Local bylaws and provincial regulations might ban hog barns from going back into production if they have been shut down for three years.
Sheri Grift of Manitoba Agriculture warned hog farmers at last week’s Manitoba Swine Seminar that they need to be careful if they take part in the federal barn mothballing program.
She advised them to work with their rural municipality councils to make sure there are no nasty surprises at the end of the three-year mothball period.
“Even if you’re permitted or conditional use when populated, you can become a legally nonconforming use by the time you depopulate,” she said during a panel discussion on the implications of the hog crisis.
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If that happens, provincial regulations can prevent nonconforming use operations from re-establishing after one year or two years with an extension.
The federal program requires farmers to shutter their barns for at least three years.
Grift said many producers don’t realize the impact that shutting down an operation has on the way local zoning bylaws apply.
Some operations are permitted uses and can generally be put back into production without too many troubles, unless bylaws are changed.
However, for conditional use and nonconforming use operations, producers have to be careful to document their use of the facilities before shutting down. They also need to talk to their council first to ensure they will not run into trouble when trying to start up again.
“If you are a nonconforming use, you need to ask for a nonconforming use certificate,” Grift said.
“The more written information and records you can have … the better it is for you.”
Grift said farmers need to watch local papers to see if bylaw and zoning changes are being proposed and then talk to their councils. They also need to ask their councils to pass bylaws to make it easier to start up a closed operation.
“Don’t assume that they know that,” Grift said.
Lawyer John Stewart, who has been involved in many hog barn financial problem resolutions, said zoning complications that could prevent a barn from being re-opened are an issue that could alarm lenders.
“It’s essentially today the million dollar question,” Stewart said.
“The creditors haven’t clearly understood and can’t clearly understand what’s going to happen if we shut an operation down and then wait longer than the amount of time that we’re permitted.
“What is the value of the asset? The question that’s winding around the room that nobody seems to be able to answer for me is, is the barn worth nothing once it’s been depopulated, and if it is, I can think of a couple of creditors that might want a head’s up on that before we turn around and shut the operation down.”
