The Rural Voice, 1996-06, Page 22straits," said Coghlin. He believes it
may provide the impetus to turn the
declining hog numbers in the
province around. Currently there are
75,000 sold through the pork
marketing board per week, 25,000
less than are needed for the province
to become a net exporter.
Producers are usually better at
either farrowing or finishing pigs.
This system gives them an
opportunity to specialize in what they
do best, he added.
Coghlin said he resents the
suggestion that feed
companies are trying to
control the industry through
production loops when in reality it is
a few entrepreneurs trying to breathe
life back into a faltering industry.
Several variations of production
loops have evolved since they began
appearing in southwestern Ontario
less than two years ago. In some
cases farmers contribute the land and
building only. Some provide labour
as well — paid so much per hog with
another party supplying the pigs and
feed. At the opposite end of the
spectrum, one farmer can own
everything, if he has generous
portions of money, management
ability and an appetite for risk.
Those options have made it
possible for more farmers to get into
the pork business, said Clare
Schlegel, a Tavistock -area producer
and executive member of the Ontario
Pork marketing board executive. He
pork business.
"Farmers'
responsibility is
et to think things
through and see
how it should
- go.,,
While his own
experience has
satisfied him
that health status
is improved in
three -site
production if a strict bio -security
system is maintained, Schlegel said
that an equally well run farrow -to -
finish operation on a large land base
is still the most profitable enterprise.
Certainly this has been true over
the past few months when rapidly
rising corn prices have thinned out
the profit margin for some large loop
organizers responsible for supplying
New barns have been springing up around the country to support the three -site
system, with prices ranging from $160 per pig place for nurseries to $255 for
finishing barns.
institutions are paying.
And with the few hours required
to operate the highly mechanized
three -site facilities, contract growers
find they can combine their barn
chores with other off- or on-farm
jobs.
"We have a protocol they (contract
growers) must follow, not because we
want to tell them what to do but
because we know it works," said
Schlegel.
He does not believe loops will
lead to concentration of control in the
is considering
adding a new
finishing bam 10 Smaller scale farmers can g
his current
facilities to access to capital and
more
expertise as part of a three
site arrangement
accept
pigs from two
other farmers in
the loop he
shares
controlling
interest in. The
goal of the loop
is to produce 25,000 hogs per year.
Smaller scale farmers can get
access to capital and expertise that
they might not enjoy on their own as
part of a three -site arrangement, he
suggested. The money they receive
for producing pigs on contract will
allow them to get a return of 14 to 15
per cent on their building investment
which is a better than most financial
18 THE RURAL VOICE
feed to their growers. A corres-
ponding, if not as dramatic, increase
in hog prices has prevented some of
these loops from coming financially
unwound. The pace at which new
three -site facilities were being erected
in the summer of 1995 has slowed,
said Schlegel. "Give it (three -site
production) five to 10 years before
you get too excited," he cautioned.
Varna -area pork producer Bev Hill
along with Garry Van Loon of Dublin
and Brian Dietz of Seaforth are the
three main shareholders in the Allied
Pork loop. It includes four sow
herds, three nursery barns and four
finishing barns.
Tests Hill has conducted on his
own farm have convinced him of the
merits of three -site production. Two
hundred and six weaners raised under
the previous continuous flow or
farrow to finish method in 1994 had a
feed conversion of 3.4 pounds of feed
per pound of gain and averaged 128.5
days to market. A test group of 373
weaners raised through the new
system required 2.6 pounds of feed
per pound of gain and 95.2 days to
market under the new system. That
translated to a $14.50 per pig
advantage.
His loop has not assumed
ownership for all its hogs by
paying other farmers a fee to
raise them. "1 felt uncomfortable
with contracting," said Hill adding