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The Rural Voice, 2001-02, Page 49i PERTH 11T County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER Jim Van Herk, President 519-595-4863 • The Rural Voice is provided to Perth County Pork Producers by the PCPPA. CQA quickly becoming the standard Any opinions expressed herein may not necessarily reflect the views of the Perth County Pork Producers' Association. The latest figures from OPPMB (January 2001), indicate that 1099 producers in Ontario have been validated in the CQA program, up from 378 a year earlier. The estimated hogs shipped annually by these CQA producers has gone from 75,000 in 1999 to 1.8 million in 2000. Currently there are over 2000 producers enrolled in the program at some stage of validation. This number of producers represents approximately 2.8 million hogs annually. For producers who have not yet enrolled in the CQA program this probably may not seem to be very pertinent information. What could change this perception very quickly, however, is the ever-changing set of dynamics within our industry. According to a recent news release from the OPPMB: "Quality Meat Packers and Maple Leaf Pork notified all their current producers shipping under hog supply agreements that only CQA validated operations will be allowed to ship hogs on those supply agreements. Quality Meat Packers deadline for Regional meetings a sign of new co-operation In November of 2000, regional meetings of the OPPMB were held across the province. At these meetings, the new "Protocols and Procedures" were unveiled to the participants. All producers should be aware by now of the workings of these Protocols and Procedures, and how they will affect your operations. For this announcement, on the platform were representatives from all of the parties to this agreement. The producers were represented by Clare Schlegal and Larry Skinner, chair and vice -chair of Ontario Pork. Don Taylor was there as well from Farm Products (OMAFRA). Representing the meat packers were On Farm Feed Testing According to another news release from Ontario Pork, "The mandatory testing of finisher feed for sulfamethazine has been suspended until a suitable and economical test is available in Ontario. The decision to suspend the required test was made because the testing kits currently used were no longer available from the manufacturer."° Don Collis from Quality Meats and Don Davidson from Maple Leaf. First of all, what these "Protocols and Procedures" represented to me was the spirit of co-operation that was achieved between Ontario Pork and the major packers. It is obvious that compromises were made by both sides to achieve what resulted. Maybe I'm reading too much into all of this, but perhaps it signals a new spirit of co-operation that hasn't always existed between these two groups in the past. Perhaps it's the simple recognition of the next step in the "Strategic Alliances" we have come to see in our industry. Or perhaps it's just the recognition of the fact that we really do need combined strength to combat the ever- increasing power exerted by the retail chains. Whatever the reason, alliances such as this can only be formed by partners who share respect and common goals, and who can both benefit from the relationship. 1 want to congratulate both Clare and Larry on the role they played in the negotiation, and for the continuing credibility that they gave Ontario Pork on our behalf as producers.° — Submitted by Russ Danbrook CQA certification was December 31, 2000. Maple Leaf Pork has set the deadline for CQA certification as March 31, 2001. Both plants will be taking pool hogs but they will be segregated from the CQA production line and markets." It is probably a pretty safe bet that these packers will not be offering a bonus for CQA production but will in all likelihood tend to want to discount the price paid for pool hogs. While we, as producers, think we deserve a reward for the extra efforts involved with CQA, the reality is much more likely to end up as just another increased cost of doing business. The whole of this picture could be further distorted by the prediction that hog supplies could possibly exceed kill spaces this coming fall. If that occurs, and I only say if it occurs, I would again bet on which hogs are going to be accepted at Maple Leaf and Quality Meats. I would strongly urge any producer who has not yet enrolled in the CQA program to take the initiative to call a validator to get enrolled in the CQA program. There are currently 64 CQA validators across Ontario. Ontario Pork will also be offering CQA producer seminars in the upcoming months for producers wanting to enroll, or for those needing some assistance in filling out the On Farm Assessment Manuals.° — Submitted b', Russ Danbrook 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: Steve Hulshof (Kinkora) 348-8167 Martin van Bakel (Dublin) 345-2666 Walter Bosch (Monkton) 356-9000 Ted Keller (Mitchell) 348-9836 FEBRUARY 2001 45