The Rural Voice, 2005-06, Page 24GB
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20 THE RURAL VOICE
"It costs money to get variation,"
Procter says.
The a challenge for breeders is to
continue to provide the uniform
animals packers, processors and
consumers want, while continuing to
find the diversity needed for
breeding. "The concern is that the
base does tend to narrow down," he
said, though it's not a serious
problem yet.
Also of concern is the provincial
government's cut in funding for
breed improvement organizations
like OSI in hogs, Beef Improvement
Ontario and Dairy Herd Improve-
ment without even transitional
funding, Procter says.
Canada has always been known
for quality in pork production
and part of the reason has
been the role of the government as a
leader in support for breed
improvement organizations and the
industry in general. There is still
some government support for CCSI
but the Ontario situation is a blow.
It means that a smaller number of
breeders are going to have to pay
more to maintain the services of the
OSI, Procter says. Some may not be
able to shoulder the added burden.
Already Procter has seen the
number of breeders plummet in
Ontario. He recalls meetings of
breeders that would fill a room with
100 or more people. Now he
estimates the number is fewer than
20 province wide.
"I think there is a possible future
if the independent breeders still left
work together and share genetics," he
said of the battle to prevent huge
genetic companies from dominating
the industry.
Changes in the production end of
the swine business have sped
changes among breeders. There are
fewer potential customers for
breeders. "We've always been
traditionally focussed on family run
operations," he says of Bodmin
Genetics. Now with Targe numbers of
producers being involved in
contracting loops, many of those
traditional customers have
disappeared. "We have to change
too," Procter says. "There aren't the
smaller producers out there. The
numbers are down, down, down and
the size (of the operations) is bigger.
We have to try to adapt to the