DuBreton says it intends to
substantially increase its organic pork processing at its plant at
Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec.
It buys a substantial volume of
hogs from Ontario, including from Mennonites in the Milverton area who were
organized by veterinarian Marty Misener, linked with a purebred supplier and
coached on housing and management to meet DuBreton’s standards.
CBC news reports that DuBreton’s
expansion plans have “the potential of opening up a new, growing market for
hundreds of family farms.”
"As a family company, it's
hard to compete against the big, international pork producers," said
DuBreton presiudent Vincent Breton.
“We knew we had to do things
differently. We saw that consumers have an interest in where the product comes
from and how animals are raised."
The plan is to raise an
additional 300,000 market hogs over the next three years to meet the certified
organic and certified humanely raised criteria. DuBretont is already the
largest producer and processor of organic and natural pork in North America.
Breton said the company will
invest $30 million over the next three years to meet its target, including new
pens on its own farms and working with family farmers to upgrade their
facilities. Breton said he works with about 300 farmers in Ontario, Quebec and
Atlantic Canada.
The company is negotiating with
Longo's in Ontario for shelf space for its certified organic and humanely
raised products and aims to generate interest in the humanely raised product
across Canada.
Breton says the consumer market
for the product is only just developing.
"The reason why is
that it's quite expensive to go humanely raised and organic. You have to have
time and commitment to make the investment."
