“Having worked within VFO and alongside our members, I have a deep appreciation for the legacy, strength and resiliency of this sector,” MacCarthy said in a media release. “I look forward to building on our solid foundation while bringing new ideas and approaches that will help position Ontario’s veal and dairy calf industry for long-term sustainability.”

Why it matters: Ontario’s veal market provides an annual contribution of $475 million to the province’s economy.

The appointment followed the retirement of current executive director Jennifer Haley at the end of March, after 28 years of service to Ontario and Canadian veal and dairy calf sectors.

“Jennifer’s impact on the veal sector cannot be overstated,” said Philip Kroesbergen, VFO chair, in a media release. “She has been a tireless advocate for producers, guiding the organization through significant industry milestones and challenges while ensuring Ontario’s voice was heard at both the provincial and national levels.”

Kroesbergen noted that since joining VFO in 2020, MacCarthy has addressed various sector projects and issues and was serving as policy advisor as of November 2024.

“Patrick brings a collaborative leadership style, strategic insight and a clear appreciation for the opportunities and challenges facing our sector,” he stated. “We are confident he will build on the strong foundation established at VFO and help position Ontario’s veal and dairy calf producers for continued success.”

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“Our government promised farmers we would continue to expand and enhance RMP, and with this historic investment, we have delivered,” said Rob Flack, minister of Agriculture Food and Agribusiness at VanQuaethem Farms Ltd. in Eden, Ont., January 28.

Why it matters: The increase will support farmers responding to market challenges while boosting confidence and competitiveness.

The increase will be phased in over three years, with $30 million added in the 2025 program year until the program reaches a total of $250 million in the 2027 program year, with producer premiums remaining at 35 per cent of government funding. It builds on reforms allowing unused program funds to be rolled over for future years’ claims, the $50 million annual increase to RMP in 2020 and AgriStability’s increase from 70 to 80 per cent compensation rates in 2023, making the program more responsive in times of need.

Ontario Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy said the government must protect farmers against economic uncertainty and support the hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity the sector generates.

“It will also help ensure the continued growth of Ontario’s thriving agri-food sector for generations,” he said.

Commodities who have lobbied extensively for the RMP increase saw the announcement, made hours before an expected early provincial election call, as a hard-fought win.

“(The RMP investment) could not come at a better time, given the uncertainty and escalating risks facing farm operations,” said Craig McLaughlin, president of Beef Farmers of Ontario. “This is, without a doubt, the most important investment the province could make for our sector and one that will serve to support the security of Ontario farms and Ontario food production for many years.”

Ontario Sheep Farmers chair Art Alblas said the impact of RMP investment in the sheep industry is evident.

“Lamb production enrolled in this program has doubled since 2020 and continues to increase,” Alblas said. “(This investment) will support current and new sheep farmers as we expand production to meet the growing demand for lamb in Ontario.”

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The province on May 29 announced the deadlines for grain and oilseed producers to submit their completed RMP applications and make any coverage changes — previously set at May 10 — has now been moved to June 30.

For livestock producers, the deadline to submit applications or request coverage changes, previously extended to April 15 for the 2023 program year, has now also been reset to June 30.

Agricorp, the province’s farm program delivery agency, said May 29 the latest deadline move is meant to “give farmers more time to evaluate their coverage decisions” and more flexibility in making those decisions.

That said, to be eligible for RMP: Grains and Oilseeds, grower customers will still also need to have Production Insurance coverage — the application deadline for which remained May 10.

Ontario’s RMP, set up as a permanent program in 2011, is intended to help farmers manage risks beyond their control, such as fluctuating costs and market prices.

The program is intended as a complement to Production Insurance, which insures against production losses, and AgriStability, a whole-farm ag income stabilization program. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Veal Farmers of Ontario recently announced amendments to regulations that came into effect Jan. 1 that update the definitions of veal cattle and include the collection of licence fees on veal cattle sold in sales barns.

VFO has worked with the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission to bring forward amendments to Regulation 58/15 — Veal Cattle-Marketing Plan and Regulation 272/14 — Veal Cattle-Plan.

The amendments bring in several changes:

• They expand the definition of veal cattle to include an extended weight on male dairy bob calves up to 150 pounds.
• They allow started or preconditioned intact male dairy calves of up to 450 lbs.
• They include veal cattle marketed on live weight basis, weighing no more than 769 lbs. through an auction or livestock dealer.

There are no changes to the definitions for those producers who market their veal cattle directly to processors.

