Better Pork - April 2007
Behind The Lines
Better Pork recently had an opportunity to ask agriculture minister Chuck Strahl for his thoughts about pork industry problems. He termed it “the perfect storm.” That’s no surprise to anyone in the pork industry, but more on that in a moment.
It’s no secret that producers face unprecedented challenges, like environmental regulations, labour shortages, marketing and trade hurdles. But the foremost remains, raising healthy efficient, live pigs to market in numbers that will sustain an operation and provide a livelihood for the farmers who work it.
That’s why I commend to you this month’s cover story about PRRS, the health scourge that just doesn’t seem to go away. This article marks the beginning of an ongoing series that will give us an inside look at how the Ontario industry is coping.
Historically, health has been a topic many producers avoid discussing publicly. That’s understandable. Why, for example, would you want your banker or other suppliers to read about your losses in a magazine? And once you’ve made the decision to come forward with details to help your industry, whom do you trust to get it right?
Ethical reporters won’t hand over their stories for approval to those they write about. It’s called surrendering editorial control and Better Pork doesn’t allow it. We’re honoured, therefore, that the producers in this series chose Better Pork and I want to express my gratitude to those who have stepped up to the plate, given us access to their data and shared what in some cases turned out to be a very personal account, with some horrible low points. The industry needs more leaders willing to contribute like this.
A special thanks also to swine veterinarian Dr. Doug MacDougald, whose assistance was invaluable in launching this series.
Better Pork’s series is but one example of our dynamic industry’s ability to focus on solving its problems. Dealing with the “perfect storm,” however, requires broad-based commitment from everyone involved.
During a media scrum at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual meeting in Ottawa in early March, Chuck Strahl said his government would like to unveil a financial support program for our industry in the federal budget, at the end of that month. He suggested that I ask the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) for details.
Later that day, CPC chairman Clare Schlegel confirmed that the council and the Pork Industry Value Chain, a broader-based industry working group, had been working with the minister on government support for herd health and labour, among other problems. Schlegel said he wasn’t in a position to reveal details.
About a week later, Strahl repeated parts of his supportive message to Nova Scotia pork producers, who are facing the closure of Maple Leaf’s Larsen Packers in that province. Nova Scotia’s agriculture minister, Brooke Taylor, had previously turned a deaf ear to producers’ demands for money to help with a $50 per hog shortfall on their cost of production.
At press time (March 18,) however, there were still no clear details of Strahl’s plan. During a telephone interview, Schlegel acknowledged that CPC felt some pressure to respond to the minister in time for the looming budget deadline.BP
ROBERT IRWIN
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