The contest, the largest in North America, celebrated its 22nd year at the annual livestock event this winter.

In the entire history of the competition, this is the first time that one producer took the top two spots.

Hog operations from across Canada were invited to enter one or two market hogs into the competition, which is a unique combination of bragging rights for the winners and charitable giving back to the community.

All the meat is donated to food banks around the province and half the prize money goes to the winning entrant’s designated charity of choice.

Since 1996 that’s translated into 55,000 kilograms of food donations and many thousands of dollars of charitable giving.

Twenty-one producers entered the competition with a total of 42 carcasses. The top 10 finalists were on display at one of the more popular booths at the expo and each of those finalists would be taking home hardware for their efforts.

Judging the competition were Jason Care (Manitoba Hog Grading) and Dan Bazinet (Ontario Pork Grading Authority). The quality of the entries made things difficult for judges. The top place had 100 points out of a total of 111; there was a tiebreaker for third place; and there was a three-way tie for fifth place.

The Pork Quality Competition is always one of the most popular events at the Prairie Livestock Expo and this year was no exception. There were at least 200 gathered to watch the announcement of the winners.

New Haven Colony South took 10th place and a cheque for $500. The charities they chose to donate to were Seven Oaks Hospital, Habitat for Humanity and the HSC Foundation.

Maxwell Colony took ninth place and was awarded $500. Its charities were the Children’s Hospital, the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic and Cancer Care Manitoba.

Rolling Acres earned the eighth spot and $500. Its charity of choice was Beautiful Plains Community Foundation.

Greenwald Colony took home seventh spot, receiving $500; it will be donating to the Selkirk Hospital.

In sixth spot was New Haven Colony North receiving $1,000. Its charities were the Arris Centre, the Stonewall Hospital and the Rehabilitation Centre for Children Foundation.

In fifth place with a cheque for $1,500, was Northern Breeze. It chose to donate to the Portage District General Hospital, Boundary Trails Health Centre, and the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba.

Millshoff earned $2,000 for its fourth-place finish, and is donating to the Glenboro Health Centre.

Boundary Lane took home third place and a cheque for $3,000 and will be donating to the Virden District Hospital.

Finally, as mentioned, the top two spots were awarded to Barrickman Colony. Second place earned it a $4,000 cheque and first place another $5,000. It has listed the Children’s Hospital Winnipeg as its donation recipient.

The post Barrickman Colony wins big at pork quality competition appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“While the province continues to work with the Manitoba Pork Council on possible solutions, their recent proposal is too much of a financial risk during these uncertain economic times,” the minister said in an emailed statement.

“With another flood on the way, any request for support above the programs already offered must be critically reviewed.”

Pork Council chairman Karl Kynoch said the decision is disappointing and he anticipates more hog producers will exit the pork industry as a result. The Manitoba Pork Council first pitched the stabilization program to the government last winter.

“Our numbers have been dropping so fast, some producers have been closing down, but then there are also producers who have been losing their independence,” said Kynoch. “Those producers can’t operate anymore, they’re out of money to continue owing the pigs and feeding them, so the packing plants have in turn been forced to actually take ownership of the pigs and then the producers basically become contract feeders.”

The now-rejected program would have seen the province act as a guarantor for cash loans provided by financial institutions and administered by Manitoba Pork Council Corporation.

Low risk

Kynoch said the province wouldn’t have had to pay out any funds unless a sizable number of operations went bankrupt, defaulting on their loans.

The loans were to be repaid by a mandatory $5 levy applied to all hogs sold in the province.

The chairman said the council had gone through nearly a dozen options before presenting this plan to the government. The proposal was also assessed by an accounting firm for viability before government was approached.

“Basically at the end of the day, this is what we came up with, so I don’t know where we will go from here,” said Kynoch.

The need for another stabilization plan came after feed corn prices skyrocketed last year before the industry had recovered from a 2009 collapse due to H1N1 concerns and country-of-origin labelling.

