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Needed: a federal research presence in Ontario
The industry has faced pressure from many areas of late, yet the amount of research being done in Canada has declined and there is little federal research being done in Ontario, the number one producing province
by JIM DALRYMPLE
In Ontario, pork has long been a leading component of the agriculture and food industry. In 2005, pork production accounted for more than $1 billion in market receipts, second only to the dairy industry at $1.5 billion.
In that year, Ontario produced 8.2 million of the 31 million hogs marketed in Canada. In 1984, Ontario was the number one producing province, was second in production to Quebec from 1998 to 2001 and regained the number one ranking in 2002. Canadian pork producers, with Ontario a major contributor, exported 1,029 billion kilograms of pork in 2005 and live exports totaled $744 million.
A recent announcement by Maple Leaf Foods (see “Maple Leaf turns away from Ontario,” Better Pork, Dec.2006) may prove devastating to the pork industry and agriculture and food in general. A possible decline in Ontario’s processing capacity, the uncertainty about the Shur-Gain Division and its feed production and research facilities should be of serious concern.
Over the past two decades, the public sector research commitment has been seriously eroded, yet the industry has continued to expand production and contribute to the Canadian economy.
The number of professional person years (PPYs) in Canada committed to industry research has decreased dramatically. ICAR, (ED: spell out?) the major Canadian organization monitoring research levels, reports the following, in Figure 1.
Figure 1. |
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| FEDERAL | PROVINCIAL | UNIVERSITY | TOTAL | |
| 1991 | 34.69 | 5.97 | 82.74 | 123.4 |
| 1996 | 25.82 | 2.58 | 49.33 | 77.73 |
| 2001 | 19.85 | 0.73 | 54.68 | 75.26 |
| SOURCE: INVENTORY OF CANADIAN AGRI-FOOD RESEARCH (ICAR) | ||||
The industry has faced increased pressure in many areas, including animal welfare, food safety, product quality, animal health and the environment. Pork producers continue to contribute financially to address these concerns and the commitment to the pork industry by the federal and provincial governments, and by the industry in other provinces, has increased.
Some examples:
Manitoba.
The University of Manitoba Faculty of Agriculture has just completed a major expansion of the its Glenlea Research Station, the federal and provincial governments each contributing $3.5 million towards the $9 million project’s funding goal.
The site near Winnipeg addresses many of society’s concerns about today’s high technology efficient pork production. The new facility consists of two farrow-to-finish research units, one a conventional facility and the second an alternative housing facility.
Components of the research program include:
- Solid and liquid manure storage;
- Feed manufacturing of both commercial and experimental rations;
- Manure application to crops;Alternative bedding materials to assess animal welfare, odours and manure management.
Unlike Ontario, Manitoba now has in place an education centre to accommodate groups of students and visitors to provide a better understanding of the pork industry and research initiatives. The university has also partnered with a major swine breeding company to provide the breeding animals for research.
Saskatchewan.
The Prairie Swine Centre in Saskatoon has a staff of 30 scientists, technical and support personnel. This not-for-profit research and technology corporation has expertise in the three disciplines - behaviour, nutrition and engineering. The centre’s mission is to “be a centre of excellence in research, graduate education and technology transfer, all directed at efficient sustainable pork production.”
As well, the Pork Interpretative Gallery, a 600-sow, farrow-to-finish unit, focuses on presenting an inside view of production. This gallery extends an invitation to everyone - from school age children to adults - to understand how pigs are cared for, fed and housed and deals with food safety, animal care, and environmentally responsible production.
Alberta.
With Alberta government support, the Swine Research and Technology Centre (SRTC) has consolidated swine operations at the Edmonton Research Stations in a new $5 million state-of-the-art facility. This location provides an integrated site for future swine research on nutrition, reproduction, environmental management and medical research. The facility has approximately 5,000 square metres of space with capacity for 300 farrowing sows and 1,700 young pigs.
Federal research.
The only swine research performed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is carried out at Lennoxville, Que. This location makes it difficult to provide input from other parts of Canada and thus to have national input into research priorities.
Ontario is still number one in pork production, as it is in all livestock and poultry production except beef. It has the largest consuming population of any province and has proximity to major United States markets. Yet there is very little AAFC presence in research in Ontario.
Investment in a new swine research facility would send positive signals to all sectors of the industry that there is a future for pork production as a vital and vibrant component of Ontario agriculture.
Research needs include alternative energy generation from manure and non-food material, bio-product development, neutraceuticals, swine nutrition, animal welfare and genetic improvement, including genomics.
A commitment to the industry’s future through a modern research facility and possibly an educational centre would be a positive step for Ontario agriculture. BF
J.R. (Jim) Dalrymple, P.Ag., CAC, is a former Ontario government swine specialist and owner of Livestock Technology Services in Brighton.
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