Winter 2024 – SS Abattoir Bookings, Membership and More

We have bookings available for lambs on Thursday, February 15th and for poultry on Tuesday, February 20th. Our 2024 regular season will begin March 21st. This date will allow you to have lamb available for Easter.
Poultry bookings are already filling up so please get your bookings in for June and beyond.

Please submit your booking requests by clicking here or visit our website at https://saltspringabattoir.ca/booking  

Memberships renewals for the 2024 season are due and can be submitted by e-transferring ssiabattoirpay@gmail.com. Please remember that membership is required for those producers processing animals. We appreciate your business! We also appreciate the tremendous support of those who recognize the abattoir as a vital community resource supporting farming and food security on Salt Spring Island.  

We hope you will join us for our Annual General Meeting in April- date to be announced soon. This is a chance for farmers to come together and have their voices heard so the abattoir can continue to improve. It’s also a great chance for the community to learn more about what we do and get more involved.

We are excited to have Andrew Campell join the team in a management role. He will be handling day-to-day operations including processing and butchering.

2023 Birthday Bash – Saturday November 4th

On November 4th come help us celebrate our community abattoir! With ongoing support from the community, Salt Spring’s abattoir continues to provide a service to farmers to help feed our community.

Tickets for the Abattoir Birthday Bash are now on sale at The Mercantile and at Foxglove (Cash or Cheques only). Table reservations available for parties of 6 to 8 (please email Fraser@FalconFarm to reserve).

Chef Brody Paine will once again be preparing a delicious local farm-to-table dinner with a choice of Turkey or Lamb and, if someone in your party doesn’t eat meat, there’s a vegetarian option.
Already have plans for November 4th? Why not buy a ticket for someone else or donate to the silent auction!

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday Nov 4th at Fulford Hall

Doors Open 4:30
Dinner 6:00

Summer 2023 Newsletter

Poultry –After a slower than expected start to the season, poultry days booked up quickly for August through to November. If you have, or will be getting, more chicks but have not yet booked a slaughter day, please let us know immediately and we will try to fit you in.  Turkey dates for Thanksgiving are FULL.

We have a new rotary scalder which allows us to process chicken feet for human consumption.  This will be done only if specifically requested.

Haidee Hart (Woodshed Provisions) is looking to buy local chicken fresh or frozen ($6:50/$7:00lb). If you have birds to sell, email Haidee: haidee@woodshedprovisions.com

Red Meat – With the new addition we have lots of capacity to hang more carcasses. Unfortunately, the numbers we can process in a week are limited by staff availability & the lack of rental housing on SSI!  If you have lambs you want to bring in before Christmas and haven’t booked yet, please send us your numbers and we will add you to the wait list. We hope to add a few more slaughter days in Nov/Dec. 

Housing staff & potential new staff – finding a place to live is an ongoing struggle. If you know of a rental situation where a couple and their 4 goats would be welcome, we’d like to hear from you.  

Help Wanted:  We have a great team but need more help to accommodate all the bookings requested.

  • Do you know of a skilled butcher (retired perhaps) who might be willing to assist for a few days this fall?
  • Currently we are looking for another meat wrapper for regular work 1 or 2 days a week until Christmas.
  •  someone with experience slaughtering pigs to work 1 or 2 days this fall.
  • Someone with experience eviscerating chickens Sept 5 & Sept 26

Membership Drive: Many thanks to the 80 of you who signed up as members to support our community Abattoir. 

Fall Fair Fundraiser – we’ll be selling lamb burgers again at the Fall Fair Sept 9 & 10 and looking for more volunteers to help out both days.  If you don’t have time to sign up for a shift, come by anyway and buy a burger! To sign up:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4FADA62DA0F49-fall3

SAVE THE DATE11th Abattoir Birthday BashSaturday Nov 4 –at Fulford Hall with meal prepared by Chef Brody Paine, live music and silent auction.  Tickets on sale beginning of October.

March 2023 Newsletter

2023 Booking Calendar

Poultry slaughter days in 2023 will be Tuesdays with pick-up on Wednesdays.

Red Meat slaughter days in 2023 will be Thursday with pick-up of frozen meat on the following Friday.

Please note that we need a minimum number of animals (~150 Birds / ~15 Lambs) to open a day so please be aware that at less busy times of the year we might have to move a booking back or forward a week.

