The Rural Voice, 2019-04, Page 46The economy is doing very well in
rural Ontario says Huron-Bruce
MP Ben Lobb and labour issues
shouldn’t detract from that. Lobb was
speaking to farmers and agricultural
leaders at the Huron County Federation
of Agriculture’s (HCFA) Local
Politician Forum, held March 9 at the
Clinton Legion.
Held annually as a way for the
agricultural industry to inform and
connect with local politicians. Lobb
said he’d been attending the event for
11 years. Both he and Huron-Bruce
MPP and provincial Minister of
Education Lisa Thompson were praised
for their commitment to agriculture.
Finding qualified labour and being
able to pay for it was a concern across
sectors represented at the forum.
Among the other concerns addressed at
the event were trade, a lack of
processing plants, new transportation
guidelines, taxes on farmland and risk
management programs.
Meanwhile, both Lobb and
Thompson reminded the group the
province is in debt and encouraged
farmers to search out and develop new
markets for their products.
“There are opportunities out there to
market but no possibility for it if we
don’t have the processing facilities to
get it there,” acknowledged Lobb,
referencing the 300 million Christians
in India looking to enjoy pork in a
country where there isn’t enough
supply. “If we can fix our trade and
processing issues there is tremendous
opportunity for beef and pork products
to go elsewhere,” he said.
The whole issue of food
infrastructure was addressed and it
began with Harvey Hoggart, speaking
on behalf of the Huron County Beef
Producers.
He said Ontario produces more cattle
than there is capacity to process them.
With the United States reducing how
many Canadian cattle cross the border,
cattle processing has backed up in
Ontario. “We need more competition in
the market but the only ones who can
compete with Cargill Proteins are
Tyson Food and JBS Food Company
(both American companies) and I can’t
see them wanting to come to Ontario,”
said Hoggart.
“Labour and processing capacity are
in my notes,” said Lobb, responding to
the comments. “A lot of Canadians
would be shocked to know that over 50
per cent of our beef is not grown in
Canada. That is a significant issue and
governments of all shapes and sizes
want automotive plants in their
province, very seldom do you hear that
they want a processing plant, but we
need to do just that. Just as you said,
there is no competition and when there
is no competition, you do not get fair
prices. We need to look at food
infrastructure... it’s a worthwhile
discussion to have at this time.”
Thompson agreed. It really struck her
that American processing companies
won’t come to Ontario because of the
price and availability of labour. She
encouraged beef leaders to
communicate with Minister of
Economic Development, Job Creation
and Trade Todd Smith.
“He will be focusing on automotive
and agriculture because he knows both
sectors provide great jobs,” said
Thompson. “We need to create a
climate where businesses think Ontario
is a great place to set up. We need to
make Ontario a place that is back open
for business.”
Other concerns for the beef industry
are new amendments released by the
Canadian government to the Health of
Animals regulations concerning
transportation. The new regulations
will reduce the period of time that
cattle can be moved in transport trucks.
“Minimizing stress and preventing
injury of animals during transport is
always our goal,” said Hoggart.
“However, when you reduce the
transport time, that means you have
more unloading times and that is where
most injuries to cattle occur,” he added.
Also, it would require more feeding
stations, more pen capacity and
increased biosecurity.
Lobb agreed with Hoggart. “People
and livestock producers are trying to
negotiate nicely behind the scenes and
I don’t think the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency (CFIA) used all the
data to make a determination, which is
unfortunate,” said Lobb. “There is
42 The Rural Voice
Trade, labour and taxes discussed at forum
Trade and labour shortages are issues farmers are facing across sectors,
agricultural leaders revealed at this year’s Huron County Federation of
Agriculture’s Local Politician Forum held March 1, 2019 at the Clinton
Legion. Both MP Ben Lobb (left) and MPP Lisa Thompson (centre) were
praised by HCFA President, Ethan Wallace (right) for working hard to
listen, learn and act on behalf of the dairy, beef, chicken, egg, grain, pork
and sheep farmers within Huron County.
By Lisa B. Pot
News