The Rural Voice, 1997-10, Page 57PERTH irtk
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
News from Denmark
Any opinions expressed herein may not
necessarily reflect the views of the
Perth County Pork Producers'
Association.
During our September meeting,
Perth councillors heard about the pork
industry in Denmark from a delegation
which visited that country in June.
Clare Schlegel and Will Nap, directors
on the Ontario Pork Board, along with
Julien Den Tandt, CEO of Ontario
Pork, and Don Collis from Quality
Meat Packers were on hand to describe
their trip and some of their findings of
the pork industry in Denmark.
Even though Denmark is a very
small country, (one twenty-fifth the
area of Ontario), they produce as many
hogs as all of Canada! The industry is
very export orientated, since it exports
80 per cent of its product, and is
therefore very concerned about world
trade agreements. The Danes are very
confident of their ability to compete
even though they may not always be
the lowest cost supplier of pork. Their
industry seems very focused on
supplying a consistent, high quality
product, and one that is willing to
satisfy the demands of the consumer.
For example, they are willing to
produce pork according to United
Kingdom requirements that dry sows
not be tethered or housed in dry sow
stalls, in order to sell into that market.
Our delegation toured two farm
operations during their visit. The
Danes were very conscientious of
biosecurity, especially since the
disease outbreaks in Holland. The
farms appear to be very efficient and
mostly farrow to finish. The average
farm size appears to be slightly larger
than found here in Ontario, and are
very up to date and automated. Some
of the farms were using liquid feed
systems, and lowered their cost of
production through the use of altemate
feed products, such as bakery products.
A statement showed that this farm was
receiving about $205 for a 77 kg
carcass. The hog farms had been very
profitable for the last two years.
The marketing system in Denmark
Walter Bosch, President
519-356-9000
• The Rural Voice is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA.
is based on a co-operative system, very
different from our own. There are four
processors in the country, which are
owned by the farmers. A total of 21
slaughter houses are operated by these
four processors. These processors,
along with some private investors, own
ESS Foods, an export company, which
sells and keeps track of the price of
pork from their many offices around
the world. The processors also sell
meat individually to customers. The
farmers can choose to sign a contract
with the four processors for a period of
between one to three years. The
processor, in turn, agrees to slaughter
all the hogs the farmer delivers. The
farmer must book the exact number of
hogs they will be shipping by the
Thursday of the previous week.
The price the farmers receive for
their hogs is set once per week, and all
four processors pay the same price.
This price is derived from a formula
using the worldwide prices of specific
cuts and is calculated by the Federation
of Danish Pig Producers and
Processors. Farmers receive a
patronage dividend each year from the
processor they ship their hogs to. In
1996, the dividend averaged 5.4 per
cent of the average base price per 100
kg. Processors, being non-profit farmer
co-ops, must decide how to spend their
capital, torn between upgrading and
improving the efficiency of their plants
or paying out higher patronage
dividends to farmers to encourage a
sufficient supply of hogs for their
plant's needs.
Our delegation was also taken on a
tour of one of the processing plants.
The Danish plants are very automated
and geared to producing a very high
quality product. A lot of attention has
gone in the transportation and
movement of the hogs, as they had no
scratches from handling. This plant had
the ability to sort carcasses and move
them to separate areas to be dealt with
in a way to capture the highest value
from the carcass. They also had a
system in place to give feedback to the
farmers on the quality and health
aspects of their hogs.
The Danes are world-class
producers of pork and are very
confident of their ability to compete.
They have been forced by their need
for other markets to look outwards to
the world scene to stay in business.
This has given them an aggressive and
positive attitude, which will serve them
well into the future.0
Thanks to Our Sponsors
The PCPPA annual golf tournament
was held in August, with many
producers and industry personnel
enjoying a day of fresh air out on the
course. We would like to thank the
following for sponsoring our day:
Alpharma Animal Health, Ag -Co
Products, Exacon, CIBC - Mitchell and
Stratford, Logan Agri Systems, Hutton
Farm Supplies, Farm Credit - Listowel,
St. Willibrord Community Credit
Union, Mitchell District Credit Union,
Bill Koert Plumbing, Maple Leaf Pork,
Hi Tech Feeding Equip., Fred
Groenestege Construction, First Choice
Agriquip, Perth County Co-op, Royal
Bank, Toronto Dominion Bank, BSC
Animal Nutrition, Timmermans
Elevators, Gencor, OPPMB, Minitube
Canada, Pfizer, Shur -Gain, Elanco
Animal Health, P.D.M. Agri Services
Inc., Grand Valley Fortifiers,
Pharmacia Animal Health, Upjohn,
Brandy Point Farms.
We appreciate your continued
support.0
Submitted by Jim Van Herk
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:
Fred de Martines (Sebr.) 393-6812
Martin van Bakel (Dublin) 347-2666
Walter Bosch (Monkton) 356-9000
Ted Keller (Mitchell) 348-9836
OCTOBER 1997 53