Kostyshyn said producers have to use AgriStability and AgriInvest to deal with market fluctuations.

“Hog producers have benefited from these programs since they were first introduced under Growing Forward and they will continue to benefit from them under Growing Forward 2,” said Kostyshyn. “Despite what some in the industry say, these programs have already provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support to the industry.”

Support

Kostyshyn indicated the province has also assisted the pork industry by supporting upgraded waste-water treatment facilities in Brandon and Neepawa to help with the expansion of the Maple Leaf and HyLife hog-processing facilities.

“We all know the hog industry has had a tough time recently — high feed prices and country-of-origin labelling are having an impact. That is why, in partnership with the federal government, we have put programs in place that help the farm industry, including hog producers,” he said, adding Manitoba will continue raising the issue of COOL with American counterparts.

Pork producers might also be driven out of business due to increasing pressure on production practices, the Canadian Pork Council said last week.

“Hog farmers are working hard every day to provide Canadian consumers with a nutritious, safe and affordable food supply,” said Jean-Guy Vincent, chairman of the Canadian Pork Council. “At the same time, we have seen recent announcements by food-service operations and grocery stores outlining new purchasing and sourcing requirements that will have repercussions at a farm level.”

Quit stalling

A growing number of major customers in the food-processing and food-service industry — most recently Tim Hortons and Olymel — have announced they want their pork suppliers to stop using sow gestation crates. The Manitoba council estimates that will cost producers $600 per sow to move to group-housing systems.

“These forced changes on Canadian pork producers may end up putting farms that have been passed down from generation to generation in many parts of rural Canada out of business,” the Canadian Pork Council says in a release. “Producers’ livelihoods depend on the viability of the farm and they have concerns about the lack of discussions on the economic implications for farmers of these demands.”

Vincent said the entire value chain needs to share in the cost of making such adjustments. “Any decision to substantially change production practices, and particularly those that require considerable infrastructure changes and significant investment, need full value-chain support.”

The post Another hog stabilization program rejected appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

So why is it that the industry has struggled so much over the last five years? Why did two of the country’s largest producers fail when the hog price fell precipitously this fall? Could it be that the pork industry is not sustainable in its current form?

The Canadian pork industry grew rapidly from about 1995 to 2005, with total hog numbers increasing by 80 per cent. Canada became the biggest pork exporter in the world. However, both the expansion in hog numbers and Canada’s success in export markets were built on a weak Canadian dollar, not on its natural advantages. As the currency strengthened, producer and packer profitability fell, leading to a rapid reduction in the number of producers between 2007 and today. The likelihood of a lower-value loonie coming to the rescue seems slim, so the industry will have to adapt to a new economic environment or further contraction is inevitable.

Government help

The industry crisis of 2007-09 severely weakened producers’ balance sheets, leaving them vulnerable to a sudden financial shock, even with better prices from the summer of 2010 onwards. The industry was saved from total annihilation by government assistance, both in the form of loans, the Hog Farm Transition Program and AgriStability payments. Now, not only are many producers’ AgriStability reference margins low or non-existent, but there are distinct signs that both provincial and federal governments are not in the mood for further bailouts. How will the industry survive in future?

Production costs in Western Canada are among the lowest in the world and efficiency is good. While cost of production can continue to be reduced, this isn’t the root of the problem. The fact is that we are not adding enough value to our products, both in domestic and export markets. If greater value was created, some of the extra margin could be passed on to producers.

Also we continue to base the price that Canadian producers are paid on a U.S. index that is only used to price a small fraction of U.S. pigs and bears little resemblance to what most U.S. producers actually get paid. As a result, we now have the situation where processors are in danger of not having sufficient pigs to fill their plants in future, unless they secure that supply, which they will likely do by purchasing production capacity and moving towards a more integrated business model.