There are no changes to the $5.50 per head licence fee or check-off being assigned to veal cattle sold.

Before the amendments, veal cattle sold in sales barns on a live weight basis would have had the Beef Farmers of Ontario check-off applied.

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The organization is acting on a recommendation to bring in expertise in auditing and compliance.

Geoff Holwell will join the producer organization on a part-time basis, with his primary responsibilities to ensure compliance with VFO’s regulations and maintain integrity of the licence fee collection system, the organization says.

Why it matters: There’s a mandatory $5.50 per animal checkoff fee for veal sold in Ontario, and as noted on the organization’s website, there remains a degree of confusion about when and by whom the fee should be paid.

VFO executive director Jennifer Haley says the initial focus will be on licence fee collection, and the bulk of the early work will focus on building relationships rather than cracking down on failure to remit. And even when the cracking down begins, the target audience will be dealers and buyers, rather than veal producers.

“It is possible that Geoff may reach out to some veal producers as part of the audit trail but to be clear, this position is not an on-farm inspector nor is there the capacity to do so,” she said.

In a news release, Haley says VFO has “worked openly and diligently on education and awareness” about the licence fee, “and as a result developed some great partnerships.” But she describes the recent decision as “the next phase of development as an organization and looking to ensure equitable compliance for all stakeholders.”

“The direct benefit for all veal producers is that VFO is ensuring that all producers and industry partners who are required to remit the regulated licence fees to VFO do so in an equitable and transparent manner,” Haley told Farmtario.

“Doing so ensures that VFO can continue to represent the collective needs of the producer – whether that is consumer marketing, research, advocacy or any other program impacting producers.”

The new position represents a reallocation of existing resources.

“Licence fee enforcement has always been part of our budget, staff resources and strategic plan,” Haley said.

In the past, those resources were directed towards an education and awareness role.

Asked if a specific incident or incidents led VFO staff to make the recommendation to the board of directors, she said no. Rather, it was guided by identification of a specific skill set needed for VFO to take the next steps on compliance and enforcement.

VFO is not alone in looking to one-time police officers for expertise. In 2006, Beef Farmers of Ontario hired 25-year OPP veteran Andy Millar as its checkoff inspector. Millar retired from BFO in 2019.

Haley listed the BFO inspector position as one that served as a model for the new VFO role. Along with his experience in the public sector, Holwell also worked as an insurance company claims investigator.

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During a morning session at the Veal Farmers of Ontario annual general meeting, the organization’s executive director Jennifer Haley impressed upon producers the importance of using the extra 10 kg to manage their feeding and shipping decisions. They shouldn’t take it as a signal to aim for the heaviest possible animal still qualifying for a per-kilogram price for veal.

“Your target weight should stay the same (as it was under the 180-kg limit), but this will make it easier to manage,” the executive director said. “If people change their target weight, we haven’t solved the problem.”

“We don’t want to see 500-pound carcasses labelled as veal. That’s certainly not the intent of this change.”

Why it matters: Overweight carcasses shipped into the veal market must be marketed as ungraded beef, reducing returns for processors and producers.

Amendments came into force earlier this year allowing for an increase to 190 kg from 180 kg in the maximum weight for a carcass to still qualify as veal in Canada.

At the recent VFO meeting, Alex Fontaine, president of Montreal-based Montpak International, North America’s largest veal processing company, said he expects the new limit to be more strictly enforced than in previous years

“People will optimize their business. We accept that,” he said, adding that it was very important for producers to stay within the veal definition.

The change was made possible by the adoption in 2019 of the new Safe Food For Canadians Act, which eliminated the Livestock and Poultry Carcass Grading Regulations, and instead allowed for guidance in matters related to beef, bison and veal from the Canadian Beef Grading Agency.

Under the new legislation, future amendments to meat grading standards can be updated more quickly and without changes to the regulation itself. The carcass weight change, the first since 2001 for Canadian veal, was the first grading change to be considered under the Act’s updated regime.

Haley, also the executive director of the Canadian Veal Association (CVA), said overweight carcasses “had become an issue throughout the entire supply chain.”

“Veal carcasses that go over the weight limit… often mean that both the producer and the processor are forced to sell at a discount.”

Fontaine agreed and added that veal consumers are frequently well-informed and aware of the texture and flavour of meat they want. Add to that the increasing scrutiny by animal welfare advocates, and the veal sector will need to continue its efforts to be transparent.

