Media Release: New Insurance Options for Small-Scale Meat Producers & Processors

The BC Chicken Marketing board is currently undertaking a consultation process to explore quota use and access in BC’s supply managed chicken industry. A similar consultation process on the New Entrant Program topic was suspended this spring and as such, this consultation is also an opportunity to provide feedback on the New Entrant Program.

Small-lot permit holders were not invited to participate in the consultation in the spring and while we did our best to ensure that the voices of these producers were heard, it had not been a very inclusive process. SSMPA advocated for the inclusion of small-lot permit holders and prospective pastured-poultry producers in these conversations. We have worked hard to establish a better working relationship with the BC Chicken Marketing board and feel like we have made some good progress.

SSMPA was invited to participate with a representative on the Quota Access and Use Committee and we have been involved in the development of a survey. The survey will take about 20 minutes to complete, depending on your level of familiarity with our regulated marketing system.

This is a complex and often confusing topic so we are providing some background documents here which we encourage you to read prior to undertaking to complete the survey. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. We will update this page with frequently asked questions and more information up until the survey deadline on November 15th.

Your participation is very important. We are working hard to increase opportunities for pasture-based poultry producers in this sector and have built some good momentum. But it is critical that we demonstrate both a market demand for this differentiated product and a willingness from producers to scale their businesses to meet this demand.

“This is a complex and often confusing topic so we are providing some background documents here which we encourage you to read prior to undertaking to complete the survey. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. We will update this page with frequently asked questions and more information up until the survey deadline on November 15th.”

Read the summary from October 2024
Read the report
Read report from August 2024
Read the 2023 report
Read the consultation from April 2024
Read now
- Quota system complexity: The sometimes-intricate administrative load of producing with quota, which may pose challenges to beginning producers. Further, terms like “pro rata distribution” and “declining transfer assessment” might need clearer definitions for those unfamiliar with how the quota system operates.
- After-the-fact leasing: Leasing quota from another grower for a given production cycle retroactively, after that cycle is over. This would allow a producer to lease quota if they over or under-produce during a given cycle, to avoid paying a penalty.
- Board-managed quota exchange: A public, central forum (website) where all quota for sale would need to be posted under the supervision of the Board. This would eliminate private quota transfers between individuals.
- Priority access in exchanges: Rules defining how different classes of producers (ex. new entrants or smaller growers) could get priority access to quota put up for sale in a Board-managed quota exchange.
- Pro-rata allocation: Method currently used to distribute growth in BC’s overall chicken quota among producers. Pro-rata means that quota growth is allocated to producers for free in proportion to the amount of quota they already hold (ex. All producers get a 1% increase of their quota allocation, meaning a producer with 50,000 units would get 500 free units and a producer with 100,000 units would get 1,000 free units).
- Board-issued quota: Quota, such as new entrant quota and pro-rata allocation that is issued directly by the BC Chicken Marketing Board, rather than being transferred by sale from another producer.
- Regionally assigned quota: Starting in 2010, New Entrant Quota can only be used in the region it was issued, it can not be transferred to another grower in another region (as long as there is still a processing plant operational in that region). As currently defined, the three regions are the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Interior.
- Transfer assessment: The amount of quota that must be returned to the BCCMB if a producer sells quota issued by the Board within 10 years of receiving that quota. The percentage of a quota issuance that must be returned declines by 10% each year after the issue of that quota, starting at 100% of the quota that must be returned. Currently, transfer assessments do not apply to quota transfers between immediate family members.
- Over/under production sleeve: Sleeves add some flexibility to the quota system. If a grower produces up to 6% less than their quota allotment, they are allowed to produce that amount over their allotment in the sixth cycle after the underproduction occurs. If a grower produces above their quota allotment in a cycle, the overproduction amount is subtracted from what they are allowed to produce in the sixth cycle following their overproduction.