Domestic market eroded

One of the biggest areas of opportunity for adding value is the domestic market, which has been virtually ignored in the rush to export pork. The U.S. has taken full advantage of this situation, with over 25 per cent of all pork consumed in Canada now coming from the U.S. In the first 38 weeks of 2012, imports were up 18.3 per cent compared to last year.

During the recent publicity about the perilous state of the pork industry, it would have been nice if our industry leaders had been able to urge the public to support them by buying Canadian pork — except for the uncomfortable fact that it’s mostly impossible to tell the origin of pork in the store. Canadian producers desperately need a pork quality mark to identify their product, based on stringent and independently audited quality-assurance standards and backed up by good advertising and promotion.

Coupled with improved packaging, more product differentiation and branding and, as a result, greater value adding, this could enable Canadian pork to command a premium compared to U.S. product. Regaining our own market and adding more value could enable processors to decouple their pricing formulae from the U.S. markets.

Risk management

The events of the last five years have also exposed the need for better risk management by producers. Many of our larger production companies not only hedge feed-ingredient prices but forward contract their hogs. However, some independent producers still prefer to play the market, a strategy which has killed many of them off. For example, the Alberta Hog Price Insurance Program (HPIP) was designed after the 2007-09 crisis to meet industry requirements for a means of ensuring a specific price at some point in the future. The uptake by producers has been almost non-existent. For U.S. producers, price protection, both for inputs and hog revenues, is standard practice. It was possible for producers to lock in at least a proportion of their pigs for September at a price that would have at least covered costs, but many chose not to do this. In future, being able to lock into a profit, however small, may make the difference between survival and failure.

The Canadian pork industry is in danger of losing critical mass. Without some fundamental changes, it will continue to atrophy each time we reach a low in the hog price cycle. It needs greater co-operation between the parties in the pork supply chain to create more value. It needs creativity and funding to put in place the activities necessary to recapture the domestic market. And it needs continual improvements in efficiency and cost reduction.

An industry that was based on a weak Canadian dollar cannot survive for the long term without a major change in its business model.

The post Is pork industry’s business model broken? appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“Obviously the challenge that we currently face is producers are exiting the business,” Jason Manness, director of procurement at Maple Leaf Foods said late last week. “We expect less hogs in 2013, but only marginally lower at this point in time.”

Maple Leaf raises its own hogs to supply about 20 per cent of its slaughter and has not reduced hog production or pork-processing rates in spite of high feed costs, Manness said.

“HyLife is also challenged but, together with our financial partners, remains confident and optimistic with regards to the future of our industry,” Don Janzen, president of the La Broquerie-based HyLife Foods Ltd. said in a statement. HyLife, Canada’s largest hog producer, produces around 1.4 million hogs and operates its own processing plant at Neepawa.

Niverville-based Puratone Corp., the third-largest producer in Manitoba and fourth largest in Canada, filed for bankruptcy protection last week, days after Saskatchewan’s Big Sky Farms was placed in receivership. Both companies will continue to operate for now.

A court-appointed monitor will have 30 days to help Puratone find new investors or sell assets, a process that won’t be easy for a company owing nearly $100 million amidst market conditions that make it impossible to operate profitably.

“Everyone, even the most efficient operations, is losing money,” said Perry Mohr, general manager at h@ms Marketing Services.

Puratone officials referred all inquiries to a press release.

In it, Puratone president and CEO Ray Hildebrand pointed to ongoing market challenges, including the drought in America’s Corn Belt as reasons behind the move. But the company, which produces a half-million hogs per year and employs about 300 people, has been struggling to restructure for years, selling off its poultry feed operation, cutting staff and winding down U.S. operations.

Struggling

Big Sky Farms, which produces one million hogs annually or about 40 per cent of Saskatchewan’s total production, also blamed high feed costs brought on by the U.S. drought. The company, which was established with Saskatchewan government backing in 1995 and is noted for pioneering the multi-side production model, filed for bankruptcy protection and restructured in 2009 during the last major downturn.

