The Rural Voice, 2000-04, Page 73T
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
Producer alert for those who manufacture their feed
Any opinions expressed herein may not
necessarily reflect the views of the
Perth County Pork Producers'
Association.
The Annual meeting of Ontario Pork
was held in Toronto on March 15 and
16. The intention of this column is to
give a brief summary of events for the
two days. One item though, stands out
and needs the immediate attention of
everyone who manufacturers feed on
their farm.
The proposed new regulations
governing feed manufacture on the
farm will severely limit farmers who
manufacture medicated feed. Licenses
will likely be required, and testing —
likely every batch — will also be
required. Some drugs might also be put
on a restricted list — only to be included
by commercial feed mills.
Most independent producers view
their ability to manufacture their own
feed from their own home grown crops
as a competitive advantage, one that
helps maintain their balance with loop
systems who rely on commercially
prepared feed.
We all need to do what we can to
temper the regulations, if we are to
continue to maintain this option.
The provincial directors of Ontario
Pork and the Canada Pork Council will
lobby Agriculture Minister Lyle
Vanclief. The county directors will be
lobbying both their MP's (Perth's John
Richardson and Huron's Paul Steckle)
and also our MPP's (Perth's Bert
Johnson and Huron's Helen Johns).
What can you the individual do?
Take the time — it's important — to write
a letter to the authorities at the
addresses below detailing your
concerns.
Send these messages:
As producers we understand the
need for food safety and are
committed to producing a safe
product, through good management
practices already outlined in
Canadian Quality Assurance.
Controls over diluted forms of
medication need to Be different than
those dealing with concentrated
forms.
These regulations will severely limit
the ability of Canadian producers to
compete with their counterparts in
the U.S.
Letters should be sent as soon as
possible to:
Ms Linda Morrison,
National Manager,
Livestock Feed Program,
Canadian Food Inspection Agency,
59 Camelot Drive,
Nepean ON K 1 A 0Y9
Honourable Lyle Vanclief
Minister of Agriculture and Food
9th Floor, Sir John Carling Building
930 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, ON KI A 0A5
Fax: 613-759-1019
Annual Meeting
Included is only a brief synopsis
because of the precedence given to the
issue of feed medication.
This year's annual• meeting was
somewhat of a change from past
meetings. The first day was devoted to
educational seminars ranging from
marketing issues, animal health,
environmental concerns and research.
Most of these sessions were well
attended (apparently about 400
registered to attend) and most sessions
were also seen as informative and
helpful.
The first day (March 15) was
capped off with a banquet. Dr. Tim Ball
was the featured speaker. A highlight of
the banquet was an award of merit
given to Murray Gaunt of CKNX radio
for his contribution to the swine
industry while he was the farm editor of
CKNX.
March 16 was given to discussing
business. A closed session, for
councillors and alternates, led off the
day. This session dealt with the new
protocols and procedures. In a secret
ballot, 168 delegates voted to accept the
protocols in principal. Thirty-one were
opposed. This certainly gives the board
a clear idea of the majority thinking of
the directors and strong support for
these initiatives.
The open meeting started around
10:00 a.m. with Chairman Will Nap's
address, after which we received the
operations report. Next on the agenda
was an "Accountability Session" where
OPPMB directors and CEO Paul
Knechtel fielded questions and
concerns from county directors. This
was a fairly quiet session, but it points
out that, as county directors, we are
only as informed as the provincial
board members can, or choose to, make
us on the issues.
While we broke at noon for lunch
and election was held for provincial
director for Zone B. Curtis Littlejohn
was elected, defeating Dennis
Zechveld.
The afternoon session dealt with 29
resolutions. A number of the
resolutions were not debated because
they are already being dealt with at the
board or staff level. Resolutions that we
did debate included marketing
strategies, safety net concerns,
environmental issues, councillor
allocation, board office location and
on-farm feed manufacturing. If you
want more information on any of the
resolutions, you can contact your local
county director.
During the day it was announced
that Cliff House and Will Nap would be
stepping down from the provincial
board. I think that I can speak for all
directors when I say thank you to Cliff,
Dennis and Will for their dedication to
our industry and for their efforts on our
behalf.
Manure Study
On Friday, March 10 Ontario Pork
held a press conference at the Ausable-
Bayfield Conservation Authority
offices to make public the results of the
study into manure storage. We will
have more information about this in
future columns, but for now watch your
local papers, especially your .farm
papers, for more information.0
— Submitted by Russe!! Danbrook
Perth County Pork Producers
Association
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
APRIL 2000 69