$20 million hatchery coming to Stratford

Feb 08, 2017

Facility is scheduled to open in 2018

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

A consortium of Ontario producers are bringing a new chick hatchery to Stratford, Ont., in 2018.

Known as Trillium Hatchery Inc., the 65,000-square-foot facility will be constructed in the Wright Business Park. The hatchery will use a new technology called HatchCare, which provides new chicks with immediate access to water, feed and light.

According to a City of Stratford press release, “(HatchCare) aims to provide stronger, healthier chicks in an animal-friendly and antibiotic free production.”

Trillium Hatchery Inc. is owned by Dave Brock, a hatching egg farmer from West Perth, Murray Booy, a chicken farmer from Aylmer and member of the Chicken Farmers of Canada executive committee, and Doug Kaizer, CFO of Maritime Chicks Ltd.

The group said putting the facility in Stratford offers them the best of two worlds.

“Trillium Hatchery Inc. is an exciting new venture that will create economic opportunities all across southwestern Ontario,” Booy said in the release. “Stratford is an ideal place to locate our new chicken hatchery because it is a city that is committed to both the agriculture and high tech industries - just like Trillium. The City of Stratford is a great partner.”

In addition, the facility is expected to create about 20 jobs within the community.

“I am very pleased that Trillium Hatchery Inc. has chosen to invest in Stratford,” Mayor Dan Mathieson said in the release. “Their decision to launch their new venture here demonstrates our City’s ability to attract innovation-minded businesses and their presence will further enhance our thriving agri-business landscape.”

Farms.com has reached out to the members of Trillium Hatchery Inc. for information on how the facility can benefit farmers in Ontario.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.