Presidents Message

Across the province, we have all had to adapt to exponential change in 2020. Despite all of this, the good can’t be overlooked. During the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, cooking at home has become the norm. Consumers were looking to improve their culinary skills as they venture out to try something different. All this has shone favourably on the meat industry. Creating meals that were tasty, unique and instagramable became a great past time. That trend continues into 2021. The emergence of a strong online ordering presence has offered consumers more opportunities to source out unique cuts or experiment with different cooking techniques. All this leads back to good news for our industry. Adapting and balancing new ways of doing business can always be a challenge but one thing is for sure, the demand for meat is strong. As an essential service, we have had many challenges. Reach out to the great staff at MPO; they are there to help. Keep safe, Carol Carol Goriup, President

For our first edition of the new calendar year, its time to take a new direction for our magazine. I think everyone wants to put 2020 behind them for any number of reasons. Whether you flourished in business, or were left in waiting like so many others, it was not a year for normalcy and chances are whatever normal was, we will not find that again. That is all hindsight. With BLOCKtalk we want to focus on the road ahead and provide you with inspiration of what is to come. Welcome to the future. This edition of BLOCKtalk features a focus on consumer trends and strategies. Going forward, every edition will have a theme. We welcome your feedback on the new format and content to ensure is it the most relevant to your operation. The remaining themes for this year include sustainability, labour and innovation. Keeping you focused on the future will also keep us all moving #ForwardTogether. Innovation is something we will be talking a lot about this year. We are currently working with a group of businesses to look at how technology and automation can help businesses improve processes and reduce impacts of COVID. Look for a report later this year that will highlight case studies that provide some best practices and highlight some technologies that can improve your reliance on labour. Innovation will also be a theme of Industry Day (save the date for April 20th). Our first virtual symposium is starting to take shape, and we look forward to providing an action packed informative agenda to highlight different areas to focus implementing innovation in your business. Finally innovation is also a central theme in our Meat & Poultry Growth Strategy. A strategy we launched last February in response to challenges the industry was facing, and since then, COVID has only proven that the strategy is needed more than ever. If we want to be bold and ambitious to be global leaders in meat processing, we need to be adopters of innovation, be comfortable with change, and be ready to listen to our customers. Are you ready to listen?

Franco Naccarato, Executive Director

VISION A sustainable, respectful and diverse food system that celebrates the nutritional and economic value of meat and poultry.

MISSION We strengthen the meat and poultry industry in Ontario by connecting people, influencing change and empowering our members.

MPO LIFETIME MEMBERS

• Doris Valade (2019) • Laurie Nicol (2018) • Joe Abate (2017) • Brian Quinn (2016) • Graham Dalziel (2015) • Tony Facciolo (2011) • Pat Johnson (2005) • Gerry Houtzager (2003) • Leo Rocheleau (2001) • Jim Vidoczy (2000) • Nancy Ackert (1997) • Dr. Ron Usborne (1996) • Ron Deeth (1995)

MPO LONG TIME MEMBERS Thank you to our long time members who have been helping move the industry forward for over 25 years.

• Ontario Pork, Guelph (1980) • Gord’s Abattoir, Leamington (1982) • L’Orignal Packing, L’Orignal (1986) • MMIS/MONDO, Aurora (1986) • Nitta Casings, Markham (1986) • Walnut Hill Farms, Gads Hill (1986) • VG Meats, Simcoe (1987) • Rothsay, Dundas (1988) • Stemmler Meat & Cheese, Heidelberg (1988) • Chicken Farmers of Ontario, Burlington (1989) • Jetnet Norstar, Toronto (1989) • Schinkels’ Gourmet Meats, Chatham (1989) • Springer’s Meats, Hamilton (1989) • Barron Poultry, Amherstburg (1991) • Brenner Packers, Windsor (1991) • Norwich Packers, Norwich (1991) • Weston Abattoir, Maidstone (1991) • Handtmann Canada, Waterloo (1992) • Hay’s Custom Cutting, Campbellford (1992) • Hoffman Meats &

European Deli, Stayner (1992) • Newmarket Meat Packers, Newmarket (1992) • WIBERG Corporation, Oakville (1992) • Schinkel’s Legacy, Chatam (1993) • Windcrest Meat Packers, Port Perry (1994) • Malabar Super Spice, Burlington (1994) • R. Denninger Ltd., Hamilton (1995)

MEAT INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT (MIA) AWARD RECIPIENTS

• Hayter’s Farm, Dashwood (2016) • Schinkel’s Legacy, Chatham (2014) • Conestoga Meat Packers, Breslau (2013) • In Memory of Dave Tiller (2012) • Halenda’s Fine Foods, Oshawa (2011) • Springer’s Meats, Hamilton (2010) • VG Meats, Simcoe (2009) • Stemmler’s Meat &

Cheese, Heidelberg (2008) • Leo Rocheleau, Maidstone (2007)

ASSOCIATE MEMBER RECOGNITION AWARD (AMRA) RECIPIENTS