Please look at the on-line calendar and book well in advance to ensure you get the dates you want.

May & June Poultry Bookings

If you have already ordered chicks for early in the season, please send us your preferred processing dates now.  If you were hoping for the end of May or early June, we are already starting to fill up. It may be possible to add a day if we can find the staff but there is no guarantee. Please remember to book well in advance – as soon as you order your chicks.

March & April Red Meat Bookings

The expansion project is wrapping up (and looking fantastic) and will have an update on March 21st as to opening dates, but for now we are targeting opening the week of March 27th.  Let us know if you want to bring in lambs or sheep early in the season.

Latest news:

Membership drive

The Abattoir needs your support!  In the past, the number of paid members has dwindled.  

$30 Membership fee accepted via eTransfer ssiabattoirpay@gmail.com  [Please include your full name and email address in the comments box].

BECOME A MEMBER BEFORE MARCH 3rd AND YOU COULD WIN A FREE TICKET TO OUR BIRTHDAY BASH

Livestock Producers Meeting – 7:30pm April 12th Farmer’s Institute

We are inviting all livestock producers whether you raise 10 birds or 1000, 5 lambs or 50, for a discussion on the future of our community Abattoir.   It’s a challenging time for farmers and processors – increasing costs of feed & supplies, lack of availability of skilled staff or lack of housing if we do find someone with the skills we need.  

What needs to change if the abattoir is to serve the community for another 10 years? What services do you want to see offered?  Please help us figure out the best way forward.  We have some ideas and proposals, including only allowing members in good standing to process animals at the abattoir. Please come and share your thoughts – we want to hear from you. 

7:30pm on April 12th at the Farmer’s Institute, followed by the Abattoir Society AGM at 8:30 pm.  We hope to see you all there.

Directors Wanted for Abattoir Society Board

Some long-standing directors are retiring, and we need a new treasurer. Please consider joining a team of committed volunteers to ensure the abattoir continues to provide a vital service for livestock producers.

Potential new Butcher for the abattoir

We are in the midst of trying to bring an amazing butcher originally from Germany to Salt Spring, however finding stable 2-bedroom accommodation for a young family is a challenge.  

Does anyone know of anything available?   If you do, please reach out directly to annemacey@shaw.ca and we can discuss the details.

Canada Summer Jobs Program

Do you know anyone who wants a summer job? Under the Canada Summer Jobs Program, the Salt Spring Abattoir is hiring a young person (age 15-30) for 4 days a week) from the end of June to September 3. Work includes assisting with poultry processing, cut & wrap, facility maintenance and other tasks under direction of our regular staff. 

Country Grocer Receipt Program

Reminder, if you are at Country Grocer, please put your receipts in box 27.   Country Grocer generously donates a portion of sales of those receipts.   It takes no time (once you know where box 27 is) and it helps out the abattoir.

10th Annual Abattoir Birthday Bash

Come help us celebrate the 10-year anniversary of our community abattoir!  

Chef Brody Paine will be preparing a delicious local farm-to-table dinner with a choice of Turkey or Curry and, if someone in your party doesn’t eat meat, there’s a vegetarian option. 

Tickets for the Abattoir Birthday Bash are now on sale at The Mercantile and at Foxglove (Cash or Cheques only).  Table reservations available for parties of 6 (please email Fraser@FalconFarm to reserve).

Already have plans for November 12?  Why not buy a ticket for someone else or donate to the silent auction!   

With ongoing support from the community, Salt Spring’s abattoir has provided a service to farmers for the last ten years, but it’s not been easy!  These days with staff shortages and inflation it’s a challenge to run a community food-based business but it’s more important than ever. The Covid pandemic brought home to a lot of people that we need to produce and process more of our food on island rather than being dependent on ferries;  and increasingly people are becoming aware that local food production has a significant climate benefit.  

Join us to celebrate all the food producers on Salt Spring Island.  

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday Nov 12 at Fulford Hall

2022 Birthday Bash Poster

October 2022 Newsletter

Good and Bad news to report – lets start with the good news!

Fall Fair Fundraiser

Our burger sale was a great success!  Thanks to all volunteers who helped flipping burgers, slicing tomatoes, selling tickets, and serving the burgers.   Thanks also to Country Grocer for their support and to those of you who donated meat.

