BURLINGTON, ONTARIO — Sunrise Poultry Processors Ltd., also known as Sunrise Farms, recently announced that it would acquire T&R Sargent Farms, effective June 5.

Sunrise Farms intends to keep business as usual at Sargent Farms with no changes to its employees, operations, halal product offering or the Sargent management team.

“We are very excited about this opportunity to expand into the Ontario primary chicken market, and we look forward to working with Sargent’s customers, chicken farmers and other industry stakeholders,” said Peter Shoore, founder and chairman of Sunrise Farms. “We thank Bob Sargent, and his team, for trusting in us to move forward with the business they have built.”

Sargent Farms, which was founded in 1943, produces chicken and food products for the Ontario marketplace.

Following the announcement, the Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) expressed its thoughts on the upcoming acquisition and explained how it would help the provincial poultry industry.

“CFO welcomes Sunrise Farms and is pleased to see this new investment in the Ontario chicken processing sector,” said Murray Opsteen, chair of Chicken Farmers of Ontario. “CFO and its farmers have a longstanding relationship with Sargent Farms, as Sargent has been a significant contributor to our sector. We would like to extend our appreciation for many years spent working collaboratively with our farmers and providing high-quality chicken to Ontarians.”

Sunrise owns processing plants in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.

According to Denise Hockaday, chief executive officer of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario, the chicken industry in the province has more than $5 billion in economic activity and supports 23,000 jobs.