The Rural Voice, 1998-10, Page 57PERTH votk
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
John Nyenhuis, President
519-393-6539
• 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.
Well, most pork producers expected
to see poor prices this winter but not
quite this soon. I checked with Ontario
Pork before I wrote this article and here
are some of the reasons:
1. the supply of hogs in North
America has increased significantly cg.
U.S. up nine per cent while Canada is up
four per cent.
2. one large processor is gone (Thorn
Apple Valley).
3. the strong American dollar is
hurting the export market in the U.S.
4. the depressed economic conditions
in the Pacific Rim and Russia.
5. the Canadian dollar is slowly
starting to rebound from its recent lows.
The last time our prices went this low
was back in November of 1994. The
recent low of $27 U.S. is the lowest price
since 1972, that's 26 years ago. These
low prices force us as producers to take a
hard look at our operations and make
sure we can justify all expenses.
As of June 1, 1998 Ontario Pork
switched its computer program over to
the new HAMS (Hog Allocation
Management System) program. The new
computer system has replaced the old
mainframe computer and programs. The
old mainframe system was becoming
unreliable and obsolete and couldn't
address the many requirements of our
present selling and settlement procedures.
Anytime you make a major change like
this you can expect some problems. The
HAMS program has had its share and
still has some problems. Ontario Pork
suggests that every producer shipping
pigs should go over their statements
carefully and make sure everything is
okay. If there are any problems please
report them as soon as possible. The
main reasons for the many startup
problems are: the way the new system
identifies hogs coming through the
system compared to the old way; and the
high turnover of key staff people during
this critical break-in period for the
HAMS program.
During the past year Ontario Pork has
gone through many challenges such as
the Maple Leaf strike, the Task Force on
Marketing report, and the implementation
of the HAMS program. For some of these
reasons and others Ontario Pork has lost
several key people such as the CEO
Julien Den Tandt who has not been
replaced yet. Mary Lou McLeod who
was Director of Sales, was replaced by
Updating our hog industry
Ian Muir. Karen Arsenault who was
Director of Finance was replaced by
Jeffrey Lake. Heather Cranswick who
was Director of Human Resources was
replaced by Anna Leone. There was a
new position created and Greg Thomas
was hired as Market Analyst for Sales
and Marketing. Margaret Dudley who
was the Contract Co-ordinator for Sales
and Marketing was replaced by Gayle
Hagan. And finally Ze'ev lonis who was
head of the computer department was
replaced by Patrick Mammolitti. In case
you lost count there are seven people
who had to be replaced and new people
hired and trained. No wonder things were
a little hectic around Ontario Pork lately!
Ontario's Pork Producers arc once
again leading the way with a new
innovative education program. The
Swine Medicines Course provides
important information on the role of
medications in swine production and
food safety issues. The course and
accompanying manual are designed
specifically for swine producers with
practical information that can be put to
use on the farm. The course and manual
emphasize the proper use, storage and
disposal of swine medicines. The Swine
Medicines Course is a one -day program,
taught by swine practitioners, that can be
offered anywhere in Ontario. The cost for
the workshop and materials is $50 per
person and $40 for each additional person
from the same farm. If you are interested,
contact your local swine practitioner and
find out if there is a course planned ncar
you. You can also put together a group of
eight to 20 interested producers and we
can arrange a session in your area. This
course is something like the Grower
Pesticides Safety Course: it's a one -day,
open book test and soon it will he
mandatory.
Another program that is just getting
started and will play an important role in
the Marketing of our product in the future
is the Canadian Quality Assurance
Program. Our customers want to know
where the product comes from and feel
confident that it's safe to eat. At the
present time some volunteers are trying
and testing out the program. Ontario Pork
has set up two meetings in our arca to
educate producers about the program.
Those meetings are on October 27 at the
Clinton OMAFRA Office and on
November 3 at the Stratford OMAFRA
Office Conference Centre. For more
information contact Dcbbic Dougan or
Allison Rollo at Ontario Pork 1-800-263-
0697.
Another very important topic coming
up is a follow-up study dime after the
report on the Task Force on Marketing
was released at the Annual Meeting in
Toronto this past March This report is
the Scrccon Report and un September 30
the report will be male public to all
councillors in Toronto al the International
Plaza Centre. We are being told that this
report will contain several marketing
options for Ontario Pork, giving the pros
and cons of each. Your local county
associations will he discussing their
options at the county level then
discussing them at the regional meetings
in November. It's expected that
councillors will have to vote on a
decision at Ontario Pork's Annual
Meeting in March of 1999. This is a very
important issue facing pork producers.
Please come out and voice your opinions
at your local county meetings.
On August 19, 1998 Perth County
Pork Producers held their annual golf
tournament. It was near -perfect weather
and many thanks go to all the organizers
and especially all the sponsors. Here's a
list of all the businesses that sponsored
our tournament: Shamrock Genetics
(supplied and barbecued lunch), Farmix
(supplied and barbecued supper),
Wallenstein Feed and Supply, TSC
Stores, Royal Bank - Stratford, Bio -Agri
Mix, Dwyer's Road House, Country
Wines, Perth County Co-op, Mitchell
Credit Union, Toronto Dominion Rank -
Stratford, CIBC - Tavistock, CIBC -
Mitchcll, CIBC - Stratford, BSC Animal
Nutrition, Farm Credit Corporation,
Logan Agri -Systems, Pfizer, Pharmacia -
UpJohn, B -W Feed and Seed Ltd. - New
Hamburg, Gencor, Shamrock Genetics,
Elanco Animal Health, St. Willibrord
Community Credit Union, Shackleton
Realty - Brian Van Moorsel, Mitchell
Feed Mill Inc.O
— Submitted by John Nyenhuis
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 Mar -tines (Sebr.) 393-6812
Martin van Bakel (Dublin) 345-2666
Walter Bosch (Monkton) 356-9000
Ted Keller (Mitchell) 348-9836
OCTOBER 1998 53