I am going to side with single desk selling and not open marketing/dual marketing.
The Veal Producers are forming a marketing board with an electronic auction and here we are trying to dismantle our marketing board. The savings in check-off will be pennies if at all. The universal fee will be $1.00/hog which leaves $.65/hog for settlement and marketing. How much money will be saved?
Some party still has to do settlement, so either Ontario Pork does settlement or a packer will do settlement. It is still going to cost money.
Marketing boards provide fairness to all producers and protect them from abuses that have the potential to occur in open marketing that history has taught us has happened. The Procedures and Protocols regarding contracting that were set up in I believe 1999 were meant to protect producers from unfair practises. As long as a producer is fulfilling their obligations of a contract there should be no discrimination based on volume. Pigs of equal quality should have equal value. A marketing board is set up specifically to ensure that this occurs.
I disagree that a marketing board gets in the way as some have claimed. We live in a democratic country, we must respect democratic principals. All other marketing boards have always voted on a change either away from a marketing board or forming one. We were never given a chance to vote. If we have a vote it should be a closed ballot to avoid bullying or harassment. Perhaps we can return some civility to the pork industry in Ontario.
Sincerely,
Gerald H. Kolkman
President, Perth County Pork Producers Association
Comments
I'm not sure Mr. Kolkman is correct about the universality of having producer votes to enact, and change, marketing systems. I seem to recall that former Ontario Ag Minister, Wm. Stewart, formed the Ontario Egg Producers Marketing Board entirely without any producer vote at all.
If an Ag Minister can create a marketing board without a producer vote, he/she can certainly use the same entitlement to do what he/she wants when it comes to the marketing process of any farm product, and do it for the betterment of all the people of Ontario, not just for the betterment of a handful of dissident, and vocal, hog farmers.
In this case, it doesn't matter what any farmer says, or believes, the Minister has to do something to mend fences between her own appointees, the Farm Products Marketing Commision, and the Tribunal.
If the Minister didn't intervene, the credibility of both agencies will be zero, and nobody will want to serve on either.
Mr. Kolkman has every right to prefer single desk. I don't see the advantages he see's though. The Veal producers are going to an auction. Pork hasn't used an auction for years, it has evolved past that. I won't argue over who should settle the hogs or the savings etc. It would come down to efficiency and convenience not a few pennies, although every penny counts right now. Marketing boards are supposed to market, that's why they are called marketing boards. OP has long since strayed from this task and I have seen no real evidence of them marketing anything since direct contracts came in (1992?). As far as providing fairness, that's a myth. Look back at the Pork Corp'n (predecessor to Elite) and tell me that fairness existed in 1998. The protocals and procedures were a good idea but turned out useless (a past chair of OP suggested they need revisited). The marketing board as it exists has indeed gotten in the way more than once and has cost me money, change or good ridance.
The pork board throughout it's history,has been nothing more than a clearing house. To suggest that it ever had or would have any ability to market is ridiculous.
---educate me too why we do not want single desk selling and some independent body too over see contracts,,I have issues with OP at times but I know the directors and employees are very dedicated people who work in the best interests of the industry RATHER THAN WHAT WILL JUST BENEFIT THEMSELVES...every other segment of society is trying to work as a unified force be it unions,veal,ect... and we want to tear ours apart??? soys,corn,wheat formed to-gether and we want too "go it alone" ..sorry I don't get it-k.g.
So Mr. Kolkman disagrees that a marketing board gets in the way of individual producers. Perhaps he should have attended the FPMC hearings in 2008, he would have heard lots of examples of interference and incompetence by Ontario Pork. All the producers want is the right to market their own pigs, without using the mandatory services of OP. This will result in a reduced fee to OP. It's not up to Mr. Kolkman to determine if the cost savings are relevant to my operation. If he doesn't think 65-80 cents/pig is a lot of money, then I'll gladly call him and demand he send me 65 cents from every pig he ships. We dont require staff from OP to see our contract to make sure it's ok, I'll hire my own professional advice. And I certainly don't need their logistics department to talk to my transporter and my processor. It's amazing that I can sell early weans, feeder pigs, cull sows, soys, corn, and wheat to whoever I want, for whatever price I want, with grade determined on delivery, but for some reason Mr. Kolkman thinks I need a single desk marketing board to handle my market hogs. I noticed he signed his name as President of Perth County, well Mr' Kolkman your views are certainly not those of all you may represent. If you really want a vote, let the pigs vote, that's why the FPMC made the decision they did in October 2008.
open marketing of hogs is fine if you dont have just one slaughtering facily look what happened to manitoba maple and tooken over the industry lowered slaughter house wages and drove family farms out. there use to be 6 packers on marion street there is none in winnipeg just maple leaf to sell to you went from sigle desk selling to signle desk buying. lower prices no competition.
i also don't know why we would go away from single desk selling. for those of you who don't know the pork board was brought in existence because the farmer was getting ripped off by the drovers. agents are the same as drovers. since contracting started we have rarely had good prices. all those who want to do away with the board should go find a producer who has been in the business for 40 0r 50 years and ask them when the good years were in the hog business. this may not be popular but the auction system we had many years ago is what this industry was grown on. united we stand divided we fall.
-where as others spout off about what they can do on there own it would have a lot more weight if they signed there name.....I could be conestoga,mlp,quailty,ect. posting my opinions...I do know our "best years" was before contracting--Wilma I wish you good luck next week- k g kimball
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