Whether it’s with antibiotic-free or Omega-3 pork, some operators are finding that developing niche markets is a key to survival. And experts believe that these could eventually account for 20-25 per cent of the Ontario market
by MARY BAXTER
Five years ago, Gord Player’s sons bought their uncle’s share of the family’s farrow-to-finish swine operation near Gads Hill, north of Stratford. The vision was to continue working with their father to produce commodity market pork. Then, in 2007, costs soared and prices plummeted. “We obviously knew what we were doing wasn’t working,” says Gord. So the family considered another direction.