Agriculture Committee on May 16th, 2012

[Mike Beretta]

With regard to the difference I think the inspection and the auditing process is probably the first big hurdle. Most farmers tend to be somewhat private, if you will, and the notion of having someone come in and walk through their farm and assess it tends to be a shock. So that's often the initial hurdle that we need to somehow overcome. Part of that then involves paperwork, which of course nobody really likes. With regard to the paperwork, a lot of the requests are things like pasture rotation, crop rotation, planning ahead. So farmers who are involved in the organic and the natural world tend to have to put down in writing—

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Forward plan.

[Mike Beretta]

Yes, they forward plan, whereas I think a lot of commodity-based farmers tend to be a little...they're flexible, but it might be more with regard to weather or market conditions as to what you're going to grow on a given year. Crop rotation is so big, because we can't use pesticides in growing the crops. There's a need for rotation to try to limit weed pressure and insect pressure. So those are all things that basically indicate to the inspector that you have a plan in place to try to continue this method of growing without resolving to use chemicals.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

What about on the slaughtering side? You have cattle being slaughtered. Who does this so it doesn't get mixed up with non-organic?

[Mike Beretta]

Even the slaughterhouses have to be inspected. One of the critical points for slaughter is that our animals are always done first thing in the morning. The slaughterhouse has to be able to provide us the facility to kill first thing in the morning. They are very stringent in their cleaning procedures and everything else, but by having ours done first, whether it's organic or natural—

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Beef, turkey, chicken, meat products.

[Mike Beretta]

Yes. Most of the poultry plants are small, and they might be able to dedicate a whole day to them. The two plants we use for beef are larger, and they'll have their own production following ours, but ours has to be done first to ensure that—

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

There's not a price penalty to that, really. It's not two separate lines. It’s more a scheduling event for the slaughterhouse.

[Mike Beretta]

There is some added cost to the processor. Both of our slaughterhouses do further processing for us, breakdown of carcass.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Fine.

[Mike Beretta]

There will be a break in the line there, so that adds an extra cost.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

If there is an additional process, a separate line that has to be established, that's where—

[Mike Beretta]

It’s not so much a separate line as more a break when the last of our animals is done. The last pound of beef has to be completely through the process—

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Oh, completely cleared. I understand.

[Mike Beretta]

—before the next, so that there's no chance of mingling.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Okay. The other....

[Mike Beretta]

The other thing I've noticed is that organic and natural consumers are becoming more aware of animal welfare. We've incorporated a series of audits, in both our natural and organic rearing, that involve animal welfare. We look at transport times, the handling of the animals—all the truckers have to be properly licensed to be able to handle animals and emergency situations that might occur.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Who sells your product to whom? For example, it goes through the slaughtering process. Are you selling your product to retailers and to restaurants? Would those be your two main supply points, or is the slaughterhouse looking after that?

[Mike Beretta]

We manage all of that ourselves, in large part, to ensure authenticity and also the controls required in working with both small customers like home delivery, which we do a lot of, or larger customers like a Loblaws.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Who does the packaging on the meat? I'm wondering about the certified organic branding. Is that something you do, or is that something Loblaws now does because you delivered bulk meat? It's been processed certainly, but it doesn't have your brand name on it, perhaps. Or does it have your brand name on it?

[Mike Beretta]

There's a bit of both. There's also some private branding now being done. We have customers buy our product and then brand it themselves, which always adds an extra challenge—to make sure that authenticity is there because ultimately we're responsible for what's inside.

With our certified organic, we have only our brand on it. We don't allow any private labelling. We will be—

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

I'm sorry. So if it says “certified organic”, and it has your branding on it.

[Mike Beretta]

Yes.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

If it is generic branding, then “certified organic” does not go on there.

[Mike Beretta]

No. Our natural brand—which is the Toyota in my car example, as it were—that's where we do allow private labelling. We'll work with a company like Loblaws who will have their own line of natural, but it'll be our meat.