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The Rural Voice, 1987-10, Page 78PERTH COUNTY Pork Producers NEWSLETTER DIRECTORS' MEETING Corn Toxins: Ken Hough, OPIIP field crops advisor, spoke to the directors about the presence of toxins in the 1987 corn crop, home test kits, and the method of obtaining test samples. Field tests have shown that ear mold development is ahead of normal, just as is corn development. Mr. Hough made the point that whether farmers use a home test kit or send samples for analysis, the most impor- tant step is in taking the sample. His advice is to use many "grab" sam- ples (taken when the corn is flowing from the combine or gravity bin). Make up, at the least, a five -kilogram lot. Grind and mix this thoroughly, then send one kilogram to the laboratory for analysis or use the amount you need for your own analysis from this sample. Summer Program: Two events were sponsored by the Perth County Pork Produc- ers' Association, the Dairy and Pork Festival and the annual golf tournament. Both were well attended and were financial successes. Dead Stock Removal: Severaldirec- tors stated that they are now being charged a $5 fee for removal of dead stock under 100 pounds. It was also noted that there is no effective competition to relieve this situation as each dealer seems to operate in a "zone" and will not go out of that territory. Your directors would appreciate hearing of any experiences you have had with this and your feelings on the matter. If pork producers see this as a present or future problem, perhaps the time to take action through our organization is now. This can be done immediately, through our provincial executive or by presenting an appropriate resolution at our annual meeting next spring. Semi -Annual Meeting The Chairman's Address: Dave McDonald, OPPMB chairman, concen- trated on challenges and opportunities our board has faced in the past, is facing at present, and will face in the future. After outlining briefly the history of the board and the advances made over the years, Mr. McDonald turned to our present situ- ation, in which pork is in global oversupply in a market demanding quality products presented in a convenient form and having obvious nutritional value. He stated that while promotion and advertising will continue to be important, increasing emphasis must be placed on de- veloping the hotel, restaurant, and institu- tional trade. This is now being done through Canada Pork. Other good news was that packers are taking advantage of the Marketing Assis- 76 THE RURAL VOICE David Whitney, Brunner, 595-4091 tance Program for Pork to upgrade capacity and efficiency. This will further enable them to take advantage of changes in the industry between now and the year 2000. PSE continues to be a problem in our ability to present an attractive quality prod- uct to consumers. The board, the packers, and the provincial and federal governments have set up a committee to tackle this prob- lem. Already, research proposals from the committee have been approved by OPIIP and the federal government is initiating a study of the causes of PSE, covering every- thing from the farm fate to the packing plant. Generally, the chairman feels that pork producers have reason to be optimistic. We must maintain our emphasis on developing new products, promotion, advertising, ex- ports, quality, and packing capacity. In dealing with government, the OP- PMB will continue to encourage all provin- ces to join tripartite. But entry terms must be negotiated that are market -neutral and don't place Ontario producers at a disadvantage. The board will also continue to lobby to have farm -fed grains included in stabiliza- tion and future special grains programs. Finally, of interest to many producers will be the decision by the OPPMB to renew its 1987 OFA membership as the red meat referendum proposed by the OFA 's Gren- ville Resolution is not imminent. The OP- PMB pays a membership fee of $26,020 per year. This decision will be reviewed in 1988. General Manager's Report: Helmut Loewen reported that the board is in a good position financially and brought to the atten- tion of delegates three issues he felt were of importance. He first spoke about the electronic trans- fer of funds as a method for producers to re- ceive payment. He pointed out that the only interest of the board is to get producers' mon- ey to them as quickly as possible. He noted that, in the event of mail interruption, this is one sure way for the board to deliver funds. A new inititive of the board is to improve the marketing and grading of sows. In Octo- ber, the board will sample sows marketed to measure back fat and the value of meat cuts taken from that animal. From this, it is hoped that a new grading system will be in place by the next annual meeting. With more sophis- ticated grading, producers will be paid for value. Mr. Loewen stated that the reaction of packers is generally positive. The board is also trying for all sows, except those in Eastern Ontario, to be slaughtered in Ontario. At present, one packer is interested in slaughtering all sows. Price would have to be negotiated as a per- centage of the market hog price. As inde- pendent dealers would still be able to bid for sows, their bid prices would be an indicator of whether or not the bid price was satisfac- tory. Other packers would still have the option of coming in to the market. The change over to electronic grading has gone smoothly. The board monitored the process on a daily basis initially, and is now monitoring weekly. It is felt that while the system is not perfect, it is superior to the manual grading of the past. In the future, it is hoped that a computer system will be set up to collect and transmit all information on a carcass electronically rather than manually. This will eliminate the kill ticket and human error factor. The next step would be to connect the packing plant computer with our OPPMB computer. International Trade: Professor T. K. (Sandy) Warley, an economist at the Univer- sity of Guelph, told directors that world trade deals now under discussion will force reform of Canada's farm policies. He said that the talks, aimed at reducing subsidies, present Canadian farmers with far more to gain than to lose. Professor Warley believes that bilateral (free trade) and multilateral (GATT) nego- tiations must reach the agreement stage as close together as possible in order to negate the effects of EEC farm subsidies. Any bilateral deal should make it tougher for the Americans to prove their markets are being injured by imports, define more clearly countervailable subsidies, and make any countervail imposed be on the net difference between Canadian and U.S. sub- sidies, not simply against the sum total of Canadian subsidies. The objectives of any multilateral agree- ment should be to reward efficient produc- ers, ensure access to markets, rule by law and not by power, resolve disputes by third -party arbitration, and create market-oriented na- tional farm policies. He also commented that the best thing government can do for agriculture is have an economic policy that will promote stable growth throughout the whole economy with- out creating inflation. New Business: LeoKroonenofPerth County introduced a resolution to lower the limit on the number of hogs that qualify for price support subsidies. The limit now is 12,000 and the resolu- tion would have reduced it to 2,000. The resolution failed to win the neces- sary two-thirds support to make it to the floor of the semi-annual meeting for debate.0 David Whitney Brunner, Ontario 595-4091