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Times-Advocate, 1987-09-30, Page 31• HELP OPEN 1987 FAIR - Shown following opening ceremonies of the Exeter Fall Fair,Friday night are from 'the left Ontario Pork Producers president Dave McDonald, fair president Ray Cann, District 8 directors Roy Pepper and Sylvia Knechtel and Ontario Homecraft Division president Dolores Shapton. Notes Huron's pork production OPPMB president opens Fair In officially opening the 1987 Exeter Fall Fair Friday -night, David McDonald, president of the Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board said Huron county accounts for 11 percent of Ontario's pork output. He said 1987 Ontario production will be almost four and a half million head with a gross return of $750 million. Huron has over 1,400 pork producers with annual sales of 530,000 hogs. Following is a portion of McDonaldts remarks to the large crowd in attendance at the South Huron- Rec Centre: "Over several generations, pork producers have invested a great deal' of time. energy and money to create an industry that is truly world class., Our success has not happened because we sat back and let events overtake us. Rather, we took the in- itiative both as individual producers and as a Board. We tried to shape events so we would profit from them. In short. yr have tried to take control of our future. The roots of the O.P.P.M.B. began with a producer committee formed in 1941. Four years later, in 1945, pro- ducers voted 99 to 1 to adopt a marketing plan to give them more -bargaining power. As a result, the On- tario Hog Producers' Marketing Board was formed in 1946. Over the next five years, the Board sought un- successfully to set minimum prices and discussions with the packers broke off in 1951. Opposition to a single desk selling agency came from drovers, truckers, packers and even some producers. In 1957, a court challenge upheld the Board's powers, including the right to collect a marketing levy. Opposition continued even after the Supreme Court of Canada judgement. This led to another producer vote in 1958 when the producers voted in favour of the Board. The yards system also began dur- ing this period. There were 10 yards in 1954.31 by 1959 and today we have 46. A major change in the seling system came in 1961 with the in- troduction of the auction system. The change was the result of pressure from the "packers who were dissatisfied with the way the Board allocated hogs. Pooling was introduc- ed in 1974. This was necessary because the board began offering long term contracts with formula prices for the Japanese market. The long term contracts began in 1975 and the last one expired in 1984. Of great significance to the future of the industry was the introduction of carcass grading in 1969. The system was a cooperative action by producers, packers, consumers and government and it played a major role in establishing the high quality animal we have today. The indexing grid has been updated three times - in 1978, 1979 and finally in 1986, when metric weights and electronic grading were introduced. Perhaps the biggest change in the history of the board has been the shift in our approach to marketing. Not so long ago, we were content with the traditional consumer market for hams, bacon and pork chops. We let others do our advertising for us. And it worked. - Population and domestic meal con- sumption were growing year after year and there seemed to be no limit to growth. At the same time, export markets were developing in places like Japan. Our quality, then as now, was one of the highest in the world and. our competitors had yet to become aggressive. How that has changed! Pork, like most agricultural products, is now in oversupply on world markets and consumers' lifestyles have changed. Today's consumer eats a third of his meals outside, of the home. They do not cook big Sunday meals and they are very conscious of nutrition, quali- ty; convenience and diet. - The domestic and export markets are continuing to change and we must change with them. Central to our plans must be an increasing awareness that the pork industry - producers and packers - must meet the needs of• our customers. This makes marketing very complex. We will need to continually evaluate our strategies for the export and domestic markets as well as for different segments of society. • Promotionand advertising will con- tinue to be important. The board recognized this in the 1960's and was one.of the first commodity organiza- tions to advertise its products. By 1976, we had our promotion depart- mentand.it has continued to grow in size and effectiveness. The processors have always done a good job of pro- moting their own branded products, but fresh pork was an orphan. . At first, our objective was to im- prove the image of fresh pork through advertising and we concentrated on stressing three things: freshness, quality and Ontario. Most of you will remember the T.V. commercials of the late '70s and early 80s. A little over 10 years ago, Canada was a net importer of pork. Today we export 30 percent of what we produce and pork, next to wheat, is Canada's largest agricultural export. Historically, free trade in pork has allqwed product to move both ways across the U.S./Canada border. Cur- rently,80 to 90percentof our exports go to the U.S., but this is now threatened by a growing wave of protectionism. It reinforces the need for a freer trade agreement with a dispute set- tlement mechanism and a joint body or tribunal of discovery and im- plementation to administer the decision. We also believe we need har- monization of meat inspection regula- tions to give protection to consumers and sensible health regulations to pro- tect herds on both sides of the border. Our more likely new markets will be in the Pacific Rim countries. These markets are difficult to penetrate because of the distances involved and the differences in languages and customs. Packers, peoducers and govern- ment agree that product quality is