Saskatchewan pork producers are contemplating a switch from a mandatory
to a refundable hog levy.
The debate stems from a resolution put forth at Sask Pork’s annual
general meeting in November, which called for a voluntary levy.
It passed by a narrow vote but the chair of Sask Pork said the meeting
was poorly attended and the resolution caught many farmers by surprise.
The issue has been referred to a 10-member committee.
The resolution was proposed by Vaughn Crone, a Moose Jaw, Sask., farmer
Read Also
Ag In Motion 2025 draws strong attendance, more international visitors
Three clear days meant Ag in Motion 2025 saw strong attendance and a significant increase in international visitors at the large Saskatchewan outdoor farm show.
who is refusing to pay the levy.
“I … get next to no value out of that levy,” said Crone, who is part
of the committee debating the issue.
He said his levy amounts to about $5,000 a year.
“That buys an awful lot of groceries for my wife and my four kids for
the next year.”
Crone said the levy, which amounts to 90 cents per hog marketed, is too
expensive and is out of line with what other industries charge.
Prairie Swine Centre Inc. is one of the main beneficiaries of the
Saskatchewan hog levy. It gets 24 cents out of every 90 cents collected
by Sask Pork. Last year, that amounted to $400,000, about 10 percent of
the centre’s funding.
John Patience, chief executive officer of the swine centre, said 90
cents is 0.66 percent of the average value of a hog. He said that is
very much in line with other levies, like the half of one percent
collected by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers.
Patience warned there is a grave danger in creating a refundable levy.
“We’d all like to drive on the roads without having to pay taxes
towards road repairs.”
Patience takes issue with the assertion that the levy generates no
tangible value. He said farmers who apply research stemming from the
centre generate savings far in excess of the 24 cents per hog his
centre gets.
“There hasn’t been a single instance where we haven’t been able to
identify benefits for an individual farm that are well above the levy
that goes toward our research.”
Patience said the facility is responsive to the needs of prairie hog
producers. A prime example is the new 600-sow farrow-to-finish barn
near Elstow, Sask., he said. One of the focuses of the Elstow facility
is to research group housing of sows – something producers had
requested.
Leon Lueke, chair of Sask Pork, also supports a mandatory levy. He said
without it, the organization would not be able to effectively lobby on
trade issues or implement food safety and animal welfare programs.
“In order for our industry to move ahead, we need a mandatory levy,”
said Lueke.
He said the levy dropped by 10 cents this fall and there is “great
potential” for it to be reduced even further as the industry grows.
That’s not good enough for John Germs, former chair of SPI Marketing
Group, who said the amount he pays toward the levy exceeds his net
income.
“It’s certainly something that this farm cannot afford.”
Germs recently resigned from the committee looking into the levy issue
because he felt the board has no intention of taking the issue to a
producer vote.
“Each producer in this province should have an opportunity to exercise
his or her vote,” said Germs.
Lueke said the committee will provide the board of directors of Sask
Pork with a recommendation on the issue. The goal was to have that
direction by March 1, 2002.
He doesn’t think that target will be met but he expects the issue to be
resolved before spring.
