The Rural Voice, 1993-11, Page 49PERTH PPit
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
John Crowley, President
R.R. 2, Gadshill, ON NOK 1J0 393-6403
• The Rural Voice is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA.
The opinion expressed within does
not necessarily reflect the view of
Perth County Pork Producers'
Association.
The season of autumn is once
again upon us. Similar to 1992, the
corn is still standing in the fields
because of high moisture content.
Once again, our beloved Blue Jays
have won the World Seriesand been
crowned as champions. Also as in
the autumn of '92, hog producers are
questioning their marketing system
and the returns of their hog
marketings. On the surface it appears
that things have not changed much in
one year.
But under the uniform there is a
whole new ball team. The Jays of
'93 have more stars, and more egos
than 1992, and an even larger payroll.
Ironically, there are 12 new Jays on a
team that was the best in the world.
The key is the new cogs in the
machine have produced results,
making the huge payroll a pretty wise
investment. Winning teams change
personnel before they hit bottom.
We as hog producers have not
fared so well, but things are chang-
ing. We are quite probably the only
place in the world with only one
option to sell our hogs. With no pri-
vate competition, accountability has
been lost because of market situa-
tions. Considering our infrastructure,
feedstuffs and surplus packing
availability, our net return compared
to net industry assets is probably the
lowest in the world. This is not
acceptable, which is why hog farmers
have been doing a lot more than just
feeding pigs this past year.
During the past year, these three
organizations have been formed to
help our farmers achieve higher net
returns:
PPPP is looking at a kill and chill
plant and is currently exploring
proposed sites. Over 650,000 hogs of
its goal of 750,000/annum have been
pledged so far by over 350 producers.
The proposed plant will hopefully
help offset some of the negative
Time to look at pork pricing
effects on the countervail on live
hogs.
The Shamrock group, a group
consisting of mainly Q.S. members
and breeders, hopes to market a large
number of hogs, with similar genetics
and feeding programs to produce
larger returns to member farmers.
C-POPI was formed to try to help
farmers achieve a better price. They
believe the present pricing formula is
woefully inadequate, and the border
should be open.
The OPPMB has sent a price
formula committee to the U.S. and its
report is due late October. I believe it
will confirm C-POPI's opinion on
price differences. Why was this
committee not sent before the
formula was established? If the price
gap exists, will the packers pay more
for our hogs? During the dates of
August 3 to September 9, 1993, on
only three of 22 selling days did the
formula go over the 100 per cent
price. Yet it was under 14 days! The
packers know how many hogs are
available, and they divide them up
accordingly.
The five goals of the OPPMB at
the August 31 meeting concern me.
Not one of them included getting the
highest price possible. I believe the
time has come to allow alternative
selling agencies. The packers would
have to bid more aggressively
because the amount of hogs available
to them would not be so predictable.
With only 28 per cent of the Ontario
producers selling 81 per cent of the
hogs the industry has changed. The
way we sell our hogs must be flexible
to change also.
The quick emergence of the three
groups listed earlier demonstrates that
when farmers get involved personal-
ly, things get done quickly. Competi-
tion is good, and the accountability
question will no longer come into
effect. Modern communication
systems will allow us to keep track of
prices and not dump all our problems
on the OPPMB. It's impossible for
the OPPMB to keep such a wide
variation of producers happy. The
small producer is concerned about
getting rolled over in this situation.
On the contrary, if a large producer or
marketing group can narrow the
pricing gap, the small producer will
be carried along. I'd much sooner get
$1 less per hog than my next door
neighbour, than $13 less than my
American neighbour.
Recently producers from Perth
County met with Harry Brightwell
voicing concern over the stalling
tactics by the U.S. on the countervail
issue. Harry stated that he had not
been pressured much by producers to
address this issue. A fellow producer
also noted that a trade representative
for Tom Hockin implied that before
the recent meeting with OPPMB reps,
not much pressure had come forward.
A reminder that after the election, the
grassroots must lobby our new
government for results on the
countervail issue.°
A personal view,
John Van Nes
Pork Products
available from:
Wayne Hartung
at 291-4038
Alfred Young
at 348-9352
Fred DeMartines
at 393-6812
Martin VanBakel
at 345-2666
Dennis Zehr
at 595-4771
NOVEMBER 1993 45