Gary Stordy, spokesman for the Canadian Pork Council said the difficulties facing two of the country’s largest producers will shake the confidence of producers, investors and creditors left in the business.

“It’s ironic, because there is feed available in many parts of Canada, but we are an integrated feed market, where what takes place in the states really has a ripple effect up here,” he said.

In lieu of cheaper feed, higher pork prices and a weaker Canadian dollar would assist struggling producers, but neither are on immediate horizon, he said.

There is some hope in the long term. “Pork futures for mid-year are actually looking positive, relative to the pork prices right now,” said Stordy, adding futures for July 2013 are at about $1.74 per pound.

Industry officials worry fewer producers will result in less processing infrastructure, and less infrastructure results in fewer producers. He said Maritime provinces faced a similar issue a number of years ago.

“And those provinces went through a rapid decline as producer confidence in infrastructure was lost,” Stordy said.

Lack of access to additional credit is also hampering some producers’ ability to weather the storm.

“The resiliency has pretty much been wrung out of the hog industry at this point,” said Kevin Grier, a senior market analyst with the George Morris Centre.

Barrage

Years-long barrages of issues and obstacles, including an H1N1 scare, a strong Canadian dollar and country-of-origin labelling have exhausted the industry’s ability to cushion economic blows. Even a year-and-a-half-long upswing in 2011 and early 2012 wasn’t significant enough to protect industry from the current crisis, Grier said.

Producers looking to the federal government for assistance won’t find solutions there either.

During a news conference last week, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Canada will not pay farmers to cease hog production, as it did three years ago.

In 2009, Ottawa offered hog farmers a total $75 million to stop production for three years, due to high feed costs and weak prices.

“I don’t think that would be renewed,” Ritz told reporters from Whitehorse, Yukon, where he was meeting with provincial agriculture ministers about the nation’s farm support programs.

“I don’t think the hog sector has asked for anything like that at this point. What they’re asking for is the ability to move into that next five-month cycle that’s starting to look positive (for prices).”

Ritz said he would meet with banks in the next week in an effort to “stop the hemorrhage” and to assure lenders the hog industry has a bright future.

Manitoba’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives also spoke to the issue from the Whitehorse meeting, but said little. He has yet to sit down with the Manitoba Pork Council.

“We definitely value the hog industry here in Manitoba. At this point in time we’re not closing the door,” said Kostyshyn. “We’re going to have discussions and try and have some alternative ideas and suggestions on how we can get through this tough scenario.”

No bailout

However, he would not comment on the possibility of a bailout.

A federal task force has been struck to examine feed costs, but some in the hog industry feel neither level of government is up to speed on the depth of the crisis.

“Government is working with delayed figures,” said Karl Kynoch, chairman of the Manitoba Pork Council, adding the council’s figures show industry losses of $150 million in Manitoba alone over the next six to eight months.

“Things are going to get worse, that’s what we’re heading for,” he said, adding many producers are slowing production and emptying barns.

Other livestock industries, such as dairy and poultry, receive protection via supply management, but the odds of the pork industry moving towards that direction are slim.

“The supply-managed commodities do provide producers with a much more stable level of income, and one could argue, profitability,” said Mohr.

But it would take a concerted demand and vast reduction in hog numbers to make such a system work in Manitoba, he added.

Mohr said a switch to supply management would require at least an 80 per cent reduction of hogs in Manitoba, or 40 to 50 per cent nationwide.

“I would suggest it is not a likely solution to this situation,” he said.

The post Puratone, Big Sky in receivership appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Already-high feed costs look set to keep climbing just as hog values enter their traditional seasonal soft patch, which may place hog production margins under even more pressure. To make matters worse, inventories of pork remain well above average in cold storage facilities across the U.S.

