The Rural Voice, 2000-06, Page 36GB
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32 THE RURAL VOICE
His long-time involvement with
Ontario Pork has allowed him to see
many changes in production techniques
and marketing. In 1995 there were very
few hogs sold under contracts with
packers. Currently 95 per cent of the
85,000 hogs marketed in the province
weekly are under contract. However,
in the past few months there has been a
good demand for those few "free hogs"
said outside contracts as processors
attempt to keep kill lines operating at
capacity, so much so that they have
sometimes brought higher prices than
contract hogs. There could be a swing
back to more hogs not being sold under
contract if that persisted, predicted
Schlegel.
The Ontario Pork board will have to
look at whether it should be
responsible for selling every hog in the
province or whether it should be
involved in marketing at all, he
continued. Currently marketing
accounts for half of the board's
activities.
It is also involved in environmental
issues which have been brought to the
forefront by concerns raised over the
pollution of groundwater by liquid hog
manure. Municipal politics related to
pig farming is attracting board attention
as well with individual municipalities
attempting to deal with controlling the
size of mega -barns through bylaws.
The board is promoting a standard
bylaw across Ontario to address issues
like nutrient management, based on
scientific evidence.
"Nobody wants to be part of a
system that can't sustain itself," stated
Schlegel.
The board is formulating a plan to
prevent the transfer of communicable
diseases, such as pseudo -rabies or hoof
and mouth disease, into Canada
through animal imports. It is also aware
of the huge movement, spurred on by
consumers, for increased food safety
and accountability.
His main goals as chair for Ontario
Pork are to be an effective voice for
producers of all sizes and to treat
processors with respect during ongoing
negotiations.
"Large companies are not going to
look after the interests of the
producers," stated Schlegel adding that
is a further responsibility of the board.
"I believe very much in the board,
otherwise I wouldn't be there."
The length of time he remains as
Chair will be determined by the type of
reaction he receives from producers.
"I'm not the type of person to fight
to stay on if the support isn't there,"
said Schlegel.0