by BETTER FARMING STAFF
The fourth and final hog transition tender auction wrapped up last week with a price range lower than the preceding auction.
The buyout assigns funds to producers willing to set aside all hog production for at least three years through a competitive bidding process. Low bidders win and pledge to shut down hog production facilities for at least three years.
Held March 10, the final tender auction accepted 93 of 274 bids totalling $14,197,732. The committee in charge of the program had allocated $14 million to the final auction. The price range for the accepted tenders was $493.80 to $888.97 per animal unit equivalent, a formula that takes pigs of all sizes into account. The price range for the third auction’s tenders was $584 to $999.86 — higher than the first ($300 to 997) and with a significantly higher amount for the low bid than the second ($370 to $1,034.23).
Final numbers won’t be released until the end of April. Catherine Scovil, associate executive director of the Canadian Pork Council, responsible for administering the $75 million federal buyout, says producers with successful bids have until April 15 to confirm that they will participate.
In the meantime, the Council will consider an earlier release of some preliminary numbers, such as the number of sows and the provincial breakdowns.
“We don’t know how many people from this tender will confirm their participation,” says Scovil.
If previous auctions are an indication, however, it’s not likely the preliminary numbers will change much from final figures, she adds.
In total, the program accepted 428 bids of 1,407 submitted and spent nearly $74.5 million of federal funds.
After three auctions, more producers from Ontario than from any other province had agreed to quit the industry. According to an earlier report, 161 bids totaling $21,758,335.32 were awarded to Ontario producers. Manitoba had the next highest number of bids, 59, for a total of $14,011,021.92. British Columbia had the fewest bids – 10 – but Quebec had the fewest animals taken out of production.
Quebec producers also received the least amount of money from the buyout program: $3,570,003.51. Quebec produces as many hogs or more than Ontario, but has a more lucrative provincial stabilization program. BF
Comments
This money would have been better spent building small plants in areas unserved, to process hogs for small scale producers who want to sell local pork to local consumers. There are communities where it is not now handy for a farmer to take his hogs for custom slaughter and those same communities have people who want to eat locally raised meat. This is also true for chickens,ducks,geese and so forth.
The trouble with that suggestion is that we're already flirting with undercapacity for the major existing packers. How much of an increase in small plant capacity would it take for one of the existing majors to just simply call it quits?
that is what you call building infrastucture, it's like oxygen for your blood.
--as this mess wraps up may it give some financial relief and closure too those exiting an industry that has been under siege for many years.
For the older ones hopefully it gives them some retirement cash too leave the hog business and for the younger producers who may want too return in 3 years a chance to evaluate the prospects and merits of the hog business.
It is sad and disheartening when producers who have worked hard and have a good business plan decide that they are better off with a small pittance for all there efforts. I truly wish them all the best in the future as Canada needs this next generation of farmers-k g
Nice to hear how the producers got out of this with a buyout. At least they got something. For the employees, the ones who went into these farms day after day, toiled hard, doing chores, farrowing pigs, taking care of it all. They have been left forgotten. Try to help the UI people understand that there is no future in the Hog Industry, and you get nothing but hassles. Try to apply for skills retraining, or try to move from an industry that you have been in for almost 10 years of your life. No one wants an ex hog farm worker. You cant get Second Careers funding because they havent been told that this industry is now on the endangered list for having a future. Any farms left are family operations and they don't hire. Its the only way they will survive. I guess I have one final comment. Pigs are beautiful, intelligent creatures, easily worked with, and responsive, I wish the same could be said about the average Canadian.
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