Pork marketing appeal begins Thursday, November 26, 2009 by BETTER FARMING STAFFThe Farm Products Marketing Commission’s October 2008 decision to revoke Ontario Pork’s monopoly powers to market hogs suited “10 per cent” of producers, taking away from the other 90 per cent, Appin area pork producer Rein Minnema told the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal in Guelph today.“We are losing everything we have in our collective marketing powers and we get nothing in return,” he testified in the opening day of the hearing scheduled to run until Dec. 4.Minnema initiated the appeal last winter and was joined by Huron Pork Producers Association and Districts 10, 11 and 12 in appealing the Oct. 6, 2008 decision of the Farm Products Marketing Commission to strip the Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board of its monopoly powers to market hogs in Ontario. The hearing opened today in the same rooms in a Guelph hotel as the Commission held the hearings in July of 2008, and also where the Tribunal heard arguments that led to the hearing de novo that began today.Consultant Elbert Van Donkersgoed is representing Minnema in the hearing.Respondents include Ontario Pork, Zantingh Direct Inc., the Open Marketing Group, Quality Meat Packers, Synergy Swine, Paragon Farms, RFW Farms and the Progressive Pork Producers Cooperative.Interveners in the hearing include Dewetering Hill Farms, and Maple Leaf Consumer Foods.The hearings are scheduled to continue until Dec. 4 at the Best Western Royal Brock Hotel and Conference Centre on Gordon Street in Guelph.According to a provincial government website, the Tribunal provides an impartial appeal body available to any person who feels aggrieved by decisions of marketing boards, the Farm Products Marketing Commission or a director appointed under the Farm Products Marketing Act. BF Behind the Lines - December 2009 Hog market recovery still months away says economist
Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth Monday, June 30, 2025 Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online
Expert Gopher Help for Farmers Friday, June 27, 2025 With gopher populations increasing across Saskatchewan, many landowners are struggling with crop loss and land damage. These rodents not only reduce crop yields but also create dangerous conditions for livestock. In response, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF), supported by the... Read this article online
Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility Friday, June 27, 2025 Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online
Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost Friday, June 27, 2025 The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online
Pigs on the prairie: Manitoba’s fight against a growing wild hog invasion Thursday, June 26, 2025 They root through farmland, tear up native landscapes, spread disease, and multiply rapidly. Wild pigs are fast becoming one of Manitoba’s most destructive and difficult invasive species — and experts say the time to act is now. Dr. Wayne Lees, coordinator of Squeal on Pigs Manitoba,... Read this article online