The Rural Voice, 2001-04, Page 14WELLESLEY LOADING
CHUTES
SHEEP FEEDERS
ROUND BALE
FEEDERS
LOADING
CHUTES
Heavy
Construction
Pt. hitch
(both sides)
Ramp settings
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SHEEP FEEDERS
L � j!a, ''1,5'
'�`.*�"„ +iff� v111 it'd"�'�T�`�'
41100flitaUkt
• Ruggedly built yet convenient feeder
• Manufactured with 1" x 1" tubing and
14 gauge sheet metal
• 32" wide trough with 3/8" rod V -type manger
Rods are 21/2" apart for less hay waste
• Grains and other fine particle feeds can be
fed. Sizes available: 4', 6' and 8' long.
Other sizes available upon request.
ROUND BALE FEEDERS
IIIiIr.;*�
1
•7'x8'
• Feeds approx. 18 cattle
• Holds 5' x 5 bales
(and smaller)
• 1 1/4" tubing CANADIAN lelADE
• Heavy duty construction
TILMAN SHERK
R.R. #3 Wellesley, Ontario
519-656-3338
519-656-3429 evenings
10 THE RURAL VOICE
Jeffrey Carter
Regulation shouldn't outweigh good sense
"It is the tragedy of the world that no
one knows what he doesn't know, and
the less a man knows, the more sure
he is that he knows everything."
— Joyce Car
For a livestock producer, with
hundreds of sows, hundreds of cattle
or thousands of
birds, the survival
of regional
abattoirs and
meat processors
may seem like a
minor concern.
It's not.
What makes
for a fair market
for any particular
commodity is
competition
between a
sufficient number
of players —
large, small, and
medium-sized.
Unfortunately, in agriculture, there's
far more bad examples than good.
The Ontario pork packing industry,
for instance, is dominated by two
major players with a lesser degree of
influence from the packers in
Quebec, the United States and
Ontario's small players.
For years, pork producers have
complained they were not receiving a
fair price in relation to prices south of
the border. While I'm sure there are
U.S. producers with
similar concerns, it would seem
Ontario's pork producers have a
legitimate complaint. It could be
worse though. Imagine if there were
no other options than the two large
Ontario packers. They wouldn't even
have the incentive to offer contracts.
So the little guys are important. At
the very least, they provide a pork
producer with a place to have a hog
killed for home consumption. More
importantly, the little guys can grow
and even if they control just five or
10 per cent of the market, at least
there's an alternative and the glimmer
of hope for the future. Small
businesses help maintain rural
infrastructure, keeping jobs and
money from flowing away from rural
communities. In addition, from my
experience, you can count on the
little guys to supply you with quality
and when it comes to food safety. I
like the idea of stepping into a shop
where I can judge for myself whether
the owner is doing a good job or not.
This brings me to my main point.
Government, whether it's provincial
or federal, should make sure small
abattoirs and meat processors are not
regulated out of business. Better yet,
they should provide a hand -up. If the
Ontario government, as it so often
proclaims, values marketplace
economics, the fostering of true
competition should surely be an
objective.
I recently spoke with Laurie
Murdock of the Ontario Independent
Meat Packers and Processors. She
said there's an effort in Ontario to
incorporate a variety of provincial
and municipal rules under the
Ontario Meat Inspection Act.
Farmers, the leaders of rural
communities, and the small to
medium-sized abattoirs and food
processors, should keep an eye on the
process. Regulations geared for huge
industrial operations do not
necessarily apply to smaller
operations. When it comes to food
safety, it's the outcome that's
important.
Besides, small players in the meat
industry have advantages. Line
speeds are generally slower (if there's
a production line at all). Consequent-
ly, carcasses receive greater indiv-
idual attention. If standards designed
for the large players are to be forced
upon the smaller ones, should not the
kind of standards being met by the
small players be applied to the larger
ones. Imagine the reaction of a big
packer who is asked to slow down his
line speed. The image of a chicken
that's about to have its head
chopped off — and knows it —
comes to mind.
Ontario's new agriculture
minister, Brian Coburn, should take
note. Make food safety a priority
when it comes to meat industry
regulations but, for Heaven's sake, do
not allow rules to override common
sense.0
Jeffrey Carter is a long-time farm
editor and journalist from Dresden,
ON.