by BETTER FARMING STAFF
In October, 2008, the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission took away the powers of Ontario Pork. Yesterday the Ontario Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal gave them back.
The Tribunal’s 29-page ruling, released late yesterday, re-instates Regulation 419, which required producers to sell hogs through the marketing board and for the board to review all buy and sell contracts between producers and processors. The Commission revoked this regulation in 2008.
“In our view the Commission decision does not respect the legislative principles of the FPMA (Farm Products Marketing Act); it effectively negates the legislation by placing the control of marketing outside of the local board, without establishing an alternative plan or having any entity responsible for the control and regulation of hog marketing,” the Tribunal ruling says.
The Tribunal ordered Ontario Pork to continue with its strategic planning process from June 2008 and set a deadline in 18 months for the marketing board to submit recommendations for new regulations to the Farm Products Marketing Commission. The Tribunal also ordered that changes to marketing be put to producers in a plebiscite before implementation.
This story will be updated throughout the day. BF
Comments
a big thank you to all who made this happen.
how surprised am I to see common sense prevail in a bureaucratic entity, this is the right ruling for all the right reasons. lets have pork producers decide how to market their pigs rather than buereaucrats, and the handful of winers and car/feed salesmen and plumbers who submitted the original petition to farm products. Now to really get get justice we just need farm products to cover th hundreds of thousands of dollars and wasted time their thoghtless ruling has cost the board and producers. and while we are at it lets can everyone on the commision and start fresh.
The decision also allows an 18 month "trial" exemption to any producer not using OP marketing. I believe thats most of the hogs (80%to90%) in Ontario. It appears the tribunal is stradling the fence for the next 18 months, and that may be a good thing. It also gives OP the next 18 months to formulate a "stategic plan" for the entire industry (incuding packers). This of course assumes there is some wonderful elusive plan out there that is going to suit everybody. I wish OP well in their search for this plan.
Post new comment