The Rural Voice, 1998-03, Page 65PERTH filk
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
John Nyenhuis, President
519-393-6539
• The Rural Voice is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA
Don't move on Task Force report too soon
Any opinions expressed herein may
not necessarily reflect the views of the
Perth County Pork Producers'
Association.
There is lots of activity to report on
in the Ontario pork industry in early
1998! It is just over three years since
that big price plummet in the last
quarter of 1994, and here we go again.
The pork price cycle continues on.
This month, I would like to report on
several topics, including our Perth
annual meeting, some results from the
marketing task force, and the Maple
Leaf strike.
The PCPPA annual meeting was
held in the Mitchell Community
Centre on Thursday, January 29, with
approximately 175 producers and
industry personnel in attendance. Our
guest speaker was Kevin Stewart,
former host of the farm show, Family
Farmer. In his presentation, he spoke,
about perception, and the need for
pork producers to work together to
refute some of the poor press and
accusations of environmental irrespon-
sibility our industry has been tainted
with. One resolution was passed,
which called for a less severe index
penalty for hogs dressing over 95 kg.
Two other resolutions were also
passed at our February monthly
meeting and will be sent to be debated
at the Toronto annual meeting in
March. The first addresses the need
for both farmers and processors to
honour the terms of any contracts
which are signed. The second deals
with the results of the OPIM
marketing task force. Because the
report suggests some major changes to
the way Ontario Pork operates, this
resolution, if passed, would not allow
for a vote by councillors at the
Toronto annual meeting. Perth
councillors feel this is important
because we see the need for more time
to receive more information from the
task force and hear some of the
reasons behind the conclusions they
have reached. We require more time
to discuss the implications of the
report. We feel it would be a mistake
to have this report presented at the
annual meeting, and then allow a vote,
because in all probability, it would not
pass. The recommendations in this
report come from the task force
members visiting other jurisdictions
such as Denmark and the U.S.,
producer surveys (1,200 returned), and
industry submissions. Councillors feel
that more time and consideration need
to be taken so that we can be
comfortable accepting or rejecting
parts of the report.
The main recommendation of the
report states that Ontario Pork should
create a separate hog sales co-
operative, in which participation
would be voluntary. Producers would
be allowed to market their hogs on
their own if they wished, or through
other sales agents which would come
into existence under this plan. Ontario
Pork would concentrate instead on the
programs which benefit the industry as
a whole, such as research or environ-
mental initiatives. Ontario Pork would
also provide some form of price
reporting, gather sales information to
build and maintain an industry
database, ensure access to carcass
information, continue to manage an
insurance program for in -transit loss,
and other services that it now provides
generically to all producers. It would
not provide settlement for hogs sold
through other selling agents, nor be
responsible for scheduling or the
logistics of moving the hogs to slaugh-
ter. If implemented, the results of this
task force would cause major changes
to the way hogs are marketed in Ontario.
The PCPPA is holding a special
meeting on Wednesday, February 25,
1998 at the OMAFRA Conference
Centre in Stratford, with task force
members in attendance, to receive
more information and discuss the
report. All Perth pork producers are
welcome to join us at this meeting. It
is important for all producers to
become informed about this report so
that they can make informed opinions
and decisions for their own operation.
Change is upon us, let's be ready for it!
As of this writing, the Maple Leaf
strike is still not over. The PCPPA has
held meetings with our MPP Bert
Johnson, Michael McCain, and the
president of the union, Greg Zikos,
along with several of the union
members. Our main concern discussed
with Mr. Johnson was the provision of
a mediator to help end the strike. Mr.
Johnson said the government would
provide a mediator, but only when
agreed and requested by both sides of
the dispute. Mr. McCain stated that
the Maple Leaf plant will not open
again under the current labour
contract. He is prepared to invest $30
million to upgrade and expand the
plant to a second shift. He requires a
cut in employee wage rates and more
flexibility in scheduling shifts, so that
building up the second shift does not
become unduly costly.
The meeting with the union
members allowed for both sides to
hear each other out on the issues of the
strike. It also helped to clear the air of
some misconceptions that the union
may have held regarding our industry.
The union members expressed interest
in attending one of our county monthly
meetings to discuss matters further
with our councillors. Talks between
Maple Leaf and the union were set to
resume on February 10. We certainly
hope the two sides can find common
ground, and make concessions to end
this strike as soon as possible.
The new executive for the PCPPA
was elected at our February meeting.
The members are: President - John
Nyenhuis; Past President - Walter
Bosch; First Vice - Richard Yantzi;
Second Vice - Jim Van Herk;
Treasurer - Jerry Krist; and Secretary -
Ken Aitcheson.0
submitted by Jim Van Herk
PERTH COUNTY PORK
PRODUCERS' PORK PRODUCTS
• Smoked Pork Chops • Fresh Pork Chops
• Stuffed Loin Chops • Smoked Sausage
• Smoked Cheddar Sausage • Bacon Burgers •
Teriyaki Pork Steaks • Vittorio's BBO Sauce
AVAILABLE FROM:
Fred de Martines (Sebr.) 393-6812
Martin van Bakel (Dublin) 347-2666
Walter Bosch (Monkton) 356-9000
Ted Keller (Mitchell) 348-9836
MARCH 1998 61