Although the price of soymeal — a key ingredient in nearly all hog feed rations — has been on an upward tear all year, the values of other key feeds such as corn, feed-grade wheat and distillers dried grains (DDGs) largely moved sideways for the first five months of the year. Indeed, for most of the first four months of the year lean hog prices outperformed corn and wheat prices to give many savvy hog producers plenty of profit potential. That encouraged hog farmers to increase production, but rising output weighed on pork cutout levels — a measure of the value of the hog’s edible components.

About turn

Things changed drastically beginning in late June. Drought slashed corn and soy production, while prices for DDGs soared more than 25 per cent. Hog producers responded by bringing their animals to market as early as possible, which pushed up pork supply.

But much more aggressive herd liquidation may be needed as the overall U.S. herd size remains close to multi-year highs. Moreover, a majority of production capacity is centred on a few deep-pocketed corporations which can withstand long periods of negative margins in order to gain market share.

In addition, there remains a huge overhang of pork supplies that will need to be chewed through before there is any realistic hope that a scarcity of supplies will bring about a sustained upturn in pork prices.

And all this is occurring at the dawn of the seasonal softening in lean hog prices, brought about by a rise in hog weights as pig appetites recover from heat-stunted summer diets. This year’s price softness could be exacerbated by the additional pork brought to market as a result of the sow slaughter currently underway that will eventually reduce overall U.S. pork production capacity but could bring about a further deterioration in hog market sentiment over the near term.

So while the recent heavy slump in hog prices may suggest that this market has already adjusted to the challenging feed and pork price outlook, things could actually still get worse before they get better.

The post Hog outlook to get worse before it gets better appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Scientists at the University of Guelph, 90 km west of Toronto, bred the first GMO pig that was developed to address an environmental problem in 1999. The animal — known as Enviropig — digests its feed more efficiently than naturally bred pigs, resulting in waste that may cause less environmental damage to lakes and rivers.

The project has produced eight generations of Enviropigs, including the current herd of 16 animals. But they may be the last of their kind, after Ontario Pork — an association of hog farmers in the eastern Canadian province — yanked their funding last month.

“We think we took the genetic research as far as it could possibly go,” said Keith Robbins, spokesman for Ontario Pork, which funded Enviropig with more than $1 million (since the late 1990s). “It’s probably best for industry to take it forward. When you’re the first of anything, it’s tough to get it out of the gate.”

Genetically modified plants and animals intended for the food chain face tough scrutiny from regulators, with some consumers leery of unproven long-term health effects.

“All biotech products face a daunting task of getting to market,” said Peter Phillips, a professor of public policy at University of Saskatchewan.

Enviropig has not managed to attract funding from a food company that would ultimately seek to commercialize the pigs, possibly because environmental benefit doesn’t necessarily translate into more profit, Phillips said.

Enviropig’s researchers applied several years ago for approval for human food consumption from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada. Those regulators have not made a decision.

Unless the university finds a fresh source of major funding it will euthanize the animals and place their genetic material in cold storage, said Lori Bona Hunt, a spokeswoman for the University of Guelph.

Research could continue without live animals, mainly through analyzing data, she said.

Canadian environmental groups welcomed the setback for the Enviropig.

“The GM pig was going to drive consumers away from eating pork if it was ever approved for market,” said Paul Slomp of the National Farmers Union, in a statement. “This GM pig fiasco could have permanently damaged (Canada’s) domestic and international pork markets.”

Canada is the third-largest pork exporter.

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) staged a news conference on Parliament Hill to demand the federal government close the door to any future introduction of other genetically modified animals.

Its target wasn’t so much the pigs, which were never approved as a food source, but the prospect of modified salmon developed by Aqua Bounty of Prince Edward Island, with an extra gene designed to help it grow twice as fast. The only other GM animals in Canada are two elderly spider goats at the Agriculture Canada Museum on an experimental farm in Ottawa.

