A way to help new egg and pullet farmers get started
New entrants are vital to maintaining a vibrant and healthy sector and encouraging new egg and pullet farmers in the current positive business and policy environment is the purpose of Egg Farmers of Ontario’s (EFO’s) New Entrant Support Team (NEST) approach.
There has been a significant increase in new egg and pullet farmers in Ontario recently as a result of a combination of positive factors for the sector and the NEST approach is designed to support and continue that trend.
New entrants to the business have been aided by a decade of consistently expanding egg sales and stable returns provided by Fair Farm Pricing under supply management. The sector has also worked collectively to improve access to egg and pullet quota and reduce barriers to entry.
The information, links and contact information that follows has been put together to help orient new entrants with a solid base of information about egg and pullet farming with an overview of the sector, the policy background and outlining the roles, responsibilities and contact information for stakeholders in the sector.
Background and developments for new entrants since 2014
Encouraging new entrants has been a goal for our sector for a number of years and a previous program called the New Entrant Quota Loan Pool (NEQLP) was introduced in 2011 to address concerns and perceptions about barriers to entry into egg farming in Ontario.
The approach available at that time for acquiring quota was based on private sales. A significant part of the concern about barriers for new entrants was based on the lack of accessibility and transparency to people from outside the business.
The way quota was acquired by egg farmers changed dramatically with the introduction of a quarterly quota exchange called the Quota Transfer System (QTS) in 2014. Quota leasing also changed conditions during this period.
The introduction of the NEQLP included a commitment to review the program after five years of operation. As a result, a complete review of the process was undertaken during 2016.
The QTS performed as expected for all farmers in terms of accessibility and transparency. During that period, there was also the introduction of hens available through the quota leasing pool, increases to the number of birds in the pool and, most recently, policy changes that provide stability and predictability of the number of birds available for lease to each egg farm.
The changes in the policy environment of the QTS and leased birds had the overall impact of encouraging more new entrants, lowering any entry barriers and lowering the cost per bird of entry.
During the two years following the introduction of the QTS in 2014 there were 15 new entrants. Four of these were entrants selected under NEQLP and 11 were new entrants attracted without program assistance.
Evolving a new approach for the current environment
The review of new entrant numbers, policy developments and feedback from the consultation process all supported the conclusion that the factors and pressures that led to the NEQLP had been removed or overcome.
Based on the review of the five years of operation of the NEQLP, EFO moved to develop a new approach for encouraging new entrants called the New Entrant Support Team (NEST) focused on supporting the business information and business connection needs of potential new entrants.
The quota access and transparency provided by the QTS and the stability and predictability provided by the layer leasing pool mean the needs of new entrants are now focused on accessing excellent egg and pullet business information, business connections and the strong support network that exists in the sector and the NEST approach was developed to meet that need.
Elements of the information and support team concept to support this approach include resources identifying and outlining the roles, responsibilities and contact information for all stakeholders in the sector.