Fontaine and his two brothers own the largest veal and lamb processing business in North America. It all began — and continues to unfold — on the family’s farm near St-Hyacinthe. Their father sold the dairy cows in 1976 and went into cash crops but in 1980, the Ecolait company came into Quebec and the Fontaines were the first family to sign on and begin producing for the company’s veal program.

Little did they know at the time the family’s expanded food processing venture — started in 1989 by Alex’s older brother Fabian — would eventually purchase Ecolait’s assets in 2017. In between, the family’s other acquisitions included Catelli Bros. in 2009, and Montpak in 2015.

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The organization has cancelled this year’s Ontario’s Best Veal Sandwich due to the closure of most restaurants in the province due to COVID-19.

Before the organization had to cancel the contest, at the VFO annual meeting in Stratford on March 11, attendees learned that the successful promotion was going to go head with so-called “mystery shoppers” contracted to try out each sandwich.

In past years VFO Executive Director Jennifer Haley has typically conscripted another VFO staffer to visit all the nominees and try the sandwiches.

“The most I had in one day last year was four,” she said to the AGM attendees. “I’m not sure what the kids had for supper that night because I was pretty much in a coma when I got home.”

Those visits did, however, provide Haley with an opportunity to speak with the restaurateurs and learn now they obtained their veal. She also encouraged them to try other cuts of veal in their menu. On more than one occasion, for example, chefs were surprised to learn that ground veal might be a tasty possibility for a meatball sandwich.

There were also times, though, when it was Haley who was in for the surprise. Not all sandwiches were made with Canadian veal. In some cases, they weren’t made with veal at all.

“There’s a big difference when you eat a veal parmesan sandwich that actually comes from a beef cut,” she said. Often a major advance clue was price: “If you’re purchasing a $5 veal sandwich versus a $12.99 veal sandwich, you’re probably not getting veal. It’s just the economics.”

Haley outlined the inconsistencies in a recent article she wrote for the magazine of the Ontario Independent Meat Processors. In the article, she reported that VFO is preparing a new series of promotional materials for both restaurants and restaurant suppliers, aimed at reinforcing “the importance of sourcing quality Ontario veal for their customers.”

During her visits to best veal sandwich nominees, “the depth and breadth of food fraud was revealed,” she wrote in the article. “Many sandwiches being sold as veal were an inferior product, creating a false (and often poor) perception of the quality, tenderness and taste of Ontario veal.”

Speaking at the AGM, Haley said it’s somewhat understandable. “There’s a lot of middle men between you, the producer, and the restaurant or the chef.” She added VFO does verify that the sandwich being nominated for the contest does actually use Canadian veal.

“We’ve disqualified restaurants if they don’t have Canadian veal. We’ve disqualified them if they don’t have veal at all.”

Haley’s article wasn’t all negative. “Ultimately, the goal (of the contest) was to sell more veal and that’s exactly what happened,” she wrote, adding competing restaurants used the promotional material that accompanied their participation to attract “new customers who wanted to judge the sandwich for themselves.”

Haley also noted that the nominated restaurants are very often multi-generational, family-run businesses – just like many VFO member farms.

But the existence of incorrectly – or fraudulently – identified veal menu items was certainly an eye-opener.

“We’ve got to put an end to this,” she said. Because of its possible effect on the public’s perception of veal quality, “this is something that we’ve got to be aware of. And, if we didn’t do the contest, we probably wouldn’t be aware.”

Celebrity spokesperson John Catucci had been retained to try the semifinalists’ entries, and from there three finalists were to be chosen. These three would have come to a contest finale in Toronto to prepare their sandwiches.

Catucci is host of You Gotta Eat Here! and the new Big Food Bucket List on Food Network Canada.

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The western Canada-based chair and general manager of the agency were on hand at VFO’s recent annual general meeting to usher in the arrangement.

A federally regulated checkoff has been collected on cross-boundary beef and veal for about 20 years.

Why it matters: The new agreement means that veal farmers will have more influence on how their check-off dollars are spent.

“For you, as a veal producer, this won’t change a thing about what you do,” VFO executive director Jennifer Haley told attendees. “Your licence fees still stay at $5.50 per head.”

The federal checkoff is $1 per head on live animals, or a per-weight equivalent for beef and veal products.

CBCA general manager Melinda German said discussions at the CBCA’s predecessor organization, the Beef Information Centre, tended to be dominated by “beef, beef, beef.”

Four years, ago, however, in an effort to make the process more transparent and more open, the position eventually taken by German was created.

In recent years, there has been a gradual broadening of the message, said Haley.

“This agreement is proof,” she said, “that the conversation has changed dramatically.”

