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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1998-12-09, Page 18Pork producers and their suppliers from across Ontario gathered on the lawn of the Ontario Legislature, Dec. 1 to call for government action because of a world-wide price collapse that sees farmers receiving only 60 per cent of the cost of raising a pig. Among the north Huron delegation in the crowd of 1,500 were from left: Neil Beuermann and Gary Dauphin, Brussels, Neil Hemingway, RR3, Brussels and Dave Linton, RR2, Blyth No Farm No Food No Future United voice EVEh ONE IS FROM MNG MONO Y HOGS EXCEPT ME! Go figure! If just 1% more Canadians were physically active, annual savings in health-care costs could be as much as S12,000,000. Shoring a Healthier Future ,iii'Paariapacrion Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world. Multiple Sclerosis sockey of Canada 1-800-268-7582 PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9,1998. Pork producers, suppliers rally at Legislature Ontario's pork industry stands to lose half its 6,000 producers in the next three years unless emergency help is forthcoming from the feder- al and provincial governments, Will Nap, chairman of Ontario Pork told 1,500 farmers and sup- porters in a rally at Queen's Park Dec. 1. While pork producers are used to the pork cycle which sees prices drop every three or four years, "This is not just a lean year, it's a disaster," Nap told the crowd, which included several busloads of Huron and Perth County producers. Producers are currently getting prices for their pork which cover only 60 per cent of the cost of pro- duction, Nap said. History shows from the last time pork prices were hit hard, that the effects will take a heavy toll in the coming years, with 12-15 per cent of producers being lost in 1999 alone. To help the problem the federal and provincill governments must come up with a new disaster relief program and must announce it soon so farmers can assure their bankers and suppli- ers they'll have money in the future to pay their bills, Nap said. Jack Wilkinson, president of the Canadian Federation of Agricul- ture, said a plan to help suffering producers would already be in place if the federal and provincial governments had acted earlier on a recommendation for a national dis- aster program. Representatives from 33 farm organizations had come up with a plan last winter and presented it to the ministers of agri- culture at their meeting in July but "the only decision they made was not to make a decision." Wilkinson said the plan, which would kick in if the income of a farm dropped below 70 per cent of its five-year average, would form a third line of defence for farmers after crop insurance and NISA sav- ings. "Before the program kicks in you have already eliminated your whole household income," Wilkinson said of the proposed disaster program. To overcome restrictions against trade distorting subsidies it needed to be a whole farm program, not specifically for one commodity,•- Wilkinson said. It would help not only pork producers but western wheat producers and farmers hit by national disasters like last winter's ice storm in Quebec and eastern Ontario. Speaking at a press conference prior to the rally, Wilkinson esti- mated the cost of the program at $500 million in the first year. Cana- da, he said, was quick to cut subsi- dies after signing the GATT agreement and has far less support for its farmers than other trading partners. Of the members of the Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development Canada ranks above only Australia and New Zealand in support, he said. "We're way, way, way below what is required (in subsidy cuts) by the World Trade Organization," Wilkinson said. Current programs just can't deal with the magnitude of the current crisis, Wilkinson said pointing out that a pork producer who had been paying into NISA since the begin- ning would have only 18 days cov- erage in the kind of losses now being recorded. "When you get into a trough as deep as the one we're in in Ontario now, it (NISA) can do much to help," he said. Wilkinson explained that the prices were so disastrous because farmers in Canada and the U.S. had been gearing up to supply a boom- ing Asian market for pork but the currency crisis in Asian countries changed the situation overnight. The crisis in Russia also hit world markets. When one third of the world stops buying it causes prob- lems, he said. "There wasn't an oversupply (of pork) a few months ago and there was a 10 per cent world oversupply of hogs overnight," Wilkinson explained. Suddenly U.S. packers were swamped with hogs with nowhere to go but the domestic market. U.S. markets for Ontario hogs disap- peared. One large packing plant in Detroit closed its doors, creating even a:larger shortage of slaughter capacity. The impact of the crisis on indi- vidual farmers was explained by Harry Stam, a Hagersville-area farmer who spoke at the rally telling how in the past three months his family's dream of being able to look toward retirement had become a nightmare. "There's nothing more humiliating as doing your job and doing it well and losing money," he said, estimating his losses at $15,000 a week. "We're not talking a minor bump in the road here," he said. "We're talking about the price dropping off a cliff." Ontario Pork estimated that 42,000 non-farm jobs hang in the balance because of their depen- dence on the pork industry. That estimate was reinforced by the number of suppliers who took part in the rally, everyone from feed dealers to building contractors, including several from the North Huron area. All three political parties pledged their support for farmers. Noble Villeneuve, Minister of Agricul- ture, Food and Rural Affairs said as soon as the federal government announces a program the province would put an interem program in place to get cheques flowing within weeks. Federal agriculture minister Lyle VanClief has taken a proposal to the federal cabinet but has not yet won approval for an aid package. 13.P Peer M la ri"----'- '''G= IVINTERF1 Book your winter equipment inspection before January 31 1999 and save . . . --.: 9 a `0 ...161:••11* • "••sq, • olo" NEW .... HOLLAND 10% off parts or 3 month interest free payment plan. . 00000 •••••••••••! 4e ..8 •• ., - _ •:. ..'s.f;:i:,' Our shop rate $42.00/hr. will be going up after 71. Diagnostic ----- _ _, Jan. 31 pit ii I\ Inspection •Pi _ 7 f,------ , __..t, -- - fi . 14,,--it ...„....._-.4,, tity'l '1 i ICI;41 ..,Sek 1 i fliggeerCIWEtk.7.17; -. x; ".."..., ,.,, jkl,'... -4,•••!, e 7. -..: , Illbeigv04 ;', - - ....,;f- ,; • fr,. , . : 1... 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