sales director of P&H - Canadian licensee of the Butterball brand - says processor creativity is up to the challenge of meeting consumer needs. He cites a simple packaging change as an example: Previously, P&H was packing its bacon-wrapped breast filets in two-packs.
They didn't sell well. Grant suspects consumers would be more likely to pick them up in "family packs" of six - "the sort of purchase you'd make with a summer barbecue or entertaining in mind" - so that's the size P&H is moving to.
The restaurant trade is interested, too. John Placko of Swiss Chalet, part of the Cara empire, says the chain is testing spit-roasted turkey and a turkey stir fry in six of its restaurants. With the right pricing, Placko suggests turkey just might fly as an in-flight meal offering on airlines Cara caters, and for their institutional clients, as well.
© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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Flock health news
U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers are clearing the air in chicken coops, finding new solutions to salmonella and fly problems. A system for collecting dust particles in hatching cabinets is aimed at protecting chicks from potentially disease-causing air particles, particularly salmonella. The system uses a negative electrostatic charge to collect dust and deposit it on plates that are automatically rinsed several times an hour, according to the Agricultural Research Service News.Tests conducted at the USDA's Southeast Poultry Research Lab in Athens, Ga., indicated a 95-per cent reduction in salmonella for week-old broilers and laying hens. Other tests indicated that a one-per cent increase in the number of chicks hatched was another bonus to the system. Meanwhile, researchers at the USDA's Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology in Gainsville, Fla., have been looking at ways to overcome the problem of flies developing resistance to cyromazine, a popular feed additive that is supposed to pass through chickens and destroy fly larvae.
The researchers found that attack on three flanks was the best solution: topical application of cyromazine; lime application; and the release of two types of parasitic wasps.
The wasps, which only attack flies - not people - were released at a rate of five per species each week for each hen. The result of the triple threat was a 98 per-cent reduction in flies. - Christina Selby
© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
backBY CHRISTINA SELBY
Richard Penner has some harsh words for AgriCorp. Last month, at an Ontario processing vegetable industry conference, the past chairman of the Ontario Vegetable Growers' Marketing Board told growers that AgriCorp had announced early January that the fixed costs of grading and inspection services for tomato, cucumber, carrot and red beet crops were increasing by 37 per cent. In his state-of-the-union address, Penner said the increase was "unacceptable."During negotiations for the two-year contract with AgriCorp, the OVGMB "made sure everything was laid on the table," he said. "We understood clearly that fixed costs were not going to change."
Tom Schmidt, AgriCorp CEO, said the uproar is based on a "partial misunderstanding," and that the 37 per cent figure is what AgriCorp "needs to cover in terms of additional income." He said fixed costs are higher than estimated two years ago, but the shortfall "doesn't have to come out of existing business" such as vegetable grading. Agricorp, which also administers provincial crop insurance programs, needs to find new business to close the gap, he said.
Penner told growers that AgriCorp was under the false impression that "it's the only game in town," and accused the group of "using the processing vegetable industry as a cash cow" to fund projects such as a sales department.
Schmidt said AgriCorp originally had 20 sales reps in the field who also handled claims, but there is "a potential for conflict of interest" if the rep selling the claim is also adjusting it. As a result, the corporation has opted for separate sales and adjustment departments, reducing the number of employees by four and reducing fixed costs.
Another difficulty growers have been having is with bypass decisions, said Penner. For some crops such as peas and sweet corn, if the crop can't be harvested or the processor can't keep up with crop flow, the processor can pass on it. At that point yield has to be determined for claim purposes. A number of times AgriCorp has not sent representatives to bypass meetings, said Penner. "While this process is not taking place, the grower isn't getting paid."
The three parties involved in the decision-making process - the grower, processor and the insurer - must be present, and processing insurance claims quickly is "crucial," said Penner.
Schmidt agreed that timing is of the essence in a bypass situation and that all three parties must be present, but that AgriCorp is being forced to play middleman by growers and processors. He said adjusters are expected to force processors into the field and that is not their responsibility.
Schmidt is hoping that a "better form of arbitration" can be worked out over the winter, and that includes getting a commitment from processors to fulfill their obligations in bypass situations.
In the meantime, AgriCorp is looking into acquiring contracts for periods when its obligations to horticulture growers are in abeyance. Last year the corporation used its tomato crop measuring staff and GPS equipment to measure parkland in the Chatham area. Schmidt insists these new contracts "won't have any effect" on their existing clients in the horticultural industry.
Now that the original two-year grading and inspection contract has expired, negotiations are underway for a new deal. Schmidt expects the parties to sign a three- to five-year contract on "similar terms" to the original deal.
© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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Touting tomato health benefits
Lycopene should make tomatoes attractive to health-conscious consumers Tomato growers have a new marketing angle to add to their sales pitch. Lycopene, a naturally occurring element in tomatoes, is being touted as a form of cancer prevention.The health benefits of lycopene were presented at an industry conference last month by A.V. Rao, a researcher at the University of Toronto, and David Yeung, director of corporate nutrition, infant feeding, at H.J. Heinz Co. of Canada Ltd. Yeung said lycopene can help prevent prostate, cervical, breast, testicular, colon and skin cancers as well as reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. While the potential of lycopene only came to light in 1995, he referenced many studies that have shown the health benefits:
* A six-year Harvard study of 46 fruits and vegetables found tomatoes had the highest lycopene content. Previous research had concluded a diet rich in lycopene reduces the risk of prostate cancer.Lycopene is found in other red-skinned fruits, including pink grapefruit, watermelon and guava, but is found in higher concentrations in processed tomato products such as juice and spaghetti sauce. The higher the amount of red pigment, the higher the lycopene level.