“There’s no demand or need for genetically modified food animals,” Lucy Sharratt of CBAN told the news conference. “The federal government should stop accepting requests to approve GM food animals. It’s time to end all attempts to bring GM animals to market.”

She said Health Canada won’t say whether it’s considering an application to approve the GM salmon for sale. Aqua Bounty has said it’s seeking American regulatory approval.

The two female spider goats, named Sugar and Spice, have been an attraction at the museum for about two years. They were genetically modified to create a silk substance in their milk that is extracted and spun into BioSteel, which is used in bulletproof vests and medical sutures.

The goats were originally created by Nexia Biotechnologies of Montreal, which went bankrupt. The museum purchased them three years ago to put on display for educational purposes and not to produce the spider silk.

“What we’re doing is presenting a piece of information and the visitor can make up his or her own mind about it,” said curator Franz Klingender.

The museum also said it will never breed the animals.

The post Death knell may sound for Canada’s GMO pigs appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

So far this year, Canadian producers have had their best period of profitability in the last five years, a relief for those who survived a four-year period of unprecedented hardship, with low hog prices and high feed costs.

With market hogs fetching up to $200 a head and sometimes more during the summer, the only cloud on the horizon has been high feed costs, which have eaten into margins. The upside is that, both in the U.S. and Canada, this seems to have curbed any plans for significant expansion. And with strong demand in the Far East for our pork exports, the mood in the industry is cautiously optimistic.

So after recovering from their economic battering, what should producers be doing to prosper in future and what challenges might they face?

In a world context, Canada is a low-cost producer, with fairly similar costs to the U.S. and only slightly higher than Brazil. Unfortunately, producers also receive the lowest prices in the world. This means that the focus in future has to be on lowering the cost of production, especially feed costs.

The incorporation of byproduct raw materials into diets can bring significant savings, as noted in my two recent articles on this topic. To get the best value out of more fibrous ingredients, it is essential to formulate diets on the basis of Net Energy and Standardized Ileal Digestible (SID) lysine, and get expert nutritional advice. It s also important to monitor growth and carcass performance accurately in order to be able to measure the effect of diet changes.

The volatility of grain and protein prices in recent years is likely to continue. In such an uncertain economic climate, producers should expect to see the sort of price swings we have seen over the past few months. This makes it all the more important to lock in to forward contract prices when they are relatively attractive. Our counterparts in the U.S. routinely do this and producers here need to embrace forward contracting for both feed and hogs much more enthusiastically in order to secure a margin.

One of the main factors that precipitated the industry crisis in 2007 was the rapid rise in the value of the Canadian dollar. Recent weakness added nearly 10 per cent to producer prices, a welcome bonus, although since then the loonie has recovered somewhat. Some economists predict the heady heights of $1.06 per U.S. dollar will not be seen again, but a sharp rise in oil and commodity prices could see it strengthen. Overall, it seems likely that producers will get some relief from a rather weaker Canadian dollar, which will increase the price they receive for hogs.

The weak U.S. dollar has led to a huge growth in exports over the last few years. In 2010, the U.S. exported 1.9 million tonnes of pork, up from about 1.2 million tonnes five years ago. Unfortunately, during the same period, U.S. pork exports to Canada rose to over 180,000 tonnes from roughly 130,000 tonnes. However, the U.S. has been very aggressive in its marketing and very successful at exporting pork from the North American continent, which has been supportive to hog prices. Three long-stalled free trade agreements, with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia, have just been ratified by Congress. Dermot Hayes, an economist at Iowa State University, estimated these free trade deals will increase U.S. pork exports by $770 million.

The agreement will phase out Korea s 20 per cent tariff on American pork over a 10-year period, giving it an advantage over Canadian exporters.

The Canadian Pork Council is pushing the government to act quickly to revive its free trade negotiations with Korea, says Martin Rice, CPC s executive director. Otherwise, our producers will be completely shut out of a market that represents 10 per cent of Canada s pork exports.