Save the date! Nov 12 for the Abattoir Birthday Bash & 10 Year Anniversary

Yes the event you have all been waiting for after missing the last 2 years! We’re celebrating 10 years in operation with a local farm to table dinner, cash bar, entertainment, and a silent auction. 

Tickets will be $75 and tickets are limited this year.   We will be seating 6 at a table – if you want to reserve a table for 6 people, please send an email to Fraser@FalconFarm.ca. 

If you have objects or services to donate, please contact Fraser [Fraser@FalconFarm.ca].  Only limited by your imagination: an hour of with an excavator; a cord of wood; a garden consult; dinner for 2 at your home; that piece of art you never really liked; the new jeans that didn’t fit; a special pie; a dance lesson; 3 days at your winter getaway place; or…

Expansion Project Update

So far, the Expansion Project buildout has gone smoothly and the work to join the new addition to the existing building will begin the first week in January.  We plan to open again in April 2023 if not before. 

Bookings

All dates are full for the rest of the season.    If you are still wanting to book animals or birds in 2022, please let us know immediately.  We will add you to the wait list in case of cancellations or possibly add an additional processing day if inspectors and staff are available.   Please provide as much notice as possible if your numbers change or you intend to cancel a booking. 

Crates

Don’t forget to pick up the crates you used to bring birds to the abattoir. We’re getting quite a collection. 

Now for the not so good news…

Avian Influenza on Salt Spring

A PCZ has been declared onSalt Spring Island following detection of avian influenza in a flock on the island. This means everyone moving birds to and from the abattoir needs a general permit. The requirement is expected to last until the end of November, but the actual date is unknown at this point. If you require a permit the BC Ministry of Agriculture will assist you – contact Debbie at 778 405 3954.

Please note if you show up at the abattoir without a permit, we cannot accept your birds.

Finally:

Did anyone borrow the very small kill cone? We had it custom made a few years back to handle those very small birds, but it’s been missing for a while. No questions asked if it appears again.

June 2022 Newsletter

Everything is underway for the 2022 season.   It has been a challenge with staffing this year, and we are doing our best to manage the number of bookings

Some important key dates:

• Next available date for Lamb bookings August 4th

• Poultry Bookings full until August 16th

Please look at the on-line calendar and book well in advance to ensure you get the dates you want.

Pigs

Regrettably we no longer have staff qualified for pig slaughter and cannot confirm bookings until we have trained people available. If you know of anyone with experience in pig slaughter who might be interested in occasional work please tell them to get in touch. 

Poultry

Last year we had a successful introduction of parting poultry.  Unfortunately, due to staffing challenges, we can’t guarantee that we will be able to cut birds in half this year.  We can still offer vacuum packing for whole birds up to 8lbs – please let us know if you would like this option for an additional fee.

Latest news:

2022 Fall Fair Fundraiser 

Salt Spring Abattoir Lamb burgers will be back at the Fall Fair this year!   And we need your support.

The abattoir is looking for donations of cull Ewes.  Please reach out if you have culls to donate or at a discount. Processing date will be Sept 1; if you need to send them earlier we can freeze the meat.

We are also looking for volunteers to run the ticket table, the serving station or BBQ – the Fall Fair will be on the weekend of September 10-11, 2022.   Volunteers always have a fantastic time, please consider joining the fun.

 10th Anniversary Celebration

If you would like to join the organizing committee for the Birthday Bash on November 12 please get in touch.

The Abattoir is Hiring

We are still looking for new members for the red meat team this season for kill days and for cut & wrap.   If you know of anyone who has the skills, please tell them to contact us by email: ssiabattoir@gmail.com 

Canada Summer Jobs Program

Do you know anyone who wants a summer job? Under the Canada Summer Jobs Program the Salt Spring Abattoir is hiring a young person (15-30) for 4 days a week (Tuesday – Friday) from the end of June to September 3. Work includes assisting with poultry processing, cut & wrap, facility maintenance and other tasks under direction of our regular staff.  We are also looking for housing for an 8 week period if there is an interested applicant from off-island. Can you help?

Waste Management – Important please read

The abattoir is not able to handle the disposal of inedible offal and feathers this season. We need you to pick it up and take it back to the farm for composting or burial.  While we are in the middle of construction, we cannot even store it overnight.  The composter project at Burgoyne Community Farm is stalled pending arrangements with the CRD and we do not yet know when it will be operational. All producers must pick up their offal on the day of slaughter; preferably bring your own containers.  If you take the abattoirs containers, please return them rinsed within 24hrs.  Thank you for your understanding.

