• This program is aligned with the national Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) Specialty Production Policy that identifies which specialty breeds are deemed "designated".
• Silkies and Yellow chickens and a number of other specialty chicken breeds grown in British Columbia (BC) are the current "designated" specialty chicken breeds that may be grown under this program.
• Specialty breeds are designated by CFC and listed in Schedule 4 of the Canadian Chicken Licensing Regulations. Any person interested in bringing in a new breed to the Specialty Breeds list will require CFC approval and CFO consent. Breeder flock for hatching egg purpose will be subject to OBHECC (Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg & Chick Commission) regulation.

Participants must: 

• Be a Canadian citizen and permanent resident of Ontario.
• Be the beneficial owner of lands and buildings suitable for the production of specialty breeds of chicken.
• If an approved applicant requires time to build such a facility, they have a period of 12 months from the date their application is approved to complete the construction and as an interim measure, may produce specialty chicken in a non-owned facility that meets CFO policy and regulations.

• Persons who are interested in growing designated specialty breeds of chicken and interested in becoming a farmer-member of Chicken Farmers of Ontario.
• Existing farmer-members who are interested in growing these specialty breeds of chicken.

• Those interested in participating in the program are required to complete and submit an application digitally by clicking here. 
• The program has been designed to be an annual process. As the first year will be a transition, please contact CFO office (specialty.breeds@ontariochicken.ca) for the applicable deadlines.     
• An applicant is encouraged to apply to produce a minimum level of production of specialty breeds of chicken of around 5,000 birds per quota period.

• The approved applicant will be authorized to grow and market specialty breeds of chicken and will be associated with a Specialty Breeds Allotment (SBA) representing the number of kilograms it is authorized to grow.
• The Specialty Breeds Allotment (SBA) is specific only to the particular farmer-member to whom it is associated. The SBA does not grant any ownership rights to the farmer-member to whom it is associated.  SBA is not tradeable, transferable, rentable and may not be pledged as security for indebtedness, and has no financial value attributed to it.
• Approved farmer-members who have been associated with an SBA must comply with all applicable CFO Policies and Regulations and have regulatory obligations as existing farmer-members who are allottees of basic quota. Compliance includes but is not limited to:
  • Pass barn inspection
  • Pass workplace safety inspection 
  • Complete On-farm Food Safety Audit and all mandatory corrective actions requested 
  • Complete Animal Care Program Audit and all mandatory corrective actions requested
  • Adhere to scheduled and random inspections or audits by an appointed inspector of the Board or CFC (Chicken Farmers of Canada)

• A farmer-member may hold both basic quota and Rights (Specialty Breeds Allotment), but only if they currently are allotted a minimum of 14,000 basic quota units.
• Every Right must be grown first, and any chicken other than specialty breeds grown under a basic quota allotment will not be counted against the CFC Specialty Breeds Chicken Quota allocation.
• Basic quota allotments and Rights production must remain segregated, as production may not occur in the same barn.

• CFO is committed to providing excellent customer service digitally in all aspects of the Specialty Breeds Chicken Program.
• Approved participants are required to have the means to communicate digitally via email and to submit all forms once they are all made available on-line. CFO staff will be pleased to assist new farmer-members in the transition to digital business services.
• Quota Period Calendar: A quota calendar of 12-week cycle has been developed for Specialty Farmer-Members given its longer cycle, please click here to access.

• The number of Rights granted is subject to all CFO and CFC fees and levies.
• At this time, the CFO producer licence fee is $0.0160/kg and the CFC levy is $0.0057/kg.
• The Board has established a "Sector Development Service Charge" annually per kilogram for each SBA held, payable electronically within 30 days to CFO after the farmer-member has received payment for the chicken marketed.
• For CFC, a "specialty chicken licence" is required and will be issued by CFC following the receipt of $100 (subject to CFC changes). This licence is valid for 5 years, similar to the Market Development licence.