The Rural Voice, 1995-07, Page 49PERTH f"'PL
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
John VanNes, President
519-393-6479
' The Rural Voice is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA.
Pork: an industry that's changing fast
Any opinions expressed herein may not
necessarily reflect the views of the Perth
County Pork Producers' Association.
Well, there is one thing about the pork
industry that we all can agree on, and that
is the pork industry has always been a fast
changing industry.
For example, two years ago most of us
probably knew very little about MEW or
SEW systems and how all this fits in with
three site production facilities. Today all
you see, read, or hear about is the MEW
or SEW concept of pig production. And
if you haven't already thought, about how
it might work on your farm, you probably
will some time in the near future.
One of the definite disadvantages of a
fast changing industry is if you try to keep
up, you usually end up with a larger
capital investment with more debt, more
risk, more labour problems and usually
more work for yourself. I guess that's
why it's always important to be optimistic
and make sure YOU feel the advantages
outweigh the disadvantages no matter
which way you decide to go.
Another area that most of us will likely
have to change our thinking on is who is
our real competition. Is it our next door
neighbour who just built a new barn or is
it that big farmer down the road that never
seems to quit building? I think our real
competition was outlined in a speech I
heard by Dr. Larry Martin this past
winter. He reminded us that our REAL
competition was not our neighbours or
that 1,000 sow operation down the road,
but the large totally integrated farms in
the U.S. with 100,000 sows or more.
These large, totally integrated farms
produce pork from the farm right on up to
the wholesale level. With their genetic
and feeding programs, they can produce
large numbers of consistent hogs designed
for specific markets. From a pig/sow/year
standpoint they might be at a slight
disadvantage, but with three site
production and good genetics they aren't
far behind. Another thing to remember is
their bottom line is shared by the farm
level, the feed manufacturing division, the
trucking department and the slaughtering
plants. All of these areas work together to
achieve the same goal.
When we compare our own farm
operations we likely can raise a few more
pigs/sow/year than the large integrated
farms but from a marketing standpoint I
think we have a definite disadvantage.
We, in general, have small numbers of
different types of pigs to offer packers
under several different marketing
arrangements. When the price of pigs
goes down, the farmers lose money and
do all they can to survive while the
packers do quite well for themselves.
And when the price goes up, it never goes
very high anymore because of contracts
and formula prices with caps on the top
end preventing open bidding amongst
packers.
So how do we solve our marketing
problem? We have to get large numbers
of the same kind of pigs to offer to the
packing industry so we, the producers, can
get a fair return. To get large numbers of
consistent hogs on a regular basis and still
keep the family farm, we are going to
have to learn how to work together with
our fellow producers, feed manufacturers,
breeding stock suppliers, truckers, and
yes, packers, to get a fair return for all
parties involved.
During the past few years there are
more and more producer groups forming
in the U.S. These producer groups range
in size from 10,000 sows to 100,000 sows.
They are using one common type of
breeding stock with specific feeding
programs designed for their type of
breeding stock. These hogs are marketed
as a group to slaughtering plants in the
U.S. under various pricing arrangements.
Ontario Pork Producers have always
been known to be innovative and leaders
in the swine industry. I think it's about
time we team up and do something about
our price!
Our June County Association had as
the speaker Mr. Jerry Long, chairman of
the proposed pork plant. Mr. Long told us
that the PPP was seriously negotiating
with Thorn Apple Valley at this point in
time. Thorn Apple Valley has just spent
$78 million to get themselves a brand
name which will help them get more
products in grocery stores. The PPP has
had their formal Offer to Purchase the
Pillsbury Plant outside of London
accepted by the Pillsbury owners. Right
now the PPP is working on finalizing the
site plan. Once everything is ready to go
they hope to start killing 5,000 hogs per
day.
Another topic of discussion was
plugged hogs. In the beginning of June a
team headed by Donna Van Beck, from
the settlement department, started
working with the three major packers
checking where the bulk of the plugged
hogs are coming from. They then traced
back the plugged hogs to the trucker and
the farm that the pigs originated from.
These farmers and truckers were con-
tacted and told that there was a problem.
In most cases the farmer has agreed to
start tattooing his own hogs if he wasn't
doing it already. Response has been very
good. From January '95 until June '95
plugged hogs represented 7.5 per cent of
all hogs marketed through the OPPMB.
Ever since Cold Springs shut down
their slaughtering facilities, there is only
one packer left slaughtering sows.
Quality Meat Packers approached the
OPPMB and told the board they would
quit slaughtering sows if their demands
weren't met. So our price got reduced
from 68 to 73 per cent of the market price
down to 65 to 70 per cent of the market
price. From here on in no sows will be
graded. The first 600 sows are guaranteed
to Quality and the rest arc put on an
auction system. The board hopes to
develop this auction system in the near
future.°
Submitted by John Nyenhuis.
PERTH COUNTY PORK
PRODUCERS' ASSOCIATION
12th Annual Golf Tournament
Wednesday, August 23, 1995
Listowel Golf & Country Club
Tee off times 9:30 a.m. - 12 noon
Price: $38/person
Price includes green lees, lunch, supper and prize
To book tee -off times call
Larry Skinner 291-4870 Ken Aitcheson 393-5394
PORK ROAST for JOHN LICHTI
SEPTEMBER 22, 1995
Shakespeare Community Centre
Tickets will be available soon!
PERTH COUNTY
PORK PRODUCERS'
PORK PRODUCTS
• Smoked Pork Chops • Fresh Pork Chops
• Stuffed Loin Chops • Smoked Sausage
• Smoked Cheddar Sausage
• Pork Burgers • Bacon Burgers
• Boneless Rib 0' Pork
• Teriyaki Pork Steaks
• Bruce Packers Summer Sausage
• Vittorio's BBQ Sauce
AVAILABLE FROM:
Fred de Martines (Sebr.) 393-6812
Dennis Zehr (Brun.) 595-4771
Martin van Bakel (Dublin) 347-2666
JULY 1995 45