The Rural Voice, 2001-09, Page 57News
OFA President Jack Wilkinson (left) chats with Charles Regele, Huron
County Federation of Agriculture president at a meeting near Seaforth.
to drought stricken farmers in the
western provinces, he said.
"We really need to be aggressive
with the government," Huron
County's OFA President Charles
Regele said.
The best way to get the message
across is to let the commodity boards
and the OFA know what needs to
change, Wilkinson said. These
groups are the voice of the farmers at
the different government levels.
More money needs to be invested
into research and advertising for a
national campaign about the
advantages the farming community
supplies, he said.
Change is possible though,
Wilkinson said.
"I don't think it will be easy but I
think we have to work very hard to
get it done," Wilkinson said.°
Oxford Packers to
start plant
construction
Construction of a new pork
processing plant is set to commence
in September after a servicing
agreement was finally reached in July
between Oxford Packers Ltd. and
West Perth (Mitchell).
The agreement -will allow the
30,000 square foot hog slaughter
plant, •valued at $6 million, to
proceed. It will be located in. the
northwest corner of Fullarton ward,
near the muni-cipality's wastewater
treatment plant.
Oxford Packers, 50 per cent
owned by Miriam Terpstra of Acre T
farms of Brussels, and Glen and
Larry Tulpin of Norfolk Packers in
St. William, first announced plans
last November for a kill and chill
plant which will handle 5,000 hogs a
week. Originally the company hoped
to locate the plant in North Perth,
near Listowel but that municipality
turned the company down.
Concerns of some West Perth
residents about possible pollution
from the new plant were dealt with in
the agreement between the
municipality and the company.
Oxford Packers will contribute to
upgrades possibly needed to the
water treatment plant if required.
Strict financial penalties are included
for any excess flow into the
wastewater treatment plant which
will be monitored daily. The
agreement also states that complaints
of odour from the plant is the
responsibility of the company "to
monitor and correct if necessary".
Council members can also monitor
the smell themselves and if a
majority feel there is an odour
problem, they can ask the company
to rectify the situation.
Oxford Packers has pledged to
build one of the most modern plants
in North America using a carbon
dioxide stunning system to create
less stress for the pigs. The carcasses
will go through a vertical steam
tunnel process. the only one in North
America, to remove hair in a sanitary
manner. The system also reduces the
amount of water needed. A primary
water treatment facility is designed to
bring waste water up to municipal
standards before it is released into the
sanitary sewage system.
The plant will be housed in an
ordinary -looking industrial building.
All carcasses and by-products will be
removed daily.
Acre T farms has contracted for
half the initial capacity of the plant
gi3ing critical volume to the
company. Within 15 months the
company said, in its announcement
last fall, it hoped to move to two
shifts, handling 10,000 hogs a week.
Initial employment is expected to be
about 50 with growth to 200
employees within Live years. Average
wage at the plant will be about $12
an hour plus benefits.°
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SEPTEMBER 2001 53