What a change in a month! We are all starting to get used to the new way of working (more on our COVID19 responses later).
Some important key dates:
- Poultry processing is starting up May 7th – bookings are filling up fast
- Open for Lamb bookings – April 15th & April 29th
Please look at the on-line calendar and book well in advance to ensure you get the dates you want.
Latest news:
COVID19
As with all businesses on Salt Spring, we will be taking extra care to ensure no inadvertent transmission via the abattoir. We ask that when picking up and dropping off, producers respect the physical distancing standards (6’ apart). If you are sick, please arrange for someone else to bring your animals or birds to the abattoir. In addition to our regular practices to ensure food safety we will be even more vigilant. This means:
- Door handles will be cleaned frequently
- Staff will stay home if sick
- Customers will not be allowed inside the facility to pick up their meat.
- Physical distancing will be practiced
- Invoices or invoice amounts will be sent by email before pick-up day, and payments by e-transfer encouraged rather than cash or cheque.
- Staff who have travelled overseas or to the US will only come back to work after being on SSI for 14 days without symptoms. Similarly, any staff in close contact with someone returning from outside of Canada will be asked to stay home.
The Abattoir is an essential service and will continue to operate. We will give as much notice as possible if bookings must be changed or cancelled as a result of staff shortages or lack of availability of meat inspectors. If there are staff shortages and capacity has to be reduced for a day, priority will be given to those that have booked first.
We would like a “back-up” pool of workers to call on if short staffed. If you know of anyone, preferably with experience, who would be willing to work the occasional poultry day or to assist with cut & wrap, please contact: ssiabattoir@gmail.com
Go to the Agricultural Alliance website: http://plantofarm.org/covid-19/ to find out more about the COVID 19 Emergency Agriculture Response & Recovery Plan and resources available to support SSI farmers.
Waste Management
The abattoir encourages all producers to take back the guts, feathers and other processing by-products (offal). It is great for agricultural composting and nutrient recycling on your own farm. Ideally, we ask that you bring your own labelled containers to reduce the number of trips back and forth to the abattoir. However, if you do require the use of the abattoir’s containers, please pick them up by noon the following the slaughter day and return them rinsed within 24hrs.
Farmers should also be aware of the rules under the BC Code of Practice for Agricultural Environmental Management (Oct 2019) when disposing of their by-products:
- Slaughter and processing “waste” can be disposed of through agricultural composting, by burial or incineration.
- A farmer can dispose of slaughter & processing wastes if they come from livestock or poultry that were reared, kept or slaughtered on the farm.
- The farmer must ensure that leachate & solids do not enter watercourses or cross property boundaries and that disposal is carried out in a manner that will deter attraction or access by domestic pets & wildlife.
- Any resulting “compost’ must be used on the agricultural land base where the composting occurred.
Poultry Cut and Wrap Processing Options
Details (aka pricing) are still being ironed out, but we will be running a trial in May. Producers that are interested in having their birds broken down please contact the booking coordinator (Mariah) at ssiabattoir@gmail.com and keep you eye on the website.
As before, birds can be halved, and we will now be providing a quartering option.
We will also be providing breakdown options for 2 birds:
- 1 pack of 4 drums
- 1 pack of 4 wings
- 2 packs of 2 thighs
- 2 packs of 2 breasts (bone in)
As a reminder, currently there isn’t a vacuum sealer so the breakdown will be in brown paper and plastic bags. And once this service is successful, funds will be used to purchase a vacuum sealer.
Reminders:
- Sequoia is coordinating lamb sales to Country Grocer. Please contact him directly (sequoia.lesosky@gmail.com or 250 538 7742) if you would like to sell your lambs through him to Country Grocer.