It’s a massive investment from an American based company, in the Ontario Pork industry.
“We saw an opportunity to come locally and be a part of the community,” said Lawrence Parks, President of The Parks Companies. “Our goal is to get local producers’ good access to U.S. markets and add value to their farm system.”
Close to 100 farm families from across Perth County visited the grand opening for the new Parks Livestock of Ontario Assembly yard. Located just North of Milverton, this multi-million-dollar facility isn’t just a sign of confidence in the pork sector, but more importantly an investment in the people who work in the Ontario swine industry.
“In the States, everything is getting commercialized,” said Hayden Parks, General Manager of Parks Livestock Operations. “Down here there are still a lot of family farms, so we see growth coming and we said we see opportunity so let’s put a bigger footprint in the area”
“It’s exciting to see the investment that they have and the confidence they have,” said Fred Groenestege, owner of FGC Limited.
The 22 thousand square-foot facility was constructed by FGC Limited. The project took 2 years to build, and the process created dozens of good paying jobs.
“This facility is unique because it’s not just finishing barn, it’s a holding facility, said Fred. “The animals move through so the permitting process was a bit of a struggle so we could build it here.”
The assembly yard has additional biosecurity features which were funded in part by the Government of Canada under the African Swine Fever Industry Preparedness Program.
“We focused a lot of biosecurity protocol it was built for the next 40 years, not just for today, said Hayden. “We got heated floors, three in-bound shoots not everyone has to back up to the same shoot, so a lot of planning was involved.”
Roughly the same size as a 2500 head finishing barn, the new assembly yard is specifically built for the smooth flow of animals. For area farmers, it gives them another option for selling pigs.
Click here to see more...