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It also told the board to consider the needs of small farmers who grow and sell their birds directly to consumers, noting the board “has the legislative capacity and authority to direct licensed processors to undertake primal cut services.”
But by early 2020, Robbins was again having trouble finding a processor to handle his birds, with one processor declining to do it and another proposing to charge almost double the 2017 rate for its “kill and chill” services.
His recent request for help from the marketing board was met with denial due to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(S)pace in B.C. processing plants are at a premium due to high absenteeism, restrictions imposed by the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) and the health authorities,” noted a letter from the marketing board, cited in a FIRB decision issued last month. “This is causing some hardship for processors.”
This time, the review board sided with processors, concluding it was “not persuaded byK&M Farms’ arguments that consumer choice is a right that should always outweigh the cost and impact to others in the turkey industry.”
With no processor lined up to handle his turkeys, Robbins was forced to halt production.
“We’ve developed a niche market of people who want large, pasture-raised birds,” he told Postmedia. “I think we could sell triple what we are allowed to produce.”
His daughter Jill Azanza said the B.C. government promotes local food and farms.
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