2022 Annual General Meeting 

At the 2022 AGM May 18th at the Farmers Institute the following 2022/23 board members were elected.

  • Anne Macey – President
  • Matthew Delumpa  – Treasurer
  • Fraser Baldwin – Secretary
  • Mark Hughes
  • Kevin Chipperfield
  • Margaret Thomson
  • Mariah Hutchinson
  • Mike Lane
  • Mark Whitear
  • Krystel Saunders (non-voting staff rep)

February 2022 Newsletter

2022 Booking Calendar

Poultry slaughter days in 2022 will be Tuesdays with pick-up on Wednesdays.

Red Meat slaughter days in 2022 will be Thursday with pick-up on the following Friday.

Please note that we need a minimum number of animals (~150 Birds / ~15 Lambs) to open a day so please be aware that at less busy times of the year we might have to move a booking back or forward a week.

May & June Poultry Bookings

If you have already ordered chicks for early in the season, please send us your preferred processing dates now.  We have space on May 17 and could open a week earlier if there is enough demand. If you were hoping for the end of May or early June, we are already full. It may be possible to add a day if we can find the staff but there is no guarantee. Please remember to book well in advance – as soon as you order your chicks.

March & April Red Meat Bookings

Some of you have already requested bookings for early in the season. At this point it’s unlikely there will be red meat slaughter days before May, due to the progress of the expansion project, but we will let you know if anything changes. 

Turkeys

We will process turkeys on Tuesday Oct 4 (still space) & Thursday Oct 6 (almost full) so again if you don’t want to be disappointed book your turkey dates now.   Christmas dates will be announced in an upcoming newsletter.

Ducks and Geese

We have not yet figured out how to process ducks at a reasonable price without losing money so again this year we  are not taking bookings for waterfowl. But we are still looking into how to make it work and may be doing one or more experimental duck days later in the season.  Please keep an eye on more information in an upcoming newsletter.

Booking fees and number updates

Over the past few years, the abattoir has run a significant deficit on days where booked animals have not shown up.  To help the abattoir avoid losing money we are introducing a booking fee for all red meat and requiring poultry producers to provide updates on their numbers.

When your red meat bookings are confirmed, you will receive an invoice for $25/lambs $50/pigs or $100/beef to hold that booking. This amount will be subtracted from the slaughter fee in the final invoice.  The booking fee is only refundable if you cancel more than 2 weeks ahead. 

For Poultry, if due to heat domes, predation, or other unexpected events you experience significant mortality let us know as soon as it happens. We also plan to send reminders 2 weeks in advance of your booking date and will require poultry producers to respond with an update on their numbers (and if anything changes within the last 2 weeks please let us know as soon as possible).  

We know it can be a surprise to find your lambs are smaller or your chickens aren’t ready but with some advance planning and checking sooner rather than later it will help everything run more smoothly. 

Pricing Policy

You will see that we have had to raise prices.  We will do our best to hold that price, but we may have to make additional changes as the season progresses. Unfortunately, this business is not immune to inflation. We must be able to pay staff and cover the ever-increasing cost of supplies and overheads like insurance.   Your invoice will reflect the price at the time of slaughter not the price at time of booking.  Thank you for your understanding.

Volunteer Treasurer Wanted for Abattoir Society Board

Our current treasurer is stepping down and we are looking for a replacement. It is not an onerous position – we do have a paid bookkeeper and the accounts are on Quickbooks. Is there anyone out there who would be willing to join the board of directors to take on this role? 

Staffing Needs for 2022 season

We are looking for people to fill several positions from May to December.

Unfortunately, a business like an abattoir is always losing and seeking staff. Right now, due to the building boom and the scooping up of island workers, we are short-staffed and always threatened with closure if we cannot find people willing to do the work.

As Brian Brett wrote in 2017:

“One of the threads within the agricultural community is an abattoir, a task that can be gory and not admired by the most delicate members of a community, yet without livestock even the vegetarian community would be stressed by the lack of manure to feed the gardens. A good working abattoir can also provide composted offal to return all that energy back to our fields.