For their part, German and CBCA chair Chad Ross, whose family operates a ranch in Saskatchewan, credited Haley for her “impassioned” representation of the interest of Ontario’s veal farmers as the negotiations unfolded. Ross added that the welcoming of VFO into the agency “will offer a well-rounded outlook” at the board table.

There’s a 16-member board of directors for the national organization, with representation from producers and processors. CBCA fees are spent in three ways: marketing, research and stakeholder engagement.

For research, the agency partners with the Beef Cattle Research Council to allocate funds. And for stakeholder engagement, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is a partner.

For the promotion dollars, meanwhile, there’s an internal subcommittee charged with administering the “Canada Beef” marketing initiative. This was a 12-member subcommittee, but voting membership has been increased to 13 to allow for a seat for VFO.

German described this newly created seat as “a voice to help develop and deliver marketing dollars… and to help decide where to allocate those dollars.”

In the lead-up to the announcement of the new agreement, Veal Farmers of Ontario was given input into recent point-of-sale literature updates.

In addition, Canadian beef and veal was the theme of a high-profile booth at the recent Restaurants Canada trade show in Toronto.

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The North American Meat Institute, whose members include processors such as Tyson Foods and retailers including Walmart, said enforcing Proposition 12 would hurt producers and consumers by significantly increasing their costs.

It also said the measure, which passed last November with 63 per cent of the vote, was an “overreach” that violated the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause by requiring out-of-state producers to comply with California’s rules or face a sales ban.

“Prop 12 hurts the family on a budget with higher prices for pork, veal and eggs, and unfairly punishes livestock producers outside of California by forcing them to spend millions more just to access California markets,” Meat Institute president Julie Anna Potts said in a statement.

Spokesmen for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the state’s Department of Public Health declined to comment.

In its complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, the Meat Institute is seeking an injunction against the sales ban targeting out-of-state veal and pork.

The group’s more than 700 members also include packers and processors such as Cargill, JBS USA, Smithfield Foods and Wegmans, as well as Chipotle, Target and Amazon.com’s Whole Foods.

Proposition 12, or the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act, sets minimum space requirements for calves raised for veal, breeding pigs and egg-laying hens, and bans the sale of raw veal, pork or eggs from animals enclosed in too little space.

Calves must have 43 square feet (four square metres) of floor space by 2020, pigs must have 24 square feet by 2022, and hens must have one square foot by 2020 and be “cage-free” by 2022.

Proponents said the measure would phase out extreme means of confining animals.

Animal rights groups were split. The Humane Society of the United States backed the measure, while People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals opposed it, saying it did not go far enough.

— Reporting for Reuters by Jonathan Stempel in New York.

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The company said Tuesday it expected to have the new brand — Fontaine Family, named for the company’s founding family — available via “most major supermarket banners” by week’s end.

With the new product line, “we want to address consumers directly and help them appreciate the subtle and refined taste of veal, but also raise awareness on the many benefits this lean and nutritious meat provides,” Montpak president Alex Fontaine said in a release.

To “meet our customers’ needs,” he said, the line includes “ready-to-cook products made from fresh meat, preservative-free, gluten-free and containing a minimum of salt. They are quick to cook and have a maximum of five ingredients.”

“All our animals are raised without the use of hormones, in accordance with the highest standards of animal welfare and our milk-fed veal is GMO-free,” Delimax president Fabien Fontaine said in the same release. “We are proud to stand alone in offering this milk-fed veal product.”

Asked via email about the specifics of the new veal line’s non-GMO label claim, the company replied that its packaging notes the livestock used for the new product line are non-GMO-fed.

“We do control our source of feed by growing our own solid feed. This is how we can assure strict controls that differentiate ourselves form other producers of milk-fed veal.”

The company noted it meets Canadian rules to make a non-GMO fed claim, but it has developed its own logo, since “no federal certification logo… exists that we could use.”

The Delimax-Montpak group, which bills itself as “North America’s veal leader,” sources livestock from 105 company-owned farms and affiliates and owns or is affiliated with companies up and down the meat value chain, including Abattoir Saint-Germain, Transport Dofax, processing and distributing arms Montpak and Catelli Bros. and milk replacer manufacturers NRV and Serval.

“We really waited until we had all the right elements in place to ensure the success of the launch: farmland, feed production, livestock and processing plants,” Donald Fontaine, president of the Delimax-Montpak group’s transportation division, said in the same release.

“This allows us to ensure that we have a high level of quality control throughout the production line through all stages of the process.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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