The southwestern Ontario hog farmer whose appeal has helped stall the deregulation of Ontario Pork’s single marketing desk for hogs now wants to know whether Ontario Pork feels the same way.
Rein Minnema, who’s represented at the province’s Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal hearings by local-farming advocate Elbert van Donkersgoed, now wants to see Ontario Pork’s “current written position” on universal mandatory marketing powers.
Minnema is appealing an Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission order last October, in which Ontario Pork was directed to convert itself from a mandatory single-desk model to an optional marketing agency for the province’s hog farmers.
Read Also
U.S. livestock: Cattle strength continues
Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were stronger on Friday, hitting fresh highs to end the week.
The appeal tribunal in March slapped a continuing stay on the commission’s order until its hearings on the matter could be held.
“I can’t find any practical difference between the approach that Ontario Pork now proposes and the approach of the Farm Products Marketing Commission,” van Donkersgoed said in a release Friday.
“The typical pork producer will not experience any difference so Ontario Pork’s latest statement does not clarify its position on these matters.”
The tribunal held hearing in August to set the agenda for a full round of appeals on how hogs are marketed in the province.
According to the position paper it submitted to the appeal tribunal, Ontario Pork proposes a “blanket exemption” for all producers from its universal mandatory marketing powers, rather than a revocation of its powers, van Donkersgoed said.
“Clarification”
Leaving universal mandatory marketing powers in place in order to do a blanket exemption is a “non-position,” Minnema’s statement retorted.
“The Minnema appeal asked for clarification of Ontario Pork’s position at the August hearing because we want to know whether or not Ontario Pork seeks to remain a marketing board for all pork producers,” van Donkersgoed said.
“If so, we want to know what benefits for all pork producers Ontario Pork will continue to develop for them.”
Minnema has also asked the appeal tribunal to declare Ontario Pork an appellant of the marketing commission’s decision, based on Ontario Pork’s new written position.
If deregulation were to happen as the marketing commission laid out last fall, Ontario Pork would still have authority to “represent, and collect license fees from, producers of all classes of pigs, including weaners and breeding stock” and to address pork industry issues on hog farmers’ behalf.
Ontario Pork would then only be able to review and approve direct-supply contracts for hogs if either a buyer or a seller asks, and would be able to market pigs for producers on a fee-for-service basis.
