Marcel Hacault foresees a day when federally inspected hog packing plants in Manitoba will buy only from farms within the Canadian Quality Assurance program.
The chair of the Manitoba Pork Council is not sure when that day will be, but he knows it is drawing closer.
Overseas buyers of Canadian pork, especially Japan, are scrutinizing how their meat is produced. That attention extends to farms and the methods used to raise hogs.
Hacault said Manitoba’s federally inspected plants are indicating they want producers to become recognized through the quality assurance program.
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Packers last week said they are not imposing deadlines, but they do encourage producers to register for the program.
Tim Hore, procurement manager for Maple Leaf Pork in Brandon, Man., said the day is coming when overseas buyers will accept Canadian pork only if it has met CQA standards.
When that day arrives, it will be harder for producers not in the program to sell their hogs.
Gary Fuller, manager of the Springhill Farms processing plant at Neepawa, Man., also wants to see more producers enrolled but predicted it will be a while before packers give preference to those within the program.
“I think it’s coming, but it’s going to take time,” Fuller said.
No one at the J.M. Schneider plant in Winnipeg would comment last week.
Those who enrol in the quality assurance program receive an assessment form where they record farm management practices for at least three months.
The assessment is thorough. Feed, bedding, medications and animal handling are among the things examined.
After at least three months of recording their management practices, producers can apply for validation under the quality assurance program. An assessment by a trained validator determines whether an applicant qualifies.
There has been some reluctance among Manitoba producers to accept the program, but Hacault believes it has merit.
It could enhance the reputation of Manitoba pork, he said, giving packers here an advantage in overseas markets.
If packers could extract a premium for the assurance of high quality meat, part of that might be passed back to producers, said Hacault, who raises hogs near Niverville, Man.
Three months of stringent record keeping might also reveal ways for producers to improve their operations – and their bottom lines.
“If they haven’t been doing any record keeping, it means sitting down and starting from scratch,” said Hacault. “It can be overwhelming.
“For the larger majority of producers, it’s an extension of what they’ve already been doing.”
Stuart Manness, a grain and hog producer near Domain, Man., said he will concentrate on getting his certification in the next few months. He owns a smaller feeder operation and is a partner in a venture that finishes 24,000 hogs per year.
Manness said most of the practices required under the quality assurance program are ones he already applies at his farm.
“The only thing we aren’t doing is recording the dates of our injections (of antibiotics).
“We’re not really concerned about being able to meet the standards because of the way we’ve been running our operation.”