* A University of Toronto study found that lycopene acts as an antioxidant, which can neutralize cell-damaging free radicals in the body.
* A study at the University of North Carolina found that men with high levels of lycopene in their systems were half as likely to suffer a heart attack as those with low levels.
Rao has been looking into the effect of processing and storing tomato products with funding from Heinz and the recently formed Ontario Tomato Research Institute, co-founded by the Ontario Food Processors Association and the Ontario Vegetable Growers' Marketing Board.
The first step was a review of numerous brands of tomato juice, paste, sauce, ketchup and soup purchased from local supermarkets. Lycopene levels varied widely in different products, but the differences between different brands were less extreme, he said.
Tomatoes lose 16 to 18 per cent of their lycopene content in the scalding process, but the addition of five per cent corn oil after scalding actually restores what was lost, Rao said. Lycopene levels were found to be stable in products stored up to three months.
After this review is completed, Rao will be investigating the effect of different tomato products on dietary lycopene and the influence of lycopene on prostate and breast cancer and heart disease. - Christina Selby
© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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Betting on bunnies
The Bourdeaus' pork and dairy experience is helping turn a profit in the rabbit business
BY ROBERT IRWIN
Glengarry county's Denis and Carolyn Bourdeau don't always follow their neighbours' advice. Several years ago, neigbours suggested that the ragged old barn on their property was ready for demolition. But the Bourdeaus, who farm near North Lancaster, had other ideas. They wanted to farm rabbits, and after some fixing up, the two-storey red barn now houses their thriving 450 doe operation.There are only about 60 commercial rabbit farms in Ontario, but the small numbers don't worry the Bourdeaus. "It's been very profitable and the most challenging thing I've ever done," says Denis, who nets more than $100 per doe annually.
Bourdeau stresses rabbits require top management. It's an observation he's well-qualified to make. After graduating from Kemptville College in the early 1960s, Bourdeau worked as an Eastern Breeders AI technician for five years. He also established an award-winning Holstein herd, which he was later forced to sell when sidelined by what turned out to be temporary health problems.
In later years he owned a slaughterhouse and a noted purebred swine breeding operation. Bourdeau has applied the unique blend of knowledge gleaned from his past ventures to forge his rabbit business and perhaps blaze a trail for others to follow.
After dabbling with just a handful of rabbits he quickly concluded that feed cost was the key to efficient production. "In my case, because I have n o hired labour, feed is 90 per cent of my expenses," Bourdeau reveals.
By expanding his operation he was able to replace expensive bagged commercial rabbit pellets with bulk feed that he augurs into the barn from standard gravity bins located outside. Feed outlay, which had reached $320 per tonne bought in, was cut in half.
Rabbits are sold as five- to six-pound fryers, so Bourdeau measures feed efficiency as the average consumed per fryer marketed in the year. Last year that ratio was an impressive 4.46 pounds of feed per pound of fryer.
Drawing on his swine and dairy experience, Bourdeau surmised that efficiency depended on the number of days does remain unbred during a year.
Like producers in France who are leaders in rabbit technology, Bourdeau cites fryers produced per doe cage per year as the best measure of reproductive efficiency. Last year he averaged 51 rabbits sold per cage from his 290 cages, sometimes called kindling boxes or maternity nests.
That's below levels in France, which can reach 61 sold, but greater than most Ontario production. Taking advantage of rabbits' short 31-day gestation period, Bourdeau achieves his output by weaning at 35 days. His does get a seven-day rest period between weaning and their next kindling. "Once a doe is working there isn't a day in their life when they aren't nursing or pregnant," Bourdeau observes.
Looking for an edge to boost production, Bourdeau formulated his own index system from the Record of Performance system used in his swine days. It allows him to select replacement does from the best of his New Zealand and American Chinchilla maternal lines. His male lines are purebred Californians favoured by processors for meat quality.
Since he currently averages one rabbit weaned per doe per week, that production level has been pegged as index 100. He arrives at that number by dividing the number of weeks a doe is in production by total number produced. Therefore, a doe that weans 55 offspring in one year is assessed by dividing 55 by 52. The calculation equals 1.057 or a 106 index.
As a former abattoir owner he was familiar with processor needs as well as how economy of scale and consumer demand affect price.
Historically, fryer prices rise at Easter and other special occasions and drop during summer months.
Bourdeau found the deck stacked against small producers when dealing with processors: "You show up with 20 fryers and the processor is going to laugh at you."
Distance also works against small producers. "It doesn't pay to drive four or five hours," notes Joan Farrow, secretary treasurer of the Ontario Commercial Rabbit Growers Association.
To bring producers together, Bourdeau has decided to contract with other producers at $1.20 per pound for fryers picked up at their farms. There is nothing new in one producer acting as a depot or picking up rabbits from fellow producers. Brian Tapscott, OMAFRA alternative livestock specialist, estimates producers usually pay about 10 cents per pound for the service.
However, Bourdeau is offering a long-term contract at a fixed price, "which I think is great because it gives people a choice," Tapscott observes. Bourdeau has one contract with Cobourg's All Rabbits, one of three provincial plants specializing in rabbits, and also contracts with federally inspected plants in Quebec, where price is fueled by export orders.
Bourdeau reasons he cuts costs by having a full truck, eastbound or westbound. It's just one more in a series of efficiencies he's determined to bring to the industry.
© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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