The Rural Voice, 2000-06, Page 30The recently elected chair of
Ontario Pork estimated he would
be spending two days per week
representing the province's pork
producers but the post has proven
much more demanding in that regard.
Part of that could be attributed to
the timing of Clare Schlegel's election
as chair in March. Within two months
the chief executive officer (CEO) of
Ontario Pork, Paul Knechtel, was fired
with much of his responsibilities
passed on to Schlegel and an ad hoc
management team, until a replacement
could be found.
As a result, the most heavily used
piece of equipment on the Schlegel
farm near Tavistock is likely the
telephone answering machine. It was
constantly fielding calls during the
course of a two-hour interview for this
article.
Fortunately for Schlegel he has been
involved with Ontario Pork long
enough to be battle -ready from
exposure to much of the volatility that
has characterized that industry over the
past two decades. Taking on the chair
position and part of the CEO
responsibilities while overseeing the
construction of a new broiler barn on
his 800 -acre farm along with spring's
field work appears to be something he
and his answering machine are capable
of handling.
Still, he noted that he had talked to
more pork producers in the previous
seven days than he had in the past five
years.
The firing of Knechtel stemmed
back to a contract the CEO arranged
during the prolonged slump in hog
prices last year. Because of the sharp
rise in prices this spring that contract
eventually was bought out by Ontario
Pork with the cost being passed on to
hog producers through a surcharge.
"There had been 'other issues but
that (contract) brought it to a head,"
said Schlegel of Knechtel's dismissal.
There were certainly many other
casualties from the four-month period
when hogs were selling for rock
bottom prices. "Producers are still
smarting from that," suggested
Schlegel.
Certainly he can speak from
experience there as well, estimating he
lost 50 per cent of his farm's equity
while finishing 5,000 hogs annually in
five barns (three on contract). "I
couldn't afford to quit and I couldn't
afford to get out," he recalled of that
very trying time.
He suggested it will take 10 years of
profitable hog prices to pay that back.
26 THE RURAL VOICE
TEAM LEADER
That's how Clare Schlegel sees his role as Chair of
Ontario Pork. With recent changes, that role has
become even more heavy. All that's on top of a heavy
farming schedule as part of a small pork production
loop and producing 400,000 chickens a year.
Story and photo by Bob Reid
Clare Schlegel finds a
few moments to relax
in his hectic schedule
as Ontario Pork
Chair.
t