The Rural Voice, 1999-04, Page 28G
igen the pain and
..aguish suffered by
the pork industry this
past NA inner. there are likely
to be some heads scratched
this spring when the
building boom continues
almost as much as it has in
the past couple of years.
Builders and observers of
the pork industry say this
looks like another good year
. in construction of pork
barns.
it's about equal to last
year." says Fred
Groenestege of the contracts
and proposals he's been
working on. That's good
news for him because Fred
Groenestege Construction
Limited of Sebringville
specializes in designing and
building for the pork
industry.
Ed Barrie of OMAFRA's
Stratford office agrees that
suppliers he's talked to are
looking forward to.a good
year despite prices in mid-
winter that shocked
everyone involved in the
industry.
"The price went down so far it
ripped the heart out of the industry,"
Groenestege said. Still, by this spring
some farmers are continuing with
their optimistic planning. "Overall
the industry still looks optimistic,"
Groenestege says. Ontario, he says, is
well placed to compete globally n
pork production.
That's more confidence than
Groenestege found at a recent trade
show in Alberta where producers
aren't feeling as positive about their
future in pork as in Saskatchewan
and Manitoba where large integrated
pork operations are pushing pork
production to new records.
Barrie thinks the continued
Ontario expansion may be the result
of well -laid business plans. If their
business plan was set up to expand
this year producers may want to
continue stay on track, he says.
Producers may also be worried that if
they put off the building of a new
barn this year construction costs
could increase by the time they
decide to go ahead in a Couple of
year's time.
There are also those who follow
What's going up
Building continues in pork industry,
robots introduced
on Ontario dairy farms
Smaller projects like
additions (top) are
most likely in dairy
this year while the
pork building boom
(left) continues.
24 THE RURAL VOICE
the old theory that the best time to
expand in the hog industry is at the
bottom of the price cycle,
Groenestege feels, and the bottom
couldn't get much lower than it was
in December.
A Targe percentage of the
proposals Groenestege is putting
together are for contract growers, he
says, either for large companies or
for alliances of smaller producers.
'The size of finishing barns is
generally staying in the 1,000 fo
2,000 head size he says. Most of the
producers would just as soon be
putting up 2,000 to 4,000 head barns
but the problem here in Ontario is
getting the land -base required for
manure use and meeting minimum
distance requirements. Because of the
population density we're unlikely to
see as large barns here as are being
built on the prairies, he feels. Despite
that and the feed cost advantage
westerners have, he's still confident
about the ability of Ontario producers
to compete.
There are few surprises about
what's going into these new barns.
The current Ontario -style three -site
barn is the result of an evolving
process that has refined
designs to a sophisticated
production system, says
Barrie.
"There are some, very
impressive production
figures coming out of
those new barns," Barrie
says.
Ontario farmers still
want quality in their swine
barns, says Groenestege.
It's led to a more
substantial style of
building than in the past
and than is currently being
built in western Canada
with sandwich -wall
construction and other life -
extending features.
Pork production will
continue to centralize with
fewer farmers producing
more pork,.Groenestege
feels.
While pork producers
continue to prepare for an
international market, the
one major livestock area
that has seen continuing
domestic growth in the
past few years has been
chicken. Alan Domm of Domm
Construction in Ayton is still
building large pig barns but he sees
much of Ifis farm construction
business this year coming from
broiler producers. The supply
management system has brought
orderly expansion to the broiler
business allowing new producers to
get into the business and long-time
producers to expand.
While new one -storey broiler
barns are creeping in, making up
about a quarter of the new barns
being built, the traditional two-storey
broiler barn continues to dominate,
Domm says. "Everybody would like
a single storey barn but the dollar
talks," he says.
Little has changed in broiler barns
as the designs worked out some years
ago continue to meet the needs of
producers.
Harold House, engineer with
OMAFRA's Clinton office says
nutrient management plans are a
major factor with the poultry industry
as producers concentrate on making
best use of the manure produced
from their barns.
In dairy, House says booming