The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is supporting members of the Prince Edward Island hog industry interested in evaluating a new business opportunity that could see benefits for the industry, says Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Alan McIsaac.
The proposal being examined is from Ecolait Ltd., a Canadian-based company and a founder of the milk veal industry in Canada, this company has extended an 8-year contract proposal to existing and new Prince Edward Island hog producers for a specialty market based on animal welfare protocols.
“The Province of Prince Edward Island supports the growth and sustained development of our primary industries to ensure economic and community prosperity and job creation,” said Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Alan McIsaac. “We will continue to support strategies that encourage new product and new market developments.”
Government supports industry by providing funding for a business to seek expertise as they make proactive and informed business decisions. The Department, through the Growing Forward 2 Business Development Program, will provide funding to Island hog producers who wish to evaluate this or other initiatives so they can assess whether it is suitable for their businesses.
Paul Larsen, Chair of the PEI Hog Board says, “The PEI Hog Board welcomes all new marketing opportunities for PEI producers and urges each producer to evaluate such initiatives and personally assess their own existing or new operations to see if they would be suitable.”
The Canada-Prince Edward Island Growing Forward 2 federal-provincial agreement is a five year (2013-2018) policy framework for the agriculture and agri-food sector. The Business Development Program provides farmers skills training, business practices assessment and business planning assistance designed to enhance their ability to respond to change and facilitate the development of sound business practices.