The Rural Voice, 2006-06, Page 57PERTH ifitk
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
We're No. 3: is urban perception reall
Any opinions expressed herein may not
necessarily reflect the views of the
Perth County Pork Producers'
Association.
Have you ever wondered what
peoples perception of farmers truly is? I
came across a ranking of the Most
Trusted Jobs according to a poll by
Leger Marketing. I decided to include
only the first ten and last two.
(1) Firefighters 96 per cent of
respondents, (2) Nurses 95, (3) Farmers
92, (4) Doctors 89, (5) Teachers 88, (6)
Engineers 88, (7) Police Officers 81,
(8) Judges 78, (9) Notaries 75,
(I0)Bankers 72, (21)Car salespeople
19, (22) Politicians 14
Farmer as you can see by the list,
ranked third. You might think this is
really good but is it? I do not remember
when it was printed, but Inside
Stratford/Perth printed a cartoon
declaring the death of the farmer. It was
trying to make a point about the
condition of agriculture today in the
face of a rising Canadian dollar. trade
practices and subsidies by competing
countries and regulatory policies by our
own governments. It should have been
a good cartoon but it was not. The
cartoon and I hope I can present the
image to you properly, was a goofy
buck toothed slouching individual with
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PORK PRODUCERS'
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• 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
Walter Bosch (Monkton) 356-9000
Ted Keller (Mitchell) 348-9836
old coveralls, chewing on a wheat stock
and obviously with a low IQ. It was
something to laugh at, not something
making a point. But you know what'?
That's the picture far too many people
have of farmers.
I was recently at a wedding of a
relative and amazingly enough. our
table began discussing the farm protests
that had been occurring and far too
often the focus was on the big very
expensive looking tractors, the next
comment was that when you drive
through the rural roads there seems to
be a lot of new houses being built on
farms. So with all these farmers driving
big, new -looking tractors and all these
new homes being built on farms.
where's. the income crises that farmers
are protesting about? My answer was
simple, since we too built a new home
four years ago, both my wife and I had
off -farm incomes (I put that bold for a
point) to earn the income to build the
new house. Our tractors are not green
Russ Danbrook, President
519-356-2385
• The Rural Voice is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA
y that good?
but are well maintained and yes there i,
an income crises in agriculture. why do
you think so many farm operations rely
on off -farm incomes? These are ponos
that are missed when the media
presents farm protests. simply because
TV watchers see the e.xpenst.c
equipment. the new homes and do not
hear the story of how these tndi.nduals
may very well be working off the tarm.
when they are expecting to see ()Id
jalopies. old tractors and old poor
maintained homes.
Attitudes about farmers are
changing. I see this in articles being
written about agriculture and
individuals showing support for the
farms feed cities campaign. I do not
ever expect to wear a suit out to the
barn but I do see a day when a farmer is
correctly viewed as an educated
business person and not the goofy
character I described earlier in this
article.0
— Submitted by Bert J. Vorstenbosch
•
Pork Congress donates to research disease
In an effort that recognizes challenges to provincial pork producers, the executive
for the 33rd annual Ontario Pork Congress recently approved donations for projects
aimed at the control of two disease conditions that are emerging on a continental
basis.
A motion was passed to award $30,000 to current projects to deal with Porcine
Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and Porcine Circovirus. The funds
will help mapping and identification initiatives for PRRS, and provide a much-needed
boost for research into circovirus. The two conditions have become serious concerns
for producers and industry stakeholders, and reflect the New Challenges/New
Opportunities theme for this year's event. The 2006 Ontario Pork Congress. is
scheduled for Wednesday, June 21 and Thursday, June 22 at the Stratford
Fairgrounds.
With PRRS, it's estimated losses can run as high as $100 million annually to
Canada's hog sector, with $560 million in losses in the U.S. Porcine circovirus has
the potential to be just as devastating. Although the two diseases lower overall herd
health and production levels on a hog farm, they pose no direct threat to the human
food chain.
"They're extremely frustrating conditions that are becoming bigger problems for
producers, and in these tight economic times, every loss in production, every
difficulty in warding off disease adds up to more economic stress for the producer.
and the industry," explains Fred deMartines, current Pork Congress president.
"That's why we determined that the Ontario Pork Congress has a vital role to play in
raising awareness of issues like PRRS and circovirus, especially at this stage, and
especially among producers."
Despite being a three-year funding initiative, the full amount is to be forwarded
immediately to the respective projects in recognition of the urgency and potential
impact from these diseases.
Each year, the Ontario Pork Congress celebrates the level of excellence afforded
by the province's pork industry. It recognizes the vital contribution made by its 4.000
producers and industry stakeholders, including an estimated $4.8 billion in direct
sales and indirect economic impacts and 35,000 jobs.0
JUNE 2006 53