On the Farm  /  Meet Canada's Chicken Farmers

The Hamstras were dairy farmers in Alberta but moved east to Manitoba when they felt it was time for a change. Wanting to find a farm operation that was more flexible, they found an ideally sized farm in Landmark, just outside Winnipeg. Chicken farming suits the growing family’s goals nicely.

Diane Pastoor is a proud Canadian chicken farmer. A relative newcomer to farming, she is excited about the opportunities her family has been given in this growing industry. “It was always our dream to own a farm,” says Diane, “and we moved to beautiful Saskatchewan to make our dreams come true.”

Raising a family and farming seem to go hand in hand. The shared responsibilities of farming create a close family bond. Lyle Young’s fourth-generation chicken farm is no exception. He and his family work hard to provide the residents of Vancouver Island with quality chicken.

Generations of families have taken to chicken farming in Canada with unrivalled passion. Sylvia Donkersgoed is one chicken farmer who is maintaining her family’s farming legacy.

Alain Bazinet, his wife Carole, and their three children are proud chicken farmers. Their farm is located in an area of Quebec often called “The Garden” due to its fantastic growing conditions.

Marc Cormier is passionate about raising the best and healthiest chickens possible. Like the rest of Canada’s 2,800 chicken farmers, he is “proud to raise quality chicken Canadians can trust.”

While many chicken farmers focus on raising one type of chicken, there are farms throughout Canada that do more. Leonard Klassen along with his wife Kim and their three children are “dual-commodity” farmers, meaning they raise two different kinds of chickens.

Rick Wittenberg and his family have carved out a niche for themselves near Centreville, close to the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. A second-generation farmer, Rick, his wife Gail, and their three children, all in their twenties, have a flourishing poultry operation.

Perched in the corner of a hotel lobby, miles from home, Scott Wiens looks nothing like a stereotypical farmer. Cell phone in hand, he proceeds to tell the story of the Wiens household and the role chicken farming plays in ensuring his family has a stable lifestyle with a solid return on their investment.

Prince Edward Island is well known for its potatoes, its scenic coastlines, the red soil and as the home of Anne of Green Gables. It is also home to some of Canada’s world-class chicken farmers. P.E.I. chicken farmers grew over 3.6 million kilograms of chicken in 2009 and all play an important role in the local economy.