ex- tremely importanat. Quality will be a key to future success. Export markets will continue to demand pro- duct of the highest qualify and in- creasingly, domestic consumers will expect the same. Much of the credit for improving our genetics and quality must go to the R.O.P. program which will con- tinue to be important. Quality is important, but the in - 1 JUDGING SEEDS— Judge Bill Coleman uses o Tight to determine win- ners in a seeds competition at the Exeter Fall Fair. He is being assisted by director NancyRooth. Coleman said the a10Nwhiite bean exhibits "re excellent ad it was difficult to pick dustry must also present pork in a way in which its quality will speak for itself. New packaging techniques, such as vacuum packing, are being developed which will extend shelf life up to two weeks. Developments such as this could also lead to the ability to export fresh pork to offshore markets. Some packers have already taken advan- tage of these new techniques to in- troduce new fresh and prressed pro- ducts emphasizing IifestyTe, youth ap- peal, low calories and convenience. For several generations, pork pro- ducers have invested their time, creativity and capital to build a com- petitive industry.As a result,we have the resources, the investment, the management and the genetic pool to allow us to successfully compete with producers anywhere on•the globe. Times -Advocate, September 30, 1987 Page 17A Agri -Food Week October 4-12 focuseson -industry's irnporta-nce Agri -Food Week, an annual event focussing attention on the importance of Ontario's agriculture and food in- dustry, will be celebrated this year from October 4 to Thanksgiving Day, October 12. • Scores of displays and special events are panned in communities across the province including a Farmers' Market at the Ontario Science Centre on Sunday October 4 and a special float in the Kitchener - Waterloo Oktoberfest parade Mon- day, October 12 as well as farm bus tours, dinners, poster contests and TV coverage of Agri -Food Week. The official Agri -Food Week kick- off will take place at a luncheon for business, farm and community leaders at the Royal York Hotel Oc- tober 6. Keynote speaker will be George Fleischmann, president of -the Grocery Products Manufacturers of Canada. The promotional week is sponsored EXETER 4-H By Cheryl McCarter On Wednesday, September 23 Ex- eter II 4-11 club had their first 4-11 meeting. Elected officers are presi- dent - Laura ook; vice president - Stephanie Cook; secretary - Carolyn Paquette; press reporter - Cheryl McCarter. We learned the proper amounts of fruits and vegetables to eat from Canada's Food Guide and the nutrients each contain. Nutritious snacks were then discussed and we made a chart of some. We sampled fruits and vegetables each with a dip. The next meeting is September -30 at 7 p.m. at Marion McCarter's. by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and seven com- modity groups • Ontario beef, chicken, egg, grape, milk, pork and turkey producers. Chairman of this year's Agri -Good Week committee is Joseph Christi, a • Bowmanville-area farmer and member of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture's communications committee. Mall displays, luncheons and other special events are being held by local Agri -Food Week committees in about 45 Ontario counties. Exeter Villa activities Hello from the residents of the Villa. We would like to welcome new residents, Dorothy Down and Erna Allison. Erna is pleased to be joining her husband Charlie. Allison. Welcome back home Olga McWilliam and Benson Tuckey. We are pleased to see them on the road to. recovery and back home once again. . Congratulations this past week to Eileen Carroll and her husband Harry. The Carrolls celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. - Our worship service last week, was conducted by Rev. Don Rogers of the Exeter Pentecostal Tabernacle. Thanks to Rev. Rogers and his singers. Our deepest sympathy is extended to the Rundle family, in the loss of their mother Alma. Residents and staff shall miss Alma. The 133rd Exeter Fair had a very successful weekend. The weather on Saturday was perfect for a fall fair. Thanks to everyone who supported us at the booth. Mrs. E. E. Riley was the winner of our draw for a ceramic Christmas tree. Our bakers were very pleased with our prizes. We received one first. two seconds and one third. Thanks to all the staff, who helped in the booth and with the float. Without your help we could never have done it all. Everyone at the Villa was pro- ud of our float We were pleased to receive third prize. One good thing about the "horse and buggy days" when you took a horse to the blacksmith to be shod, he didn't find :n other things wrong with it. Don't miss it! "Invest For Success" SEMINAR featuring: BRIAN COSTELLO Thurs., Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. lfensall & District Community Centre DEAL WITH CONFIDENCE When you deliver your White Bean Crop to Ken R. Campbell & Sons Ltd., Seaforth Howson & Howson Ltd., Blyth, Ontario Palmerston Elevators Ltd. Bar' B - Dee Farms, RR 1 Bornholm are also white bean receiving satellites for Thompson's We want and appreciate your business Nyland Brand Augusta Seed Wheat Hyland Brand Houser Seed Wheat Fredrick Seed Wheat Cert. Monopol Red Winter Wheat if Be sure you buy Blue Tag Seed Only This assures you of "Certified" #1 Seed for "Purity" - "Quality" and "Top Yields." Any other facsimile is not the same. Available only at Thckmpson's or a Hyland Dealer "For larger growers" wishing Certified seed in Bulk we can supply. Please order ahead. ALL SEED IS TREATED WITH VITAFLO " 280" - Custom Fertilizer Spreading - Soil Sampling Service - Computerized Reports - Recommendations from a Qualified Staff coos CP) St For purity, top germination, disease free Sow only Certified Hyland Seed Hensall 162-2527 Mitchell 348-8433 IJ o J di I NAN$ 0 Granton 225.2360 1 1St r 0 11� Seaforth 345-2545 aulari O PIRTILIZUUS Ailsa Craig 293-3223 Pt. Albert 529-7901 1