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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-01-31, Page 181 1111111111101111 111!1,11.'I S ‘cw4t1 \.,, \ e-- v ,...-= . 7••• -... : G.. ._.., .. -e•s, ____.7--,_:___-„--c__: ....- . 1 ..... MD i i? • PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1996 Pork Producers annual meeting Big story-McCains buys Canada Packers The purchase of Canada Packers by the McCain family will be the biggest story in the Ontario pork industry for the rest of the decade, Carl Moore, chairman of Ontario Pork told the annual meeting of the Huron County Pork Producers, Thursday in Clinton. If, however, the company wants Ontario hogs it will have to pay for them. Speaking four days before the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission backed Ontario Pork's right to hold an open auction of the province's pigs for both Ontario and U.S. packers, Moore said the McCain family's work with french fries showed them to be one of the top marketing companies in the world and if they turn their mind to wanting to export Ontario pork, they could create a boom in the pork industry. In the meantime, however, Michael McCain, company presi- dent, is leading Ontario packers in a battle for control of the pork industry, Moore said. "Michael McCain thinks that every pig that drops in Huron County is his god- given right to run down his Maple Leaf Foods line, and he will decide what to pay for it." Moore claimed Wallace McCain had used his political influence to block the move to an open auction for hogs last October. The Farm Products Marketing Commission stepped in to order a delay in the open auction after complaints by the packing companies that it would hurt their competitiveness. After lengthy negotiations and commission hearings, permission to move to an open auction (with some conditions) was finally grant- ed Monday morning. Moore claimed the Ontario pack- ing industry has grown very insular when the high U.S. countervail on Ontario live hogs meant they had a $22-$23 advantage over U.S. pack- Continued from page 1 "Can we cut 30-35 per cent? I don't know." The Ministry must survive to protect the interests of farmers and rural people, Beaubien said. "You cannot kill the Min- istry." OMAFRA staff are no longer to provide secretarial and other ser- vices to community groups. The Clinton office has been turned over to Ontario Reality Corporation, a government agency, and the min- istry must now pay rent on its Own building. It may be that groups will have to pay to rent the meeting room in the building, he warned. "In my 25 years of service to the people this has to be our blackest hour," the outspoken Humphries said. Henry Boot, HCFA vice-presi- dent, issued a call to arms. "If we stop now, what are we going to lose next? We have to have a plan of attack. Noble Villeneuve (minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) said he would never cut OMAFRA. It's time we took him to task." The difficulty of meeting the 35 per cent target was admitted by Marcel Beaubien, parliamentary assistant to Villeneuve, when he spoke to the Huron County Pork Producers annual meeting. Filling in for Villeneuve, who was on vacation, Beaubien first outlined the need for the drastic government action, stating government expendi- ers in bidding for Ontario hogs. But with the countervail now down to $5, U.S. packers are ready to bid for the Ontario hogs which many see as superior because of their leanness. "We must get value for the quali- ty we are producing in our trading area," Moore said. That trading area includes any packer within trucking distance of Ontario farms, whether large Ontario packers, small Ontario packers or U.S. pack- ers. In the U.S. midwest farmers see their customers as any packer within 800 miles. "Once the truck is loaded, the distance isn't that much different." The Ontario pork industry has gone through dynamic growth in the past two years, Moore said. In the spring of 1994 there were. 64,000 to 65,000 hogs being mar- keted in Ontario. Today there are 80,000 pigs a week being marketed to Ontario and U.S. packers (10,000 a week to the U.S. in recent weeks) as well as 10,000 to 20,000 weaner pigs a week being shipped to the U.S. Once the current dispute is over the producers and packers will be able to work out new marketing arrangements to meet the needs of both, Moore suggested. "The one- pool, unidentified pig we had three years ago is history," he said. "It's in the museum right now. "We intend to see what the cus- tomers need, get the producers to see what they need and bring the two together," he said. That will mean many different markets. Moore suggested that packers can date their demands, both in the numbers of pigs and the kinds, and contracts can be let through the board to fill those needs. It will give producers, large and small, the same opportunities. "The pig coming out of the door of a Segregate Early Weaning opera- tures had doubled since 1985. But Dave Linton, RR2, Blyth, took him to task. First of all, he pointed out, the farm tax rebate is a program to redress an inequity in tax legislation and should really be in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, not agriculture. That meant the cut was really a 50 per cent cut, he claimed. He also asked Beaubien how much OMAFRA's budget had increased during the time when government expenditures doubled. Lion is probably no different than that from a farrow-to-finish opera- tion," he said. Moore said the countervail on Canadian hogs entering the U.S. will likely soon be elminated. Meanwhile the Canadian Pork Council is asking the government to publish details of the policy under which some imports from U.S. states that are declared pseu- do-rabies free would be allowed. These rules include use of sealed trucks and incineration of manure to keep the disease from spreading 'to Ontario. The National Pork Council in the U.S. is threatening dourt action if the rules (which were worked out some time ago) are not published to allow U.S. exporters to see if they could meet them. Seven resolutions were passed at the meeting. One sponsored by Dave Linton of RR2, Blyth, sug- gested Ontario Pork use a special letter to signify tattoo numbers that couldn't be read. One resolution called on Ontario Pork to investi- gate irregularities in the actions of the Ontario Farm Products Market- ing'Commission. A second resolu- tion sponsored by Jody Durand of Zurich asked Ontario Pork to remain proactive in representing producers of all sizes and not allow groups such as the Swine Network Group and C-POPI (which spoke against the board at the FPMC hearing) to undermine the single- desk selling system. Durand ajso sponsored a resolution to use 15 per cent of the promotion department's budget to promote exports to East- ern Asia. Another resolution called for Ontario Pork to work with groups such as the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario to develop guidelines in the management of liquid manure "to prevent disasters Beaubien admitted that OMAFRA's budget had shrunk from $580 to $450 million during that time. All resource ministries, OMAFRA, Ministry of Natural Resources and Ministry of Environ- ment and Energy had seen their budgets shrink while social services ministries had grown enormously, he said. Pointing to huge amounts spent on public housing he con- fessed, "We're sheltering people but what the hell are you going to feed them." similar to those that have already occurred in North America." The resolution also called for the cata- loguing of groups that are forming across, the continent to oppose pork production. Two more controversial resolu- tions, eventually passed after some debate, called for the prices of pigs, bought under contract between pro- ducers and packers, be included in the averaged pool price and for the board to move to eliminate all existing and future direct contracts. Humphries talks of 'black hour' BRUSSELS Division of Gamble UPCOMING LIVESTOCK & Rogers Ltd. SALES TUESDAYS 9 a.m. Finished Cattle & Cows THURSDAYS 10:00 a.m. Dropped Calves Veals followed by Goats Sheep & Lambs FRIDAYS 10:00 a.m. Stocker Cattle 1:00 p.m. Pigs , BRUSSELS\ 887-6461 v\ • ,,,, Coming event. Inform The Citizen -as Can't decide what to grow this year? Perhaps you are interested in growing early maturity soybeans under contract for Pioneer® Hi-Bred. For details call us at 1-800-265-0554 and ask for Stu or Barb. Rushin' Roulette. Sooner or later you're gonna lose. RIDE SAFE. RIDE SOBER. A message from the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs in partnership with ONTARIO SNOWMOBILE SAFIT COMMITTEE