The Rural Voice, 1995-03, Page 57PERTH "'Pk
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
John VanNes, President
519-393-6479
• The Rural Voice is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA.
Any opinions expressed herein
may not necessarily reflect the views
of The Perth County Pork Producers
Association.
The Perth County Pork Producers
held their Annual Meeting on January
26 in Stratford. What a crowd! The
Upper Kinsmen Hall was filled with
an estimated 240 people. One could
tell from the buzz of conversation in
the room that there was a lot of
interest in simply being there. A
delicious meal was had and then it
was on to the meeting. Following are
a few of the highlights:
• Walter and Martha Bosch
received Producer of the Year
Award. Congratulations for the well-
deserved recognition.
• The Promotion Award went to
Victor Iacobellis of Stratford.
• Dr. Larry Martin from the
George Morris Centre was the guest
speaker. He feels very strongly that
producers in Ontario must make vol-
untary alliances with other producers,
feed companies, genetic suppliers,
and even packers in order to compete
in a world market. Vertical integra-
tors such as the Wendall Murphys in
the U.S. already have the lower cost
advantages of a complete production
and marketing package; we need to
get on board and make some of these
associations to protect ourselves.
Interestingly, he also felt we should
shift our export emphasis away from
the U.S. to other parts of the world
such as the Pacific Rim countries.
• Outgoing president, Harry
Bardoel, commented on markets in
1994 and encouraged input from new
Politics and new blood
directors and other producers.
(Harry, thank you from all producers
in Perth County for your leadership
during the past year.)
• Provincial Board chairman,
Carl Moore, made some comments
on current board agenda. He expects
to see the service fee reduced by
some 38 cents later this year after the
marketing yards are privatized. He
also noted that the board will be
actively marketing pigs in North
America for the best price, not just
Ontario, and this will also mean that
eventually U.S. pigs will be coming
into Ontario.
• Elections were held for the 29
director positions and these resulted
in seven new people coming on the
Associations. Congratulations! Your
involvement will definitely be
worthwhile.
• A number of resolutions were
received and debated. These are
important and indicate what Perth
County would like to see emphasized
at the provincial level.
It was with shock and
bewilderment after the election at the
Annual Meeting, that some of us
realized that John Lichti would no
longer be contributing to the Perth
County Pork Producers Association.
At least not as a member. I say
"contribute" because John never just
"showed up" for any meeting; he
always give his two cents worth and
more often than not gave it in a
constructive manner.
When I first met John I did not
know what to make of him. He
seemed somewhat aloof and maybe a
PERTH COUNTY EXECUTIVE
President John VanNes
Past President
Vice President
2nd Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Harry Bardoel
Larry Skinner
Walter Bosch
Richard Yantzi
Karin Martens
— 1995
393-6479
393-6806
291-4870
356-9000
655-2766
595-4457
bit too outspoken, but first impres-
sions rarely tell you everything and
my view of John changed. I realized
that his stubborn determination to get
his point across sprang from an
intense love for the industry and a
desire to see it succeed. He was in a
leadership role in perhaps the most
difficult time the pork board has seen
since its stormy beginning. Issues
like countervail and the depressing
effect on prices made life a pressure
cooker for those at the top. Not many
of us could have braved the angry
telephone calls and criticism without
breaking.
We will miss John's ability to
chair a meeting, his ability to gauge
producers' feelings and suggest a
plan that would be agreeable to most.
We will miss his insights into how
politics interact with marketing and
his experience in international trade
issues. In some ways, John probably
feels freer now. I hope he will enjoy
focusing mostly on production. But
something tells me that he will still
have something to say about
marketing on occasion. I hope so.
Thank you John and Norma.0
submitted by Larry Skinner
NOTICE OF
ONTARIO ANNUAL
MEETING
March 15, 16, 1995
Westin Harbour Castle
Toronto, Ontario
Pork Products available
from:
Fred DeMartines
at 393-6812
Martin VanBakel
at 345-2666
Dennis Zehr
at 595-4771
MARCH 1995 53