Another export opportunity will arise when the EU partial sow stall ban deadline is reached at the end of next year. The market for pork within the EU could descend into chaos and it is predicted that there will be a significant exodus from the industry. Although this will probably not mean that the EU will import more pork, it will export a lot less, allowing major exporters like the U.S. and Canada to take up the slack. Overall, the world situation, in terms of pork supply and demand looks quite supportive for prices over the next couple of years.

Having said that, the one negative factor is the steadily improving efficiency of U.S. producers, which is increasing pork production without any increase in the sow herd. The recent USDA Hogs and Pigs Report shows the average number of pigs weaned per litter has exceeded 10 for the first time, up from just nine in 2005. This two per cent-per-year increase, coupled with higher carcass weights, will mean U.S. pork production will grow by around three per cent next year. With flat domestic demand, the U.S. has to keep working hard on exports.

Against a broadly supportive demand background, but volatile input prices, Canadian producers must strive to improve efficiency and reduce costs in order to secure their future. We have access to genetics that will deliver 30 pigs/sow/year, modern production systems, good nutritional expertise, and excellent health status.

The tools are there, it just needs the more positive attitude that now prevails in the industry to be translated into a focus on improvement.

Bernie Peet is president of Pork Chain Consulting of Lacombe, Alberta, and editor of Western Hog Journal.

The post Better Times Ahead For Hog Producers? appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Provincial legislation gives Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell the authority to “confirm, vary or rescind” a decision made by her ministry’s appeal tribunal or send it back for a new hearing, she said in a letter posted Thursday on Ontario Pork’s website.

In this case, the province’s Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal last month reinstated sections of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Regulations that were revoked in October 2008 by the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission (OFPMC).

The commission’s 2008 ruling – which directed Ontario Pork to convert itself from a mandatory single-desk model to an optional marketing agency for Ontario hog farmers, and to put a plan in place by March 2009 to do so – was stayed by the tribunal after some farmers and other industry players appealed.

The tribunal’s decision last month restored Ontario Pork’s single desk, but also exempted all Ontario hog producers from it for at least 18 months, while Ontario Pork completed its consultations and governance reviews toward a new marketing structure.

Given what the tribunal’s vice-chair called a “negative option,” hog farmers who want to market through Ontario’s single desk would then have to apply to waive that exemption. The waiver would bind a farmer to market his or her production through Ontario Pork for “a minimum period of 18 months.”

The appeal tribunal also overturned the commission’s decision on fee collection, restoring Ontario Pork’s authority to collect fees on all classes of domestic swine produced in Ontario, not just slaughter hogs.

But Mitchell, the MPP for Huron-Bruce and ag minister since January, wrote in a letter dated Wednesday that she has granted herself an extension, until May 26, to review the tribunal’s decision.

And all parties to the tribunal’s decision, including Ontario Pork and the appellant farmers, will be allowed to make submissions to the Agriculture Ministry by no later than April 14.

“I am particularly interested in receiving submissions regarding the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of having a dual-desk/open market system versus the current single-desk system,” Mitchell wrote.

“More specifically, I am looking for evidence as to what marketing system would best protect the interest of Ontario’s pork industry and an explanation as to why Ontario should use that marketing system.”

“TOO NARROW”

Also, she wrote, she wants to see submissions on “what change(s) would be needed to either make the existing current single-desk system work more effectively or what should be included should I decide that Ontario’s marketing policy should (move) to a dual-desk/ open-market system.”

In the meantime, she wrote, the tribunal’s decision “will not be final” until she either issues her own decision coming out of her review, or until her allowed period for her extension has lapsed, whichever comes first.

Noting the tribunal’s ruling – that the OFPMC’s move to a dual desk/open market was “not in accordance” with the province’s Farm Products Marketing Act – Mitchell said she believes the tribunal’s interpretation of the act “is too narrow” and that the act doesn’t require just one single type of regulatory system for a regulated product in Ontario.

