The Rural Voice, 1990-02, Page 63PERTH Irtk
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
Clare Schlegel, President
R. R. 4, Stratford N5A 6S5 655-2750
' The Rural Voice is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA
PCPPA ANNUAL MEETING: JANUARY 26, 1990
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
1988 has quickly but not quietly
gone by for pork producers in Ontario
and Perth County. Currently, we are
experiencing one of the most unsettling
times in our industry.
The "window of opportunity" in the
tripartite stabilization program early
this year allowed this program to be-
come almost universal in Ontario and
across Canada. 1989 has seen large pay-
outs in this program for all four quarters
because of relatively low hog prices and
incredibly high costs for feedstuffs.
Some weaner producers have been
forced out of business, while some fin-
ishers who survived the drought of 1988
with adequate feedstuff suppliers have
never had a better year. Our concern for
1990 is the lowering support levels and
the tremendous deficiency in the fund.
This is compounded by countervails and
the increase in the value of our Canadian
dollar.
Many of us thought the Free Trade
Agreement, now called CUSTA, would
assure us continued access to the U.S.
market. Apparently, it never outlawed
U.S. countervail action, but only affects
the appeal process. We found this out.
The response to U.S. countervails on
pork imposed in September by the
Canadian industry was to help the pack-
ers offset this retroactive, unknown
quantity by imposing a $2 per hog
charge for every hog shipped in Canada
until the end of March, 1990.
Our directors discussed this costly
issue on four occasions, and all present
at our November meeting approved the
action taken by our provincial board.
Some other countries came out in oppo-
sition to the decision, causing the De-
cember appeal to the Farm Products
Tribunal in Guelph.
This disastrous price drop in Decem-
ber is a continuing serious concern be-
cause the spread between U.S. prices
and ours is far greater than it has been for
a long time. It seems there has been
some negative bureaucratic interven-
tion which has caused some of the ex-
porting packers to lose their confidence
60 THE RURAL VOICE
in the U.S. pork market. I hope that by
the time this is published the situation
has been righted, because from my per-
spective it is costing our producers
about $20 per 100 kg or more.
Pork quality has been stressed this
year. We have toured J. M. Schneider
livestock handling and kill facilities.
They demonstrated the effects of PSE in
pork with a display. Last January we
held the initial pork quality seminars.
Also in relation to this theme, at our
directors meetings we talked with a
representative from Staffens Food Mar-
kets, among others.
Many other activities which hap-
pened on your behalf in 1989 were re-
ported by others at the annual meeting.
Your county directors are your link to
the activities and actions of your Ontario
Board. Each hog producer in Perth
County should make use of and support
his or her county organization.
It is encouraging to be part of an
organization with so many success -
minded people. Our aggressive industry
will survive this current trough of pessi-
mism and low prices.°
Clare Schlegel
President 1989
1989 HOG REVIEW
While hog production in Ontario
was down 5.4 per cent in 1989, total
Canadian hog production is up approxi-
mately 1 per cent. More significantly,
hog production in the U.S., while de-
clining in the last quarter of 1989, was
up 1 per cent over 1988. These strong
hog numbers meant a slow -down in the
price recovery process.
Supply, however, was not the only
factor contributing to the price trends of
the past year. Other factors which had
an impact on the price of hogs included
packer kill capacity, the desire by indi-
vidual packers to maintain their market
share, and international and inter -pro-
vincial trade issues.
In the last two weeks of 1989, there
was fluctuation in prices both from day
to day and from market to market. These
fluctuations were caused by a negative
packer response to uncertainty in the
export market, specifically the U.S.
Quebec packers operated only five days
over the two-week Christmas and New
Year's holidays. Increases in pork prod-
ucts moving into the Ontario retail
market from packers based in Western
Canada resulted in a lower storage fa-
cilities filled. They responded by bid-
ding lower for Ontario hogs. Ontario
sales for the year were 4,365, 967, down
5.4 per cent from a year ago.
Our pork industry of the 1990s will
be the most challenging and exciting
that we have ever faced. What with
trade problems (free trade and GATT),
financial problems (low returns, high
input costs, high interest rates), con-
sumer desires (food safety and quality of
product), and animal welfarist demands
(the housing and the transportation of
hogs), if there was ever a time that an
individual and producers must be united
to overcome the problems and meet the
opportunities that confront us, this is it.0
Cinth Vogels
R. R. 2, Dublin.°
Date to Remember
Excellence in Swine Production 2
Tuesday, February 13, 9:30 a.m.
Upper Kinsmen Hall, Stratford Fairgrounds
Topic: Swine Housing and Behaviour