The abattoir has managed to survive and even expand, but now we are struggling once again. There’s not enough of us.

Can you help make the difference? For 2022 we will need new board members and new staff.

Work is available on a regular basis from 1 to 4 days/week depending on skills & interest. 

  • 1 for Poultry plucking (6-8 hrs Tuesdays)
  • 1 for Poultry evisceration (6-8 hrs Tuesdays)
  • 1 for Poultry bagging & labelling (4-5 hours Wednesdays)
  • 1 Meat wrapper Thursdays & irregular Mondays or Tuesdays depending on bookings.
  • Back up butcher – we have a butcher for 2 days/week but for high demand weeks additional days are needed.
  • Red meat slaughter person for Thursdays and possibly other days in the fall.  Previous experience with beef and/or pigs preferred.
  • Is there anyone with a firearm license willing to help on beef slaughter days or anyone willing to help on days we are processing pigs?

Please contact ssiabattoir@gmail.com for more information.

Wanted Locally Grown & Processed Chicken

Haidee Hart of Woodshed Provisions would like to buy up to 160 chickens a month at a price around $6/lb if possible.  They will work with any farmers and a mix of chicken breeds is fine. If it’s a heritage variety its helpful if not too large boned.  If you are interested in being a supplier, please contact Haidee directly: haidee@woodshedprovisions.com

And please remember to check you can get the bookings you need at the abattoir before you commit to specific dates.  

November 2021 Newsletter

It’s the busiest time of the year for the abattoir and everyone is working extra hard.   We have added additional slaughter days to accommodate all the bookings to the end of the year. 

Please help keep things running smoothly. Don’t bring in more animals than you have booked. Let us know in good time if you will be bringing less so we can offer the space to someone else. Remember tags must be in the ears for sheep, pigs and beef.  And if you have special powers, please keep the storms away on processing days!

Some important information:

  • The Abattoir will be closed from January to March opening again in April 2022. 

Expansion Project- A Call for Help!

We have the funds in place to increase the size of the cut & wrap space and expand the cooler. We have applied for the building permit but don’t yet have a contractor interested in doing the work.  There is a very small window of opportunity to make this happen – work must start before the end of the year and construction completed by the end of March if we are to open again in April. If you are in the construction business or have any of the trade skills needed, we’d like to hear from you.  For more information contact Chris Clark: saltspringengineer@gmail.com

Canadian Small Scale Pig Farmers Info

For our pork producers (or anyone interested in pigs) here is a resource provided to us by Jessica Law and the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians.

https://www.casv-acvp.com/uploads/1/2/7/4/127429484/canadian_small-scale_pig_farming_manual_-_august_2021.pdf

Planning for next year  

Did the drought make you rethink how many animals you are keeping over winter? Was the demand for your birds higher or lower than expected? Maybe you were frustrated because there was no booking space when you wanted it?  Please complete this short survey so we can better meet your needs in 2022.

https://saltspringabattoir.ca/2022-livestock-production-survey/

Working at the abattoir

Like many other businesses the abattoir has ongoing staffing challenges – the work is irregular throughout the year, and we cannot pay high wages or offer housing. We are especially thankful to everyone who committed in 2021 – our regular crew and those who come in occasionally to help out. There’s Andrew our butcher who comes on the ferry from Saturna every week and Bill who comes from Victoria to cut meat at the busiest times; our regular poultry crew Mariah, Juanita and Ali assisted by Filip in the summer. Krystel helps with both poultry and meat wrapping and we were delighted to have Brad back this fall to help the red meat team of Lisa, Marilou, and Matt.

Sadly, at the end of this season we will be losing Lisa Adams who is leaving the island to seek her fortune elsewhere. We will be looking for new people to join the team in 2022. If you have the skills and a day or more a week, we’d like to hear from you. We will also train anyone interested in an ongoing commitment. Or perhaps you know a student who would like a new experience next summer or a farm intern who would like to learn about meat processing as well as crop production.

Please contact us at: ssiabattoir@gmail.com

Seeking Authorized Contractors

Earlier this year the abattoir was awarded a Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program (CERIP) Grant for an expansion to increase processing capacity and help meet the demand for local food.

We are seeking authorized general contractors for construction of this expansion. If you would like a copy of the Request for Quotation (RFQ) and available plans please email Chris Clark before September 30, 2021 [Chris@thinkapg.com]