Rather, she wrote, the act is meant “to allow for a flexible and fluid regulatory system for all regulated products in Ontario.” Thus, she wrote, she has rescinded that part of the tribunal’s decision dealing with its interpretation of that part of the act.

The post Ag Minister Blocks Ontario Pork Ruling For Review appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“Each party’s

presentation was based on its own particular goals rather than an effective structure for the industry.”

– FRANCIS HANDY

An appeal tribunal has overturned an order ending Ontario Pork’s mandatory single desk for hog marketing – but is also telling farmers they don’t have to use it.

The ruling Feb. 16 by the province’s Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal reinstates sections of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Regulations that were revoked in October 2008 by the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission.

The tribunal’s decision restores the single desk, but exempts all Ontario hog producers from it for a minimum of 18 months. Those who want to market through the single desk will then have to apply to waive the exemption.

Hog farmers consenting to the waiver must commit to marketing their production through Ontario Pork for a minimum period of 18 months.

The 2008 ruling by the Ontario Farm Products Market ing Commission, which directed Ontario Pork to convert itself from a mandatory single-desk model to an optional marketing agency for Ontario hog farmers, was appealed by some farmers and other industry players.

Writing for the tribunal, vice-chair Francis Handy said the members dislike the negative option, but consider it the most practical approach.

The tribunal said this option would allow Ontario Pork to complete its consultations, strategic planning and governance reviews toward a new structure “while allowing those who wish to operate outside of the mandatory marketing regime to do so, but without making permanent changes that may be unwise to implement without further review and consideration by those most affected.”

In the next 18 months, Ontario Pork will be required to consult and to provide a plebiscite or similar mechanism to ensure its recommendations have support in the industry, the tribunal ordered.

The appeal tribunal also overturned the commission’s decision on fee collection, restoring Ontario Pork’s authority to collect fees on all classes of domestic swine produced in Ontario, not just slaughter hogs.

In a statement, Ontario Pork said it will work towards completing the tribunal’s orders.

“This decision gives us the direction we needed,” said Wilma Jeffray, chair of Ontario Pork. “A decision of this magnitude with so many stakeholders could not have been easy.”

Jeffray said the tribunal’s process was fair and balanced. “Ontario Pork will be working with producers, the commission and industry stakeholders as we lead this change. Much of the foundational work for this process has been considered already,” she said.

Handy, a mediator and arbitrator by profession, noted in the tribunal’s ruling that “adversarial-style hearings are a poor way to make policy decisions.”

“There was not a comprehensive review of data about the industry as a whole from anyone; each party’s presentation was based on its own particular goals rather than an effective structure for the industry. Many who will be affected by this decision did or could not participate and were not sought out for their views,” he said.

Hardy said the hearing saw very little in the way of expert testimony, and “most of what the tribunal heard was argument rather than evidence, even during the evidentiary phase of the hearing.”

He said there appears to be a radical split between philosophies, perspectives and prognoses in the province’s hog industry. However, “the entity now best suited and making the most comprehensive effort to develop a consensus is Ontario Pork.”

daveb@fbcpublishing.com

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West Hawk has been chosen as the dividing point between Western and Eastern Canada should there be an outbreak of a foreign animal disease.

Canadians hope to convince trading partners that when there’s a disease outbreak, they could limit the automatic bans they place on Canadian livestock, meat, poultry and poultry products to one side of West Hawk.

Curtiss Littlejohn of the Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board has been involved in negotiations for the biosecurity centre for years.

An application for funding was filed by the West Hawk Lake Group, which is a subsidiary of the Canadian Animal Health Coalition.

“Assistant Deputy Minister Suzie Miller (of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) says funding has been approved,” Littlejohn said.

The centre could be downgraded to “more of a monitoring” station if and when full traceability systems for all livestock and poultry are in place, Littlejohn said.

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