The Rural Voice, 2002-09, Page 73PERTH 'T -
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
Jim Van Nes, President
519-393-6712
' The Rural Voice is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA
Bill 81 regulations must be science -based
Any opinions expressed herein may
nrn necessarily reflect the views of the
Perth County Pork Producers'
Association.
This sure has been a hot, humid
summer so far. I hope that fellow pork.
producers found some time for a
vacation or at least some rest and
rejuvenation.
Ontario Pork will be moving to its
new office in Guelph on Friday.
August 30. There will be an open
house for producers and industry
partners on September 24 from 1 1:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. There will be free
food for all. RSVP to Ontario Pork at
1-877-668-7675. Ontario Pork says
that service to producers will not be
disrupted by the move.
Our live -hog market seems to be in
for a market downturn. Let's hope it
will be a soft landing before
recovering. Based on history, it will
recover. Pork producers should use
their NISA account properly and
invest to their maximum amount to
receive government -matching money
and then withdraw it when it gets
"triggered". NISA was meant to be
used as a safety net.
The environment seems to be an
issue that continues to be a "thorn" for
pork producers. The Ontario
government has passed Bill 81, "The
Nutrient Management Act". This
should be the beginning of getting
uniform legislation across the
province. Environmental legislation
that will stand the test of time,
requires consultation with those who
would be most affected (livestock
farmers). It must be based on science,
common sense and reason.
A properly engineered and
constructed concrete liquid manure
pit, with consideration for the type of
sub -soil, should alleviate any concerns
with leakage from storage.
In the Canadian prairies,
phosphorus occurs naturally in the soil
at a higher rate than is considered the
upper limit in a nutrient management
plan here in Ontario. The upper limit
was arrived at many years ago (1960s)
when agronomists were trying to
determine the upper limit for
phosphorus beyond which the
economic return went down for
farmers. To my knowledge there has
never been a study done on a
particular soil's maximum ability to
hold phosphorus before releasing it to
the environment. The University of
Guelph should do research on this
issue.
Amino acid balancing of feed
rations should become more the norm
in the future avoiding excess crude
protein. An excess of crude protein,
after passing through the pig's
digestive system, converts to a form of
nitrogen. Extra ammonia gas is also
produced which causes increased
odour. Many synthetic amino acids are
much more economical than they used
to be, especially right now when there
is upward pressure on soybean meal
prices. Excess crude protein also slows
down the growth of the pig because it
must expend energy to breakdown this
extra protein.
Phytase is now economical enough
so some of the phosphorus in the feed
rations can be reduced.
What drives local politicians to
enact municipal by-laws restricting
livestock agriculture? Could•it be
because of complaints they receive
from other urban or rural residents in
their municipality? These complaints
should be looked at carefully to see if
there is substance to them in regards to
the environment. Many times the
"environmental argument" is used but
there are other underlying reasons for
these complaints. Good
communication and understanding is
needed.
In today's fast -paced world people
sometimes want instant results and
polarization can occur very quickly.
Farmers make up only about two per
cent of the population so 98 per cent
know very little about farming. We
have also all probably heard the saying
that "perception is reality". More than
once I have heard of complaints of
smell before there were even pigs in a
newly -constructed barn.
Some of the restrictions that are
being suggested by some would hit
small pork producers even harder than
large producers. Many smaller family
farms are single -site and they would
quickly reach or exceed some of the
caps to size being used in some
municipalities. Farmers need to be
united when it comes to the
environment. If some of the pressure
is coming from farmers themselves in
an attempt to restrict large corporate
farms or curtail vertical integration
from happening, it will hurt smaller
farmers quicker than large ones. Cash
croppers and livestock producers need
each other. Let's not confuse the
issues.
In other industries. for example the
steel industry in Hamilton, they didn't
impose building caps to clean up
Hamilton Bay — they used
technology. The automobile pollutes.
Do we put caps on the number of cars
a family can own? No. we use
technology to reduce emissions.
Liquid manure properly managed does
not pollute.
Good fertile land is not found just
anywhere. It is the base from which all
agriculture starts. Municipal leaders
should assist farmers in using this
resource for the economic good
derived for the local community.
Every other resource-based industry is
treated this way. Residents and
government must be aware of the
normal farming practices of an
agriculturally -zoned area before
building a house in that area. Likewise
when a barn gets built in this area it
shouldn't come as a surprise.
There is much more technology
coming down the pipe in the future to
help farmers in their responsibility as
"stewards of the land".
At our next meeting. I am sure that
the environment will be on the agenda.
Our meetings are open to any pork
producer or those concerned with our
issues.0
- Submitted by Gerald H. Kolkman
PERTH COUNTY PORK
PRODUCERS'
PORK PRODUCTS
• Smoked Pork Chops • Fresh Pork Chops
• Stuffed Loin Chops • Smoked Sausage
• Smoked Cheddar Sausage
• Bacon Burgers • Teriyaki Pork Steaks •
Vittorio's BBQ Sauce
AVAILABLE FROM:
Steve Hulshof (Kinkora) .
Martin van Bake! (Dublin)
Walter Bosch (Monkton)
Ted Keller (Mitchell)
348-8167
345-2666
356-9000
348-9836
SEPTEMBER 2002 69