Politicians and bureaucrats in Saskatchewan are hoping to make silk purses from sows’ ears.
The provincial minister of agriculture Eric Upshall chose the Saskatchewan Pork Expo in Saskatoon as the forum to announce the formation of a new department within Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food. Pork Central will provide resources to new and expanding hog producers in the province.
Replace the old
The department replaces the provincial Pork Implementation Team, assuming that branch’s budget, as well as new money gleaned from other areas within the agriculture department.
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The minister would not comment on the total budget of the new organization but said a board made up of industry experts and producers will determine its financial needs.
“We need the producer board to advise and direct us. Government doesn’t know how to raise hogs. Farmers do. They will know what is needed and we will provide it,” said Upshall.
“We need to double current pork production within the province by 2001 and triple it by 2005. To do that we have to be able to get more information about the industry to the producers. That will be the goal of Pork Central,” said Upshall.
Annual pork production has stabilized in Saskatchewan over the past decade at approximately one million hogs. Attrition has claimed three percent of producers each year but overall production has shifted to larger-scale producers without having an effect on total numbers of animals.
Florian Possberg, a hog producer from Humboldt, Sask., was the single member of the new board willing to contemplate what Pork Central will mean to the industry.
Helpful at the bank
“I see our role as providing all the information that a grower or prospective grower will need to expand or get into the business,” he said.
” I hope we can give people the spreadsheet style information they will need to convince banks to lend the capital needed to grow the industry.”
If Saskatchewan is going to succeed in this area of agriculture and attract new processing and packing companies, production must radically increase, said Possberg.
The new department will have eight to 12 pork specialists on staff.
