by BETTER FARMING STAFF
A newly appointed Hog Industry Advisory Committee has its work cut out for it, helping the province’s restructured pork industry to move ahead, says its chair.
One of the committee’s key priorities is how to proceed with a financial protection plan for producers, so that losses are covered if a packer fails, says Jim Clark, a member of the Farm Products Marketing Commission and executive director of the Ontario Cattle Feeders Association. Clark says addressing price reporting — “how do you make the method so it’s not confusing and that it gives good insight overall” — is another priority, as is helping producers understand the new marketing concepts.
Also on the list is applying a universal hog fee to weanling producers. (Before Regulation 439/10, governing the marketing of pigs, took effect Dec. 4, Ontario Pork was not empowered to impose a levy on the sale of weanlings).
Financial protection and market reporting, in particular were “key items that were flagged by the previous committee,” Clark says.
The Hog Industry Advisory Committee is made up of representatives from across the industry. Producers named to the committee are: Wilma Jeffray, Belmore, chair of Ontario Pork, Amy Cronin, Dublin, who sits on Ontario Pork’s safety net committee and Brian Simpson, a producer from near West Lorne.
Processors are represented by: Cathy Acker of Fearman’s Pork Inc., Dan Cohoe of Quality Meat Packers Limited and Bob Hunsberger, Conestoga Meat Packers.
Brad Zantingh of Zantingh Direct Inc was named as a marketer. Allan Van Ravensway of Nature Pork Systems Inc., was named as a “shipper.” (The new regulation defines a shipper as “a person who assembles hogs or transports hogs in any manner” but does not include a producer shipping only his own hogs.) Aker, Clark, Cohoe, Hunsberger and Jeffray were members of the former Hog Industry Advisory Committee.
The appointments for the new committee took effect Jan. 1 and last a year. They were announced this week on the commission’s website. The committee already held its first meeting on Jan. 17.
Clark says the committee will decide how often it meets and notes there are subcommittees that report back to the main committee. BF
Comments
No matter what sector of farming as seen by these BF farming stories is in one screwed up mess, all these farm leaders and organizations decades long reducing farmer populations, no real supportive progress
Pick up any farm paper all you see is farm economic problems. Then page after page of advertising for farmers to buy. Are most of these farm publications freely sent out to farmers at no cost,.... supported by advertising supported by farm organizations? Now it is being done on internet?
The original HIAC had recommended that the universal fee should be 80 cents and calculated on the size of barns. I hope that's on the agenda, then OP could get rid of the enforcement staff.
I am all for supporting industries in need, but if the financial support comes from taxpayers, then the industry better be able to demonstrate longtern competitive sustainability. I think this is really only possible by building economies of scale through consolidation.
Looking at the makeup of the committee might provide some idea of how the Ontario government views the industry and where they want to see things end up. Has the government chosen people with a history and commitment of trying to build an industry where everyone works together?
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