Quesnel's Tim Traber was one of two producers in the province to win the BC Egg new producer draw, allowing him to massively grow his egg production business.
Winning the egg producer draw allows Traber to have up to 3,000 egg-laying hens to begin full-time egg farming in Quesnel. In order to qualify for the draw applicants had to apply and demonstrate a capability to care for hens and operate a business.
Traber comes from a farming family, his parents moved to Canada from Switzerland 35 years ago and started a dairy farm.
"They were the first big dairy farmers here in Quesnel," Traber said. He added that farming eggs was always part of his plans. "I started with chickens about three years ago just to feed my family and make a life out of agriculture."
Traber has an interesting career path, he was a pro hockey player and played in the WHL and in the Swiss Elite League for a decade. Now he's come to roost as he works towards becoming a full-time egg farmer.
"I like being my own boss and being able to sleep in (my) own bed every night," he said. "I would say 15 years I've been flying around the world playing hockey and so it's nice to just come home and be in my own bed. Not packing my suitcase, just packing my lunch."
For three years Traber has been selling eggs from his approximately 400 hens. After winning the new producer draw, he'll be shelling out eggs from up to 3,000 hens.
"With the new producer we get up to 3,000 birds. I'll have to build a new facility for that. Part of the program is you have to grade and sell all your own eggs so we'll be looking to expand," he said. "We already have quite a big client base and we'll be looking to get into small grocery stores and restaurants and then once we get to the full allotment we'll be looking to get to bigger grocery stores."
Traber said he'll also work to support food security in the city as Quesnel doesn't have any other large-scale producers. He said the closest to the north is Terrace and the closest to the south is Salmon Arm. He said having a local producer will allow people to continue getting eggs if there are emergencies that close down the roads or if there are disasters like floods.
"I always knew that I was going to be farming after my professional hockey career. It's been different for sure, but it's amazing," he said. Traber said he's thankful for the support from the community and his family. "I'm looking forward to supplying Quesnel with more fresh, local product."
One of the goals of the new producer draw was to increase the number of eggs produced outside of B.C.'s Fraser Valley where 80 per cent of egg farmers in the province are located.
"The requirements for (the draw) change on a regular basis. This year people who wanted to enter the draw had to be a small-lock permit holder. So that's somebody with 399 or fewer hens," said Amanda Brittain, director of communications and marketing with BC Egg.
BC Egg exists as a regulatory body for eggs produced for food. Other food products like meat from different animals and dairy also have regulatory bodies. The federal government delegates the regulation of food products to provinces to manage the supply.
"The idea is that Canada does not over produce, or under produce, any of those commodities," Brittain said. "Each province is assigned a number of quota units, for us that is laying hens, that's based on population." Brittain said B.C.'s number quota units is 3.4 million egg-laying hens.
Brittain said producers tend to work up to the 3,000 hens they're allotted over a period of several years through a business plan.
When Traber has the new facility built, he's planning on taking folks on tours of the farming facilities. People can follow Traber's farming at Titrafarms.ca. He sells eggs in several local businesses around Quesnel and occasionally sells eggs at the farmers' market on Saturdays.
